Waterford Town City Zoning Code
ARTICLE VI
Administration
§ 161-35 Zoning Inspector/Building Inspector.
A.
The provisions of this chapter shall be administered and enforced by a person designated by the Town Board as the "Zoning Inspector," who shall have the power to make inspections of buildings or premises necessary to carry out his duties in the enforcement of this chapter. No building permit or certificate of occupancy required hereunder shall be issued by the Zoning Inspector except in compliance with the provisions of this chapter or as directed by the Board of Appeals under the provisions of Article VII. The terms "zoning inspector" and "building inspector" shall be synonymous.
B.
The powers and duties of the Zoning Inspector/Building Inspector shall be to:
(1)
Examine and approve applications pertaining to the use of land, buildings, or structures when the applications conform to the provisions of this chapter.
(2)
Issue all building permits and certificates of occupancy and keep permanent records thereof pursuant to Chapter 61 of the Town of Waterford Code.
(3)
Conduct such inspections of buildings, structures and uses of land as are necessary to determine compliance with the provisions of this chapter.
(4)
Receive, file and forward for appropriate action all applications for special uses, variations, interpretations of and amendments to this chapter.
(5)
Maintain permanent and current records of this chapter, including all maps, amendments, special uses, and variances.
(6)
Collect, receipt and account for all fees chargeable under the provisions of this chapter and pay all of the same into the appropriate Town fund.
(7)
Register all nonconforming uses.
(8)
Pursuant to Chapter 61 of the Town of Waterford Code, the Building Inspector's duties shall also be:
(a)
To conduct inspections necessary to the investigation of complaints and all other inspections required or permitted under any provision of this chapter, and to request and inspect any records or documents authorized pursuant to the provisions of this chapter.
(b)
To issue stop-work orders, notices of violations and compliance orders, and to revoke zoning permits.
(c)
To accept complaints of violations of this chapter from citizens and public officials to document and follow up on violations encountered during the course of inspections or through general observation in the community, to investigate potential violations, and, where necessary in the discretion of the Town, to commence enforcement of this chapter.
(d)
To pursue administrative and civil enforcement actions and proceedings and/or criminal proceedings to enforce the provisions of this chapter.
(e)
To consult with the Town Attorney about pursuing such legal actions and proceedings as may be necessary to enforce the provisions of this chapter.
§ 161-36 Building permits.
No building shall be erected, moved, externally altered, added to, or enlarged, and no excavation for any building shall be begun unless and until a building permit pursuant to Chapter 61 of the Town of Waterford Code for such work has been issued by the Zoning Inspector/Building Inspector.
§ 161-37 Certificates of occupancy.
A.
A certificate of occupancy is required for any of the following:
(1)
Occupancy and use of a building hereafter erected, externally altered, moved, or extended.
(2)
Change in the use of an existing building.
(3)
Occupancy and use of vacant land, except for any use consisting primarily of tilling the soil or similar agricultural use.
(4)
Change in the use of land, except for any use consisting primarily of tilling the soil or similar agricultural use.
B.
A certificate of occupancy may be obtained, on application, from the Zoning Inspector/Building Inspector. Such certificate shall be issued only if the proposed use of the building or land conforms to the provisions of this chapter. The Zoning Inspector/Building Inspector shall make or cause to have made an inspection of each building or lot for which a certificate of occupancy has been applied before issuing such certificate. Such inspection shall be made within 15 days from the date of application, Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays excepted. Failure to make such inspection and determination within the specified period of time shall be deemed to be approval of the application for a certificate of occupancy.
C.
No certificate of occupancy need be obtained for any continuation of a nonconforming use existing on the effective date of this chapter, regardless of whether the premises housing such nonconforming use are externally altered, varied, etc.
§ 161-37.1 Stop-work orders.
The Building Inspector is authorized to issue stop-work orders pursuant to this article and § 61-6 for any work that is determined by the Building Inspector to be conducted in violation of this chapter, including, but not limited to, work being conducted on land and/or work being conducted on a building or structure for which a special use permit or site plan approval is required but has not been obtained.
§ 161-37.2 Complaints.
The Building Inspector shall review and investigate complaints that allege or assert the existence of conditions or activities that fail to comply with this chapter. The process for responding to a complaint shall be pursuant to § 61-12 of the Town of Waterford Code.