CITY OF RONCEVERTE
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING:
The Ronceverte City Council will conduct a public hearing (and second reading) on Monday, November 7, 2016, at 7:00 p.m. at the Ronceverte City Hall, 182 Main Street West, Ronceverte, West Virginia, to enact Section 5C-1-24 of Chapter 5C, Ordinance 2016-04, of the Code of the City of Ronceverte, West Virginia, to provide a Vacant Structure Code. WV Code §8-12-16c gives the governing body of a municipality the authority to establish by ordinance a vacant building and property registration and maintenance program.
Interested parties may comment at such time and written comments are also welcome in advance directed to the City of Ronceverte, City Administrator, P.O. Box 417, Ronceverte, WV 24970.
A building or structure shall be deemed “vacant” if no person or persons actually, currently conducts a lawfully licensed business, or lawfully resides, dwells, or lives in any part of the building as the legal or equitable owner(s) or owner-occupant(s), or tenant(s) or tenant-occupant(s), on a permanent, non-transient basis. A building or structure shall not be deemed “vacant” and subject to the registration, the registration fee, and possible penalty provisions provided herein if (i) the exterior maintenance and major systems of the building and the surrounding real property thereof are not in violation of any building codes or health and sanitation codes; and (ii) there is proof that all essential utility services, including, but not limited to, electric, gas, heating, water and sewer services are active, uninterrupted, and capable of being used without any action being taken by any utility company. In order for the utility services to be considered active and uninterrupted as described in this ordinance, the utility services must be more than merely registered to the owner for purposes of billing and must be utilized, at a minimum, in order to keep the property and the major systems of the building in compliance with building and safety codes. The person or entity asserting that there has been active and uninterrupted utility service has the burden to produce actual bills evidencing utility service for the relevant period.
Owners of vacant buildings shall register such vacant buildings with the City, make payment of a fee for the registration thereof as set forth herein, and otherwise conform to the requirements of this Vacant Structure Code. There shall be an annual registration fee for each vacant structure subject to registration in the vacant structure registry.
(a) No fee for a property that has been on the vacant structure registry for less than one year;
(b) A $200.00 fee for a vacant structure that is on the vacant structure registry for at least one year but less than two consecutive years;
(c) A $400.00 fee for a property that is on the vacant structure registry for at least two consecutive years but less than three consecutive years;
(d) A $600.00 fee for a property that is on the vacant structure registry for at least three consecutive years but less than four consecutive years;
(e) A $800.00 fee for a property that is on the vacant structure registry for at least four consecutive years but less than five consecutive years; and
(f) A $1,600 fee for a property that is on the vacant structure registry for at least five consecutive years, plus an additional $300 for each year in excess of five years.
The proposed code may be viewed in its entirety in advance of the Public Hearing at Ronceverte City Hall. The Council will consider adoption of the proposed code following the hearing and second reading.
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