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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTC Ord 1994-12-05 ORDINANCE NO. 410 N.S. , AN ORDINANCE OF THE TOWN COUNCIL OF THE TOWN OF TIBURON REPEALING CHAPTER 13A OF THE TIBURON MUNICIPAL CODE AND ADDING A NEW CHAPTER 13A REQUIRING RESIDENTIAL BUILDING REPORTS ON THE RESALE OF BUILDINGS The Town Council of the Town of Tiburon does ordain as follows: SECTION 1. EXISTING CHAPTER 13A REPEALED The existing Chapter 13A of the Tiburon Municipal Code (Reports of Residential Building Reports) is hereby repealed in its entirety. SECfION 2. NEW CHAPTER 13A ADDED A new Chapter 13A entitled "Reports of Residential Building Records" is hereby added to the Tiburon Municipal Code to read as follows: Section 13A-1 Intent of Chanter r L The Town of Tiburon desires to maintain and upgrade the safety of housing within the Town to ensure the health and safety of its residents. The Town Council has previously adopted the Uniform Building and Housing Codes which provide standards for safe dwelling units. The Town Council finds that inspection of dwelling units upon resale and mandatory correction of hazardous conditions is a reasonable and effective method of ensuring that dwelling units within the Town meet minimum safety standards contained in the Uniform Codes and do not endanger the life, limb, health, property, safety or welfare of the public. The mandatory items of correction listed in the report required by this chapter shall be the responsibility of the owner, purchaser or both and will be subject to abatement if not corrected. In addition to the health and safety concerns addressed by this chapter, the residential building report shall disclose the authorized use, occupancy and zoning of real property. By doing so, unwary buyers of residential property will be protected against undisclosed restrictions on the property. I , drafted 10/27/94 1 -"..--- Section 13A-2 Definitions ~ For purposes of this chapter, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings set forth in this section: Building Official. The Town's Building Official or desiguated building inspector. Deficiency(ies). Any aspect of the dwelling unit which does not meet minimum safety standards as established by the Town's Housing and Building Codes. Deficiencies may be categorized as advisory (meaning correction is recommended but not required by the Town) or mandatory (meaning correction shall be required by the Town). Deficiencies listed as mandatory shall be reviewed to balance the threat to health and safety with the cost and effectiveness of the upgrade. Dwelling Unit. Any unit used for residential purposes, including the interior living space, garage, decks or other structures and improvements. Owner. Any person, partnership, association, corporation or fiduciary having legal or equitable title or any interest in any dwelling unit. l Purchaser. Any person, partnership, association, corporation or fiduciary acquiring legal or equitable title or any interest in any dwelling unit. Report. The Residential Building Report. Sale or exchange. The transfer of title, change in ownership, sale, exchange, rent or lease with option to sell or purchase, excluding acquisition by eminent domain, acquisition by threat of eminent domain, acquisition by gift or inheritance, establishment of a trust or any transfer exempted from disclosure requirements by California Civil Code Section 1102.1. Any sale or exchange concluded prior to the effective date of this article is not subject to the requirements of this chapter. Transfer of ownership. The date on which legal title to the dwelling unit changes hands. This date will usually be the date on which the new owners title is recorded with the office of the Marin County Recorder. Section 13A-3 Renort ReQuired Prior to the sale or exchange of any dwelling unit, the owner shall obtain from the Town a report of the residential building record showing the regularly authorized use, occupancy and zoning classification of the property and an itemization of , deficiencies in the dwelling unit. drafted 10/27/94 2 ..~._,- . - --.-.- Section 13A-4 Annlication: Fee , When a dwelling unit is placed on the market as being for sale, the owner shall file with the building official a written application for a Report on a form to be prescribed by the building official, accompanied by the fee therefor. The filing fee for the report shall be established by resolution of the Town Council. Section 13A-5 Insnection (a) Upon application and payment of the appropriate fee, the building official shall inspect the dwelling unit for compliance with the Town's housing and building codes, the zoning ordinance and all other ordinances of the Town relating to health and safety standards for dwelling units. The scope of the inspection shall be limited to those items listed below in Section 13A-6. (b) The inspection and subsequent report shall be completed within ten (10) working days of the date of filing the application for the report. Section 13A-6 Issuance of Report Upon completion of the inspection and review of all relevant information, the building official shall issue a report which shall include the following: l (a) The date of issue of the report; (b) The address of the dwelling unit; (c) The date the inspection was completed; (d) The applicable zoning for the property and a summary of the uses permitted in that zone; (e) A list of variances, use permits, design review, building permits, previous reports prepared pursuant to this chapter or other approvals or permits granted for the property; (I) An itemization of all deficiencies noted in the dwelling unit. Those deficiencies which do endanger the health, safety or welfare of the occupants of the unit or the public shall be listed as mandatory and shall be corrected pursuant to Section 13A-8 of this chapter. Those deficiencies which do not endanger the health, safety or welfare of the occupants of the unit or the public shall be listed as advisory only and correction shall not be required by the Town; (g) Any construction or work done without appropriate permits may be subject to correction, fees, penalties or abatement under the Uniform Building Code; [ drafted 10/27/94 3 -~.._~ (h) The following statement: , NOTICE TO PROSPECTIVE PURCHASER: You are hereby advised that the dwelling unit described in this report has been inspected by the Town of Tiburon and may have been found to have certain health and safety deficiencies which are itemized herein. The itemized deficiencies listed as mandatory are those which present a serious health or safety concern and must be corrected or remedied. In the event mandated deficiencies as noted are not corrected by the seller, you, as the purchaser, will be required to correct within thirty (30) days of the date of transfer of ownership, or such other period of time as may be agreed to by the Building Official. As part of the fee paid for this report, the Town will perform one reinspection at no charge. Those deficiencies listed as advisory do not present serious health or safety concerns and correction is recommended but not mandatory. The scope of the investigation was limited and deficiencies not noted by the Town may exist. Section 13A- 7 Disclosure of Reoort Prior to the sale or exchange of a dwelling unit, the owner shall provide the prospective purchaser with a copy of the Report. The purchaser shall acknowledge receipt of the Report on the original or a true copy thereof. A copy of the Report shall be signed by the purchaser and filed with the building official no later than r five (5) working days after transfer of ownership. L Section 13A-8 Correction of Deficiencies Bv Owner or Purchaser (a) Ail deficiencies identified as mandatory in the Report shall be corrected. Work requiring a building permit shall be noted in the Report. As part of the fee for the Report, the Building Official shall perform one reinspection of corrections at no additional charge. (b) Mandatory corrective work identified in the Report not completed prior to sale or exchange of the property shall be the responsibility of the purchaser. Such mandatory corrections shall be completed within thirty (30) days of the transfer of ownership of the dwelling unit or such longer period of time as may be agreed to by the Building Official. The Building Official may grant extensions to the original time granted in appropriate circumstances. Section 13A-9 Validity of Reoort The Report shall remain valid for a period of twelve (12) months from the date of issuance provided no modifications requiring a permit have been made to the dwelling unit since issuance of the report. f drafted 10/27/94 4 . ~ ~-' .-.....-- ._.--. m__~." Section 13A-10 ExemDtion from Ordinance , The provisions of this chapter shall not apply to the first sale of a newly constructed dwelling unit. Section 13A.ll AnDeals Ail decisions made by the Building Official pursuant to this Chapter may be appealed to the Town Council. Ail appeals must be filed with the Town Clerk within ten (10) days after the transfer of ownership or within ten (10) working days after any decision made by the Building Official pursuant to Section 13A-8(b). Any person filing an appeal shall pay the fee for appeals set by resolution of the Town Council. Section 13A-12 Penalties and Enforcement (a) Any person who violates any provision of this chapter shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine not exceeding the maximum prescribed by state law. (b) As an additional remedy, deficiencies which remain uncorrected in violation of this chapter shall be subject to abatement under all applicable r ordinances and codes of the Town of Tiburon. l (c) No sale or exchange of a dwelling unit shall be invalidated solely because of the failure of any person to comply with any provision of this chapter unless such failure is an act or omission which would be a valid ground for rescission of such sale or exchange in the absence of this chapter. Section 13A-13 Nonliability of Town Neither the enactment of this chapter nor the preparation and delivery of any report required hereunder shall impose any liability upon the Town for any errors or omissions contained in such report, nor shall the Town bear any liability not otherwise imposed by law. SECTION 2. SEVERABILllY. If any section, subsection, clause, sentence, or phrase of this Ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by a decision of a Court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of the Ordinance. The Town Council of the Town of Tiburon hereby declares that it would have passed this Ordinance, any section, subsection, sentence, { drafted 10/27/94 5 _ ~_M'_'"_'__'_____" clause or phrase thereof, irrespective of the fact that anyone or more sections, , subsections, sentences, clauses, or phrases may be declared invalid or unconstitutional. SECfION 3. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Ordinance shall take effect and be in force thirty (30) days after the date of passage. Before the expiration of fifteen (15) days after passage, a copy of the ordinance shall be published with the names of the members voting for and against it at least once in a newspaper of general circulation published in the Town of Tiburon. This ordinance was introduced at a regular meeting of the Town Council of the Town of Tiburon on November 16, 1994, and was adopted at a regular meeting of the Town Council of the Town of Tiburon on December 5, 1994 by the following vote: AYES: COUNCILMEMBERS: Nygren, Thompson, Wolf, Thayer, Ginalski NOES: COUNCILMEMBERS: None r l ABSENT: COUNCILMEMBERS: None .//4 ,,// h/c: - KAREN NYGUi YOR ATTEST: ~mu'flf~ TERESE M. HENNESSY, WN CLERK I drafted 10/27/94 6 --.-....-...-- _.,,_._a..__'. .. -,._- . ......-,.....-.....-..-.--.-.---.-- __..._. __._.,__.'___"H