§11-40-51. Authority of city to prescribe standards for continued use and occupancy of buildings.

(a) In addition to any other authority granted to the city, any Class 2 municipality shall have authority to enact and may, by ordinance, prescribe standards for the rehabilitation, repair, and maintenance of all structures, party walls, foundations, buildings, parts of buildings, and vacant parcels, situated in the city and shall have the authority to require the vacation, relocation of occupants, securing, or repair of any building that is:

(1) Dilapidated, substandard, or unfit for human habitation.

(2) A hazard to the public health, safety, and welfare.

(b) The ordinance shall:

(1) Establish minimum standards for the continued use and occupancy of all buildings regardless of the date of their construction.

(2) Provide for giving proper notice to the owner of a building.

(3) Provide for a hearing, as provided in this article, to determine whether a building complies with the standards set out in the ordinance, and to review the action of the appropriate city official. The city may provide for the hearing to be held before the governing body of the city, or, if the city has created an architectural review board, the hearing may be held before the architectural review board.

(c) Whenever the appropriate city official shall find that any building, structure, part of building or structure, party wall or foundation situated in the city is in violation of the minimum standards, the official shall give notice to all persons or entities provided for in Section 2 of Act No. 140, H. 108, First Special Session 1971 (Acts 1971, p. 219), setting forth in detail the basis for the finding of non-conformity, and shall direct the owner:

(1) To accomplish the specified repairs or improvements within no less than 45 days of the date of the notice.

(2) To prepare and submit a work plan and work schedule within no less than 45 days of the date of the notice for the correction of the deficiencies specified in the notice.

(d) If the owner is directed to submit a work plan and work schedule to the appropriate city official, the owner's plan shall be reviewed within 30 days, and thereafter the official shall, by written decision:

(1) Approve the plan, with or without conditions or modifications, and issue a certificate of approval, or approval as modified, to the owner.

(2) Disapprove the plan, giving detailed reasons therefor, and direct the owner to resubmit an acceptable plan within 15 days of the date of the notice of disapproval. If, after review of the resubmitted plan, the appropriate official determines it fails to conform to the standards, the official may continue to negotiate with the owner, or issue a work plan and schedule, and certify the substituted plan to the owner.

(e) In considering any repairs ordered on the work plan and work schedule submitted pursuant to this subsection, the official shall consider and determine the merits of the owner's assertions, if any, of unreasonable economic hardship as justifying modification, revision, or non-compliance with the applicable agency action.

(f) For the purposes of this article, the term "unreasonable economic hardship" means that failure to relieve an owner of the burden of the official's directive or portion thereof would amount to a taking of the owner's property without just compensation, or, in the case of an owner whose income is less than or equal to 125 percent of the official poverty level threshold as defined from time to time by the United States Office of Management and Budget, the failure would place an onerous and excessive financial burden upon the owner.

(Acts 1992, No. 92-471, p. 939, §2.)