Landlord Security Commission
Warren Vincentz
Joseph Shiel
Nick Lonzisero
Jad Mihalinec
Armand Marini
ARTICLE III, Security Funds; Emergency Commission [Adopted 11-6-1974 by Ord. No. 992 as Ch. 61, Art. III of the 1967 Code]
§ 271-9. Commission established; membership; compensation; quorum.
There is hereby established the Ridgefield Multiple Dwelling Emergency Commission, hereinafter referred to as the "Commission." Its members shall be appointed by the Mayor with the advice and consent of the Council and shall serve without compensation at the pleasure of the Mayor and Council of the Borough of Ridgefield. The membership of the Commission shall consist of the Health Officer, the Building Inspector, two (2) members of the Board of Health of the Borough of Ridgefield and one (1) member of the Borough Council of the Borough of Ridgefield who shall be Chairman. Any conduct or action of the Commission authorized by this Article shall be deemed valid and effective when taken by any three (3) members of the Commission. At any meeting of the Commission, a quorum shall consist of a majority of the membership of the Commission.
§ 271-10. Duties of Commission.
The duties of the Commission shall consist of the following:
A. Receiving, administering and expending security funds deposited pursuant to the terms of this Article.
B. Examining those circumstances and conditions alleged to constitute emergency conditions and declaring, where applicable, an emergency condition to exist.
C. Arranging, in accordance with the terms of this Article, for the prompt repair, maintenance, supply or replacement of those items of structure, equipment or supplies which are necessary to correct, eliminate or alleviate the emergency condition.
§ 271-11. Security funds.
The owner of a multiple dwelling shall deposit with the Commission security funds to be used for the repair, maintenance, supply or replacement of those items of structure, equipment or supplies which are necessary to correct, eliminate or alleviate an emergency condition. The amount of the security funds to be deposited with the Commission shall be computed in the following manner:
A. Where the owner owns between four (4) and twenty-five (25) dwelling units, the owner shall deposit one hundred dollars ($100.) for each dwelling unit.
B. Where the owner owns between twenty-six (26) and forty (40) dwelling units, the owner shall deposit two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500.) for the first twenty-five (25) units and fifty dollars ($50.) for each additional dwelling unit owned.
C. Where the owner owns more than forty (40) dwelling units, the owner shall deposit two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500.) for the first twenty-five (25) units, fifty dollars ($50.) per unit for the next fifteen (15) units and thirty dollars ($30.) per unit for each additional dwelling unit.
D. In no event shall an owner be required to deposit more than five thousand dollars ($5,000.) in security funds pursuant to this Article. All funds required to be deposited under the terms of this Article shall be deposited with the Commission by delivering such funds to the office of the Board of Health of the Borough of Ridgefield within ten (10) days after receipt of notice from the Commission of the amount due. Notice of the amount due may be given by the Commission or its agent by personally delivering the same to the owner, or the owner's agent, servant, employee or joint venturer on the owner's premises, or by certified mail sent to the owner's last registered address. Upon receipt of such security funds, the Commission shall deposit the same in an interest-bearing account in the name of the Commission in trust for each particular owner. All interest payable on such accounts shall accrue to the particular owner on whose behalf the account is maintained by the Commission. [Amended 11-28-1983 by Ord. No. 1250; 2-27-1984 by Ord. No. 1254]
§ 271-12. Replenishing funds; time schedule.
A. In the event that the Commission spends money from any account, as authorized by this Article, thus reducing the amount in the account and leaving less than the sum required as computed in § 271-11 of this Article, the Commission shall immediately notify the owner, in the same manner as notification is given in § 271-11 of this Article, of the amount necessary to bring that account up to the originally required amount. The owner shall thereafter deposit said required sum necessary to bring the account up to the originally required amount with the Commission and within the following time schedule:
(1) Where the balance remaining in the owner's account is more than one thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500.), the deposit shall be made within thirty (30) days from the date the owner received notice.
(2) Where the balance remaining in the account is one thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500.) or less, the deposit shall be made within five (5) days from the date the owner received notice.
B. Where the Commission has spent money from an account, the owner of the premises may appeal to the Mayor and Council of the Borough of Ridgefield for a hearing concerning solely the following issues: did an emergency condition exist; and was the amount expended to remedy the emergency condition reasonable. If such appeal is desired, the owner shall, within ten (10) days of receiving notice of the amount spent, file with the Borough Clerk of the Borough of Ridgefield a letter requesting such appeal. The Mayor and Council of the Borough of Ridgefield shall hold a hearing regarding the aforementioned issues not less than ten (10) nor more than thirty (30) days after the Borough Clerk has received the request from the owner and they shall render their decision within fourteen (14) days after the hearing has been concluded. By mutual consent between the Mayor and Council and an aggrieved party, the time limitations herein stated may be extended.
§ 271-13. Withdrawal and expenditure of funds.
The Commission shall be authorized to expend the moneys from the account it maintains for an owner to correct, eliminate or alleviate an emergency condition only when:
A. It has examined those circumstances and conditions alleged to constitute an emergency condition and has declared an emergency condition to exist.
B. The remedying of such emergency condition is the owner's responsibility.
C. The owner or the owner's agent, servant, employee or joint venturer has received notice of the circumstances or conditions constituting the emergency condition from either the Commission or an affected tenant in person or by regular mail, telegram or telephone conversation.
D. No work has been commenced by the owner or the owner's agent, servant, employee or joint venturer to correct, eliminate or alleviate the emergency condition within twenty-four (24) hours after the owner or the owner's agent, servant, employee or joint venturer has received notice as described in Subsection C of this section of the circumstances and conditions constituting the emergency condition.
E. Where work was commenced within the twenty-four-hour period referred to in Subsection D of this section but such work has not been reasonably completed within seventy-two (72) hours after the work was commenced and such work, under the applicable circumstances and in the opinion of the Health Officer or the Building Inspector, could have been completed within seventy-two (72) hours. Any such withdrawal and expenditure of security funds by the Commission shall require the signatures of any two (2) members of the Commission.
§ 271-14. Definitions.
In applying and interpreting this Article, the following definitions shall be used:
DWELLING UNIT -- Any room or rooms, or suite or apartment thereof, whether furnished or unfurnished, which is occupied, or intended, arranged or designed to be occupied, for sleeping, dwelling or residence purposes by one (1) or more persons.
EMERGENCY CONDITION -- Any condition dangerous or injurious to the health or safety of the occupants of a building or occupants of neighboring buildings which arises out of any of the following circumstances or conditions:
A. Lack of adequate ventilation or light.
B. Lack of adequate and properly functioning sanitary facilities.
C. Lack of adequate and healthful water supply.
D. Structural, mechanical or electrical defects which increase the hazards of fire, accident or other calamity.
E. From October 1 of each year until the next succeeding May 1, failure to maintain every unit of dwelling space and every habitable room therein at a temperature of at least sixty-eight degrees Fahrenheit (68° F.) whenever the outside temperature falls below fifty-five degrees Fahrenheit (55° F.) during the daytime hours of 6:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. or failure to maintain every unit of dwelling space and every habitable room therein at a temperature of at least fifty-five degrees Fahrenheit (55° F.) whenever the outside temperature falls below forty degrees Fahrenheit (40° F.) during the nighttime hours of 11:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. In meeting the aforesaid standards, the owner shall not be responsible for heat loss and the consequent drop in the interior temperature arising out of action by the occupants in leaving windows or doors open to the exterior of the building.
MULTIPLE DWELLING -- Any building or structure of one (1) or more stories and any land appurtenant thereto and any portion thereof in which four (4) or more dwelling units are occupied or are intended to be occupied by four (4) or more persons who live independently of each other. Premises which are used primarily for purposes other than sleeping, dwelling or residence purposes shall not be considered a "multiple dwelling."
§ 271-15. Violations and penalties. [Amended 3-25-1985 by Ord. No. 1281]
A. If this Article of the Borough of Ridgefield provides for the licensing or permitting of the violator, the Mayor and Council of the Borough of Ridgefield reserve the right to revoke such permit or license.
B. Any person found guilty of violating this Article of the Code of the Borough of Ridgefield shall be subject to a penalty consisting of a fine or imprisonment, or both, subject to the discretion of the Judge, the maximum of which shall be the maximum fine or term of imprisonment permitted to be imposed by the court having jurisdiction over the violation of this Article of the Code of the Borough of Ridgefield.
C. In the event of a continuing violation, each day shall constitute a separate offense.