§ 8-30. Substandard structures.

(a)

A structure does not meet the minimum standards of the city if it is in violation of any applicable law, or

(1)

Is dilapidated, substandard, or unfit for human habitation and a hazard to the public health, safety, and welfare;

(2)

Is unoccupied by its owners, lessees, or other invitees and unsecured from unauthorized entry to the extent that it could be entered or used by vagrants or other uninvited persons as a place of harborage or could be entered or used by children;

(3)

Is boarded up, fenced, or secured, but

a.

Constitutes a danger to the public even though secured from entry; or

b.

The means used to secure the building are inadequate to prevent unauthorized entry or use of the building by vagrants, children, or other uninvited persons;

(4)

There exist conditions caused by accumulations or refuse, vegetation, or other matter that create breeding and living places for insects and rodents; or

(5)

The condition, use, or appearance of property is in violation of The Code of Civil and Criminal Ordinances of the City of Irving, Texas, or the Zoning Ordinance.

(b)

A structure is unsafe and dangerous if its structural condition presents a substantial hazard to its occupants, adjoining property, or other persons by not providing minimum safeguards to protect or warn occupants in the event of fire, or because the structure contains unsafe equipment or is so damaged decayed, dilapidated, structurally unsafe, or of such faulty construction or unstable foundation, that partial or complete collapse is possible or that has any of the following structural deficiencies:

(1)

Walls or other vertical structural members which list, lean, or buckle in excess of one-quarter-inch horizontal measurement for each one-foot of vertical measurement;

(2)

A supporting member, exclusive of the foundation, which shows thirty-three (33) percent or more damage or deterioration;

(3)

A nonsupporting enclosing outside wall or covering with fifty (50) percent damage or deterioration;

(4)

Parts that may fall and injure a person or property;

(5)

A floor or roof that has insufficient strength to be reasonably safe for the purpose for which it is used and to support the weight of emergency personnel and equipment as determined by the fire chief;

(6)

A foundation that has holes, cracks, buckling, crumbling, or defects that may cause said foundation to be unable to provide adequate support;

(7)

A floor, exterior wall, or roof that has holes, cracks, or loose, rotten, warped, or protruding boards that may injure a person;

(8)

An interior wall or ceiling that has holes, cracks, loose plaster, defective materials, or structural deterioration that may defeat the purpose of the wall or ceiling or that may fail to protect the occupants of the structure from danger of collapse or fire;

(9)

Damage by fire, explosion, wind, vandalism, or elements of nature so that there may be a danger to life, safety, or to the general health and welfare of a person;

(10)

Absence of an essential utility for forty-eight (48) hours or more;

(11)

Inaccessibility of any part of the structure to fire, police, EMS, or other emergency vehicles; or

(12)

Sewage flowing into the right-of way.

(c)

The fire chief, police chief, or building official shall be authorized to order the immediate evacuation of any structure which in his or her opinion is unsafe due to hazardous conditions that present imminent danger to the structure's occupants.

(Ord. No. 2008-9000, § 2, 10-2-08)