An Act To Protect the Public from Dangerous Buildings

Sec. 1. 17 MRSA §2851,  as amended by PL 1997, c. 6, §1, is further amended to read:

§ 2851. Dangerous buildings

Whenever the The municipal officers in the case of a municipality , or the county commissioners in the case of the unorganized or deorganized areas in their county , find that a building or structure or any portion thereof or any wharf, pier, pilings or any portion thereof that is or was located on or extending from land within the boundaries of the municipality or the unorganized or deorganized area, as measured from low water mark, is structurally unsafe; unstable; unsanitary; constitutes a fire hazard; is unsuitable or improper for the use or occupancy to which it is put; constitutes a hazard to health or safety because of inadequate maintenance, dilapidation, obsolescence or abandonment; or is otherwise dangerous to life or property, they may after notice pursuant to section 2857 and hearing on this matter adjudge the same a building to be a nuisance or dangerous , in accordance with subsection 2-A, and may make and record an order , in accordance with subsection 3, prescribing what disposal must be made of that building or structure. The order may allow for delay of disposal if the owner or party in interest has demonstrated the ability and willingness to satisfactorily rehabilitate the building. If an appeal pursuant to section 2852 is not filed or, if an appeal pursuant to section 2852 is filed and the Superior Court does not order, stay or overturn the order to dispose of the building, the municipal officers or the county commissioners shall cause the nuisance to be abated or removed in compliance with the order.

For the purposes of this subchapter, "building" means a building or structure or any portion of a building or structure or any wharf, pier, pilings or any portion of a wharf, pier or pilings thereof that is or was located on or extending from land within the boundaries of the municipality or the unorganized or deorganized area, as measured from low water mark, and "parties in interest" has the same meaning as in Title 14, section 6321.

Sec. 2. 17 MRSA §2852,  as amended by PL 1997, c. 6, §2, is further amended to read:

§ 2852. Appeal; hearing

An appeal from a decision of the municipal officers or county commissioners under section 2851 must be to the Superior Court, pursuant to the provisions of the Maine Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 80B.

Sec. 3. 17 MRSA §2853,  as amended by PL 1979, c. 27, §5, is further amended to read:

§ 2853. Recovery of expenses

If no appeal is filed, the municipal officers of such municipality shall cause said nuisance to be abated or removed in compliance with their order, and all All expenses thereof shall incurred by a municipality or county related to an order issued under section 2851, including, but not limited to, expenses relating to the abatement or removal of a building, must be repaid to the municipality or county by the owner or co-owner party in interest within 30 days after demand , or a special tax may be assessed by the assessors against the land on which said the building was located for the amount of such the expenses and such that amount shall must be included in the next annual warrant to the tax collector of said town the municipality or county for collection , and shall must be collected in the same manner as other state, county and municipal taxes are collected.

In the case of any claim for expenses incurred in the abatement or removal of any wharf, pier, pilings or any portion thereof which that extends beyond the low water mark, the special tax authorized by this section shall must apply to the land from which such the wharf, pier or pilings extended or to which they were adjacent, provided if the owner of the land is also the owner of the said wharf, pier, pilings or portion thereof.

Expenses shall include, but not by way of limitation are not limited to, the costs of title searches, location reports, service or process, reasonable attorney's fees, costs of removal of the structure building, any costs incurred in securing the structure, building pending its removal , and all other costs incurred by the municipality which or county that are reasonably related to the removal of the structure building. In addition to levying a special tax, the municipality or county may recover its expenses, including its reasonable attorney's fees, by means of a civil action brought against the owner.

Sec. 4. 17 MRSA §2856,  as enacted by PL 1979, c. 27, §6, is amended to read:

§ 2856. Securing dangerous buildings

In addition to other proceedings authorized by this subchapter, a municipality shall have has the right to secure structures which buildings that pose a serious threat to the public health and safety and to recover its expenses in so doing as provided in this subchapter section 2853. If a building is secured under this section, notice , in accordance with section 2851, subsection 1, shall 2857 must be given. This notice need not be given before securing the structure building if the threat to the public health and safety requires prompt action.

Sec. 5. 17 MRSA §2857,  as enacted by PL 1979, c. 27, §6, is amended to read:

§ 2857. Notice; recording

Notice required under section 2851 or section 2856 must be served on the owner and parties in interest in the same way service of process is made in accordance with the Maine Rules of Civil Procedure. When the name or address of an owner or party in interest is unknown or is not ascertainable with reasonable diligence, the notice must be published once a week for 3 successive weeks prior to the date of hearing in a newspaper generally circulated in the county, or if none, in the state paper.

The municipal or county clerk shall cause an attested copy of the notice to be recorded in the Registry of Deeds located within the county where the structure building is situated. Recording of this notice shall be deemed to put puts any person claiming under the owner of a structure building subject to proceedings under this subchapter on notice of the pendency of the proceedings.

Sec. 6. 17 MRSA §2858,  as enacted by PL 1979, c. 27, §6, is amended to read:

§ 2858. Consent to removal

The owner and parties-in-interest or a party in interest of a dangerous structure building may consent to its removal and to the recovery of the expenses incurred by a municipality or county by means of a special tax as set forth in this subchapter. Notices of the consent shall must be recorded in the Registry of Deeds located in the county where the structure building is situated.

Sec. 7. 17 MRSA §2859, sub-§1,  as corrected by RR 2007, c. 2, §5, is amended to read:

Sec. 8. 17 MRSA §2859, sub-§2, ¶A,  as enacted by PL 1981, c. 43, is amended to read:

Sec. 9. 17 MRSA §2859, sub-§§4 and 5,  as enacted by PL 1981, c. 43, are amended to read:

Sec. 10. 17 MRSA §2859, sub-§7,  as amended by PL 1995, c. 450, §6, is further amended to read:

summary

This bill amends the law governing dangerous buildings to provide an option under which the municipal officers or county commissioners may delay the disposal of a dangerous building if the owner or party in interest has demonstrated ability and willingness to satisfactorily rehabilitate the building. The bill clarifies the language in current law regarding recovery of expenses related to an order prescribing disposal of a dangerous building. The bill also makes several changes to clarify terminology and cross-references.