Sloven v. Olson

98 N.W.2d 115, 1959 N.D. LEXIS 99
CourtNorth Dakota Supreme Court
DecidedAugust 15, 1959
Docket7804
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 98 N.W.2d 115 (Sloven v. Olson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering North Dakota Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Sloven v. Olson, 98 N.W.2d 115, 1959 N.D. LEXIS 99 (N.D. 1959).

Opinion

TEIGEN, Judge.

This is an appeal from a judgment of the District Court affirming upon appeal a decision and order of the Board of City Commissioners of the City of Mandan ordering the appellant and the owner of a building to demolish such building.

On October 8, 1956, the City of Mandan enacted Ordinance No. 286 providing for the vacation, removal, repair or demolition of any building or structure which is or threatens to be a public nuisance, dangerous to the health, morals, safety or general welfare of the people of the City of Man-dan or which might tend to constitute a fire menace and providing for written notice of hearing, hearing and appeal from any final order and for the assessment and collection of the cost of vacation, removal, repair or demolition and providing penalties for the violation thereof.

Section 1 of said Ordinance defines a dangerous building and sets out in detail twelve different defects, which if found to exist, would classify a building, a dangerous building, within the meaning of the ordinance.

Section 2 of the Ordinance provides the standards for ordering repair, vacation or demolition and provides that the standards set forth therein “shall be followed in substance by the building inspector and the Board of City Commissioners;”

Subsection (a) of Section 2 provides that if a dangerous building can resonably be repaired so that it will no longer exist in violation of the terms of the ordinance it shall be ordered repaired.

Subsection (b) provides if a dangerous building is in condition to make it dangerous to the health, morals, safety or general welfare of its occupants, it shall be ordered to be vacated.

Subsection (c) provides when a dangerous building shall be demolished or removed from the City and sets forth four standards. They are as follows:

1. In any case where a dangerous building is 50 percent damaged or decayed or deteriorated from its original value or structure.

2. In any case where the cost of reconstruction or restoration of such dangerous *117 building will be in excess of 50 percent of the value of the building.

3. In all cases where a building cannot be repaired so that it will no longer exist in violation of the terms of the ordinance, and

4. In all cases where it is a fire hazard existing or erected in violation of the terms of Ordinance No. 286 or any ordinance of the city or statute of the State of North Dakota.

Section 3 of said ordinance provides: “All ‘dangerous buildings’ within the terms of Section 1 of this ordinance are hereby declared to be public nuisances, and shall be repaired, vacated, removed or demolished as hereinbefore and hereinafter provided.”

Section 4 of said ordinance provides the duties of the building inspector. It is the duty of the building inspector, among other things, to inspect, annually, all buildings which have been abandoned, allowed to deteriorate or which have been improperly maintained, to determine whether they are dangerous buildings within the terms of Section 1 of the Ordinance. To notify in writing the owner and other interested parties of any building found by him to be a dangerous building within the standards set forth by said Section 1. Such notice shall also state that the owner must vacate, or repair, or remove, or demolish said building in accordance with the terms of the notice and the ordinance. The notice shall further provide that the person so notified shall be given a reasonable time, not exceeding thirty days, to accomplish the work actually required by the notice. The building inspector is to report to the Board of City Commissioners any non-compliance with the notice.

Section 5 of the said ordinance provides for the duties of the Board of City Commissioners upon receipt of a report of the building inspector as provided for in Section 4 of a non-compliance with the building inspector’s notice. Upon receipt of such report the City Commission shall give written notice to the owner and the other parties in interest as defined by the ordinance to appear before it on a day specified in the notice to show cause why the building or structure reported to be a dangerous building should not be repaired, vacated, removed or demolished in accordance with the statement of particulars set forth in the building inspector’s notice.

The Board of City Commissioners shall then hold the hearing and receive such testimony as the building inspector, the owner or the other parties in interest shall offer relative to the building, make written findings of fact from the testimony offered as to whether or not the building in question is a dangerous building within the terms of Section 1 and to issue an order based upon the findings of fact, commanding the owner or the other parties in interest to repair, vacate, remove or demolish any building found to be a dangerous building within the terms of the ordinance and to serve such order upon the owner and the other parties named. If the owner or the other parties in interest as named fail to comply with the order made by the City Commission or appeal to the District Court from such order within thirty days from the service of such order the City Commission shall cause such building or structure to be repaired, vacated, removed or demolished as the facts may warrant under the standards set forth in Section 2 of the ordinance, and provide for the levying of the costs therefor against the land as an assessment to be collected as sidewalk special assessments are levied and collected or to be recovered in a suit at law.

Section 6 of said ordinance provides for penalty for disregarding the notice or the order.

Section 13 of said ordinance provides:
“An appeal to the District Court from any order of the Board of City Commissioners made pursuant to the provisions of this ordinance may be taken, within thirty days after service of such order upon him, by any person aggrieved by said order.”

*118 The Ordinance was adopted pursuant to the authority provided in Subsection 24 of Section 40-0502 of the 1957 Supp. to the NDRC 1943 (Chapter 252 of the Session Laws of North Dakota for the year 1945) as follows:

“The governing body of any city shall have the authority to provide by ordinance for the demolition, repair or removal of any building or structure located within the limits of such city or other territory under its jurisdiction, which creates a fire hazard, is dangerous to the safety of the occupants or persons frequenting such premises, or is permitted by the owner to remain in a dilapidated condition. Any such ordinance shall provide for written notice to the owner of a hearing by the governing body before final action is taken by such body. It shall also provide a reasonable time within which an appeal may be taken by the owner from any final order entered by such governing body to a court of competent jurisdiction. * * * This act (Subsection) shall in no way limit or restrict any authority which is now or may hereafter be vested in the state fire marshal for the regulation or control of such buildings or structures.”

On Nov. 14, 1956, the building inspector of the City of Mandan served upon the appellant the following notice:

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
98 N.W.2d 115, 1959 N.D. LEXIS 99, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/sloven-v-olson-nd-1959.