§ 18-72. Definitions.

The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this article, shall have the meaning ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:

Accessory structure means a structure detached from the principal building located on the same lot and customarily incidental and subordinate in area, extent, and purpose to the principal building or use. "Accessory structure" includes, but is not limited to, any portable, demountable or permanent enclosure, shade structure and carport or garage.

Alter or alteration means any change or modification in construction.

Approved means approved by the city.

Basement see the latest edition of the International Property Maintenance Code.

Bathroom means a room containing plumbing fixtures, including a toilet, bathtub, or shower.

Bedroom means any room or space used or intended to be used for sleeping purposes.

Boarding house see the latest edition of the International Property Maintenance Code.

Building means any structure having a roof supported by columns or walls and intended for the shelter, housing, or enclosure of any individual, animal, process, equipment, goods, or materials of any kind.

Cellar means that portion of a building having more than one-half of its clear floor-to-ceiling height below the average grade of the adjoining ground.

Chief of police means the Chief of the Chamblee Police Department or designee.

City means Chamblee, Georgia.

Dangerous structure means any of the following:

(1)

An abandoned or vacant structure that constitutes a hazard to the health or safety of persons who may come on or near the property on which the structure is located and which is not fenced in or otherwise protected to reasonably prohibit public access thereto.

(2)

A structure that is severely damaged by fire, storm or other natural or manmade causes and which has remained in such damaged condition for a period of six months or more and which constitutes a hazard to the health or safety of persons who may come on or near the property on which it is located.

(3)

A structure that is in a condition of being partially constructed and construction thereon has ceased for a period of 12 months or more and which constitutes a hazard to the health or safety of persons who may come on or near the property on which it is located.

(4)

Any combination of the foregoing that would constitute a hazard to the safety and welfare of any person living on property located adjacent thereto.

Department means the police department or such other department as may hereafter be designated to enforce the provisions of this article.

Director means the director of development or designee.

Domestic sewage disposal system means a sewage disposal system designated or intended to dispose of domestic sewage that includes byproducts of domestic activities.

Dwelling means any structure which is wholly or partly used or intended to be used for living or sleeping by human occupants, whether or not such structure is occupied or vacant.

Dwelling unit see the latest edition of the International Property Maintenance Code.

Egress means a way to exit from a structure or dwelling unit.

Exterior property means open space on the premises and on any adjoining property under the control of owners or operators of such premises.

Extermination means the control or eradication of insects, rodents, or other pests by eliminating their harborage places; by removing or making inaccessible materials that may serve as their food; by poisoning, spraying, fumigating, trapping, or by any other recognized and legal pest elimination methods.

Family see the latest edition of the City of Chamblee Unified Development Ordinance.

Floor area means the gross heated horizontal areas of the floors of a building, exclusive of open porches and garages, measured from the interior face of the exterior walls of the building.

Garbage means putrescible animal and vegetable wastes resulting from the preparation, cooking and serving of food and the storage of produce, tin cans, glass containers and newspapers.

Habitable room means a space in a building for living, sleeping, eating or cooking. Bathrooms, toilet rooms, closets, halls, storage or utility spaces and similar areas are not considered habitable spaces.

Heated water means water that has been heated sufficiently to ensure a temperature of not less than 120 degrees Fahrenheit at the outlets.

Infestation means the presence of insects, rodents, vermin or other pests within or contiguous to a structure or premises.

Inoperable vehicle means:

(1)

A vehicle which is incapable of operation or use upon a highway;

(2)

A vehicle that has no resale value except as a source of parts or scrap; or

(3)

Any wrecked or non-operable automobile, truck or other vehicle.

Inspection warrant means a warrant authorizing a search or inspection of private property where such search or inspection is necessary for the enforcement of any of the provisions of this article.

Lavatory means a washbowl or basin permanently installed with running hot and cold water.

Maintenance means the act of keeping buildings, structures and equipment in a proper condition so as to prevent their decline or failure.

Major overhaul means the repair, alteration or restoration of a motor vehicle which involves the removal of the paint or major parts of or the disassembly of major parts of a motor vehicle, including, without limitation, the following major parts: engine, body, interior seats, interior equipment necessary for the operation of the vehicle, and/or drive train.

Multiple dwelling means any dwelling which is designed, built, rented, leased, let or hired out to be occupied, or which is occupied as the home or residence of more than two families living independently of each other, each doing its own cooking in such dwelling. "Multiple dwelling" includes a flat or apartment.

Occupant means any person, over one year of age, living, sleeping, cooking, eating or having actual possession of a dwelling unit.

Operator means any person who has charge, care or control of a building, or part thereof, in which dwelling units are let.

Owner means any person, firm, corporation or entity who, alone or jointly or severally with others:

(1)

Has legal title to any dwelling or dwelling unit, with or without accompanying actual possession thereof; or

(2)

Has charge, care or control of any dwelling or dwelling unit, as owner or agent of the owner, prime tenant, or as executor, executrix, administrator, administratrix, trustee or guardian of the estate of the owner.

Any such person thus representing the actual owner shall be bound to comply with the provisions of this article to the same extent as the owner.

Party-in-interest or interest holder means an individual, association, entity or corporation, executor, administrator, guardian, or trustee, that has a legal interest in or possession of a dwelling, building, or structure.

Plumbing means the practice, materials and fixtures used in the installation, repair, extension and alteration of all piping fixtures, appliances and appurtenances in connection with any of the following: sanitary drainage or storm drainage facilities, the venting systems and the public or private water supply systems within or adjacent to any building, structure or conveyance; also the practice and materials used in the installation, repair, extension or alteration of stormwater, liquid waste or sewerage and water supply systems of any premises to their connection with a point of public disposal or other approved terminal.

Premises means a lot, plot or parcel of land including dwellings, buildings, or structures thereon.

Proper or properly means in accordance with the general provisions of this article and in accordance with standards of cleanliness, stability and safety as required by this article.

Property means land and whatever is erected or growing upon or affixed thereto.

Property maintenance code official (code official), as it is used in the 2012 International Property Maintenance Code shall have the same meaning as "director".

Public authority means any member of the city council, the city manager, the public works director, or the chief of police or his or her designee.

Reckless means the conscious disregard of a substantial and unjustifiable risk that an act or omission will cause harm or endanger the safety of another person and the disregard constitutes a gross deviation from the standard of care which a reasonable person would exercise in the situation.

Repair means the replacement of existing work with approved material of a similar kind to that used in the existing work, not including additional work that would change the structural safety of the building or that would affect or change required exit facilities, a vital element of an elevator, plumbing, gas piping, wiring or heating installations, or that would be in violation of this article.

Rooming house see the latest edition of the International Property Maintenance Code.

Rubbish means combustible and noncombustible waste materials, except garbage, and the term shall include the residue from the burning of wood, coal, and other combustible materials, paper, rags, cartons, boxes, wood, excelsior, rubber, leather, tree branches or trunks, yard trimmings, tin cans, metals, mineral matter, glass, crockery and dust or other similar materials.

Safety means the condition of being free from danger and hazards that may cause accidents or disease.

Sanitary sewage disposal system means a sewage disposal system designed and intended to dispose of sanitary and domestic wastes including all liquid and solid wastes from the flush toilet, lavatory, bathtub or shower and clothes washing machine.

Stairway means one or more flights of stairs and the necessary landings and platforms connecting them, to form a continuous and uninterrupted passage from one story to another in a building or structure.

Structure means that which is built or constructed, an edifice or building of any kind or any piece of work artificially built up or composed of parts joined together in some definite manner.

Toilet means a bowl flushed with water under pressure with a water-sealed trap above the floor level, used primarily for human elimination.

Townhouse means one of a row of houses connected by common sidewalls.

Trash means putrescible solid wastes, consisting of combustible and noncombustible materials such as, but not limited to, paper, cardboard, yard clippings, wood, glass, crockery and similar materials.

Unfit for human habitation means designation of dwellings or dwelling units as so damaged, decayed, dilapidated, unsanitary, unsafe, or vermin-infested that such create a serious hazard to the health or safety or which lack illumination, ventilation, or sanitation facilities adequate to protect the health or safety of the occupants or the public.

Unit means any room or group of rooms forming a single habitable unit used or intended to be used for living and sleeping, but not necessarily for cooking or eating purposes.

Unsanitary condition means the presence of a condition that is conducive to the spreading of disease or illness, or is conducive to harboring insects, rodents or other pests.

Ventilation means the process of supplying and removing air by natural or mechanical means to or from any space.

Water and sewer system includes private wells, public water utility mains, private septic tanks, sewage disposal systems and public sewer mains.

Water closet means a room containing a toilet or urinal but not a bathtub or shower.

Weeds means vegetative growth including but not limited to, kudzu, poison ivy, jimsonweed, burdock, ragweed, thistle, cocklebur, dandelion, plants of obnoxious odors, or other similar unsightly vegetative growths. This term shall not include cultivated flowers, fruits and vegetables and gardens.

Workmanlike condition of maintenance and repair means that such maintenance and repair shall be made in a reasonably skillful manner and in accordance with the requirements of all applicable manufacturer's specifications, ordinances and law.

(Ord. No. 743 , 12-19-17)