15.06.030 Inspector – Responsibilities and procedures.
The chief building inspector or the Cle Elum fire chief, hereinafter called “inspector,” or his authorized representative shall have the following responsibilities and shall abide by the following procedures:
A. Inspection. The inspector shall be an ex officio member of the board, shall work with and cooperate with the board, and shall inspect or cause to be inspected all buildings which may be brought to his attention for the purpose of deciding whether any condition exists which would render any building in the city a dangerous building.
B. Informal Procedure. If any building is found to be a dangerous building by the inspector, he shall proceed as follows:
1. Determine all owners of the building as shown by public records;
2. Determine the legal description of the property upon which the building is located;
3. Notify all owners of the building by registered mail, return receipt requested, that the building is a dangerous building within the terms of the dangerous building code;
4. The notice shall include:
a. A list of the conditions which cause the building to be a dangerous building,
b. A recommendation as to how the conditions can best be corrected to comply with the dangerous building code,
c. A request that the conditions be corrected within ninety days, and
d. A notice that failure to correct the conditions will result in the filing of a complaint with the board.
C. Formal Procedure. If the inspector proceeds informally and the dangerous conditions are not corrected within ninety days to the satisfaction of the inspector, or if the inspector finds that an emergency exists which demands immediate action without the informal procedure, the inspector shall proceed as follows:
1. File a complaint with the board;
2. The complaint shall include:
a. The names of all owners,
b. A legal description of the property upon which the building is located, as well as the street address,
c. The conditions which cause the building to be a dangerous building,
d. The recommendations of the inspector as to how the conditions can best be corrected,
e. A notice that hearing shall be held before the board at the City Hall of Cle Elum, Kittitas County, state of Washington, not less than ten days nor more than thirty days after the serving of the complaint, or in the event of publication or posting, not less than fifteen days or more than thirty days from the date of the last publication and posting, and
f. A notice that all parties in interest shall be given the right to file an answer to the complaint, to appear in person or otherwise, and to give testimony at the time and place fixed in the complaint;
3. Serve copies of the complaint upon all owners or, if the whereabouts of the owners are unknown and cannot be determined by reasonable diligence and the inspector shall so state by affidavit, the complaint shall be served by publishing the same once each week for two consecutive weeks in a newspaper published in the city;
4. Post in a conspicuous place on the property a copy of the complaint;
5. File a copy of the complaint with the Kittitas County auditor, which filing shall have the same force and effect as other lis pendens notices as provided by law.