?CITY OF DEQUINCY
ORDINANCE NO. 604
The City Council of the City of DeQuincy, State of Louisiana, met in regular session on the 9th day of September 2024, and adopted the following Ordinance as an amendment to Chapter 5 Buildings, Article II Dangerous Structures of the Code of Ordinances to be effective immediately.
WHEREAS, the City of DeQuincy desires to update and modernize its Code of Ordinances regarding the regulation of Buildings.
THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED by the City Council that Article II of Chapter 5 Buildings, Article II-Dangerous Structures, SEC 5-29-35, is hereby amended to read as follows:
ARTICLE II. – DANGEROUS STRUCTURES
Sec. 5-29. Condemnation, demolition, removal.
The commission council is hereby authorized and empowered to condemn and cause to be demolished or removed any building or structure within the corporate limits of the city when it is unsafe, unsanitary, unfit for human habitation, or which constitutes a hazard to safety or health by reason of inadequate maintenance, dilapidation, obsolescence, or abandonment, are considered unsafe buildings. All such unsafe buildings are hereby declared illegal and shall be abated by repair and rehabilitation or by demolition.
State law reference(s)—For similar provisions, see R.S. 33:4761.
Sec. 5-30. Report and notice required.
Before any building or structure is condemned there must be submitted to the commission council a written report recommending the demolition or removal of said building signed by the mayor, or by someone appointed by him to act in the matter. The mayor shall thereupon serve notice on the owner of the building or other structure requiring him to show cause at a meeting of the commission council why the building or structure should not be condemned. The date and hour of the meeting shall be stated in the notice which shall be served at least ten (10) days before the date of the hearing, except in case of grave public emergency as hereinafter provided. The notice may be served by certified mail, chief of police or by any sheriff, deputy sheriff or constable having jurisdiction and power to serve legal process where the owner of the building or structure is in the State of Louisiana, or by DeQuincy code enforcement officer. All notices will be served to the recorded address filed with the Calcasieu Parish Tax assessor.
State law reference(s)—For similar provisions, see R.S. 33:4762.
Sec. 5-31. Service on absentee owner.
If the owner of any building or structure is absent from the state and is unrepresented therein, the notice shall be served upon the occupant of the condemned building or structure. If not available, notice may be served by certified mail, chief of police or by any sheriff, deputy sheriff or constable having jurisdiction and power to serve legal process where the owner of the building or structure is in the State of Louisiana, or by DeQuincy code enforcement officer. All notices will be served to the recorded address filed with the Calcasieu Parish Tax assessor.
State law reference(s)—Similar provisions, R.S. 33:4762.
Sec. 5-32. When summary condemnation authorized.
In case of grave public emergency where the condition of any building is such as to cause possible immediate loss or damage to any person or property the commission council may condemn the building after twenty-four (24) hours’ notice served upon the owner or his agent, or upon the occupant.
State law reference(s)—For similar provisions, see R.S. 33:4762.
Sec. 5-33. Order requiring repair or demolition.
After a hearing on the matter, if, in the opinion of the commission council the facts justify it, an order shall be entered condemning the building and ordering that it be demolished or removed within a certain delay. If repairs will correct the dilapidated, dangerous or unsafe condition, the commission council may grant the owner the option of making such repairs, but in such case the general nature or extent of the repairs to be made, the time thereof, and the defects to be corrected shall be specified in the decision of the commission council. Said decision shall be in writing and shall be final unless appealed from within five (5) days as provided in R.S. 33:4763.
State law reference(s)—For similar provisions, see R.S. 33:4763.
Sec. 5-34. Compliance with order; demolition by city.
(a) The owner of a building or his designated agent may proceed to demolish and remove the building, or have it repaired, in accordance with the order of the commission council provided he executed a contract in writing obligating himself to have the work done within the required time, and files with the mayor a copy of said contract together with a bond to guarantee performance.
(b) In the event the owner or occupant of a building or structure fails or refuses to comply with the decision of the commission council and fails to appeal therefrom within the legal delays as provided by R.S. 33:4764, the mayor may proceed with the demolition or removal of the condemned building or structure in which case neither he nor the city shall be liable for damages.
(c) Prior to the demolition or removal of a building or structure, the mayor or some official designated by him shall serve notice on the owner or his agent, and on the occupant of the building if any there be giving the time when the work will begin upon the demolition or removal of the building.
State law reference(s)—For similar provisions, see R.S. 33:4765.
Sec. 5-35. Lien for cost when work done by city; appointment, fee of attorney.
The city shall have a lien and privilege for the cost of demolishing or removing any building or structure against the lot and improvements upon which the building or structure is situated and same may be preserved as set forth in R.S. 33:4766. The mayor shall appoint an attorney-at-law to represent the absentee, minor or interdict upon whom notices or other proceedings may be served, and he shall be paid a reasonable fee to be taxed as part of the costs of demolition.
BE IT FURTHER ORDAINED by the City Council that should any section, clause, or provision of this ordinance be declared invalid by any court of competent jurisdiction, the same shall not affect the validity of the ordinance as a whole, or any part thereof, other than the part or parts declared to be invalid. All ordinances or parts of ordinances in conflict with any of the provisions of this ordinance are hereby repealed.
All other sections, paragraphs, subsections, subparagraphs, clauses, phrases and words of Chapter 5, ARTICLE II SEC 5-29-35, not specifically amended by this ordinance, are to remain the same.
Said Ordinance having been introduced on the 12th day of August, 2024, notice of Public Hearing having been published on the 4th day of September, 2024, said Public Hearing having been held on the 9th day of September, 2024 with the title having been read and Ordinance considered, on motion by Jim Smith, seconded by Margaret Brown to adopt the Ordinance. A record vote was taken, and the following result was had:
YEAS: 5
NAYS: 0
ABSENT: 0
ABSTAIN: 0
This Ordinance was declared duly adopted this 9th day of September, 2024 and will be effective immediately.
/s/Riley Smith
Riley Smith
Mayor
/s/Sherri Breaux
/s/Sherri Breaux
Secretary of the Council and City Clerk
/s/Bobby Dahlquist
Bobby Dahlquist
Council ChairmanI certify that the above and foregoing constitutes a true and correct copy of an Ordinance duly adopted at a meeting of the City Council of the City of DeQuincy held on October 14, 2024, at which meeting a quorum was present and voted in favor of said Ordinance.
S/ Sherri Breaux Sherri Breaux
Secretary of the Council
and City Clerk
Run: Oct. 23, 2024 (O-6)
