§ 3101. Bylaws and ordinances; penalties
(a) The mayor and board of aldermen of a city, the selectboard of a town, or the trustees
of an incorporated village, may, in accordance with this chapter, establish codes
and regulations for the construction, maintenance, repair, and alteration of buildings
and other structures within the municipality. Such codes and regulations may include
provisions relating to building materials, structural design, passageways, stairways
and exits, heating systems, fire protection procedures, and such other matters as
may be reasonably necessary for the health, safety, and welfare of the public, but
excluding electrical installations subject to regulation under 26 V.S.A. chapter 15.
(b) Any code or regulation under subsection (a) of this section shall be adopted, amended,
or repealed and enforced pursuant to the provisions of chapter 59 of this title.
(c) When any municipality adopts or amends a building code, it shall impose requirements
consistent with the current rules and standards adopted by the Commissioner of Public
Safety under 20 V.S.A. chapter 173, subchapter 2.
(d) Upon the adoption or amendment of any code or regulation, at least one copy shall
be filed in the office of the building inspector, and the office of the municipal
clerk.
(e) The General Assembly may incorporate amendments to the code into the ordinance of
all municipalities which have adopted the code, or designate allowable exceptions
to the code.
(f) On or before January 1, 1984, each municipality which has in effect a building code
which is not consistent with the rules and standards adopted by the Commissioner of
Labor, shall substitute for such code a code which is consistent. (Amended 1967, No. 295 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. March 20, 1968; 1969, No. 284 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. date, see note set out below; 1973, No. 196 (Adj. Sess.),§§ 1, 2, eff. April 2, 1974; 1981, No. 121 (Adj. Sess.), § 6, eff. March 3, 1982; 2003, No. 141 (Adj. Sess.), § 10, eff. April 1, 2005; 2005, No. 103 (Adj. Sess.), § 3, eff. April 5, 2006.)
§ 3102. Building inspectors
(a) Upon the adoption of any codes, rules, or regulations as provided in section 3101 of this title, the mayor and board of aldermen of a city, the selectboard of a town, or the trustees
of an incorporated village shall appoint and may remove a building inspector, and
may appoint and may remove a deputy building inspector, prescribe their duties, and
fix their compensation.
(b) The building inspector and any deputy building inspector shall be a disinterested
and competent person with experience in the construction of various types of buildings. (Amended 1967, No. 295 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. March 20, 1968; 2017, No. 74, § 107.)
§ 3103. Appointment; duties; powers
Any such ordinance may be amended or supplemented following the procedure for adoption
in section 3101 of this title. At least three copies of any ordinance, as amended or supplemented, shall be filed,
as provided in section 3101 of this title, in the office of the building inspector and three copies filed in the office of
the municipal clerk for use by the public. (Amended 1967, No. 295 (Adj. Sess.), § 3, eff. March 20, 1968.)
§ 3104. Examination by public
At least 30 days before the adoption of any such ordinance or any amendment or supplement
thereto, at least three copies of the code or regulation referred to in section 3101 of this title shall be filed in the office of the building inspector and three copies in the office
of the municipal clerk for use by the public. (Added 1967, No. 295 (Adj. Sess.), § 4, eff. March 20, 1968.)
§ 3105. Public hearing; notice
(a) No such ordinance or amendments or supplements may become effective or be altered
until after a public hearing at which interested parties and citizens may be heard.
(b) Notice of the time and place of the hearing shall be published in a newspaper of general
circulation in the municipality at least 15 days before the holding of the hearing. (Added 1967, No. 295 (Adj. Sess.), § 5, eff. March 20, 1968.)
§ 3106. Report; prosecutions; injunctions
A building inspector shall:
(1) make a detailed report of his or her doings to the board of aldermen, selectboard,
or trustees, as the case may be, at least once in six months, showing the number of
certificates of permit granted, the number refused, and such other information as
may be of importance relating to the discharge of his or her duties; and
(2) inquire into and report to the municipal attorney or other designee of the legislative
body of the municipality for prosecution, all violations of this chapter, and may
apply, as building inspector, to a Superior judge for an injunction or other legal
or equitable remedy in aid of his or her powers as he or she may be advised. (Amended 2017, No. 93 (Adj. Sess.), § 23.)
§ 3107. Certificate of permit; filing
(a) Before the construction or alteration of a building, the owner, builder, or architect
shall submit to the building inspector a comprehensive statement in writing of the
material to be used and the mode of construction of the proposed building or alteration,
with plans and specifications, if there are any. Work thereon shall not be begun
until the owner has received from the inspector a certificate of permission specifying
the material of which the outer walls and other covering of the roof of such building
are to be composed, the street upon which, and the distance therefrom at which such
building is to be placed. A copy of such certificate shall be filed in the office
of the inspector under the date of its issue.
(b) Such certificate shall not be granted until the inspector is satisfied that such structure
when completed will be properly built, and insofar as practicable of a fireproof construction;
provided, however, that in those municipalities that have adopted the provisions of
chapter 81 of this title, relating to municipal zoning, the building inspector, before
issuing said building certificate, shall be satisfied that by the issuance of such
certificate the zoning ordinance of said municipality will not be violated.
§ 3108. Inspector’s duties
The inspector shall daily examine the condition of buildings undergoing alteration
or erection and serve notice in writing upon the builders, owners, or architects of
such structures as he or she deems to be unsafe or insecure by reason of the mode
and manner of construction or materials used in the construction thereof. He or she
shall order such changes in the mode or manner of construction and the materials used
as he or she deems necessary for the public safety and may order work to cease.
§ 3109. Appeals from orders
When a person is aggrieved by an order of a building inspector, that person or the
person’s architect or builder may appeal to a board of arbitrators appointed as provided
in section 3110 of this title, or to the Criminal Division of the Superior Court, at his or her election. The board
of arbitrators or the court shall have the power to annul, amend, modify, or affirm
the order of the building inspector. The appeal shall be taken within five days after
the receipt of the inspector’s notice and order by the aggrieved party or his or her
architect or builder. In case of an election to appeal to a board of arbitrators,
it shall be deemed perfected by a written notice of appeal left with the building
inspector personally, or at his or her office. In case of an election to appeal to
the Criminal Division of the Superior Court, the appeal shall be deemed perfected
by the filing with the court of a complaint. The taking of the appeal shall operate
as a stay. (Amended 1965, No. 194, § 10, operative Feb. 1, 1967; 1971, No. 185 (Adj. Sess.), § 200, eff. March 29, 1972; 2009, No. 154 (Adj. Sess.), § 238; 2015, No. 97 (Adj. Sess.), § 57.)
§ 3110. Arbitrators; decision
The board of arbitrators shall be composed of two disinterested persons, residents
of the municipality, one of whom shall be appointed by the appellant and one by the
building inspector. If such arbitrators cannot agree, a third member shall be chosen
by them. On failure to agree as to such third member, he or she shall be appointed
by a Superior judge. A decision of a majority of the board of arbitrators thus composed,
when reduced to writing, sworn to, and filed in the inspector’s office, shall be final
and conclusive upon the parties. Upon the filing of such decision, work may be immediately
resumed in accordance therewith. The expense of such arbitration shall be paid by
the appellant. (Amended 1965, No. 194, § 10, operative Feb. 1, 1967.)
§ 3111. Appeal; hearing; orders
When an appeal is taken under the provisions of section 3109 of this title, the judge shall forthwith inquire into the facts himself or herself or by a committee
appointed by him or her, and make such order as he or she deems proper in the premises.
In his or her discretion, he or she may tax costs in favor of the prevailing party
and issue execution therefor. Upon the entry of judgment, work may be immediately
resumed in accordance therewith.
§ 3112. Penalty
A person who violates a provision of this chapter or willfully disobeys a written
order of a building inspector shall be fined not more than $200.00, provided such
order has not been set aside or modified by a court or by a board of arbitrators,
or by an order or decree of either such court or board of arbitrators made on appeal
thereto.
§ 3113. Unsafe building; notice
A building inspector being informed that a structure or anything appurtenant thereto
is unsafe shall inspect the same. If it appears to be unsafe, he or she shall forthwith
notify, in writing, the owner, agent, or person having an interest therein to remove
it or make it safe and secure. If it appears that such structure would be especially
unsafe in case of fire, it shall be deemed dangerous and the inspector may affix in
a conspicuous place upon its exterior walls a notice of its dangerous condition, which
shall not be removed or defaced without authority from him or her.
§ 3114. Repair of unsafe structure
Before 12:00 p.m. of the day following the service of such notice, a person notified
as provided in section 3113 of this title shall commence to secure or remove such structure, and shall employ sufficient workers
speedily to secure or remove it. If the public safety so requires, and if the mayor
and aldermen, selectboard, or trustees, as the case may be, so order, the inspector
shall immediately enter upon the premises with the necessary workers and cause such
structure to be shored up, taken down, or otherwise secured without delay. Such inspector
shall cause a proper fence or boarding put up for the protection of passers-by at
the expense of the owner in the manner provided in section 3116 of this title, and such expense may be recovered in a civil action on this statute.
§ 3115. Refusal to obey order; survey; report
When an owner, agent, or person interested in such unsafe structure refuses or neglects
to comply with the requirements of such order within the time limited, a careful survey
of the premises shall be made by a board consisting, in a city, of the city engineer,
the chief engineer of the fire department, and one disinterested person to be appointed
by the inspector, and, in a town or incorporated village, by a board consisting of
a surveyor, the chief engineer of the fire department, and one disinterested person
to be appointed by the inspector. When there is not a city engineer or chief engineer
of the fire department, the mayor and board of aldermen, or the proper officers in
such town or village, as the case may be, shall designate one or more officers or
other suitable persons in place of the officers so named, as members of the board.
A report of such survey shall be made in writing and a copy thereof served on such
owner, agent, or other person interested.
§ 3116. Building taken down; penalty
When such report declares such structure to be unsafe, and when the owner, agent,
or person interested continues such refusal or neglect, the inspector shall cause
it to be taken down or otherwise made safe. The costs and charges incurred shall
constitute a lien upon the land upon which such building is situated, and shall be
enforced within the time and in the manner provided for the collection of taxes on
land. For every day’s continuance of such refusal or neglect, the owner or person
interested shall forfeit to the city, town, or incorporated village in which such
structure is situated not more than $50.00 nor less than $10.00, to be recovered in
a civil action on this statute.
§ 3117. Appeal from order
An owner or person interested who is aggrieved by such order may appeal as provided
in the case of a person aggrieved by an order of a building inspector. However, the
provisions of this section shall not prevent the municipality from recovering the
forfeiture provided in section 3116 of this title from the date of the service of the original notice, unless the order is annulled
by the board of arbitration or a Superior Court judge, as the case may be. (Amended 1965, No. 194, § 10, operative Feb. 1, 1967; 2009, No. 154 (Adj. Sess.), § 183.)
§ 3118. Notice to nonresident owner
When the owner, agent, or person interested lives out of the State, notice may be
served upon him or her by a proper officer, whose return of service shall be sufficient
evidence thereof.
§ 3119. Powers of judge
The presiding judge of the Superior Court may restrain the construction, alteration,
maintenance, or use of a building or structure in violation of the provisions of an
ordinance or bylaws of a municipality, and order its removal or abatement as a nuisance.
Such judge may restrain the further construction, alteration, or repair of a building
or structure reported to be unsafe under a survey authorized by section 3115 of this title, until the matter is determined as provided in section 3117 of this title. (Amended 1971, No. 185 (Adj. Sess.), § 236; 1973, No. 193 (Adj. Sess.), § 3.)
§ 3120. Severability
If any provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstances is
invalid, the remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other persons
or circumstances shall not be affected. (Added 1967, No. 295 (Adj. Sess.), § 6, eff. March 20, 1968.)