In recent years the Presque Isle Code Enforcement Office has been more active in condemning buildings as unsafe and dangerous. There are certain criteria and guidelines that the city follows in declaring a building dangerous and unsafe.
The city of Presque Isle has adopted the 2012 International Property Maintenance Code, and this is the code book that the Code Enforcement Officer follows when a building is declared dangerous.
The structure is declared unsafe and unfit for human occupancy if it meets the following criteria under the 2012 International Property Maintenance Code.
108.1.1 Unsafe structure. “An unsafe structure is one that is found to be dangerous to the life, health, property or safety of the public or the occupants of the structure by not providing minimum safeguards to protect or warn occupants in the event of fire, or because such structure contains unsafe equipment or is so damaged, decays, dilapidated, structurally unsafe, or of such faulty construction or unstable foundation, that partial or complete collapse is possible.”
108.1.2 Unsafe equipment. “Unsafe equipment includes any boiler, heating equipment, elevator, moving stairways, electrical wiring or device, flammable liquid containers or other equipment on the premises or within the structure which is in disrepair or condition that such equipment is a hazard to life, health, property or safety of the public or occupants of the premises or structure.”
108.1.3 Structure unfit for human occupancy. “A structure is unfit for human occupancy whenever the code official finds that such structure is unsafe, unlawful or, because of the degree to which the structure is in disrepair or lacks maintenance, is unsanitary, vermin or rat infested, contains filth and contamination, or lacks ventilation, illumination, sanitary or heating facilities or other essential equipment required by this code, or because the location of the structures constitutes a hazard to the occupants of the structure or to the public.”
Once a building is condemned, then the city of Presque Isle follows the requirements of the State of Maine Statutes Title 17 §2851, Dangerous Buildings.
The Code Enforcement Office takes their responsibility for safely guarding the citizens of Presque Isle seriously, and doesn’t just arbitrarily condemn buildings.
If you are interested in learning more about the procedures required for the city to move forward in declaring a building dangerous and unsafe, please feel free to contact the Code Enforcement Office staff, which include Griffin St. Peter, Code Enforcement Officer, at 760-2770, or Penny Anderson, administrative assistant, at 760-2703.
Penny Anderson is administrative assistance at the Presque Isle code enforcement office. She can be reached at 760-2703 or via email at panderson@presqueisleme.us.
