§ 134-276. Moving buildings.

(a)

Permit required. It shall be unlawful for any person to move or transport, over the roads of any unincorporated area, any house or structure or other building, over or through any street or streets, alley or public way or thoroughfare of the county, unless such person has first applied for and obtained from the division manager of code enforcement or his designee a written permit authorizing such moving or transportation.

(b)

Issuance of permit.

(1)

The code enforcement division shall furnish any applicant a form application which shall contain, among other information, the following:

a.

A description of the structure proposed to be moved, giving the street number, construction materials, dimensions, number of rooms and condition of exterior and interior (required only on house moving relocation applications within the county).

b.

A street address or description of the property from which the structure is to be moved, giving a sufficient legal description (required only on house moving relocation applications within the county).

c.

A plat of the portion of the property to be occupied by the structure when moved which shows the origin and destination of the structure (required only on house moving relocation applications within the county).

d.

The name of the person performing the moving operation.

e.

The routing of the highways, streets and alleys over and along which the structure is proposed to be moved.

f.

The name and consent of the owner of the property from which removed and of the owner of the property to which moved (required only on house moving relocation applications within the county).

g.

An estimate of the time that will be involved in the moving process, not to exceed four working days, to be accomplished between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. After the permit is issued and relocation begins, the applicant shall continuously and without interruption work at moving the structure until it reaches the destination shown on the permit. In order to successfully complete house moves between these hours, a house move should begin promptly at a time early enough to complete within these hours. If it is determined by the department of transportation or the assigned police officers that said move cannot be completed within these hours due to a late start, house move will not be allowed to begin in the county, and a new date will need to be set for that move. An applicant's failure to comply therewith shall, in addition to the revocation of the permit, form the basis for withholding of future permits.

h.

Any additional information which any agent of the county shall find necessary to determine whether or not a permit should be issued.

(2)

This subsection (2) shall apply only to applicants for permits to move houses being located or relocated in the county. The applicants shall show consent of the neighboring property owners adjoining the property on which the structure is being placed. In the event that applicant cannot obtain consent from the adjoining property owners, the applicant shall send a letter via first class mail with a certificate of mailing or certified mail to those adjoining property owners which shall contain the application for relocating existing structure, statement of all proposed improvements and a plat of the property. The certificate of mailing or certified receipts shall be submitted to the code enforcement office two weeks prior to the hearing. The applicant shall post an "Other Business" sign on the property 30 days prior to the hearing.

(3)

Permits shall be issued only to licensed building movers who provide satisfactory evidence of liability insurance coverage as defined in this section.

(4)

Any house being moved which is to be located or relocated in the county shall require a building permit.

(c)

Work prohibited on certain days; duration of permit; deadline for submission of permit application.

(1)

In addition to the provisions of subsection (b) of this section regarding the time in which the structures shall be allowed to be moved, houses or structures shall be moved only on Monday through Thursday, except that no houses or structures may be moved on holidays or any other day said county offices are closed. For purposes of this subsection, holidays are defined as being New Year's Day, Martin Luther King Day, Memorial Day, July 4th, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. Work on the structure during those hours shall be consistent with applicable noise requirements (see chapter 50, article VII).

(2)

The permit shall be valid immediately from the day of issuance and expire six good working days from the day of issuance. If a structure is not moved within this period, the applicant must obtain a new permit. All route applications must be submitted at least four working days prior to the requested date of the house move.

(d)

Minimum standards for structure. No applications shall be approved for moving a structure which is not equal to or better than the adjacent structures within the area (required only for house moving relocation applications within the county)

(e)

Operational requirements. Additional requirements shall be a follows:

(1)

There will be no structure moved along the roadways of the unincorporated area of the county with an overall height in excess of 18 feet, or with an overall width in excess of 30 feet, including overhang or with an overall length of the tractor and house in excess of 100 feet, provided however, an exception may be made for good cause shown by the applicant to the county department of transportation. Even though all the above operational requirements might be met, said house move route is subject to denial, if the county department of transportation determines that proper clearance cannot be obtained on the proposed route as stated on the application. Any route denials can be appealed to the county department of transportation operations division manager.

(2)

Reserved.

(3)

Must conform with state department of transportation on requirements for number of workers on top of house to ensure that overhanging utilities will be completely clear of the roof; however, a minimum of two men are required to be placed on the top of the house when traveling through traffic signals to ensure signals will be completely clear of the roof.

(4)

Front and rear escort vehicles shall be required at all times during the moving process. These escorts shall be police cars driven by police officers. The division manager of code enforcement or his/her designee shall coordinate the police officer escorts. Up to four police officer escorts are required for each house move permitted, unless department of transportation and public safety deem that less officer escorts would be sufficient as determined per the route submitted. The department of transportation should be contacted by the house mover before application is submitted to code enforcement for this request and approval. Each police officer shall be compensated by the house mover in the amount of $150.00 and will be compensated for each day they are assigned a move, unless the code enforcement division is notified 24 hours in advance of a cancellation. The house mover shall make payment for such police officer compensation directly to the county at the time the application is submitted. No application shall be received unless the police officer compensation is paid. The police officer shall have the final decision as to whether or not the house moving takes place. Notwithstanding the police officer's decision, the house mover shall not be entitled to a refund of the police officer compensation. The police officer shall be considered the borrowed servant of the house mover, subject to the control of the house mover. The police officer shall be within the scope of his employment for the house mover at all times during the house moving process. The police officer shall be considered the servant of the house mover and the county, and shall not be liable to any person for any person or property injured or damaged during the move. It is the intent of this subsection that the county shall not be liable for the acts of the police officer while operating under the direction or control of the house mover. The house mover shall indemnify and hold the county harmless from all conduct of such police officer, and all other liability arising out of the house moving. The house mover, by submitting an application for a house moving permit, agrees and consents to this subsection.

(5)

All vehicles used by house movers in the moving process, except for the police car, shall be equipped with a revolving amber light at least eight inches in diameter, located on top of the vehicle, which must be clearly visible from all directions. The light shall have a minimum candlepower of 35,000 and shall rotate so as to provide at least 80 revolutions per minute. The operators of such moving vehicles shall have obtained a valid driver's permit from the state department of safety.

(6)

All vehicles involved within the moving process shall be plainly marked and display the house mover's name. There will be no house parked on the route or off the route in the unincorporated areas of the county due to mechanical breakdown for more than 12 hours. Applicants are charged with the responsibility of notifying the appropriate property owners should a mechanical breakdown necessitate the parking of the house on private property. This also includes discontinuing a move due to a safety issue.

(7)

Sufficient personnel, consisting of at least five individuals and employees of the house mover, each having a valid state driver's license, shall be available to assist each vehicle involved in the house moving, in case of illness or accident to vehicle operators during the house moving process.

(8)

All house movers shall have a wrecker large enough to tow the entire load accompanying the house in the event there is a breakdown during the house moving process.

(9)

Any debris or damage caused by the house moving process or the house movers involved in the house moving process shall be removed or corrected at the time of the incident by the house mover and his support personnel, and shall be the house mover's exclusive financial responsibility.

(10)

All masonry shall be removed from the structure prior to the moving process being undertaken.

(11)

Escort vehicles and the vehicle transporting the house shall also be equipped with two-way radios in good working order so that all drivers will have constant radio contact with each other. The rear escort vehicle driver shall advise the driver of the load and the front police officer escort as to the traffic conditions behind the movement. Additionally, an agent of the county or the police escort shall have the right to have the structure being moved pulled over to the side of the roadway to relieve traffic backup during the moving process, whether a state route or county road.

(12)

Approval and authorization to initiate the planned move will be in the discretion of the off-duty police officer front escort to the house moving, and approval will only follow after inspection and verification that compliance with the items mentioned in this section has been forthcoming.

(13)

The driver of the front and rear escort vehicles shall maintain sufficient separation between their vehicles and the structure being moved so as to provide adequate warning of the presence of the structure being moved.

(14)

All vehicles used during the moving process must be roadworthy and in extremely good condition. The truck tractor and dollies attached to the house will be subject to a federal commercial vehicle inspection. If either are placed "out of service" and can not be repaired at the scene within 30 minutes, the house move is deemed denied and a new permit must be obtained.

(15)

Any structure being moved with a cut-down roof shall have plywood covering the structure.

(16)

There shall be no structures moved within the unincorporated areas of the county during inclement weather (when roads are wet with rain, sleet, ice, snow or when visibility is dangerously reduced by fog). If during a house move, the aforementioned occurs, then the house mover shall seek a safe location to stop the house move. Once the house move is stopped, a new permit must be obtained.

(17)

If a house move begins in the county, the house move must begin within 30 minutes of the start time. A house move entering the county must be timely to allow the house move to be completed within the hours as stated in section (b)(1)g. If any of these conditions are not met, then the house move is denied, and a new permit must be obtained.

(f)

Action on permit application; appeal of denial; resubmission after denial.

(1)

When an application has been received under this section, it shall be the duty of the code enforcement division to confer with the county department of transportation, operations division, to determine whether or not the proposed operation may be carried out without danger to adjacent property, existing utilities and the traveling public. After such determination and after full compliance with this section, the division manager of code enforcement may approve the application. Upon approval, he may issue the permit upon such conditions as may be necessary to ensure the safety of the operator. If the division manager of code enforcement determines from his investigation that the operation cannot be undertaken with safety or might result in traffic, zoning or building code violations, he may reject the application, furnishing to the applicant the reasons why the application was declined.

(2)

Any person aggrieved by such rejection of an application may appeal such a rejection and appeal before the board of commissioners at the next regularly scheduled meeting to review the actions of the code enforcement division. All applications approved will provide conditions, which conditions may include but shall not be limited to the route of travel, the time of travel, the destination or number of employees and authorized police personnel for the safe completion of the move, the type and necessary equipment so as to prevent breakdown during such removal, and other conditions, rules or requirements to ensure a safe and speedy removal of any structure upon the highways of the unincorporated areas of the county.

(3)

An application for a house moving permit that has been rejected by the board of commissioners cannot be resubmitted for a period of 12 months from the date of the public hearing at which the application was considered and denied (only for house moving relocation applications within the county).

(g)

Exemptions. The provisions of this section shall not apply to the moving of small temporary structures, portable buildings, mobile buildings, mobile homes or other similar structures where the structure can be moved on normal automotive equipment and will not require the blocking of rights-of-way or interfere with the normal movement of traffic.

(h)

Failure to obtain permit. It shall be unlawful to engage in the business of moving structures, as defined in this section, without first having filed the application with and having secured a permit from the code enforcement division.

(i)

Liability insurance; damage to traffic control signals.

(1)

Every applicant must secure liability insurance covering all working operations, including loading and unloading buildings upon vehicles, in minimum amounts of $300,000.00 for bodily injuries to each person, $500,000.00 for each accident, and $100,000.00 for property damage. Additionally, each applicant must secure automobile liability insurance in minimum amounts of $300,000.00 for each accident and $100,000.00 for property damage covering all vehicles used in connection with the moving process.

(2)

Certificates of liability insurance with insurance companies authorized to do business in the state shall be delivered to the code enforcement division. Each policy shall, by its terms, provide that it cannot be canceled until after ten days' written notice to the appropriate county official. Should any licensed house mover fail to provide another policy of liability insurance prior to such cancellation, then his permit shall automatically be suspended as of the date the insurance policy cases to be effective. Suspensions, as provided in this section, shall be automatic and effective without notice or hearing as otherwise required by this section.

(3)

Any damage done to electronic traffic signal control devices caused by the house moving process or the house movers involved in the house moving process shall be the financial responsibility of the house movers and shall be reported immediately to the police escorts or agents of the county department of transportation.

(j)

Transfer of permit. No permit issued under this section shall be transferred or assigned to any other person.

(k)

Suspension or revocation of permit. The following shall govern suspension and revocation of house moving permits:

(1)

Permits will be withheld for a period of six months whenever three or more violations occur within any six-month time period. Violations include damage to county real or personal property, mechanical breakdown of equipment, interruption of normal flow of traffic as determined by assigned officers and any other violation of this section. With any damage to county property, upon receiving a statement issued by the county for the repair cost, the repair cost shall be satisfied by the house mover or his agent, prior to the consideration of any new permit being issued by code enforcement. If a permit is withheld from a licensed house mover, this will include no additional permits being issued to any other house mover under another name, associated with those owners or agents in violation during that six-month suspension.

(2)

Reserved.

(3)

Any suspension imposed pursuant to this section shall remain in effect until all defects, deficiencies and work not complying with this section have been corrected by the applicant.

(4)

Reserved.

(5)

Any person aggrieved by the decision of the division manager of zoning, code enforcement, transportation operations or his designee in refusing to issue, suspending, revoking or refusing to reinstate the permit may appeal therefrom to the board of zoning appeals within ten days of receipt of written notification of the decision. The written notification shall inform the applicant of his right to appeal. The appeal must be taken by submitting a written request therefor to the director of community development. The board of zoning appeals shall hear the appeal within 30 days after receipt of the notice of appeal by the director of community development. The decision of the division manager of zoning, code enforcement or transportation operations shall be final unless appealed within the time and manner as set forth in this subsection.

(l)

Judicial review. Nothing contained in this section shall be construed so as to deprive any person of any right which he may have to obtain judicial review of any administrative decision made under this section.

(m)

Additional remedies; responsibility for violations by partnership or corporation.

(1)

In addition to any other remedy in this section, the county may seek injunctive relief to enjoin any violation of this section in the appropriate court against the appropriate person or entity.

(2)

In the event of a partnership or corporate entity, the person directing the work of the partnership or corporate entity shall be construed to be the person violating the provisions of this section. In addition, all of the partners in the partnership, and all of the directors, the president or any other officer or employee of the corporation exercising significant managerial responsibility over those employees whose acts violate the terms of this section shall also be construed to be in violation of this section.

(n)

Conflicts with regulations of department of transportation. In the event of a conflict with the regulations of the department of transportation promulgated pursuant to statutory authority, such regulations shall supersede the provisions of this section to the extent necessary to avoid a conflict.

(Ord. of 12-12-89; Ord. of 12-11-90, § 3-28-17.2; Ord. of 1-22-02; Amd. of 2-25-14; Amd. of 2-27-18)