Lake Forest Municipal Code Ch. 8.26 Uniform Abatement of Dangerous Buildings Code

There is adopted by the City Council of the City of Lake Forest, for the purpose of prescribing regulations for remedying dangerous buildings, that certain Code known as the Uniform Code for the Abatement of Dangerous Buildings, 1997 Edition, published by the International Conference of Building Officials.

Save and except such portions as are hereinafter deleted, modified or amended, of which Code not less than one copy has been made and is now filed in the office of the Clerk of the City Council; and the same is adopted and incorporated by reference as fully as if set forth at length herein.

(Ord. 103 § 3, 1999; Ord. 130 § 10, 2002; Ord. 326 § 10, 2019)

Section 201 of the Uniform Code for the Abatement of Dangerous Buildings is amended to read as follows:

General:

(a) Authority. The Building Official is hereby authorized and directed to administer and enforce all of the provisions of this Code. For such purposes, he or she shall have the powers of a law enforcement officer. He or she is empowered to adopt and enforce rules and regulations to clarify and expand the provisions of this Code in conformity with the spirit and intent of its stated purpose.

(b) Inspections. The Health Officer, the Fire Marshal, and the Building Official are hereby authorized and directed to make such inspections and take such actions as may be required to enforce the provisions of this Code.

(c) Right of Entry. Whenever necessary to make an inspection to enforce any of the provisions of this Code, or whenever the Building Official or authorized representative has reasonable cause to believe that there exists in any building or upon any premises, any condition or Code violation which makes such building or premises unsafe, dangerous, hazardous or substandard, as defined in Section 302 of this Code, the Building Official or authorized representative may enter such building or premises at all reasonable times to inspect the same or to perform any duty imposed upon the Building Official by this Code; provided that if such building or premises be occupied, he or she shall first present proper credentials and request entry; and if such building or premises be unoccupied, he shall first make a reasonable effort to locate the owner and other persons having charge or control of the building or premises and request entry. If such entry is refused, the Building Official or authorized representative shall have recourse to every remedy provided by law to secure entry.

(Ord. 103 § 3, 1999; Ord. 130 § 10, 2002; Ord. 302 § 14, 2018)

Section 203 of the Uniform Code for the Abatement of Dangerous Buildings is amended to read as follows:

Section 203—Violations and Penalties. It shall be unlawful for any person, firm, or corporation to erect, construct, enlarge, alter, repair, move, improve, remove, convert, or demolish, equip, use, occupy or maintain any building or structure, or cause or permit the same to be done, contrary to or in violation of any of the provisions of this Code.

Any person, firm, or corporation violating any of the provisions of this Code shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor; and each such person shall be deemed guilty of a separate offense for each and every day or portion thereof during which any violation of any of the provisions of this Code is committed, continued or permitted; and upon conviction of any such violation such person shall be punished by a fine of not more than $1,000 or by imprisonment for not more than six months, or by both such fine and imprisonment.

(Ord. 103 § 3, 1999; Ord. 130 § 10, 2002)

Section 205 of the Uniform Code for the Abatement of Dangerous Buildings is amended to read as follows:

Section 205. Board of Appeals.

In order to provide for final interpretation of the provisions of this Code, there shall be and is hereby created a Board of Appeals as specified in Section 113 of the California Building Code as amended herein.

(Ord. 103 § 3, 1999; Ord. 130 § 10, 2002; Ord. 382, 11/18/2025)