§ 16-4. Certificates of occupancy., Chapter 16. Building Construction Administration, Code of Ordinances, Brookhaven

No land shall be occupied or used and no building, structure or portion thereof shall be occupied, used or changed in its use until a certificate of occupancy has been issued by the Town of Brookhaven Division of Building stating that the building, structure or proposed use complies with the provisions of this code and any other applicable codes and regulations.

No certificate of occupancy shall be issued under this section unless the applicant has obtained and possesses a valid building permit at the time of application for the certificate of occupancy. A certificate of occupancy may be issued after the date of expiration of the associated permit if all construction and inspections had been successfully completed prior to the date of expiration and the Chief Building Inspector has determined that lack of issuance of said certificate of compliance was in no way due to any action or failure to act on the part of the applicant, with the written concurrence of the Commissioner of Planning, Environment and Land Management.

No certificate of occupancy shall be issued under this section until an affidavit is filed by the applicant with the Building Division of the Town of Brookhaven stating that such applicant has no knowledge that trees or debris, as defined in the Tree and Debris Disposition Law of the Town of Brookhaven, are buried or will be buried in, upon or under the parcel for which the certificate of occupancy is sought.

Editor’s Note: See Ch. 72, Disposition of Trees and Debris.

Temporary certificate of occupancy. Upon request, the Chief Building Inspector may issue a temporary certificate of occupancy for a building or structure or part thereof before the entire work covered by the building permit shall have been completed, provided that such portion or portions as have been completed may be occupied safely without endangering life, health or the public welfare. A temporary certificate of occupancy may be issued for a period not exceeding three months from its date of issuance and shall be void thereafter, except that, for good cause, the Chief Building Inspector may allow a maximum of two extensions for periods not exceeding three months each. The Chief Building Inspector shall require that a cash bond be deposited with the Department of Finance in sufficient sum to guarantee completion of any incomplete site improvements. Said bond may only be returned to the applicant upon submission of a certification by the Chief Building Inspector that all on-site improvements have been completed.

For all parcels of land identified as a Superfund site, including but not limited to parcels located adjacent to said identified parcels and parcels which are located over plumes or other contamination originating from a Superfund site parcel, the Chief Building Inspector shall place an advisory notice on all certificates of occupancy, or their equivalent, issued for such parcels. In addition, the Chief Building Inspector shall require certification from a certified testing laboratory as to the presence or absence of soil vapor intrusion from volatile organic compounds and the levels of same. In the event the certification from the certified testing laboratory indicates volatile organic compound levels in excess of federal, state or county government standards, the Chief Building Inspector shall require mitigation and/or remediation in accordance with said government standards before the issuance of a certificate(s) of occupancy.

[Added 5-22-2014 by L.L. No. 10-2014, effective 6-5-2014]