(a) 
A person who violates any provision of this article, or who fails to perform a duty required by this article, commits an offense.
(b) 
A licensee, employee, or other person in control of a boarding home facility commits an offense if the person knowingly operates an unsafe facility that represents an immediate threat to the health or safety of a resident, including a situation that has caused, or is likely to cause, serious injury, harm, impairment, or death to a resident.
(c) 
An offense under this article is punishable by a fine not to exceed:
(1) 
$2,000.00 if the provision violated governs fire safety, public health, or sanitation; or
(2) 
$500.00 for all other offenses.
(d) 
A separate offense occurs each day or part of a day that the violation is committed, continued or permitted.
(e) 
If the department finds a boarding home facility operating in violation of the standards prescribed by this article and the violations create an immediate threat to the health and safety of a resident in the facility, the department may order immediate closing of all or part of the facility.
(1) 
The order of immediate closure as prescribed in this subsection (e) is effective immediately on providing written notice of the order to the owner or operator by facsimile, e-mail, or hand-delivery.
(2) 
The order of closure of all or part of a boarding home facility is valid for ten (10) days after its effective date.
(3) 
If the licensee does not promptly relocate the residents of the boarding home facility upon receiving the order of closure for that facility, the city shall provide for the relocation of those residents. If possible, the city will relocate those residents to a boarding home facility in the city for which there is a current valid license. The relocation may not be to a facility with a more restrictive environment unless all other reasonable alternatives are exhausted. The department is authorized to seek to recover the cost of relocating the residents from the owner and operator of the closed facility.
(4) 
The department and the city manager shall expedite any hearing or decision involving an emergency closing order issued under this section.
(f) 
The city attorney may petition a district court or a county court of law for civil penalties and for injunctive relief to restrain a continuing violation of the standards or licensing requirements for a boarding home facility under this article if the violation creates an immediate threat to the health or safety of the facility residents.
(g) 
The remedies and procedures in this section and in other laws are cumulative law, and the use of any particular remedy or procedure does not prevent the enforcement of any other law.
(Ordinance 23-952 adopted 4/27/2023)