This chapter provides for administrative remedies for any violation of this code, which remedies may be pursued in lieu of any other legal remedy, criminal or civil, which may be pursued by the city to address any violation of this code. The city attorney, city prosecutor, or their assistants, have sole discretion to determine whether a violation will be prosecuted criminally. If a violation is not criminally prosecuted, the city may proceed with administrative proceedings pursuant to this chapter.
(Ord. 98-04 § 1)
The following words and phrases, when used in the context of this Title, shall have the following meanings:
"Enforcement official" or "enforcement officials"
shall be: (1) members of the Riverside County sheriff's department or such other police agency under contract to provide police services to the city; (2) members of the Riverside County fire department or such other fire agency under contract to provide fire and emergency services to the city; (3) persons employed by the city whose job descriptions require the person to enforce the provisions of this code, including, but not limited to, directors, senior planners, code enforcement officers, building inspectors, or park rangers; and (4) such other employees of the city as may be designated by resolution of the city council.
"Legal interest"
means any interest that is represented by a deed of trust, quitclaim deed, mortgage, judgment lien, tax or assessment lien, mechanic's lien or other similar instrument, which is recorded with the county recorder.
"Responsible person"
means any person whom an enforcement official determines is responsible for causing or maintaining a violation of the code. The term "responsible person" includes, but is not limited to, a property owner, tenant, person with a legal interest in real property, or person in possession of real property.
(Ord. 98-04 § 1; Ord. 16-01 § 5)
Any person violating any section of this code that is subject to this chapter may be issued an administrative citation by an enforcement official as provided in this chapter.
(Ord. 98-04 § 1)
An administrative citation shall contain all of the following information:
A. 
The date and location of the violation and the approximate time the violation occurred;
B. 
The code section violated and a description of how the section was violated;
C. 
The amount of the fine imposed for the violation, and the time within which and the place at which the fine shall be paid;
D. 
An order prohibiting another occurrence of the code violation;
E. 
A description of the administrative citation review process, including the time within which to contest the administrative citation and the place from which to obtain a request for hearing form to contest the administrative citation;
F. 
The name and signature of the citing enforcement official.
(Ord. 98-04 § 1)
An enforcement official may issue an administrative citation, on a form approved by the city manager, to a responsible person, as follows:
A. 
If the responsible person is a corporation, the enforcement official shall attempt to locate any one of the following individuals and issue to that individual an administrative citation: the president or other head of the corporation, a vice-president, a secretary or assistant secretary, a treasurer or assistant treasurer, a general manager, or a person authorized by the corporation to receive service of process in a civil action. If the office address of any of the above-listed individuals is known to the city, a copy of the administrative citation also shall be mailed to one of those individuals by certified mail, postage prepaid, return receipt requested. Simultaneously, the same notice may be sent by regular mail. If a notice sent by certified mail is returned unsigned, then service shall be deemed effective pursuant to regular mail, provided the notice that was sent by regular mail is not returned.
B. 
If the responsible person is a business other than a corporation, the enforcement official shall attempt to locate the business owner and issue the business owner an administrative citation. If the enforcement official can locate only the manager of the business, the administrative citation may be given to the manager of the business. If the address of the business is known, a copy of the administrative citation also shall be mailed to that address to the attention of the business owner or a responsible person. The mailing shall be sent by certified mail, postage prepaid, return receipt requested. Simultaneously, the same notice may be sent by regular mail. If a notice sent by certified mail is returned unsigned, then service shall be deemed effective pursuant to a regular mail, provided the notice that was sent by regular mail is not returned.
C. 
The enforcement official shall attempt to obtain on the administrative citation the signature of the responsible person, or in cases in which the responsible person is a corporation or business, the signature of the person served with the administrative citation. If a responsible person or person served refuses or fails to sign the administrative citation, the failure or refusal to sign shall not affect the validity of the citation or of subsequent proceedings.
D. 
If the enforcement official is unable to locate a responsible person for the violation, the administrative citation shall be mailed to the responsible person by certified mail, postage prepaid, return receipt requested. Simultaneously, the same notice may be sent by regular mail. If a notice sent by certified mail is returned unsigned, then service shall be deemed effective pursuant to regular mail, provided the notice that was sent by regular mail is not returned.
E. 
If the enforcement official does not succeed in serving the responsible party personally, or by certified mail or regular mail, the enforcement official shall post the administrative citation on any real property within the city in which the city has knowledge that the responsible party has a legal interest, and such posting shall be deemed effective service.
F. 
If the enforcement official does not succeed in serving the responsible party personally, by certified mail or regular mail, and the city is not aware that the responsible party has a legal interest in any real property within the city, the enforcement official shall cause the administrative citation to be published once a week for four successive weeks in a local newspaper published at least once a week.
(Ord. 98-04 § 1; Ord. 19-02 § 4)
The fine imposed pursuant to this chapter for a particular violation shall be in the amount set forth in the administrative citation schedule established by resolution of the city council. The administrative citation schedule shall specify the amount of any late payment charges imposed for failure to timely pay the fine.
(Ord. 98-04 § 1)
The administrative fine shall be paid to the city within thirty days from the date of service of the administrative citation. If, after a hearing requested pursuant to Section 1.21.080, the hearing officer determines that the administrative citation should be canceled, the administrative fine shall be refunded in accordance with Section 1.21.150.
(Ord. 98-04 § 1)
A. 
Any responsible person to whom an administrative citation is issued may contest the citation no later than thirty days from the date of service of the administrative citation by:
1. 
Completing a request for hearing form and returning it to the city; and
2. 
Either depositing the administrative fine with the city or providing notice that a request for an advance deposit hardship waiver has been filed pursuant to Section 1.21.090.
B. 
A request for hearing form may be obtained from the department specified on the administrative citation. The person requesting the hearing shall be notified by certified mail, return receipt, of the time and place of the hearing at least ten days before the date of the hearing. Any documentation, other than the administrative citation, which the enforcement official has submitted or will submit to the hearing officer shall be served on the person requesting the hearing by certified mail, return receipt, at least five days before the date of the hearing.
(Ord. 98-04 § 1)
Any responsible person who requests a hearing to contest an administrative citation and who is financially unable to deposit the administrative fine as required in Section 1.21.080 may file a request for an advance deposit hardship waiver. The request shall be filed with the department of finance on an advance deposit hardship waiver application form, available from the department, no later than thirty days after service of the administrative citation. The director of finance may issue an advance deposit hardship waiver only if the person requesting the waiver submits to the director a sworn affidavit, together with any supporting documents, demonstrating to the satisfaction of the director the person's financial inability to deposit with the city the full amount of the fine in advance of the hearing. The director shall issue a written decision specifying the reasons for issuing or not issuing the waiver. The decision shall be served upon the person requesting the waiver by certified mail return receipt. If the director determines that the waiver is not warranted, the person shall remit the full amount of the fine to the city within ten days of receipt of the director's written decision.
(Ord. 98-04 § 1)
Only after a request for hearing form is filed, and the responsible person requesting the hearing has either deposited the administrative fine in full or obtained an advance deposit hardship waiver, shall the city set the date and time for the administrative hearing. The hearing shall be set for a date not less than fifteen days nor more than sixty days after the request for hearing form is filed, and the administrative fine is deposited with the city or an advance deposit hardship waiver is issued. The city shall send notice of the date, time and place of the hearing to the person requesting the hearing by certified mail return receipt at least ten days before the date of the hearing.
(Ord. 98-04 § 1)
A. 
The responsible party may request one continuance of the hearing. The request must be made in writing to the city clerk and must be received at least five days prior to the scheduled date and time of the initial appeal hearing.
B. 
In no event may the hearing begin later than ninety days after the request for hearing form is filed, and the administrative fine is deposited with the city or an advance deposit hardship waiver is issued.
(Ord. 98-04 § 1; Ord. 20-08 § 1)
The director of the department through which the administrative citation was issued, or designee, shall select an administrative hearing officer. The administrative hearing officer may be, without limitation, a member of the staff of the department through which the administrative citation was issued. In no event, however, shall the enforcement official who issued the administrative citation be the administrative hearing officer.
(Ord. 98-04 § 1)
Administrative hearings are informal, and formal rules of evidence and discovery do not apply. Each party shall have the opportunity to present evidence in support of his or her case and to cross-examine witnesses. The city bears the burden of proof at an administrative hearing to establish a violation of the city code. The administrative citation and any additional reports submitted by the enforcement official shall constitute prima facie evidence of the facts contained in those documents. The administrative hearing officer must use preponderance of evidence as the standard of evidence in deciding the issues.
(Ord. 98-04 § 1)
A. 
If the responsible party fails to appear at the hearing, the responsible party shall be deemed to have waived the right to a hearing, the adjudication of the issues related to the hearing, and shall be deemed to have failed to have exhausted their administrative remedies provided that notice of the hearing has been properly served as required by this chapter.
B. 
Notwithstanding this waiver and the time limits set forth in Section 1.21.100, if service of the administrative citation is made by posting the citation on real property within the city in which the responsible person has a legal interest, and the responsible person provides verifiable and substantial evidence that removal of the administrative citation from the property by a third party caused the responsible person's failure to attend the scheduled hearing, the responsible person shall be entitled to an administrative hearing.
(Ord. 98-04 § 1; Ord. 20-08 § 2)
No later than thirty days after the date on which the administrative hearing concludes, the administrative hearing officer shall issue a written decision to uphold or cancel the administrative citation. The administrative hearing officer shall set forth the reasons for the decision. The decision shall be served upon the responsible person by the applicable method set forth in Section 1.21.050. If the administrative hearing officer upholds the administrative citation, the city shall retain the fine deposited by the responsible person. If the administrative hearing officer upholds the administrative citation and the fine has not been deposited pursuant to an advance deposit hardship waiver, the administrative hearing officer shall specify in the decision a payment schedule for the fine. If the administrative hearing officer cancels the administrative citation, any fine deposited with the city shall be promptly refunded, together with interest at the average rate earned on the city's portfolio for the period of time that the city held the fine. The administrative hearing officer's written decision is final, and shall notify the responsible person of his or her right to appeal as provided in Section 1.21.180.
(Ord. 98-04 § 1)
Any person who fails to pay to the city on or before the due date any administrative fine imposed pursuant to the provisions of this chapter, shall be liable for the payment of any applicable late payment charges set forth in the administrative citation schedule established by resolution of the city council.
(Ord. 98-04 § 1)
Within twenty days after service of the decision of the administrative hearing officer upon the responsible person, he or she may seek review of the decision by filing a notice of appeal with the municipal court. The responsible person shall serve upon the city clerk either in person or by first class mail a copy of the notice of appeal. If the responsible person fails to timely file a notice of appeal, the administrative hearing officer's decision shall be deemed confirmed.
(Ord. 98-04 § 1)
Failure to pay an administrative fine is a misdemeanor. Filing a criminal misdemeanor action does not preclude the city from using any other legal remedy available to gain compliance with the administrative order.
(Ord. 98-04 § 1)