In addition to any other remedy available to the city, the city
may impose and collect nuisance abatement costs pursuant to this section.
A. The city manager shall keep an itemized account of the costs incurred in the abatement of any nuisance under this chapter and any fee, cost, or charge incurred as described in
Government Code Section 54988. All costs incurred by the city, including incidental expenses, of abating the nuisance, whether abated by city forces, the owner, or otherwise, shall become a civil debt of the owner and other responsible parties and shall be billed to the owner and become due and payable forty-five days after service of an invoice in the manner described by Section
19.05.005. The term "incidental expenses" shall include, but not be limited to, personnel costs both direct and indirect, attorneys' fees, costs incurred in documenting the nuisance, the actual expenses and costs of the city in inspecting property and work, in preparation of notices, specifications and contracts and in reinspecting property, the costs of printing and mailing the notices required hereunder, and any administrative or recording costs charged by the Yolo County Recorder.
B. If
payment of the billed costs is not received by the city within forty-five
days of service of the invoice, the city manager shall prepare a written
report, which shall be filed by the city clerk. The report shall describe
the outstanding nuisance abatement fees, costs or charges due, and
the amount thereof.
C. The
city clerk shall publish notice of the report's filing and of the
time and place of hearing on the report, prior to the date set for
the hearing. The notice shall be published at least once a week for
two weeks. Not less than ten days before the hearing, the city clerk
shall also mail written notice of the hearing to each property owner
whose property or parcel is identified as being subject to nuisance
abatement fees costs, or charges setting forth individually each property
and each of the services and charges due for that property.
D. At
the time stated in the notice, the city council shall hear and consider
all objections or protests, if any, to the report concerning the nuisance
abatement costs, charges or fees. Thereafter, the city council may
adopt, revise, change, reduce or modify any cost, charge or fee or
overrule any or all objections thereto. The city council shall then
make its determination on the amounts identified in the report and
the city council's determination shall be final.
E. Following
the city council's hearing, the city clerk shall file with the finance
director a copy of the report, signed by the city clerk, stating the
city council has adopted the report. The city clerk shall request
the finance director to include the amount of nuisance abatement fees,
costs, or charges on the bills for taxes levied against the properties
identified in the report.
(Ord. 03-1 § 2; Ord. 04-5 § 3; Ord. 12-11 § 3)
Subject to the limitations imposed by this section, the prevailing
party in an action or administrative proceeding to abate a nuisance
may recover reasonable attorneys' fees from the adverse party. Recovery
of attorneys fees by the prevailing party is limited to those individual
actions or proceedings in which the city elects, at the initiation
of that individual action or proceeding, to seek recovery of attorneys'
fees. In no action or administrative proceeding shall an award of
attorneys' fees to a prevailing party exceed the amount of reasonable
attorneys' fees incurred by the city in the action or proceeding.
(Ord. 04-5 § 2)