Where the public nuisance conditions which necessitate abatement
exist on private property, the owner of record of the property where
the public nuisance conditions exist shall be liable for all costs
incurred by the City in connection with its enforcement of the Municipal
Code under Title 14 regardless of whether the City performs the subject
abatement work or whether the City's code enforcement actions caused
the person or persons with ownership and/or control over the property
at issue to perform the abatement work or to otherwise bring the property
into compliance with the applicable provisions of the Municipal Code.
(Ord. 870 § 2, 2004; Ord. 970 § 1, 2008)
Where the public nuisance conditions which necessitate abatement exist on public property and the City elects to perform public nuisance abatement work pursuant to Municipal Code Chapters 14.120 and 14.140, the person(s) determined by the code compliance officer or authorized enforcement agent to be the person(s) responsible for causing the public nuisance conditions shall be liable for all costs of abatement incurred by the City, including, but not limited to, administrative costs.
(Ord. 870 § 2, 2004)
The prevailing party in any proceeding conducted pursuant to this chapter 14.150 and associated with the abatement of a public nuisance shall be entitled to recovery of attorney's fees incurred in any such proceeding.
(Ord. 870 § 2, 2004)
Recovery of costs pursuant to this chapter 14.150 shall be in addition to and shall not limit any prevailing party's right to recover any cost that a prevailing party is entitled to recover by law and/or Title 14.
(Ord. 870 § 2, 2004)
Upon completion of any abatement work performed by or under the direction of the City, or upon incursion by the City of any costs subject to recovery pursuant to this Title 14, the code compliance officer or authorized enforcement agent shall prepare an Abatement Cost Report in the form proscribed by this chapter 14.150, which provides an accounting of the cost, including incidental expenses, incurred as a result of abating the public nuisance.
(Ord. 870 § 2, 2004; Ord. 970 § 2, 2008)
The Abatement Cost Report shall itemize all costs associated
with the abatement including, but not limited to, rehabilitation,
demolition or repair of said property, buildings or structures, including
any salvage value relating thereto and a total of all such costs.
The Abatement Cost Report shall also include the following information:
(a) a description of the real property where the abatement activity
took place, (b) the names and addresses of the persons entitled to
receive notice, (c) a description of the work completed, (d) a determination
that the amount of the costs set forth in the Abatement Cost Report
are accurate and reasonable, (e) a determination that the City took
the most reasonable and feasible actions necessary to abate the activity
or activities and/or condition or conditions causing the public nuisance,
(f) notice of the opportunity to appeal the amount and the reasonableness
of the abatement costs, and (g) notice of the manner in which the
City intends to collect the final and approved abatement costs including,
but not limited to, by special assessment against the property.
(Ord. 870 § 2, 2004)
The code compliance officer or authorized enforcement agent
shall file the original Abatement Cost Report with the City Clerk
who shall cause the Abatement Cost Report to be filed in the office
of the county recorder.
(Ord. 870 § 2, 2004)
A.
If
the code compliance officer or authorized enforcement agent determines
that the public nuisance conditions which necessitate abatement have
been caused or permitted by the person(s) having charge or control
of the property where the nuisance is located, the Abatement Cost
Report and any amended or supplemental Report shall be served upon
the record owner and/or any agent having charge or control of the
property.
B.
If
the code compliance officer or authorized enforcement agent determines
that the public nuisance conditions which necessitate abatement have
been caused or permitted by person(s) other than the person(s) having
charge or control of the property where the nuisance is located, the
code compliance officer or authorized enforcement agent shall make
a diligent effort to determine the address of such person(s) and shall
cause a copy of the Abatement Cost Report and any amended or supplemental
Report to be served upon such persons.
C.
The
failure of the code compliance officer or authorized enforcement agent
to serve any person required herein to be served shall not invalidate
any proceedings hereunder as to any other person duly served or relieve
any such person from any duty or obligation imposed by the provisions
of the Municipal Code or any other applicable statute, rule, code
or regulation.
(Ord. 870 § 2, 2004)
Where the public nuisance conditions exist on private property,
service of a copy of the Abatement Cost Report shall be made upon
the owner(s) of record of the parcel of land on which the public nuisance
exists by certified mail, postage prepaid, return receipt requested,
to each such person at their address as it appears on the last equalized
assessment roll of the county or as known to the code compliance officer
or authorized enforcement agent. If no address of any such person
so appears or is not otherwise known, then a copy of the Abatement
Cost Report shall be so mailed, addressed to such person(s), at the
address of the subject premises.
(Ord. 870 § 2, 2004)
Where the public nuisance conditions exist on public property
and the code compliance officer or authorized enforcement agent is
able to determine the person(s) responsible for causing the public
nuisance conditions, the code compliance officer or authorized enforcement
agent shall make a diligent effort to determine the address of such
person(s) and service of a copy of the Abatement Cost Report shall
be made upon each such person(s) by certified mail, postage prepaid,
return receipt requested.
(Ord. 870 § 2, 2004)
Proof of service of the Abatement Cost Report shall be certified
at the time of service by a written declaration under penalty of perjury
executed by the persons effecting service, declaring the date and
manner in which service was made. The declaration, together with any
receipt card returned in acknowledgment of receipt by certified mail,
shall be affixed to a copy of the Abatement Cost Report and retained
by the code compliance officer or authorized enforcement agent.
(Ord. 870 § 2, 2004)
Service of an Abatement Cost Report which is personally served
shall be deemed completed at the time of such personal service. Service
of an Abatement Cost Report which is served by mail is deemed completed
on the date said Abatement Cost Report is deposited in the mail.
(Ord. 870 § 2, 2004)
Any person(s) responsible for payment of abatement costs pursuant to this chapter 14.150 may appeal the Abatement Cost Report. Such appeal shall be limited to the following issues: (a) the amount of the abatement costs, and (b) the reasonableness of the abatement performed.
(Ord. 870 § 2, 2004)
All appeals from any Abatement Cost Report shall be in writing
and shall contain the following information: (a) name(s) of each appellant
and their legal or equitable interest in the appeal, (b) a brief statement
in ordinary and concise language of the specific cost items protested,
together with any material facts claimed to support the contentions
of the appellant, (c) a brief statement in ordinary and concise language
of the relief sought and the reasons why the abatement costs should
be modified or otherwise set aside, and (d) the signatures of all
parties named as appellants and their official mailing addresses.
Any appeal filed that fails to provide all of the information required
by this section shall be deemed incomplete.
(Ord. 870 § 2, 2004)
A complete and proper appeal of an Abatement Cost Report as described in this chapter 14.150 shall be filed with the code compliance officer or authorized enforcement agent within ten calendar days from the date service of the Abatement Cost Report is completed pursuant to Section 14.150.120. Any appeal not timely filed shall be rejected.
(Ord. 870 § 2, 2004)
A filing fee as established by city council resolution or any
amendments thereto for an appeal of Abatement Cost Report must be
paid to the City at or prior to the time of the filing of such appeal.
Any appeal of the Abatement Cost Report filed without payment of the
filing fee shall be deemed incomplete.
(Ord. 870 § 2, 2004)
Not later than five calendar days from the date the appeal is
filed, the code compliance officer or authorized enforcement agent,
or his or her designee, shall determine whether the appeal is complete.
If the appeal is determined to be incomplete, the code compliance
officer or authorized enforcement agent, or his or her designee, shall
immediately mail to the appellant a Notice of Incomplete Filing which
shall provide a written explanation of each reason why the appeal
has been determined to be incomplete. If service of the Notice of
Incomplete Filing is completed within five calendar days from the
date the appeal is filed, the ten calendar day time period within
which to file a completed appeal of an Abatement Cost Report shall
not be extended.
(Ord. 870 § 2, 2004)
Failure to timely and properly file an appeal from an Abatement Cost Report shall constitute a waiver of all rights to an appeal of the Abatement Cost Report or any portion thereof. The determination that the amount of the costs set forth in the Abatement Cost Report are accurate and reasonable shall be deemed final on the day that service of the Abatement Cost Report is deemed completed pursuant to Section 14.150.120.
(Ord. 870 § 2, 2004)
The appeal of any Abatement Cost Report shall be processed in accordance with the provisions of this chapter and conducted in accordance with the provisions of Municipal Code Chapter 14.160.
(Ord. 870 § 2, 2004)
Enforcement of the summary abatement report shall be stayed during the pendency of an appeal therefrom which is properly and timely filed pursuant to this chapter 14.150.
(Ord. 870 § 2, 2004)
Person(s) responsible for payment of abatement costs shall pay
all such costs no later than thirty calendar days from the date the
abatement cost report becomes final. The amount of the abatement costs
for which such person(s) shall be responsible shall be as set forth
in the final abatement cost report.
(Ord. 870 § 2, 2004)
Final abatement costs shall be deemed a civil debt owing to
the city. An action may be commenced in the name of the city in any
court of competent jurisdiction for the collection of the amount of
any delinquent or unpaid abatement costs. The remedy prescribed by
this section shall be cumulative, and the use of an action to collect
such an amount as a debt by civil action shall not bar the use of
any other remedy provided by the municipal code or by law.
(Ord. 870 § 2, 2004)
In addition to the collection methods provided by the foregoing
section, if the owner of record of the property where the public nuisance
conditions exists has been held liable for all costs of abatement
incurred by the city and the abatement costs are not paid within thirty
calendar days from the date the abatement cost report becomes final,
the abatement costs shall become a special assessment against that
parcel.
(Ord. 870 § 2, 2004)
Notice of the imposition of a special assessment shall be sent
by certified mail return receipt requested to the property owner,
if the property owner's identity can be determined from the records
of the office of the county assessor or the office of the county recorder.
The notice shall be given at the time of imposing the assessment and
shall specify that the property may be sold after three years by the
tax collector for unpaid delinquent assessments.
(Ord. 870 § 2, 2004)
The notice of special assessment shall be filed and recorded
in the office of the county recorder, and a copy shall be served on
the county assessor.
(Ord. 870 § 2, 2004; Ord. 972 § 1, 2009)
Subject to the requirements applicable to the sale of property
pursuant to Section 3691 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, the city
may conduct a sale of vacant residential developed property for which
the payment of an assessment is delinquent.
(Ord. 870 § 2, 2004)
Upon entry of a second or subsequent civil or criminal judgment
within a two-year period finding that an owner of property is responsible
for a condition that may be abated, excepting any conditions abated
pursuant to California Health and Safety Code Section 17980, the city
may seek to recover treble the costs of the abatement from said owner.
(Ord. 870 § 2, 2004)
