Editor's Note: Prior history: Prior code §§ 8300-8312
and Ord. Nos. 1278CCS, 1854CCS and 1880CCS.
(a)
The intent of this Chapter is to provide a comprehensive mechanism
for the identification and abatement of public nuisances within the
City.
(b)
The remedies provided for in this Chapter are supplemental and
complementary to all of the provisions of this Code, State law, and
any law cognizable at common law or in equity; and nothing herein
shall be read, interpreted or construed in any manner to limit any
existing right or power of the City to abate any and all public nuisances.
(c)
The procedures for abatement of substandard buildings contained in this Chapter are deemed equivalent for the purpose intended under Article 6, Actions and Proceedings of the California Code of Regulations, Title 25, Division 1, Chapter 1, Sub-Chapter 1.
(Added by Ord. No. 1945CCS §
24, adopted 6/8/99; amended by Ord. No. 2538CCS § 1, adopted 3/28/17; Ord. No. 2758CCS, 9/26/2023)
The provisions of this Chapter shall apply to all property throughout
the City wherein any of the conditions hereinafter specified are found
to exist; provided, however, that any condition which would constitute
a violation of this Chapter, but which is duly authorized under any
other City, State or Federal law, shall not constitute a violation.
(Added by Ord. No. 1945CCS §
24, adopted 6/8/99; amended by Ord. No. 2538CCS § 1, adopted 3/28/17; Ord. No. 2758CCS, 9/26/2023)
(a)
Every owner, occupant, lessee or holder of any possessor interest
of real property within the City is required to maintain such property
so as not to violate the provisions of this Chapter. The owner of
the property shall remain liable for violations hereof regardless
of any contract or agreement with any third party regarding such property
or the occupation of the property by any third party.
(b)
It shall be unlawful for any owner, occupant, lessee, or holder
of any possessor interest of real property within the City to create
or maintain a public nuisance on such property.
(Added by Ord. No. 1945CCS §
24, adopted 6/8/99; amended by Ord. No. 2538CCS § 1, adopted 3/28/17; Ord. No. 2758CCS, 9/26/2023)
means the total cost incurred by the City in connection with
abating a public nuisance, including, but not limited to:
Any cost incurred in removing or remedying a public nuisance;
and
A service fee for services rendered by the City in connection
with inspection, notification, prosecution, and abatement procedures
authorized by this Chapter, which fee will be calculated based on
all services rendered by the City from initial inspection of the property
for the purpose of documenting a violation of this Chapter until the
violation is corrected; and
Any expense incurred by the City in collecting the costs enumerated
in this subsection.
means any writing, printing, symbol, figure, design, painting,
marking, inscription, or other defacement that is ritten, sprayed,
painted, scratched, etched, engraved, drawn, marked, or otherwise
applied to any exterior surface of a building, wall, window, fence,
tree, sidewalk, curb, or other structure without the prior consent
of the owner or person in possession.
includes replacement of wiper blades, fuses, radiator caps,
lamps, and other minor accessories, changing oil and transmission
fluid, patching or mounting of tires and similar repairs and services.
means the owner of record of real property.
means any natural person, firm, association, club, organization,
corporation, partnership, business trust, company or any other entity
which is recognized by law as having rights and duties.
means any real property or improvements thereon.
means any nuisance designated in Section 13.06.050 of this Chapter.
(Added by Ord. No. 1945CCS §
24, adopted 6/8/99; amended by Ord. No. 2538CCS § 1, adopted 3/28/17; Ord. No. 2758CCS, 9/26/2023)
The following are declared to be public nuisances:
(a)
Any building or place which has been operated or maintained
in a manner that has resulted in repeated disruptive activities, including,
but not limited to, disturbances of the peace, public drunkenness,
drinking in public, harassment of passersby, sale of stolen goods,
public urination, assaults, batteries, acts of vandalism, excessive
littering, illegal parking, loud noises (particularly in late night
or early morning hours), or curfew violations.
(c)
Every building or place used for the purpose of unlawfully selling,
serving, storing, keeping, manufacturing or giving away any controlled
substance (as defined in Division 10 of the California Health and
Safety Code) and every building or place wherein or upon which those
acts take place.
(d)
Every building or place used for the purpose of unlawfully selling,
serving, or giving away alcoholic beverages and every building or
place in or upon which alcoholic beverages are unlawfully sold, served,
or given away.
(e)
Every building or place used for the purpose of illegal gambling
as defined by State or local law, lewdness or prostitution, and every
building or place in or upon which such activities are held or occur.
(f)
Any public telephone or other device that transmits or receives
voice or electronic messages which is used as an instrumentality for
or contributes substantially by its presence to any of the following:
(1)
Illegally selling or giving away controlled substances (as defined
in Division 10 of the California Health and Safety Code);
(2)
Soliciting, agreeing to engage in, or engaging in any act of
prostitution or other criminal activity;
(3)
Consumption of alcoholic beverages on nearby outdoor public
or private property except where outdoor consumption of alcoholic
beverages is specifically authorized pursuant to a license issued
by the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control;
(4)
Blockage of streets, alleys, or private driveways; or
(5)
Excessive noise.
(g)
Parking of vehicles, vessels, or similar mobile equipment on
the grass, dirt, or other landscaped areas surrounding a residential
property.
(h)
Repair and/or disassembling any vehicle or vessel in a residential
zone and on residential property, where such activity is visible from
the public right-of-way except:
(1)
Minor automotive repair and service, performed on motor vehicles
owned by and registered to the occupants of the dwelling, performed
on a driveway, in a carport, or other legally paved surface on private
property;
(2)
The work does not involve repetitive testing of an engine;
(3)
No more than one motor vehicle, as viewed from the public right-of-way,
is being worked on at any point in time; and
(4)
The work complies with the City's Noise Ordinance.
(j)
Any public nuisance as defined in Civil Code Sections 3479 and
3480 and Penal Code Sections 370 and 371 or otherwise recognized in
law or in equity as constituting a public nuisance.
(Added by Ord. No. 1945CCS §
24, adopted 6/8/99; amended by Ord. No. 2538CCS § 1, adopted 3/28/17; Ord. No. 2758CCS, 9/26/2023)
(a)
Notwithstanding any other provision of this Chapter, whenever
the condition giving rise to the public nuisance is an imminent threat
to life, property, health, or public safety requiring immediate action,
the City shall have immediate jurisdiction to abate the public nuisance
and may order or take such action as is necessary to immediately abate
the public nuisance.
(b)
The City shall only pursue such remedial actions as are reasonably
necessary to eliminate the immediacy of the hazard. The costs of such
abatement, to the extent that they are not part of any regularly provided
City service, shall be recoverable against the property owner and/or
responsible persons through the steps outlined in this Chapter or
any other methods authorized by law.
(Added by Ord. No. 1945CCS §
24, adopted 6/8/99; amended by Ord. No. 2538CCS § 1, adopted 3/28/17; Ord. No. 2758CCS, 9/26/2023)
(a)
The City Council finds that proliferation of graffiti presents
an imminent danger to the public safety and welfare. Law enforcement
officials and other experts agree that immediate removal of gang-related
graffiti is necessary to reduce the risk of violent and other criminal
activities associated with gangs and gang territories. The presence
of graffiti which is not abated immediately encourages the creation
of additional graffiti, resulting in neighborhood blight and increased
costs of abatement.
(b)
The City is authorized to summarily abate graffiti. The abatement
may be undertaken by City staff or by outside contractors.
(c)
The City shall provide the owner of the property subject to abatement action under this Section with written notice specifying the date that the City will abate the graffiti. This notice shall be mailed to the owner by certified mail, return receipt requested, at least five days prior to the scheduled City abatement. It shall inform the owner that the City will not undertake the abatement if the owner notifies the City in writing that the owner will abate the graffiti by a date specific acceptable to the City. The cost of abatement performed by the City shall be recovered in accordance with Section 13.06.080 except the accounting requirements of Section 13.06.080(b) may be undertaken by the Director of Public Works.
(Added by Ord. No. 1945CCS §
24, adopted 6/8/99; amended by Ord. No. 2538CCS § 1, adopted 3/28/17; Ord. No. 2758CCS, 9/26/2023)
(a)
The cost of abating a public nuisance shall either be a lien
on the property, a special assessment against the property, or the
personal obligation of owner and/or the person responsible for creating,
causing, committing, or maintaining the public nuisance.
(b)
The Director shall keep an itemized account of the expenses incurred by the City in abating nuisances under the provisions of this Chapter, including all administrative costs. Upon the completion of the work of abatement, the Building Official, shall prepare and file with the City Council a report specifying the abatement measures undertaken, the itemized and total cost of the abatement, a description of the real property on which the abatement was done, and the names and addresses of the persons entitled to notice pursuant to subsection (c) Service of order to abate public nuisance. This report shall be verified by the City official in charge of the abatement work.
(c)
The City shall cause notice of the cost of abatement to be given
in the same manner as a summons in a civil action in accordance with
Code of Civil Procedure Section 415.10 et seq. If the owner of record
after diligent search cannot be found, the notice may be served by
posting a copy thereof in a conspicuous place upon the property for
a period of ten days and publication thereof in a newspaper of general
circulation published in Los Angeles County pursuant to Government
Code Section 6062. The City shall also cause notice of the hearing
to be served by certified mail, postage prepaid, addressed to the
persons entitled. Such notices shall be given at least ten days prior
to the date set for hearing and shall specify the day, hour, and place
when the City Council will hear and pass upon the report of the Building
Official. The notice shall specify that the property may be sold after
three years by the tax collector for unpaid delinquent assessments.
(d)
At the time fixed for the hearing, the City Council shall hear
and pass upon the report, together with any objections or protests
which may be raised by any property owner liable to be assessed for
the abatement work. The protests heard by the City Council pursuant
to this subsection shall relate only to the charge to be made for
abatement. No protest shall be heard concerning the underlying enforcement
action in ordering the abatement of the nuisance, unless such abatement
order was issued as a result of an emergency. Written protests may
also be filed with the City Clerk at any time prior to the time set
for the hearing on the report. Each written protest or objection must
contain the property address and the grounds for such protest or objection.
After hearing all oral protests and reviewing all written protests,
the City Council may make such revisions, corrections, or modifications
to the report as it may deem just, after which, by resolution, the
report, as submitted, revised, corrected, or modified, shall be confirmed.
The City Council may adjourn the hearings from time to time. The decisions
of the City Council on all protests and objections which may be made
shall be final and conclusive.
(e)
Pursuant to Government Code Section 38773.1, the cost of abatement of a public nuisance under this Chapter can be a lien on the property or against the owner of the property as provided in subsection (g) of this Section.
(f)
Alternatively, pursuant to Government Code Section 38773.5, the cost of abatement of a public nuisance under this Chapter can be a special assessment against the property as provided in subsection (i) of this Section.
(g)
If the cost of abatement is not paid within ten days after its
confirmation by the City Council, the City may file in the office
of the County Recorder a certificate in substantially the following
form:
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NOTICE OF LIEN
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On the _____ day of _____, 20_____, the City of Santa Monica
caused a public nuisance to be abated on the real property hereinafter
described pursuant to an abatement order dated _____, 20_____.
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The City of Santa Monica did on the _____ day of _____, 20_____,
by action duly recorded in its official minutes, assess the cost of
such abatement and related administrative costs, and determined that
the same have not been paid. The City of Santa Monica hereby claims
a lien on said real property for the net expense of the doing of said
work plus related administrative costs in the sum of $_____, and the
same shall be a lien on said property until said sum, with interest
at the rate of seven percent per annum, from the _____ day of __________,
_________ 20_____ (date of confirmation of statement), has been paid
in full and discharged of record. The real property hereinbefore mentioned,
and upon which a lien is claimed, is that certain piece or parcel
of land lying and being in the City of Santa Monica, County of Los
Angeles, State of California, and particularly described as follows:
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________________________________________________
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(Description of Property)
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________________________________________________
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Street Address
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________________________________________________
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Legal Description
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________________________________________________
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Parcel Numbers
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________________________________________________
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(Name of owner and address)
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Dated: _________________________________________
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________________________________________________
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Building Official
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(h)
From and after the date of recording the notice of lien, all
persons shall be deemed to have had notice of the contents thereof.
If any such lien is not paid, the City may file and maintain an action
to foreclose such lien or take any other action as provided by law.
(i)
As an alternative to the procedure authorized in subsection (d) of this Section and pursuant to Government Code Section 38773.5, the cost of abatement, if not paid within ten days after its confirmation by the City Council, may constitute a special assessment against that parcel of property which shall be recorded as follows:
(1)
After the City Council determines that the charge will be assessed
against the property, the City shall record a notice describing the
abatement action and the total costs with the County Recorder.
(2)
After confirmation of the report prepared pursuant to subsection
(b) of this Section and recordation of the notice, certified copies
of the report and the City Council resolution shall be given to the
County Auditor or Assessor who shall add the amount of the assessment
to the next regular tax bill levied against the parcel in the same
manner as ordinary municipal taxes.
(3)
The amount of the assessment shall be collected at the same
time and in the same manner as ordinary municipal taxes and shall
be subject to the same penalties and procedure and sale in case of
delinquency as provided for ordinary municipal taxes. All laws applicable
to the levy, collection and enforcement of property taxes shall be
applicable to such assessment.
(4)
The assessment liens shall be subordinate to all existing special
assessment liens previously imposed upon the same property and paramount
to all other liens except State, County, and municipal taxes with
which it shall be on parity. The lien shall continue until the assessment
and all interest due and payable thereon has been paid.
(j)
The City Council may also order that the cost for the abatement
be made a personal obligation of the property owner and/or the person
responsible for causing, committing, or maintaining the public nuisance.
The City Council shall then direct the City Attorney and the Finance
Department to collect the cost of abatement.
(k)
The City Council may direct the City Attorney to institute a
lawsuit to collect any amounts due by reason of the abatement of a
nuisance by the City and to foreclose any existing liens for such
amounts. Notwithstanding the provisions of this Chapter, the City
Attorney may bring any appropriate civil and criminal action for abatement
of any nuisance within the City pursuant to any other provision of
the law. Upon entry of a second or subsequent civil or criminal judgment
within a two-year period, finding that the owner or possessor of a
property, place or area is responsible for a condition that may be
abated in accordance with this Chapter, except for conditions abated
pursuant to Section 17980 of the Health and Safety Code, the court
may order the owner or possessor to pay treble the costs of the abatement
to the City.
(l)
All monies recovered by payment of the charge, obligation, assessment,
or lien shall be paid to the City Treasurer who shall credit the same
to the nuisance abatement fund.
(Added by Ord. No. 1945CCS §
24, adopted 6/8/99; amended by Ord. No. 2538CCS § 1, adopted 3/28/17; Ord. No. 2758CCS, 9/26/2023)
(a)
Any person violating any provision of this Chapter shall be
guilty of an infraction, which shall be punishable by a fine not exceeding
two hundred fifty dollars, or a misdemeanor, which shall be punishable
by a fine not exceeding five hundred dollars, or by imprisonment in
the County Jail for a period not exceeding six months or by both such
fine and imprisonment.
(b)
Any person found to be in violation of this Chapter in a civil
case brought by a law enforcement agency shall be ordered to reimburse,
as restitution, the City and other participating law enforcement agencies
their full investigative costs and costs of abatement.
(d)
Any interested person may seek an injunction or other relief
to prevent or remedy violations of this Chapter.
(e)
The remedies provided in this Section are not exclusive, and
nothing in this Section shall preclude the use or application of any
other remedies, penalties or procedures established by law.
(Added by Ord. No. 1945CCS §
24, adopted 6/8/99; amended by Ord. No. 2538CCS § 1, adopted 3/28/17; Ord. No. 2758CCS, 9/26/2023)
The Finance Director is authorized to establish a revolving
fund to be known as the nuisance abatement fund which shall be used
to defray costs of administrative and judicial abatement of public
nuisances. The fund shall be reimbursed by collection from the property
or property owner, or any responsible person, as specified in this
Chapter and by the courts. This fund may be operated and used in conjunction
with procedures ordered or authorized under this or any other abatement
provision of this Code.
(Added by Ord. No. 1945CCS §
24, adopted 6/8/99; amended by Ord. No. 2538CCS § 1, adopted 3/28/17; Ord. No. 2758CCS, 9/26/2023)
