Note: Prior ordinance history: Ords. 856 and 846.
It is declared to be in the public interest to promote the health, safety and welfare of the residents of the city by providing procedures for the enforcement of unlawful activities; and for the abatement of nuisances, as declared by the city council, which abatement procedures are in addition to any other proceeding authorized by this code or by law.
(Ord. 867 § 3, 2009; Ord. 896 § 4, 2011)
For purposes of this chapter, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings set forth below:
"Building official"
means the city's chief building official or designee.
"City"
means the city of Brentwood.
"City clerk"
means the city clerk or designee.
"City manager"
means the city manager or designee.
"Code"
means the municipal code of the city of Brentwood.
"Days,"
unless otherwise defined, mean calendar days.
"Enforcement officer"
means any city employee or agent of the city with the authority to enforce any provision of this code.
"Final order"
means the final order to abate ordered by the hearing officer in the event an appeal of the determination of the existence of a nuisance is filed.
"Hearing officer"
means the individual appointed by the city manager to hear the appeal on a determination of the existence of a nuisance.
"Notice and order"
means the written notice and order to abate given by the enforcement officer in accordance with this chapter.
"Owner"
means any person owning the property at issue as shown on the last equalized assessment roll, or the lessee, tenant or other person having control or possession of the property.
"Person"
means any individual or entity, including, but not limited to, a corporation, partnership or trust.
"Property"
means any property located within the city and any building located on such property.
"Responsible party"
means any person or persons in charge of the property or location or the person or persons responsible for the event or incident and shall include any of the following:
1. 
The person or persons who own the property where the violations exist;
2. 
The person or persons in charge of the property where the violation exists;
3. 
The person or persons using the property when the violation exists;
4. 
The lienholder as shown on the last equalized assessment roll or the supplemental roll, whichever is more current;
5. 
If any of the persons in subsections 1 through 3 of this definition are minors, the parent or guardian of such minor; and
6. 
If the person or persons is a business entity, the manager or on-site supervisor where the violation exists.
"Vacant building"
means a building that is unoccupied, or occupied by unauthorized persons for any amount of time.
(Ord. 867 § 3, 2009; Ord. 1017 § 1, 2020)
It is unlawful and a violation of this code for any person owning, leasing, renting, occupying or having charge or possession of real property in the city to maintain the property or allow the property to be maintained with any of the following conditions:
A. 
Visible From Street. If visible from a public or private street or alley, public right-of-way or sidewalk:
1. 
Broken or discarded furniture, household equipment and furnishings; shopping carts; packing boxes, cardboard boxes, lumber, junk, barrels, drums, salvage materials, recyclable materials, or other debris, except trash enclosed in an approved trash, recycling or yard waste container on pick-up days (see also Chapter 8.16 and Section 8.16.360);
2. 
Overgrown vegetation; dead, decayed or diseased trees, or other vegetation; or weeds in violation of Section 8.36.035, Weed abatement (see also Section 17.630.008(H) for landscape standards);
3. 
Personal property such as a vehicle, boat, trailer or vehicle parts which are left in a state of partial repair in a front yard, side yard, driveway, sidewalk or walkway;
4. 
A vehicle parked or stored in/on the front, side, or rear yard in violation of Section 17.620.016, Vehicle storage;
5. 
Wall or fence maintained in a defective or hazardous condition;
6. 
Construction equipment or machinery, including farm equipment, or storage of dirt, sand, gravel, concrete or other similar material, except: (1) during excavation, construction or demolition operations covered by an active city permit; or (2) during active farming operations on property zoned for agricultural use;
7. 
Unmounted camper or camper shell stored in front, side or rear yard, not behind a solid fence;
8. 
Clothesline or clothes hanging unless screened from view.
B. 
Obstruction.
1. 
Vegetation or an item that: (a) obstructs the view of drivers from streets or driveways; or (b) impedes, obstructs or denies pedestrian or other lawful travel on sidewalks or other public rights-of-way; or (c) interferes with a visibility triangle as that term is defined at Section 17.640.004, Definitions (Sign Ordinance);
2. 
Anything that obstructs the free passage or use, in the customary manner, of a public park, square, street, trail, sidewalk or highway; or a river, stream, canal, creek, or basin.
C. 
Attractive Nuisance. Attractive nuisance dangerous to children and others, including abandoned, broken or neglected equipment, machinery, appliances, refrigerators and freezers, and unsecured or unmaintained pools, ponds and excavations.
D. 
Substandard or Dangerous Building. Substandard or dangerous buildings, in violation of Chapter 15.04, California Building Standards Codes, including a building:
1. 
That is abandoned, partially destroyed, left in an unreasonable state of partial construction, or has been declared substandard or dangerous by the building official (see Health and Safety Code Section 17920.3);
2. 
Exhibiting dry rot, vermin infestation or termite infestation;
3. 
Where twenty percent or more of the exterior, painted surface observable from public view is peeling, flaked, cracked, blistered, mildewed, or lacking paint; or building lacking weather protection due to lack of paint or other approved protective coating;
4. 
With windows containing broken glass or no glass, where the windows are of a type which normally contains glass; or
5. 
With improperly anchored canopies, awnings, stairways, exhaust ducts, or overhead extensions.
E. 
Materials on Roof. Temporary materials, such as tarps or similar non-permanent articles, on a roof for more than thirty days.
F. 
Vacant Building. No owner shall allow a building approved for occupancy to be vacant for more than thirty days, unless any one of the following applies:
1. 
The building is the subject of an active building permit for repair, rehabilitation, or improvement and the owner is making substantive progress to complete the project;
2. 
The building meets all applicable codes, is ready for occupancy, and is being actively offered for sale, lease, or rent;
3. 
All entry points, including doors and windows, have either been: (a) locked and secured against intrusion, or (b) covered with materials, as provided in this chapter, for preventing entry by persons or animals.
G. 
Failure to Maintain Vacant Building or Site. No owner of a building approved for occupancy shall fail to maintain a vacant building or site. An owner will be determined to have failed to maintain a vacant building or site if any of the following conditions are found:
1. 
Twenty percent or more of the exterior, painted surface observable from public view is peeling, flaked, cracked, blistered, mildewed, or lacking paint; or building lacking weather protection due to lack of paint or other approved protective coating;
2. 
Exterior walls, windows, doors, and/or roof coverings: (a) are deteriorated to the point of failing to fulfill their function, broken, or missing; or (b) do not provide weather protection adequate to protect against dry rot, termite infestation, or vector infestation;
3. 
Temporary Coverings Over Doors and Windows. Temporary coverings over doors, windows, and other openings are not provided for any vacant building: (a) consisting of a minimum 0.177-inch thick clear or semi-clear shatter-proof polycarbonate sheeting material on a site zoned to allow residential or adjoining a property zoned to allow residential development; or (b) consisting of exterior boarding materials painted with a color consistent with the exterior's primary background color for vacant buildings in all other zones;
4. 
Exterior trash, debris, and graffiti are not removed on a weekly basis;
5. 
The owner fails to post a sign of no less than eighteen inches by twenty-four inches on the front of the building exterior stating the name, address, and telephone number of either the owner, responsible party, or property management company.
H. 
Commercial Vehicle. A commercial vehicle having a manufacturer's gross vehicle weight rating of six thousand pounds (three tons) of base pound weight or more parked or stored in a residential district for any length of time, except a delivery truck operating in the short term, in the normal course of business (see also Section 17.840.008(J), Home occupation use permit).
I. 
Sleeping in Vehicle. Sleeping or living in a vehicle, except: (1) a vehicle within an approved mobile home park; or (2) a temporary caretaker's residence during construction with an active building permit, with a temporary use permit.
J. 
Vectors. (Organisms that transmit pathogens, such as insects, rodents).
1. 
Water that is a breeding place for vectors, with the presence of vectors in their developmental stages in the water being prima facie evidence that the water is a public nuisance;
2. 
An activity that supports the development, attraction, or harborage of vectors, or that facilitates the introduction or spread of vectors.
K. 
Substandard Temporary Fencing and Barriers. With the exception of any temporary fencing and/or barrier permitted for construction purposes:
1. 
Any chain link or similar metal fence installed on a property that either is zoned to allow residential uses or adjoins a property zoned to allow residential uses; or
2. 
Any k-rail or Jersey barrier, concrete or plastic, installed on a property that either is zoned to allow residential uses or adjoins a property zoned to allow residential uses.
L. 
Disruptive Activities. Repeated disruptive activities including disturbances of the peace and quiet of the neighborhood that causes discomfort or annoyance to any reasonable person of normal sensitiveness residing in the area, public drunkenness, drinking in public, harassment of passersby, sale of stolen goods, public urination or defecation, theft, assaults, battery, acts of vandalism, excessive littering, illegal parking, loud noises, traffic violations, curfew violations, or police detentions and arrests.
M. 
Release of Hazardous or Other Materials. The unpermitted deposit, disposal, spill, or release on public property of materials, hazardous or otherwise, in or on city streets or the public right-of-way (see also Chapter 14.20, Stormwater management and discharge control).
N. 
Graffiti. Graffiti, prohibited under Chapter 9.90, Graffiti control of this code.
O. 
General. A violation of the municipal code, a city permit, condition of development approval, ordinance, resolution, regulation adopted by the city council, or any condition of property contrary to the public peace, health and safety (see also Section 1.16.010, Code enforcement – General).
(Ord. 999 § 2, 2018; Ord. 1017 § 1, 2020)
It is declared a nuisance and subject to abatement pursuant to this chapter for any person owning, leasing, renting, occupying or having charge or possession of any property in the city to maintain such property or allow such property to be maintained in such a manner that any of the conditions listed in Section 8.00.030 of this code are found to exist thereon or to allow any of the conditions listed in Section 8.00.030 of this code to occur.
(Ord. 896 § 6, 2011)
Whenever an enforcement officer determines that any property is being maintained or kept in violation of this chapter, the enforcement officer shall have the authority to proceed under Section 1.16.010 of this code and/or to give written notice and order to abate to the owner and/or responsible party. The notice and order to abate will contain the following, at a minimum:
A. 
A description of the property by reference to its address and assessor's parcel number;
B. 
The sections of this chapter being violated;
C. 
A reasonable time limit for the responsible party to abate the condition, which will be no less than three calendar days and no more than thirty calendar days from the date of the notice;
D. 
If applicable, the suggested methods to reasonably abate the nuisance;
E. 
A statement that the owner and/or responsible party must abate the violation(s) or request an administrative hearing within the time specified; and
F. 
A statement that if the nuisance is abated by the city, the costs of such abatement may be assessed against the property and, if not paid, may constitute a lien against the property.
(Ord. 867 § 3, 2009; Ord. 896 § 7, 2011; Ord. 1065, 12/12/2023)
A copy of the notice and order will be provided by: (1) personal service; or (2) first class mail to the owner at the address shown on the last equalized assessment roll and to the responsible party, if applicable, and by posting a copy on the subject property.
(Ord. 867 § 3, 2009)
Within seven days from the date of the notice and order, the responsible party may file an appeal of the determination of the nuisance with the city clerk. Such appeal must be in writing and identify the property subject to the notice and order and a statement setting forth the specific grounds for the appeal. The city clerk will cause the matter to be set for hearing before a hearing officer. Notice of the date, time and place of the hearing shall be given in writing to the responsible party. The date of the hearing will be no sooner than seven days from the date when notice of the hearing is given to the appellant and the hearing officer. Failure to appear at the hearing or to appeal the determination of the nuisance shall be deemed a failure of the responsible party to exhaust their administrative remedies.
(Ord. 867 § 3, 2009; Ord. 896 § 8, 2011)
A. 
At the hearing, the hearing officer will hear the testimony of all competent persons desiring to testify regarding the condition claimed to constitute a nuisance.
B. 
At the conclusion of the hearing, the hearing officer will determine whether or not a nuisance exists and if the hearing officer so concludes, he or she may declare the conditions to be a nuisance and order the condition abated within a specified number of days of service of the hearing officer's order.
C. 
The decision of the hearing officer on the determination of a nuisance is final. Any appeal of the hearing officer's decision is governed by California Code of Civil Procedure Section 1094.6, as may be amended from time to time.
(Ord. 867 § 3, 2009)
If a nuisance is not abated by the responsible party within the time limits set forth in the notice and order or, if appealed, the time limits set forth in the final order, the city, by its employees or a hired contractor, may abate the nuisance or cause the nuisance to be abated.
(Ord. 867 § 3, 2009)
Notwithstanding and in addition to any other remedy available under this chapter or other federal, state or local laws or regulations, if a nuisance as defined in this chapter exists and constitutes an immediate threat to public health or safety, the city may summarily and without notice or hearing abate such nuisance at the expense of the responsible party. Costs will be recovered pursuant to the provisions of this chapter.
(Ord. 867 § 3, 2009)
Recoverable costs shall include, but not be limited to, the following:
A. 
As established by resolution of the city council, the fully loaded hourly rates for personnel time in preparing for and attending all inspections, preparing all written reports and memos, preparing for and attending all meetings at which the enforcement actions against the person/property being charged with the expense is subject, preparing for and attending all official enforcement proceedings, including, but not limited to, proceedings before an administrative hearing officer, preparing for and attending civil or criminal proceedings instituted in state or federal court.
B. 
The cost of services rendered by third parties such as the preparing of title reports, investigative service, process servers, consulting services (including costs of estimates and appraisals), costs of collection, lien and/or assessment, reproduction services and aerial photography and mapping services.
C. 
Any person who fails to pay to the city any abatement costs imposed pursuant to the provisions of this chapter on or before the due date also shall be liable for the payment of any applicable late payment charges set forth by council resolution.
D. 
In administrative abatement proceedings under this chapter, the prevailing party shall be entitled to recover its reasonable attorneys' fees, but only if the city elects in writing, at the initiation of an individual abatement proceeding, to seek recovery of its own attorneys' fees. In no event shall an award of attorneys' fees to a prevailing party exceed the amount of reasonable attorneys' fees incurred by the city in the abatement proceedings. The city may recover its attorneys' fees in the same manner as other costs of nuisance abatement pursuant to this chapter.
(Ord. 867 § 3, 2009)
A. 
The procedure set forth in this section for the recovery of abatement costs is adopted pursuant to Government Code Section 38773.5 which allows the city council to establish a procedure to make the cost of abatement of a nuisance upon a parcel of land a special assessment against that parcel.
1. 
The enforcement officer will cause a report of action and an accurate account of the costs of abatement to be filed with the finance department.
2. 
An invoice for the abatement costs will be mailed to the property owner and/or responsible party. The invoice will include notification that if unpaid, a lien and/or assessment on the property may be recorded.
3. 
If the property owner and/or responsible party does not pay the cost of abating the nuisance within thirty calendar days after receiving the invoice a lien on the property may be recorded.
4. 
If the cost of abating the nuisance remains unpaid, the city council may adopt a resolution assessing unpaid costs of abatement as a special assessment upon the respective parcels of land as they are shown on the last equalized assessment roll or the supplemental roll, whichever is more current.
5. 
The notice of assessment shall be mailed by certified mail to the property owner, if the property owner's identity can be determined from the county assessor's or county recorder's records. The notice of assessment shall contain the date and time that the city council will consider a resolution assessing unpaid costs of abatement as a special assessment upon the respective parcels and shall specify that the property may be sold after three years for unpaid delinquent assessments. The power of sale shall not be affected by the failure of the property owner to receive notice.
6. 
The assessment shall continue until it is paid, together with interest at the legal maximum rate computed from the date of confirmation of the statement until payment. The assessment may be collected at the same time and in the same manner as ordinary municipal taxes are collected and shall be subject to the same penalties and the same procedure and sale in case of delinquency as provided for ordinary municipal taxes.
7. 
The finance department shall prepare and file with the county assessor a certified copy of the resolution of the city council assessing the costs of abatement on the land pursuant to this section.
8. 
The county assessor shall enter each assessment on the county tax roll upon the parcel of land. The assessment shall be collected at the same time and in the same manner as ordinary municipal taxes are collected, and shall be subject to the same penalties and procedure and sale in case of delinquency as is provided for ordinary municipal taxes. All laws applicable to the levy, collection and enforcement of municipal taxes shall be applicable to the special assessment. However, if any real property to which the cost of abatement relates has been transferred or conveyed to a bona fide purchaser for value, or if a lien of a bona fide encumbrancer for value has been created and attaches thereon, prior to the date on which the first installment of the taxes would become delinquent, then the cost of abatement shall not result in a lien against the real property but instead shall be transferred to the unsecured roll for collection. The tax collector's power of sale shall not be affected by the failure of the property owner to receive notice.
B. 
On behalf of the city, the city manager or designee may collect any past-due abatement costs or late payment charges by use of all available legal means and the choice of one remedy does not affect the city's ability to use alternative remedies.
C. 
In no event will the city collect the abatement costs more than once.
(Ord. 867 § 3, 2009)
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 in accordance with this chapter, except for conditions abated pursuant to Section 17980 of the Health and Safety Code related to substandard buildings, the court may order the owner to pay treble the costs of the abatement.
(Ord. 867 § 3, 2009)
The building official may cause to be recorded with the county recorder notices or instruments relating to the abatement proceedings or special assessments described in this chapter.
(Ord. 867 § 3, 2009)
The procedures established in this chapter shall be in addition to criminal, civil, administrative or other legal or equitable remedies established by law which may be pursued to address violations of this code or applicable state codes and the use of this chapter shall be at the sole discretion of the city, including, but not limited to, the ability to collect and assess administrative citation fines.
(Ord. 867 § 3, 2009)
Along with placing a lien or assessment upon the real property pursuant to the procedures set forth in this chapter, the city may make all costs and penalties the personal obligation of the property owner, tenant or other person creating, causing, committing or maintaining the nuisance. In such a case, all of the procedures of this chapter apply except those specifically related to liens and assessments.
(Ord. 867 § 3, 2009)