The city council has determined that the enforcement of the Municipal Code and applicable state codes throughout the city is an important public service and is vital to the protection of the public's health, safety and quality of life. The city council has determined that there is a need for alternative methods of code enforcement and that a comprehensive code enforcement system uses a combination of judicial and administrative remedies to gain compliance. This chapter establishes the administrative procedures for the enforcement, collection, review, and appeal of administrative citations and fine(s) or penalty pursuant to California Government Code Section 53069.4 and is considered the city's general police power. The issuance of an administrative citation under this section is solely at the city's discretion and is one option the city has in addressing a violation of this code and applicable state codes. By adopting this section, the city does not intend to limit its discretion to utilize any other remedy, whether independently or concurrent, civil or criminal actions for such violations that the city may select in a particular case. The procedures in this chapter shall be in addition to criminal, civil or any other legal remedies established by law that may be pursued to address violations of this code and applicable state codes.
(Ord. 1189 § 1, 2009)
Every violation of a provision of this code defined as an "infraction" or "misdemeanor" in Chapter 1.12 of this code shall be subject to an administrative civil penalty, and administrative hearing costs, if any, as set by separate resolution of the city council per day for each offense. Said penalties may be charged in addition to or in lieu of any other penalty imposed by this code and shall be cumulative for each subsequent day after notice has been provided as set forth herein.
(Ord. 1189 § 1, 2009)
Whenever any peace officer authorized to enforce the provisions of this code finds that a provision of this code has been violated, he or she shall notify the violator in writing of the violation and inform the violator of the penalty or fine owed to the city for violating the code. If the violation pertains to building, plumbing, electrical or other similar structural or zoning matters that do not pose an immediate danger to health or safety, the written notice shall describe the violation and establish a reasonable correction period or schedule, which shall not be less than ten days. If the violator presents proof of correction of the violation to the city clerk within the correction period, the penalty shall be avoided.
(Ord. 1189 § 1, 2009)
Property owners, property managers, tenants, lease holders, guests, parents and or guardians of a juvenile or other person cited for violation of this code shall be jointly liable for penalties imposed under this chapter.
(Ord. 1189 § 1, 2009)
All violation notices imposing an administrative penalty shall contain the relevant Municipal Code sections for which an administrative penalty is being imposed along with a brief description of the violation, the amount of the administrative penalty, the location of the violation, the date the violation was first observed, the name and address of the property owner of record as determined by the latest Los Angeles County tax assessor roll data (if the violation pertains to any real property), and/or the name and address of any other person(s) determined by the enforcing officer to be responsible for any violation of the Municipal Code. The notice shall also contain the final date by which an appeal may be filed, where the appeal may be filed, and the cost of the administrative hearing should the appeal be ultimately denied.
The notice referred to in this section shall be in substantially the following format:
NOTICE OF ADMINISTRATIVE PENALTY FOR VIOLATION OF THE SAN DIMAS MUNICIPAL CODE
This notice is to inform you that on __________, 20__________, at __________ [location] you violated Section __________ of the San Dimas Municipal Code by __________ [description of violation]. The Municipal Code provides that the penalty for this violation is $__________.
You must pay the penalty for this violation within 21 days from the date of this notice. If you fail to timely pay the penalty, the City will initiate collection procedures against you in any manner permitted by law.
If you contest this penalty, you may request a hearing by providing a written explanation to the city clerk as to why the violation is being contested. The City will thereafter review your explanation and either schedule an administrative hearing under Section 1.06.080 of the San Dimas Municipal Code, or withdraw the penalty.
Failure of responsible persons to abate the violation as specified in this notice could result in the commencement of further administrative, civil, and/or criminal enforcement actions against all responsible persons. Furthermore, the City may record a Notice of Violation with the Los Angeles County Recorder's Office against the premises if the violation is not fully abated or corrected (with all required approvals, permits and inspections), as determined by the City, in the manner and time set forth in this notice of administrative penalty and provided that a timely appeal therefrom has not been made.
Dated this _____ day of __________, 20_____.
_____________________________________________(Title)
Authority: San Dimas Municipal Code Chapter 1.06 et seq.
(Ord. 1189 § 1, 2009; Ord. 1210 § 3, 2012)
Service of notices required under this chapter shall be made by the following means:
A. 
By personal service on the violator(s) in the same manner as a summons in a civil action; or,
B. 
By certified United States mail. Service shall be complete at the time of deposit into the United States mail.
C. 
Failure to receive any notice specified in this chapter does not affect the validity of proceedings conducted hereunder.
(Ord. 1189 § 1, 2009; Ord. 1210 § 3, 2012)
A. 
Any person to whom an administrative citation was issued may contest the citation, no later than twenty-one days from the date of service of the administrative citation, by filing with the city clerk:
1. 
A written notice of appeal requesting a hearing which shall contain the following information;
a. 
A copy of the citation;
b. 
The name, address, and telephone number of the person contesting the citation;
c. 
A statement of the reason(s) why the citation is being contested;
d. 
The date and signature of the person contesting the citation.
2. 
The person requesting the appeal hearing shall be notified by certified mail, return receipt, or posting, of the time and place of the hearing at least ten days before the hearing.
3. 
The appeal hearing shall be set for a date not less than fifteen days or more than sixty days after the notice of appeal has been filed.
(Ord. 1189 § 1, 2009)
The city manager, or designee, shall designate the hearing officer for the administrative citation appeal hearing. The hearing officer shall not be a city employee. The employment, performance evaluation, compensation and benefits of the hearing officer, if any, shall not be directly or indirectly conditioned upon the amount of administrative citation fine(s) upheld by the hearing officer.
(Ord. 1189 § 1, 2009)
The hearings need not be conducted according to technical rules of evidence. Hearsay evidence may be used for the purpose of supplementing or explaining any direct evidence, but shall not be sufficient in and of itself to support a finding unless it would be admissible over objection in a civil action in a California court of competent jurisdiction. Any relevant evidence shall be admitted if it is the type of evidence upon which reasonable persons are accustomed to rely on in the conduct of serious affairs, regardless of the existence of any common law or statutory rule which might make improper the admission of such evidence over objection in a civil action. Oral evidence shall be taken only on oath or affirmation. Irrelevant and unduly repetitious evidence shall be excluded. The hearing officer may at his or her discretion continue a hearing from time to time should a continuance be deemed necessary.
(Ord. 1189 § 1, 2009)
Following the hearing on the violation, the hearing officer shall consider all evidence and determine whether a violation of the code has occurred and/or continues to occur. If the hearing officer determines that a violation has occurred and/or is continuing to occur, he or she shall make a written order affirming the administrative fine(s) or penalty. Said order shall set forth findings supporting the order. If the hearing officer upholds the administrative citation, the order shall specify a payment schedule for which the fine(s) or penalty are to be paid to the city or its agent. The order shall further inform the violator of his or her right to appeal the order within thirty days to the municipal court. All written orders of the hearing officer shall be made by First Class United States mail and shall allow a minimum of three working days from the date of mailing for delivery before the time in which an appeal to the municipal court may be made begins to run.
(Ord. 1189 § 1, 2009)
Upon the filing of an appeal, the appellant shall be charged the cost of the hearing officer in an amount which shall be set by separate resolution of the city council and added to the administrative penalty should the appeal be denied. Should the appeal be successful, and the violation determined to be invalid, no cost shall be charged.
(Ord. 1189 § 1, 2009)
Nothing in this chapter shall prevent the city from initiating a civil or criminal proceeding or any other legal or equitable proceeding as an alternative to the proceedings set forth in this chapter.
(Ord. 1189 § 1, 2009)
Administrative penalties shall be a debt to the city and subject to all remedies for debt collection as allowed by law. When a violation involves privately owned real property and the administrative penalty is unpaid within the prescribed time as set forth in the hearing officer's written order, the amount of the penalty shall be recorded as a lien upon and against the real property involved without further hearing. Penalties involving real property may also be recorded with the Los Angeles County auditor controller's office and placed on the regular tax rolls for collection in the same manner as an ad valorem tax without further hearing. Administrative penalties that are not associated with real property and unpaid within the prescribed time may be recorded with the Los Angeles County recorder's office as an unsecured lien against the name of the violator and/or with the California Franchise Tax Board "Inter-Agency Offset Program" pursuant to Section 12419.10 of the California Government Code without further hearing. Unsecured liens shall be subject to all other means of debt collection as allowed by law. Unpaid administrative penalties shall be a misdemeanor for which the violator may be prosecuted.
(Ord. 1189 § 1, 2009)
Any person aggrieved by the decision of the administrative hearing officer may seek judicial review by filing an appeal with a court of competent jurisdiction in accordance with the timelines and provisions set forth in California Government Code Section 53069.4. The aggrieved person filing the appeal shall be responsible for paying the statutory filing fee to the court when the appeal is filed. The aggrieved person filing the appeal shall serve upon the city clerk either in person or by first class mail a copy of the notice of appeal.
(Ord. 1189 § 1, 2009)
A. 
The city council finds that there is a need to give notice of pending enforcement actions to persons who may subsequently acquire the property as a means by which to ensure the violations will be corrected. An appropriate method to accomplish this is through the issuance and recordation of notices of violation.
B. 
The procedures established in this chapter shall be in addition to criminal, civil, or any other remedy established by law which may be pursued to address violations of this code or applicable state codes.
(Ord. 1210 § 2, 2012)
A. 
Once the city has issued an administrative citation to a responsible person and the property remains in violation after the deadline established in the citation, the director of development services or the city manager's designee may record the notice of violation with the Los Angeles County recorder's office.
B. 
The recorded notice of violation shall include the name of the property owner, the assessor's parcel number, the street address, the parcel's legal description, and a copy of the latest notice of violation.
C. 
The city shall cause copies of the recorded notices of violation to be served on all persons having an ownership interest in the subject real property as shown in the last equalized assessment roll of the Los Angeles County assessor's office. Service thereof shall be by first class mail. Failure to receive such notices shall not invalidate any action or proceedings conducted hereunder.
D. 
Any costs associated with recording and removal may be assessed against the property as provided for herein.
(Ord. 1210 § 2, 2012)
A. 
When the violations list on the administrative citation have been corrected, the responsible person or property owner may file with the director of development services a written request for a notice of compliance.
B. 
The city shall reinspect the property to determine whether the violations have been corrected, whether all necessary permits have been issued and final inspections have been performed, and whether all administrative penalties have been paid. If so, then the director of development services or the city manager's designee shall record a notice of compliance with the county of Los Angeles recorder's office and provide a copy to the responsible person and property owner. If not, then the director of development services or the city manager's designee shall serve notice to the responsible person and property owner with a written explanation in accordance with the methods of service listed in this chapter.
C. 
The director of development services or the city manager's designee decision denying a request to issue a notice of compliance constitutes the final decision in the matter and is not appealable.
(Ord. 1210 § 2, 2012)
For properties where a notice of violation has been recorded, the city may withhold building permits for repair, construction and/or alteration on the affected property, and may withhold zoning permits or other development entitlements, until a notice of compliance has been issued by the city pursuant as provided in this chapter. The city may not withhold permits which are necessary to abate the violation or to correct serious health and safety violations as determined by the director of development services or building official.
(Ord. 1210 § 2, 2012)