The City, in addition to any other legally available remedy,
may collect any fee, cost, or charge incurred in the abatement of
public nuisances and in the enforcement of state and local housing,
building, and zoning laws, codes, and regulations with respect to
construction or land use activities, by making the amount of any unpaid
fee, cost or charge a lien against the property that is the subject
of the enforcement activity.
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The following definitions shall apply for purposes of this chapter:
"Administrative costs"
shall mean the actual cost incurred by the City in performing the inspections, enforcement, and/or abatement activity related to the actions listed in Section
1.15.030 of this Code, including the City's incidental and direct administrative expenses and any permit fees, late charges, interest, fines and penalties authorized under this Code.
"Enforcement officer"
shall mean any individual employed or otherwise charged by
the City to enforce codes, ordinances, resolutions, mandates, laws,
regulations, or rules within the City.
"Hearing officer"
shall mean the hearing officer designated by the City Council
to make a recommendation to the City Council regarding a notice of
proposed lien.
"Notice of proposed lien"
shall mean the notice provided to a responsible party for the administrative costs associated with the violation of any ordinance, law, or regulation set forth under Section
1.15.030 of this Code.
"Responsible person"
shall mean any individual or corporation, partnership, association,
or other group or combination of individuals acting as an entity,
that has an ownership or leasehold interest in the subject property,
or has a contractual obligation to lease or maintain the subject property.
"Subject property"
shall mean the property that is the subject of the enforcement activity where one or more violations of any ordinance, law or regulation set forth under Section
1.15.030 of this Code has occurred or continues to occur.
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Pursuant to Section 54988 of the
Government Code and in accordance
with the procedures set forth in this chapter, the City may assess
and collect all administrative costs resulting from the following:
A. Abatement
of a public nuisance;
B. Correction
of any violation of any law or regulation that would also be a violation
of Section 1941.1 of the
Civil Code;
C. Enforcement
of zoning ordinances adopted pursuant to Chapter 4 of Division 1 of
Title 7 of the
Government Code;
D. Inspection
and abatement of violations of the State Housing Law, as set forth
in Part 1.5 of Division 13 of the
Health and Safety Code and any regulations
adopted pursuant thereto;
F. Inspection
and abatement of violations of any section of this Code that implements
or is authorized pursuant to the foregoing provisions of state law.
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This chapter shall not apply to owner-occupied residential dwelling
units or any enforcement, abatement, or correction that is evident
in any final building plans filed with the City for which a building
permit was issued.
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The enforcement officer shall calculate the amount of the administrative costs imposed pursuant to this chapter by totaling all costs and expenses described in Section
1.15.020. The enforcement officer shall keep an account of the administrative costs and shall prepare a written, itemized report showing the administrative costs and shall maintain such report in the City's file for the subject property.
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Any responsible person issued a notice of proposed lien by an enforcement officer may request a hearing to contest the violation(s) of the ordinances, laws, or regulations set forth in Section
1.15.030 of this Code, or contest that he or she is not responsible for the violation. The responsible person may request a hearing by following the procedures set forth in Sections
1.14.060 and
1.14.070 of this Code, except that the term "administrative citation" used therein shall mean a "notice of proposed lien," and the terms "fine" or "penalty" used therein shall mean "administrative costs."
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Any person aggrieved by the decision of the City Council pursuant
to this chapter may obtain review of the decision by filing a petition
for review in a court of competent jurisdiction in County of Los Angeles,
in accordance with applicable provisions of state law.
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