Administrative hearings shall be conducted in accordance with this chapter and any administrative orders promulgated by the City Manager.
A. 
Administrative Hearing Procedures.
1. 
No hearing to contest an administrative citation before an administrative hearing officer shall be scheduled unless the full amount of administrative penalties has been deposited in advance or an advance deposit hardship waiver has been issued.
2. 
A hearing before the administrative hearing officer shall be set for a date not less than 15 calendar days and not more than 60 calendar days from the date the request for hearing is filed and the city receives a deposit of the full amount of administrative penalties or an advanced deposit hardship waiver is issued.
3. 
An appeal or request for an administrative hearing upon receipt of a notice of violation for a public nuisance, a notice and order for civil penalties, a decision of the City Manager or designee on a stop work order or stop use order appeal, or a notice of hearing, and any accompanying administrative citation(s) may be consolidated and heard on the same date.
4. 
Notice of the administrative hearing shall be served on the responsible party(ies) by the city in the manner prescribed by Section 1.10.040 of this chapter.
5. 
The failure of any person with an interest in the property, or other responsible party, to receive a properly addressed notice of hearing, served pursuant to Section 1.10.040 of this chapter, shall not affect the validity of any proceedings under this chapter.
6. 
The failure of any recipient of a notice of violation for public nuisance, notice and order for civil penalties, stop work order or stop use order, an administrative citation, or a notice of hearing to appear at any scheduled hearing shall result in an adjudication of the notice, order, or administrative citation, a forfeiture of any penalties, late fees, and other costs, and a failure by the recipient to exhaust administrative remedies.
7. 
At the hearing, the party contesting the notice, order, or administrative citation shall have an opportunity to testify and to present evidence concerning the notice, order, or administrative citation. Formal rules of evidence shall not apply during an administrative hearing.
8. 
Any city-issued notices, administrative citations, and additional report(s) submitted by an enforcement officer shall constitute prima facie evidence of the respective facts contained in those documents.
9. 
The administrative hearing officer may continue the hearing and request additional information from the enforcement officer, the recipient of the notice, order, or administrative citation, or the property owner prior to issuing an administrative enforcement order.
10. 
Failure of a person to file an appeal in accordance with the provisions of this section shall constitute a waiver of the person's rights to an administrative determination of the merits of the notice, order, or administrative citation and the amount of any administrative penalties or late fees. If no appeal is filed, the citation shall be deemed a final administrative order.
B. 
Administrative Hearing Officer's Order.
1. 
After considering all relevant testimony and evidence submitted at the hearing, the administrative hearing officer shall issue a written administrative enforcement order that upholds, modifies, or dismisses the notice, stop work order or stop use order, or administrative citation. The administrative enforcement order shall list the reasons for the decision and shall be supported by substantial evidence in the record. The administrative enforcement order shall provide the timeframe for any future compliance dates or payment due dates and otherwise comply with the requirements of any administrative orders promulgated by the City Manager.
2. 
As part of the administrative enforcement order, the administrative hearing officer may:
a. 
Reduce, waive, or modify the administrative penalties or late fees assessed by the citation, in an amount consistent with the provisions of this chapter and Chapter 1.08. The total administrative penalty shall not exceed $100,000.00 exclusive of administrative costs.
b. 
Impose, sustain, or modify civil penalties, consistent with the procedures in Section 1.10.060 of this chapter. The total civil penalty shall not exceed $400,000.00 exclusive of administrative costs.
c. 
Impose conditions and deadlines to correct the violations or require payment of any outstanding penalties or late fees.
d. 
Assess reasonable administrative costs incurred by the city as defined in Section 1.10.010 of this chapter.
3. 
In determining the amount of an administrative penalty, civil penalty, late fee, or administrative costs, or in determining conditions and deadlines to correct violations or make payments, the administrative hearing officer shall consider all relevant evidence and the following factors:
a. 
The duration of the violation.
b. 
The frequency or recurrence of the violation.
c. 
The nature and seriousness of the violation.
d. 
The history of the violation.
e. 
Whether the offense impacted environmentally sensitive lands, a historical resource, or a designated historical resource as defined throughout this code.
f. 
The willfulness of the responsible party's misconduct.
g. 
The responsible party's conduct after issuance of the notice, citation, or stop work order or stop use order.
h. 
The good faith effort by the responsible party to comply.
i. 
The economic impact of the penalty on the responsible party.
j. 
The impact of the violation upon the community.
k. 
Any other factors that justice may require.
4. 
The employment, performance evaluation, compensation, and benefits of the administrative hearing officer shall not be directly or indirectly conditioned upon the amount of the administrative citation penalties, civil penalties, late fees, or administrative costs upheld by the administrative hearing officer.
5. 
If the administrative hearing officer determines that the notice, stop work order or stop use order, and/or administrative citation should be upheld, then any administrative penalty amount(s) on deposit with the city shall be retained by the city.
6. 
If the administrative hearing officer determines the notice, stop work order or stop use order, and/or administrative citation should be upheld, and the civil penalties have not been paid and/or the administrative penalties have not been deposited pursuant to an advance deposit hardship waiver, the administrative hearing officer shall set forth in the administrative enforcement order a payment schedule for the administrative penalties, civil penalties, and any costs imposed.
7. 
If the administrative hearing officer determines the notice, stop work order or stop use order, and/or administrative citation should be dismissed and civil penalties were paid or administrative penalties were deposited with the city, then the city shall promptly refund the amount of the paid or deposited penalties together with interest at the average rate earned on the city's investment portfolio for the period of time the penalties were held by the city.
8. 
The administrative hearing officer shall serve their administrative enforcement order on all parties to the hearing within 14 calendar days of the last hearing date by regular U.S. mail or any other method reasonably likely to reach the recipient, including, but not limited to, electronic mail or facsimile.
9. 
The administrative enforcement order constitutes a final decision, effective on the date of mailing. The administrative enforcement order must contain the following statement: "The administrative enforcement order of the hearing officer is final and binding. Judicial review of this administrative enforcement order is subject to the provisions and time limits set forth in California Government Code Section 53069.4."
10. 
If the administrative enforcement order finds in favor of the city, the City Clerk's office shall cause a copy of the administrative enforcement order to be recorded against the affected property with the County Recorder's office.
11. 
If the Code Enforcement Manager determines that compliance has been achieved after the recording of an administrative enforcement order, the Code Enforcement Manager shall direct the assigned enforcement officer to issue and record a certificate of compliance against the affected property.
C. 
Failure to Comply With Administrative Enforcement Order.
1. 
Upon issuance of an administrative enforcement order, the enforcement officer shall monitor the violations and determine compliance.
2. 
It is unlawful for a party to an administrative hearing, who has been served with a copy of the administrative enforcement order pursuant to this chapter, to fail to comply with the order. The city may treat such failure as a violation of this code and use all available legal or equitable remedies to recover any penalties, costs, fees, and obtain compliance with the administrative enforcement order.
D. 
Right to Judicial Review. The recipient of the notice of violation or administrative citation may obtain judicial review of a final administrative decision by filing an appeal under California Government Code Section 53069.4, subdivision (b). If no appeal of the final administrative decision is filed within the time period set forth in California Government Code Section 53069.4, the final administrative decision shall be deemed confirmed.
(Ord. NS-591 § 1, 2001; Ord. CS-375 § 2, 2020; Ord. CS-434 § 3, 2022)
A. 
The City Manager shall establish rules and procedures pursuant to Section 1.10.020(D) of this chapter as are necessary to identify a pool of qualified persons capable of acting as administrative hearing officers.
B. 
Administrative hearing officers presiding at administrative hearings shall be appointed and compensated by the city. The City Manager shall develop policies and procedures relating to the employment and compensation of administrative hearing officers.
C. 
Any person designated to serve as an administrative hearing officer is subject to disqualification for bias, prejudice, interest, or for any other reason for which a judge may be disqualified in a court of law. Rules and procedures for the disqualification of an administrative hearing officer shall be established by the City Manager under Section 1.10.020(D) of this chapter.
(Ord. NS-591 § 1, 2001; Ord. CS-375 § 2, 2020; Ord. CS-434 § 3, 2022)