(a)
The
city council finds that there is a need for an alternative method
of enforcement for violations of the Crescent City Municipal Code.
The city council also finds that an appropriate method of enforcement
for violations is an administrative citation program as authorized
by Government Code Section 53069.4.
(b)
The
procedures established in this chapter shall be in addition to criminal,
civil or any other legal or equitable remedy established by law, which
may be pursued to address violation of the Crescent City Municipal
Code.
(c)
The
city council hereby finds and determines that the enforcement of the
Crescent City Municipal Code and other ordinances adopted by the city
are matters of local concern and serve important public purposes.
Pursuant to Government Code Section 53069.4, the city of Crescent
City adopts this administrative citation program in order to achieve
the following goals:
(1)
To protect the public health, safety and welfare of the residents
of the city of Crescent City;
(2)
To gain compliance with the Crescent City Municipal Code and regulations
adopted pursuant thereto in a timely and efficient manner;
(3)
To provide for an administrative process to appeal the imposition
of administrative citations and fines;
(4)
To provide a method to hold parties responsible when they fail or
refuse to comply with the provision of the Crescent City Municipal
Code;
(5)
To minimize the expense and delay where the alternative remedies
are to pursue responsible parties in the costly and time-consuming
civil or criminal justice system.
(d)
Use
of this chapter for the enforcement of Municipal Code provisions shall
be at the sole discretion of the city of Crescent City, and its officers,
agents and employees.
(Ord. 732 § 1, 4-21-2008)
shall mean the city of Crescent City in the State of California.
shall mean the city council of the city of Crescent City.
shall mean the Crescent City Municipal Code.
shall mean the period of time designated in the notice of
violation within which a responsible party may correct or abate the
violation.
shall mean calendar days.
shall mean any officer or employee authorized by resolution
of the city council to enforce the Crescent City Municipal Code, or
his or her designee.
shall mean any individual, owner, or occupant of real property,
or owner or authorized agent of any business, company, or entity,
or the parent or legal guardian of any person under the age of eighteen
years, who causes or maintains or allows to continue, by his or her
action or failure to act, a violation of the Crescent City Municipal
Code.
(Ord. 732 § 1, 4-21-2008)
(a)
Any
person violating any provision of the Code may be issued an administrative
citation by an enforcement officer as provided in this Chapter. A
violation of this Code includes, but is not limited to, a violation
of the Code, a violation of any Uniform Code adopted by the city council,
a violation of any uncodified City ordinance, or failure to comply
with any condition imposed by any entitlement, permit, or license
issued or approved under this Code.
(b)
Each
and every day a violation of the Code exists constitutes a separate
and distinct offense.
(c)
A
civil fine shall be assessed by means of an administrative citation
issued by the enforcement officer and shall be payable directly to
the city of Crescent City.
(d)
The
amount for each violation shall be:
(1)
A fine not to exceed one hundred dollars for the first violation;
(2)
A fine not to exceed two hundred dollars for the second violation
of the same Code provision, or condition of a permit, license, or
entitlement within one year from the date of the first violation;
(3)
A fine not to exceed five hundred dollars for each additional violation
of the same Code provision, or condition of a permit, license, or
entitlement within one year from the date of the second violation.
(Ord. 732 § 1, 4-21-2008)
(a)
Service. Except as provided in Section 1.24.050, upon determining that a violation exists, the enforcement officer shall serve a notice of violation upon one or more of the responsible parties prior to issuing an administrative citation. Service shall be completed utilizing one of the methods of service identified in subsection (b) of Section 120.060.
(b)
Contents.
The notice of the violation shall include:
(1)
The date, approximate time and location of the violation;
(2)
The conditions constituting the violation;
(3)
The specific code and section violated;
(4)
A specified time period from the date of service of the notice of
violation within which the violation must be corrected or abated;
(5)
A statement that in the event the violation is not corrected or abated
by the expiration of the correction period, the responsible party
shall be subject to an administrative fine under this chapter;
(6)
A statement of the fine that will be levied if the violation is not
corrected; and
(7)
A statement that the responsible party may submit in writing to the
enforcement officer any information relating to a determination of
the existence of a violation.
(c)
Correction
or abatement period. The notice of violation shall provide a responsible
party a reasonable period of time from its date of service to correct
the violation, except that if the violation creates an immediate danger
to the health or safety of persons or property, the notice of violation
may require that the violation be corrected immediately. If the enforcement
officer determines that a good faith effort is being made to correct
or abate the violation, he or she may grant an additional period of
time to complete the correction. If the violation cannot be completely
corrected, the violation must be abated in the manner described in
the notice of violation.
(d)
Acknowledgment
of correction or abatement. When the enforcement officer determines
that the violation has been corrected or satisfactorily abated, the
enforcement officer shall provide the responsible party with a letter
acknowledging that the correction has occurred. If the violation is
corrected or satisfactorily abated within the correction period, no
administrative citation shall be issued.
(e)
Only
one notice of violation shall issue for a continuing violation. Second
and subsequent citations may be issued and served based on the original
notice of violation.
(Ord. 732 § 1, 4-21-2008)
Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, no notice
of violation is required, and a citation may be issued forthwith,
where any of the following circumstances exist:
(a)
The
violation does not pertain to building, plumbing, electrical, or other
similar zoning issues; and
(b)
The
violation creates an immediate danger to health or safety; or
(c)
The
violation occurs within the immediate vicinity of a posted notice
of the requirements of the Code provision being violated.
(Ord. 732 § 1, 4-21-2008)
(a)
If
a notice of violation has been served upon a responsible party and
the violation has not been corrected or abated within the correction
period, an administrative citation may be issued to that responsible
party by an enforcement officer for a violation of the Code.
(b)
An
administrative citation shall be served on the responsible party by
an enforcement officer in one of the following ways:
(1)
Personal service. The enforcement officer may personally serve the
responsible party and obtain the signature of the responsible party
on the administrative citation. If personal service is effected, but
the responsible party refuses or fails to sign the administrative
citation, the failure or refusal to the sign shall not affect the
validity of the service of the administrative citation or of any of
the subsequent proceedings. The enforcement officer shall note on
the administrative citation the failure or refusal of the responsible
party to sign the citation. The date of service under this subsection
shall be the date of actual service.
(2)
Service by mail. As an alternative to personal service, the enforcement
officer may serve the administrative citation by mail as hereinafter
set forth. The administrative citation shall be mailed to the responsible
party by certified mail, postage prepaid and return receipt requested.
Simultaneously, the citation may be sent by first class mail. If the
citation is sent by certified mail and returned unsigned, then service
shall be deemed effective pursuant to first class mail, provided the
citation sent by first class mail is not returned by the United States
Postal Service undelivered. In the case of service by certified mail
for which a signed receipt is returned, the date of service shall
be the date of the signing of the receipt. In the case of service
by regular first class mail, the date of service shall be the date
upon which such mail was deposited in the United States Mail with
postage prepaid, plus three days.
(3)
Service by posting notice. If the enforcement officer does not succeed
in serving the responsible party by personal service or by mail as
set forth above, the enforcement officer shall post the administrative
citation on any real property within the city in which the city has
knowledge that the responsible party has a legal interest, and such
posting shall be deemed effective service. The date of service of
a posted notice or citation shall be the date of actual posting, plus
five days.
(Ord. 732 § 1, 4-21-2008)
Each administrative citation shall contain the following information:
(a)
The
date and approximate time when the violation was observed;
(b)
The
name and address of the responsible party and, if applicable, the
physical address or description of the location where the violation
exists or occurred;
(c)
The
Code sections or provisions violated and a description of the violation;
(d)
When
applicable, the date the notice of violation was served on the responsible
party and the specified time period for correction of the violation;
(e)
When
applicable, a statement that the violation has not been corrected
within the correction period;
(f)
The
amount of the fine;
(g)
An
explanation of how, where, to whom and the time period within which
the fine must be paid;
(h)
Identification
of rights of appeal, including the time within which the citation
may be contested and how to appeal the citation;
(i)
A
statement that if the fine is not paid within thirty calendar days
a fifty percent late penalty will be assessed; and
(j)
The
name and signature of the enforcement officer along with the date
of issuance of the citation and, if possible, the signature of the
responsible party.
(Ord. 732 § 1, 4-21-2008)
(a)
If
payment of a fine is not received by the city within thirty days of
service of the administrative citation, then a late fee shall be assessed.
The amount of the late penalty shall be fifty percent of the total
amount of the fine owed.
(b)
Payment
of the fine shall not excuse the failure to correct the violation
nor shall it bar further enforcement action by the city.
(c)
If
the responsible party fails to correct the violation, subsequent administrative
citations may be issued for maintaining, continuing or repeating the
same violation.
(d)
The
city may collect any past due administrative citation fines and/or
late payment charges by the use of the small claims court, or any
other legal remedy.
(Ord. 732 § 1, 4-21-2008)
Any recipient of an administrative citation may contest that
there was a violation of the Code or that he or she is a responsible
party by completing a request for appeal form and returning it to
the city within fifteen days from the date of service of the administrative
citation, together with an advance deposit in the amount of the fine.
Any administrative citation fine amount that has been deposited shall
be refunded if it is determined, after hearing, that the person or
entity charged in the administrative citation was not responsible
for the violation or that there was no violation as charged in the
administrative citation.
(Ord. 732 § 1, 4-21-2008)
The city manager shall appoint a hearing officer for the administrative
citation hearing. The hearing officer shall be independent of the
city. The compensation of the hearing officer, if any, shall be paid
by the city. Compensation shall not be directly or indirectly conditioned
upon whether or not administrative citations are upheld by the hearing
officer.
(Ord. 732 § 1, 4-21-2008)
(a)
No hearing to appeal an administrative citation shall be held unless and until a request for hearing form has been completed and submitted and an advance deposit of the fine amount has been made in accordance with Section 1.24.090.
(b)
A
hearing before the hearing officer shall be set for a date that is
not less than fifteen days and not more than sixty days from the date
the request for hearing was filed. The person requesting the hearing
shall be notified of the time and place set of the hearing at least
fifteen days prior to hearing via first class mail, postage prepaid.
(c)
The
hearing officer shall only consider evidence that is relevant to whether
the violation(s) occurred and whether the responsible party has caused
or maintained the violation of the Code on the date(s) specified in
the administrative citation.
(d)
The
responsible party contesting the administrative citation shall be
given the opportunity to testify and present witnesses and evidence
concerning the administrative citation, and to cross-examine witnesses
and question evidence.
(e)
The
failure of any recipient of an administrative citation to appear at
the scheduled hearing shall constitute a forfeiture of the fine and
a failure to exhaust administrative remedies.
(f)
The
notice of violation, the administrative citation and any additional
documents submitted by the enforcement officer shall constitute prima
facie evidence of the respective facts contained in those documents.
(g)
At
least ten days prior to the hearing, the recipient of an administrative
citation shall be provided with copies of the citations, reports and
other documents submitted or relied upon by the enforcement officer.
If the enforcement officer submits any additional written report or
other documentary evidence concerning the administrative citation
to the hearing officer for consideration at the hearing, then a copy
of each such report or document shall also be served by mail on the
person requesting the hearing at least five days prior to the date
of the hearing. No other discovery is permitted. Formal rules of evidence
shall not apply. Evidence shall be admitted in the hearing if it is
the kind of evidence upon which a reasonable person would rely in
the conduct of serious affairs.
(h)
The
hearing officer may continue the hearing and request additional information
from the enforcement officer or the recipient of the administrative
citation prior to issuing a written decision; both the enforcement
officer and the recipient may be represented by counsel at the hearing.
(Ord. 732 § 1, 4-21-2008)
(a)
After
considering all of the testimony and evidence submitted at the hearing,
the hearing officer shall issue a written decision (known as an "administrative
order") within ten days of the hearing to uphold or cancel the administrative
citation and shall briefly state the reasons for that order.
(b)
If
the administrative order upholds the administrative citation, then
the fine amount deposited with the city shall be retained by the city.
(c)
If
the administrative order cancels the administrative citation, then
the city shall promptly refund the amount of the deposited fine.
(d)
The
hearing officer shall have discretion to reduce the fine or condition
return of all or part of the fine upon the correction of the violation.
(e)
The
recipient of the administrative citation shall be served a copy of
the administrative order by the city via certified mail, postage prepaid
and return receipt requested.
(Ord. 732 § 1, 4-21-2008)
Any person aggrieved by the administrative order issued by the
hearing officer may obtain review of the administrative order by filing
a notice of appeal with the Del Norte County Superior Court in accordance
with the timelines and provisions set forth in Government Code Section
53069.4. Payment of the appeal fee is the responsibility of the appellant.
(Ord. 732 § 1, 4-21-2008)
The city council may cause any unpaid administrative citations,
including late fees, penalties, and other administrative costs, to
become a lien or special assessment against the subject property in
accordance with the procedures set forth in this section and pursuant
to California Government Code §§ 38773.1 and 38773.5.
This section will only apply to properties on which a nuisance was maintained as identified in chapters 12.16 and 8.08, and where an administrative citation was duly issued pursuant to this Chapter 1.24. The following criteria must be met prior to an unpaid administrative citation becoming a lien or special assessment.
A.
Report
of unpaid citations. The community development director, or designee,
will keep an accounting of the unpaid administrative citations, including
late fees, penalties, and other administrative costs. If an administrative
citation remains unpaid for a period of thirty days, the director
may initiate lien and special assessment proceedings by making a full
report to the city council with an itemized account of the overdue
amounts owed for the subject property. The report will include a day,
time and place for the city council to hear argument and make a decision
on the proposed lien and special assessment.
B.
Notice
and hearing. A hearing before the city council will be held in order
for the council to determine whether the delinquent amounts will be
made a lien or special assessment against the subject parcel.
Notice of the hearing and of the lien or special assessment
must be posted on the subject property and mailed to the last known
address of the property owner fifteen days prior to the hearing. The
city council will make a decision at the hearing even if the property
owner is not present.
The property owner may present argument disputing the amount
of the proposed assessment at the hearing. The city council will not
hear argument about whether a nuisance existed on the property, or
whether the administrative citation should have been issued, because
opportunity for argument on those issues are provided for elsewhere
in this Code.
C.
Assessment
of costs against property—Lien. After hearing the arguments
and examining the report, the city council will, by resolution, certify
the community development director's report of unpaid administrative
fines and related expenses and authorize recording of the lien and
special assessment procedures.
Prior to recording the lien against the property the property owner must be served in the same manner as a summons in a civil action in accordance with Article 3 (commencing with Section 415.10 of Chapter 4 of Title 5 of Part 2 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
If the owner cannot be found after diligent search a copy of
the notice may be posted in a conspicuous place on the property for
a period of ten days and publication in a newspaper of general circulation
published in the county in which the property is located.
Thereafter, a lien will be recorded in the county recorder's
office in the county in which the parcel is located and will have
the effect and priority of a judgment lien. The lien must specify
the amount of the lien, the name of the agency imposing it, the date
of the citation, a legal description of the subject property, and
the name of the owner of record.
D.
Special
assessment. As an alternative to recording the lien the city may make
the amount specified in the city council's resolution a special assessment
against the subject property.
At the direction of the council the city clerk will forward
the relevant information to the tax collector for unpaid delinquent
amounts. The assessment will be collected at the same time, in the
same manner, and subject to the same laws as ordinary municipal taxes.
At the same time that the assessment is imposed the city clerk
will provide notice, by certified mail, to the property owner, if
the property owner's whereabouts can be determined. The notice will
include a warning that delinquent taxes may result in the sale of
the property in accordance with Section 3691 of the Revenue and Taxation
Code.
(Ord. 778 § 3, 1-8-2014)
