This chapter shall be known as the "California Fire Code."
(SCC 1711 § 2, 2022)
There is hereby adopted by the Board of Supervisors of the County
of Sacramento for the purpose of prescribing regulations governing
conditions hazardous to life and property from fire or explosion,
that certain code known as the 2022 California Building Standards
Code, Title 24, California Code of Regulations, Part 9 (California
Fire Code), published by the International Code Council in its entirety
including Appendix Chapter 4, Appendix B, Appendix BB, Appendix C,
Appendix CC, Appendix H, and Appendix O, save and except such portions
as hereinafter are deleted, modified, or amended. Not less than one
copy of such code has been and now is filed with the Clerk of the
Board of Supervisors. From the effective date of this ordinance, the
provisions thereof shall be controlling within the limits of Sacramento
County except that any inconsistent regulations and ordinances adopted
pursuant to applicable law by a fire protection district or a community
service district having a fire department within the County shall
be controlling within that district's jurisdictional areas.
(SCC 1711 § 2, 2022)
The division of authority for enforcement of this chapter shall
be as follows:
A.
The
Chief of any fire protection district or a community service district
having a fire department or designated representatives shall have
authority to enforce this chapter and issue citations for violations
in their respective districts.
B.
The
Fire Chief, Airport Firefighting and Airfield Operations, of the Sacramento
County Airport System, County of Sacramento, or his/her designated
representatives shall have authority to enforce this chapter and issue
citations for violations at all County of Sacramento Airports.
(SCC 1711 § 2, 2022)
The Findings of Fact are filed separately with the California
Building Standards Commission, State Department of Housing and Community
Development and County Board of Supervisors.
(SCC 1711 § 2, 2022)
A.
Wherever
the word "municipality" is used in the California Fire Code, it shall
include the incorporated and unincorporated areas of the County of
Sacramento.
B.
Wherever
the word "Chief" is used in the California Fire Code, it shall mean
the Chief or fire code official of any fire protection district or
a community service district that has a fire department or their designated
representatives, within their respective jurisdictions.
(SCC 1711 § 2, 2022)
(SCC 1711 § 2, 2022)
[1]
Editor's Note: The amendments to the 2022 California Fire Code are included as an attachment to this title.
All former fire prevention ordinances or parts thereof conflicting
or inconsistent with the provisions of this ordinance or of the code
hereby adopted are hereby repealed.
(SCC 1711 § 2, 2022)
Prior references to the local Code shall be construed to apply
to the corresponding provisions of this Code.
(SCC 1711 § 2, 2022)
The Board of Supervisors hereby declares that should any section,
paragraph, sentence, or word of this ordinance or of the code hereby
adopted be declared for any reason to be invalid, it is the intent
of the Board of Supervisors that it would have passed all other portions
of this ordinance independent of the elimination therefrom of any
such portion as may be declared invalid.
(SCC 1711 § 2, 2022)
The Board of Supervisors finds and declares that the uncontrolled
growth and/or accumulation of grass, weeds or other materials or obstructions
on sidewalks, streets, and on lands or lots is dangerous or injurious
to neighboring property and the health or welfare of residents of
the vicinity and is a public nuisance in that it creates a condition
that reduces the value of private property, promotes blight and deterioration,
invites plundering, creates fire hazards, constitutes an attractive
nuisance creating a hazard to the health and safety of minors, creates
a harbor for rodents and insects and is injurious to the health, safety
and general welfare.
(SCC 597 § 1, 1984)
As used in this chapter:
a.
"Refuse"
includes rubbish and garbage, as defined herein.
b.
"Garbage"
includes, but is not limited to, the following: waste resulting from
the handling of edible foodstuffs or resulting from decay, and solid
or semisolid putrescible waste, and all other mixed, non-recyclable
wastes which are generated in the day-to-day operation of any business,
residential, governmental, public or private activity, and may include
tin cans, bottles and paper or plastic, or other synthetic material,
food or beverage containers.
c.
"Rubbish"
includes all the following, but is not restricted to nonputrescible
wastes, such as paper, cardboard, grass clippings, tree or shrub trimmings,
wood, bedding, crockery, rubber tires, construction waste and similar
waste materials.
d.
"Weeds,"
as used in this chapter, includes any of the following:
1.
Weeds
which bear seeds of a downy or wingy nature;
2.
Sagebrush,
chaparral, and any other brush or weeds which attain such hard growth
as to become, when dry, a fire menace to adjacent improved property;
3.
Weeds
and grasses which are otherwise noxious;
4.
Poison
oak and poison ivy when the conditions of growth are such as to constitute
a menace to the public health;
5.
Dry
grass, stubble, brush, litter, or other flammable material which endangers
the public safety by creating a fire hazard.
e.
"Accumulation
of weeds" includes, but is not limited to, permitting or allowing
the growth of weeds.
(SCC 597 § 1, 1984)
This chapter is not the exclusive regulation for weed and refuse
abatement within the unincorporated area of the County. It shall supplement
and be in addition to the other regulatory codes, statutes, and ordinances
heretofore and hereafter enacted by the County, the State, or any
other legal entity or agency having jurisdiction.
(SCC 597 § 1, 1984)
The division of authority for enforcement of this chapter shall
be as follows:
a.
The
Chief of any County Fire Department or fire protection district having
jurisdiction shall have authority to enforce this chapter and issue
citations for violations in their respective districts;
b.
The
County Fire Warden shall have authority to enforce this chapter in
any area lying without any organized fire district or Fire Department;
c.
The
County Fire Warden shall have authority to enforce this chapter in
any County Fire Protection District upon request of the Chief of the
Fire Department of the district or the governing body thereof.
(SCC 597 § 1, 1984)
A person shall not dump weeds or refuse, nor shall he permit
the dumping of weeds or refuse, nor shall he permit the accumulation
of weeds or refuse, on his property or on any other property in such
a manner as to constitute a fire hazard.
(SCC 597 § 1, 1984)
All dry grass, brush, vines or other dry vegetation shall be
cleared for an area of not less than 30 feet from all structures,
combustible fences, vehicles and combustible storage. The local fire
authority may require additional clearances when topographical or
geographical conditions warrant said action.
(SCC 597 § 1, 1984)
The Fire Chief of any Fire Department or district, or personnel
acting under his or her direction, may enter upon private or public
property whenever necessary to enforce or administer the provisions
of this chapter; provided, however, that this right of entry and inspection
shall not be construed to grant the right to enter into any dwelling
or appurtenances thereto which may be located on the land.
(SCC 1218 § 3, 2002)
The owner, lessee or occupant of buildings, grounds, or lots
within the unincorporated area of the County shall remove from such
property and adjacent streets refuse, rubbish and weeds growing or
accumulated thereon in accordance with procedures and methods prescribed
by the Chief of any Fire Department or district.
(SCC 1218 § 4, 2002)
Proceedings under this chapter shall commence when a violation
of this chapter is identified and notice is given in the manner prescribed
as follows. The Chief of any Fire Department or district shall mail
written notice to each person that has an ownership interest in the
property to which the violation pertains. Ownership interest shall
be determined based on the last equalized assessment roll available
on the date of mailing of the notice. Notification shall also be accomplished
by posting on the property where the owner's mailing address is not
available or not current.
The contents of written and posted notices shall include the
following:
a.
A description
of the property by reference to the assessor's parcel number as used
in the records of the County Assessor, and by reference to the common
name of a street or road upon which the property abuts, if the property
abuts upon a road or street;
b.
A statement
that there are weeds, rubbish or refuse upon the property;
c.
A request
that such weeds, rubbish or refuse be removed or abated by a date
certain, which shall not be less than 15 calendar days following the
mailing or posting of the notice;
d.
A statement
that the weeds, rubbish or refuse may be removed under authority of
the County and the costs of such removal and abatement made a legal
charge against the owner or owners of the property, a lien on the
property and subject to collection with property taxes as specified
under Section 25845 of the Government Code;
e.
A statement
referencing the right to appeal the Fire Chief's determination; and
f.
With
respect to notices which are posted, a title which reads "Notice to
Remove Weeds, Grass, Noxious Vegetation, Rubbish and Other Obstructions",
the letters of the foregoing title to be not less than one inch in
height.
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Notices which are posted shall be conspicuously posted in front
of the property, or if the property has no frontage upon a road or
street, then upon a portion of the property nearest to a road or a
street most likely to give actual notice to the owner. Notices shall
be posted not more than 100 feet in distance apart upon property with
more than 200 feet of frontage, and at least one notice shall be posted
on each parcel with 200 or less feet of frontage.
|
(SCC 1218 § 5, 2002)
Any person who is adversely affected by the notice set forth in Section 17.12.080, may appeal such notice by requesting an appeal hearing in writing within 10 days of the date of the notice. Timely appeal shall stay any further action for removal or abatement until the date set for hearing, unless the weeds at issue present an imminent fire hazard within 100 feet of any property containing a structure. The receiving fire department or district shall set the matter for hearing before the Weed Abatement Hearing Officer. The Fire Chief shall appoint the Weed Abatement Hearing Officer who shall be a Deputy or Assistant Fire Marshall not involved with the issuance of the violation notice. The appellant shall be provided with notice of the appeal hearing at least 10 days prior to the hearing date. The appellant shall have the right to appear in person or by agent, designated in writing, at the hearing and present oral, written and/or photographic evidence. The order of the Weed Abatement Hearing Officer denying or granting the appeal shall be final and shall be issued within 15 days of the date of the hearing.
(SCC 1218 § 5, 2002; SCC
1239 § 1, 2003)
If compliance has not been accomplished at the end of the time
allowed for compliance in the original notice, or as extended by administrative
agreement or the County Hearing Officer, the Fire Department or district
that issued the notice may order such weeds or other flammable vegetation
to be removed by the Fire Department or district or the County of
Sacramento at the Department or district's request or by private contractor
selected by the County in accordance with County abatement contracting
procedures.
(SCC 1218 § 6, 2002)
When proceedings under this chapter result in the removal of weeds, rubbish or refuse from property subsequent to the date specified in any notice issued pursuant to the provisions of Section 17.12.080, above, pro-rated administrative costs of such proceedings incurred by any Fire Department or district or the County of Sacramento and the actual cost of removal, if removal is undertaken by any Fire Department or district or the County or its contractor, may be assessed against the property. Such administrative costs may include those incurred in inspecting property, publication, mailing and posting of notices, preparation of contracts, review of bids by contractors, and administration of contracts. It is the purpose of this section to allow the assessment against property of pro-rated administrative costs of proceedings if weeds, rubbish or refuse are ultimately removed from property subsequent to the date specified in any notice issued pursuant to the provisions of Section 17.12.080, whether such removal is undertaken by the owner or occupant of the property or by an authorized Fire Department or district or the County or its contractor.
The Fire Chief or his or her designee shall keep an account
of the administrative and removal costs of abatement, and shall submit
to the Board of Supervisors for confirmation an itemized written report
showing such unpaid costs and their proposed assessment to the respective
properties. The report shall be filed with the Clerk of the Board
of Supervisors not later than 15 calendar days in advance of the confirmation
hearing required below.
Upon receipt of the report, the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors
shall schedule a public hearing to receive protests and confirm the
report. A statement of the proposed assessment and notice of the time,
date and place of the hearing, together with reference to the report
on file with the Clerk, shall be mailed to the owner or owners of
each parcel of property proposed to be assessed shown on the last
equalized assessment roll available on the date of mailing of the
notice to the address or addresses of the owner or owners shown on
the roll or any other address or addresses ascertained to be more
accurate. Such notice shall be mailed not later than 15 calendar days
in advance of the hearing. Notice of the time, date and place of the
public hearing by the Board shall be published once in a newspaper
of general circulation published within the County. With respect to
each property proposed to be assessed for which the name of the owner
or owners is not shown on the last equalized assessment roll or no
address for an owner is shown on the last equalized assessment roll,
the notice shall show the name or names of the owner or owners if
such name or names are shown on the last equalized assessment roll,
the assessor's parcel number, the street address of the property if
the property has an address and the address is known to the Director,
the name of the street or road upon which such property abuts if the
property abuts upon a street or road, the amount of the proposed assessment
and reference to the report on file with the Clerk. Such publication
shall be made not later than 15 calendar days in advance of the hearing.
At the time fixed for receiving and considering the report,
the Board of Supervisors shall conduct a public hearing and shall
receive and consider any objections from members of the general public
or property owners liable to be assessed for the abatement. The Board
may continue the hearing and delegate to the County Executive or his
or her designee the responsibility of hearing individual protests
and submitting a recommendation with respect thereto; provided that
the Board provides an opportunity for individual consideration of
each project upon receipt of the recommendation by the County Executive
or his or her designee. The Board may modify the report if it is deemed
necessary. The Board shall then confirm the report by motion or resolution.
(SCC 1218 § 7, 2002)
a.
If the costs as confirmed are not paid within 30 days of the date of mailing of the notice or date of publication pursuant to Section 17.12.080 above, such costs shall be assessed against the parcel of land pursuant to Section 25845 of the Government Code, and shall be transmitted to the Tax Collector for collection and shall be subject to the same penalties and the same procedures and sale in case of delinquency as provided for ad valorem taxes.
b.
If subsequent to the mailing of the notice of violation as set forth in Section 17.12.080, and prior to transmittal of the notice of unpaid costs to the Tax Collector for collection as set forth in subsection (a) of this section, the property subject to the notice of violation is sold, or title otherwise transferred to a bona fide purchaser, said costs shall be the responsibility of the owner of record as of the date said notice of violation was placed in the United States postal system or posted on the property.
(SCC 1218 § 8, 2002)
a.
Notwithstanding the provisions of Sections 1.01.190 and 17.04.100, or the provisions of any other section of this Code, violation of any of the provisions of any other section of this Code, violation of any of the provisions of Chapter 17.12, or failure to comply with any of the regulatory requirements of Chapter 17.12, is an infraction subject to the procedures described in Sections 19(c) and 19(d) of the California Penal Code.
b.
Every violation of Chapter 17.12 is punishable by (1) a fine not exceeding $100 for the first violation; (2) a fine not exceeding $200 for the second violation of the same ordinance provisions within one year; and (3) a fine not exceeding $500 for each additional violation of the same ordinance provisions within one year.
(SCC 597 § 1, 1984; SCC
1218 § 9, 2002)
