[Added by Ord. 2004-3]
A. 
Administrative Citation. This Chapter provides for administrative citations that are in addition to all other legal remedies, criminal and civil, which may be pursued by the City to address any violations of this Code and other ordinances of the City. This Chapter does not apply to violations of Part 5, Chapter 2, Article III, commencing with Section 3250, of the Lakewood Municipal Code.
B. 
Administrative Fine. An administrative fine shall be assessed by means of an administrative citation issued by an Enforcement Officer, and shall be paid directly to the City of Lakewood. Fines shall be established in an administrative fine schedule adopted by resolution of the City Council. Fines shall be collected in accord with the procedures specified in this chapter. Payment of a fine shall not excuse failure to correct the violation nor shall it bar further enforcement action by the City.
C. 
Administrative Citations That May Be Treated as Misdemeanors. Any person who violates the same provision, or fails to comply with the same requirement, of the Lakewood Municipal Code more than three times within a twelve-month period shall be guilty of a misdemeanor for each violation committed thereafter within the same twelve-month period. Any person who violates or fails to comply with this code and who refuses to identify himself or herself to an enforcement officer, making it impossible to issue an administrative citation, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
A. 
CITY
Means the City of Lakewood.
B. 
CITED PARTY
Means a legally responsible person who has been issued an administrative citation.
C. 
CONTINUING VIOLATION
Means any condition or activity in violation of the Municipal Code or ordinances that continues beyond the date given in the administrative citation to correct the violation.
D. 
ENFORCEMENT OFFICER
Means any employee of the City of Lakewood or agent for the City authorized to enforce provisions of this code.
E. 
LEGALLY RESPONSIBLE PERSON
Means any person who creates, allows, commits, or maintains a violation of the Lakewood Municipal Code or a Lakewood ordinance. It includes a natural person, heirs, executors, administrators, assigns, firm, partnership, corporation, its successors or assigns, or the agent of any of the aforesaid. The term "legally responsible person" includes but is not limited to a property owner, tenant, person with a legal interest in real property, or person in possession of real property.
F. 
LEGAL INTEREST
Means any interest that is represented by a deed, deed of trust, quitclaim deed, mortgage, lease, judgment lien, tax or assessment lien, mechanic's lien or other similar interest, which is recorded with the County Recorder.
G. 
HEARING OFFICER
Means the person designated by the City Manager to determine the validity of the violation stated on the citation.
This chapter provides for administrative penalties for any violation of this code or a City ordinance, which may be pursued in lieu of any other legal remedy, criminal or civil, to address any such violation of this code. The city attorney, city prosecutor, or their assistants, have sole discretion to determine whether a violation will be prosecuted criminally or civilly or otherwise as authorized by law.
A. 
Authority to Cite. Whenever an Enforcement Officer determines that a violation of this Code or a City ordinance has occurred, the Enforcement Officer shall have the discretion to issue an administrative citation, in lieu of a judicial citation or misdemeanor, to any legally responsible person.
[Amended by Ord. 2014-4]
B. 
Citation Contents. Administrative citations shall contain the following:
1. 
The date and location of the violation and the approximate time the violation was observed;
2. 
The code section or ordinance violated and a description of how the section was violated;
3. 
The actions required to correct the violation;
4. 
An order prohibiting the continuation or the repeated occurrence of the code violation;
5. 
The consequences of failing to correct the violation;
6. 
The amount of the fine imposed for the violation;
7. 
The date by which a fine must be paid;
8. 
The location at which a fine must be paid;
9. 
Information regarding the procedures to contest the citation;
10. 
The name and signature of the enforcement officer.
A. 
Schedule of Fines. The amount of the fine imposed for a code violation shall be set forth in the schedule of administrative fines established by resolution of the City Council.
B. 
Repeat Violations. The schedule of administrative fines shall specify any increased fines for repeat violations of the same code provisions by the same responsible person within 12 months from the date of an administrative citation.
C. 
Late Charges. The schedule of administrative fines shall specify the amount of any charges imposed for the payment of a fine after its due date.
[Amended by Ord. 2014-4]
A. 
Time to Pay. The fine shall be paid to the City within 30 days from the date of the administrative citation.
B. 
Waiver of Administrative Hearing. Payment of the fine without requesting an administrative hearing waives the cited party's right to the administrative hearing and appeal process.
C. 
Repealed.
D. 
Request an Administrative Hearing. A cited party may contest a citation in writing, not later than 15 days after service of the citation. The request shall be submitted in writing as directed on the citation and shall include a statement of reasons the citation is being contested. The request shall be accompanied by a deposit in the full amount of the fine or a request for an advance deposit hardship waiver.
A hearing will not be scheduled unless the full amount of the fine is deposited, or the City finds the cited party unable to do so and waives the deposit requirement.
A request for an advance deposit hardship waiver shall be filed at the Community Development Department on an advance deposit hardship waiver application form, available from the department, at the time an administrative hearing is requested. The Director of Finance or his designee may issue an advance deposit hardship waiver but only if the person requesting the waiver submits a sworn affidavit, together with supporting documents, demonstrating to the satisfaction of the Director of Finance the person's financial inability to deposit with the City the full amount of the fine in advance of the hearing. Documentation of financial hardship must include, at a minimum, tax returns, financial statements, bank account records, salary records, or similar documents acceptable to the Director of Finance, demonstrating that the cited party is unable to deposit the fine.
The Director of Finance or his designee shall issue a written decision specifying the reasons for issuing or denying the waiver. The decision shall be served by United States mail or by personal service upon the cited party. If service is by mail, service is complete upon depositing the decision in the mail. If the Director of Finance or his designee determines that an advance deposit hardship waiver is not warranted, the cited party shall remit the full amount of the fine to the City within 10 days of service of the written decision to grant or deny an advance deposit hardship waiver.
A. 
Advance Deposit of Fine. No hearing to contest an administrative citation before a Hearing Officer shall be held unless the fine has been deposited in advance in accord with Section 4905.D, or an advance deposit hardship waiver has been issued in accord with Section 4905.D.
B. 
Prehearing Dismissal of Citation. The City Attorney or City Prosecutor may dismiss an administrative citation at any time if it is determined to have been issued in error, in which event any deposit will be refunded.
C. 
Time of Administrative Hearing. The administrative hearing shall be scheduled not later than 60 days after receipt of the request for a hearing to contest the citation. The cited party shall be notified in writing at least ten days before the date of the hearing of the date, time and location of the hearing. Notice may be served personally upon the cited person or mailed by U.S. mail with first class postage prepaid. Mailed notice shall be addressed to the property owner as shown on the last available equalized tax roll, or if there is no such address then in care of the property address. If the cited party is not the property owner, the notice shall be mailed to the last known address of the cited party.
Service of notice is complete upon personal service on the cited party or upon depositing the notice of hearing in the U.S. mail in Lakewood, California. Failure of any person to receive the mailed notice shall not affect the validity of any proceeding or order regarding administrative citations.
D. 
Appointment of Administrative Hearing Officer. The hearing shall be conducted by an Administrative Hearing Officer appointed by the City Manager to perform such hearings.
E. 
Request for Continuance of Hearing. The cited party may request one continuance of the hearing, but in no event may the continued hearing begin later than ninety days after receipt of the request for hearing from the cited party.
F. 
Failure to Attend Administrative Hearing. The cited party, or that person's representative, may attend the hearing in person or, in lieu of attending, may submit an Appearance by Written Declaration on a form provided by the City for that purpose.
1. 
If the cited party or his or her representative fails to attend the scheduled hearing and fails to submit an Appearance by Written Declaration on the form provided by the City for that purpose, he or she shall have waived his or her right to an administrative hearing. The Administrative Hearing Officer shall then dismiss the challenge to the administrative citation, and shall mail a written notice to that effect to the cited party. The advance deposit shall then become the property of the City.
2. 
A cited party who has requested an administrative hearing may request in writing that his or her challenge to the citation be dismissed and the hearing canceled. Upon receipt of such request, the Director of Community Development shall dismiss the challenge to the administrative citation, cancel the pending hearing, and issue a written notice to that effect. The advance deposit shall then become the property of the City.
[Amended by Ord. 2014-4]
3. 
If a hearing was scheduled after approval of an advance deposit hardship waiver form and then dismissed at the request of the cited party, the cited party shall pay the fine to the City within 7 days after written notice to do so. If the cited party obtained an advance deposit hardship waiver and neither attended the hearing nor submitted an Appearance by Written Declaration, the cited party shall pay the fine to the City within 7 days after written notice to do so.
G. 
Procedure at Administrative Hearing. Administrative hearings are informal, and formal rules of evidence and discovery do not apply. Hearsay evidence is permitted. Evidence shall be relevant to the issues to be decided. Each party shall have the opportunity to present evidence in support of his or her case and to cross-examine witnesses. The city bears the burden of proof at an administrative hearing to establish a violation. The citation is prima facie evidence of the violation. The enforcement officer who issued the citation is not required to participate in the hearing unless requested by the cited party. The Administrative Hearing Officer shall use preponderance of the evidence as the standard of proof in deciding the issues. Evidence shall be submitted under penalty of perjury.
[Amended by Ord. 2014-4]
H. 
Decision of Administrative Hearing Officer. At the conclusion of the hearing or within 15 days thereafter, the Administrative Hearing Officer shall render a decision as follows:
[Amended by Ord. 2014-4]
1. 
Determine that the violation for which the citation was issued occurred, and require payment of the pertinent fine not later than seven days after the date of such determination, in the event that an Advanced Deposit Hardship Waiver had been approved. If the violation has not been corrected by the date of the hearing, the Director of Community Development shall send a notice of the required correction date, within 10 days of receipt of the Administrative Hearing Officer's decision.
2. 
Determine that the violation for which the citation was issued occurred, but that the responsible party has introduced credible evidence of mitigating circumstance warranting imposition of a lesser fine than that prescribed in the schedule of administrative fines, or no fine at all, and imposing such lesser fine, if any.
3. 
Determine that the violation for which the citation was issued did not occur or that the condition did not constitute a violation of the code.
I. 
Administrative Order. The Administrative Hearing Officer shall issue a written decision entitled "Administrative Order" no later than fifteen days after the date on which the administrative hearing concludes. The Administrative Order shall be served upon the responsible person by personal service or by first class mail as provided in Section 4906.C.
The Administrative Order shall become final on the date of mailing or other service; it shall notify the responsible person of his or her right to appeal as provided in subsection K of this section. If the hearing officer determines as described in subsection H.2 or H.3 immediately above, and the responsible party has deposited the penalty with the City, the Administrative Order shall order a partial or full refund of the deposit.
J. 
Fine Due.
1. 
If the Administrative Order imposes a fine in the amount set forth in the schedule of administrative fines, or imposes a fine in a lesser amount, and the cited party has filed, and the Director of Finance has approved, an advance deposit hardship waiver, then the fine imposed shall become immediately due and owing to the City and if not paid may be collected as provided in this chapter.
2. 
If the fine was paid to the City before the administrative hearing and the Administrative Order imposes a fine in that amount, the fine paid shall immediately become the property of the City. If a fine is imposed in an amount less than the amount paid to the City before the administrative hearing, the amount imposed shall immediately become the property of the City and the excess shall be refunded within 30 days of the date of the Administrative Order.
K. 
Appeal of Administrative Order. A cited party who objects to the Hearing Officer's administrative order may obtain review of the administrative citation by filing an appeal with the Superior Court in Los Angeles County in accord with Section 53069.4 of the California Government Code. Such appeal must be filed within twenty days after mailing or personal service of the Administrative Order to the cited party. The cited party shall within 10 days of filing a notice of appeal with the Superior Court serve upon the City Clerk either in person or by first-class mail a copy of the notice of appeal. If the responsible person fails to timely file a notice of appeal, the Administrative Order shall be final.
L. 
Failure to Comply With the Administrative Order. Failure to comply with an Administrative Order directing the abatement of a continuing violation is a misdemeanor. In that event, or if the City prevails in an appeal of such an Order to the Superior Court and the cited party does not comply with the Administrative Order, the City may file a criminal misdemeanor action against the cited party. Filing a criminal misdemeanor action does not preclude the City from using any other legal remedy available to gain compliance with the Administrative Order.
M. 
Only Abatement Discharges the Violation. Payment of the fine under this Chapter shall not excuse nor discharge any continuation or repeated occurrence of the code violation that is the subject of the administrative citation. Only abatement of the cited condition discharges the violation.
Any cited person who fails to pay the City any fine imposed in accord with this Chapter on or before the date that the fine is due shall be liable for the payment of any applicable late payment charges set forth in the schedule of administrative fines.
The City may use all available legal means to collect past due fines and other related costs.
1. 
Any person who fails to pay any fine shall be liable in any action or collection procedure brought by the city for all costs incurred to obtain payment of the delinquent amount, including, but not limited to, administrative costs, collection costs, and attorneys' fees.
2. 
Collection costs shall be in addition to any penalties, interest, and late charges imposed upon the delinquent obligation.
3. 
Commencement of an action to collect a delinquent fine shall not preclude issuance of one or more additional citations to the legally responsible party if the violation or violations persist after the date for correcting them as stated in the Administrative Order.
If the fine owed by a cited party is for one or more Lakewood Municipal Code or City ordinance violations on the cited party's property, and the citation was issued to abate a nuisance as defined by the Lakewood Municipal Code or City ordinance, and the amount has been delinquent 90 days or more, the delinquent amount shall become a lien on the property on which the violations occurred.
The Director of Finance shall give written notice to the cited party of a hearing before the City Council regarding the delinquent fine amount and related costs. The notice shall be mailed by first class mail at least 14 days before the hearing. The notice shall state:
1. 
The citation or citations resulting in the delinquent fine amount;
2. 
The total of the delinquent fine amount and related costs;
3. 
The date the delinquent fine amount was due;
4. 
The street address, Assessor's parcel number, and legal description of the property upon which the violations occurred;
5. 
The date, hour, and place of the hearing;
6. 
A statement that the cited party or other legally responsible person may appear and be heard;
7. 
A statement that unless the fine amount is paid by the date specified in a resolution by the City Council, the total amount due will become a lien and special assessment on the property.
At the lien hearing the City Council shall:
1. 
Hear and consider all competent evidence about the delinquent fine amount;
2. 
If it finds the amount is delinquent, make a finding of fact confirming that the delinquent fine amount and related costs are due the City as costs of nuisance abatement;
3. 
Order the total amount due to be paid to the City within 5 days, after which the amount due will become a lien on the property.
If the amount due is not paid within 5 days after the City Council confirms it and orders it paid, the amount due shall constitute a lien upon the real property upon which the nuisance violations existed and shall be a special assessment against the property. The lien shall continue until the amount due and interest, computed at 6% per annum from the date of the City Council's confirmation, is paid or until it is discharged of record.
If the amount due is not paid as required by the City Council' s order, a notice of lien shall be recorded in the Office of the County Recorder and delivered to the County Tax Collector. The notice of lien shall substantially be in the following form:
NOTICE OF LIEN
CLAIM OF THE CITY OF LAKEWOOD
By the authority of Lakewood Municipal Code §4903, an administrative citation or citations were issued regarding nuisance abatement at the real property described below. Fines were assessed for the nuisance. By action of the Lakewood City Council, recorded in its official minutes, the fines and related costs were confirmed as delinquent and assessed against the property as costs of nuisance abatement.
The delinquent amount was not paid, therefore the City of Lakewood claims a lien on the real property for the costs of abatement in the amount of $ __________ which shall be a lien on the real property until it is paid, with interest at the rate of 6% per annum from the __________ day of _____________ 2____, [insert the date the City Council confirmed the delinquent fines and related costs]. The lien shall continue until paid in full and discharged of record. It shall also be a personal obligation against [insert name of property owner]. The real property upon which a lien is claimed is that certain parcel of land in the City of Lakewood, County of Los Angeles, State of California, described as follows:
[Insert legal description.]
Dated this ____________ day of _____________, 2_____.
CITY OF LAKEWOOD
By: __________________
Director of Finance
After the lien is confirmed and recorded, a certified copy of it shall be filed with the County Auditor. The description of the parcel reported to the Auditor shall be the one used by the County Assessor's map book for the current year. The County Auditor shall enter each assessment on the county tax roll for the reported parcel of land. The amount of the assessment shall be collected at the time and in the manner of ordinary municipal taxes. If delinquent, the amount is subject to the same penalties and procedure of foreclosure provided for ordinary municipal taxes. As an alternative method, the County Tax Collector, in his discretion, may collect the assessment without reference to the general taxes, by issuing separate bills and receipts for the assessment. Laws relating to the levy, collection, and enforcement of county taxes shall apply to such special assessment.
The Director of Finance may receive the amount due on the abatement costs and issue receipts at any time after the confirmation of the statement, before August 1st of that current year. The City Council may order a refund of any lien or assessment paid under this section if it finds that all or part of the assessment has been erroneously levied. An assessment or part thereof shall not be refunded unless a claim is filed with the City Clerk on or before March 1st after taxes become due and payable. The claim shall be verified by the person who pays the tax, or his guardian, executor, or administrator.
An administrative citation in a form approved by the City Attorney may be issued to a legally responsible person by an Enforcement Officer as set forth in Section 4903 of this Chapter in the following manner:
A. 
Personal Service of Administrative Citation. In any case where an administrative citation is issued to an individual, corporation, or a business, the Enforcement Officer shall attempt to:
1. 
Locate the individual, corporation, or business and serve the administrative citation on the responsible party.
2. 
Obtain on the administrative citation the signature of the person in violation of this Code, or in cases in which the violation of this Code is by a corporation or business, the signature of an employee or agent.
3. 
If the cited party refuses or is unavailable to sign the administrative citation, the refusal to sign or unavailability shall not affect the validity of the citation or of subsequent proceedings. Refusal or unavailability to sign the administrative citation shall be noted on the citation.
B. 
Service of Citation by Mail. If the Enforcement Officer is unable to serve the cited party, the administrative citation shall be mailed to the responsible person by certified mail, postage prepaid, return receipt requested. Simultaneously, the same notice may be sent by regular mail. If a notice sent by certified mail is returned unsigned, then service shall be deemed effective by regular mail, if the notice that was sent by regular mail was not returned by the Post Office within a reasonable time.
C. 
Service of Citation by Posting Notice. If the Enforcement Officer does not succeed in serving the cited party personally, or by certified mail or regular mail, the Enforcement Officer shall post the administrative citation on any real property within the City in which the City has knowledge that the cited party has a legal interest or which the cited party occupies, and such posting shall be effective service.
D. 
Service of Citation by Publication. If the Enforcement Officer does not succeed in serving the cited party personally, by certified or regular mail, and the City is not aware that the responsible party has a legal interest in any real property within the City, the Enforcement Officer shall cause the administrative citation to be published in a newspaper likely to give actual notice to the cited party. The publication shall be once a week for four successive weeks in a newspaper published at least once a week. A newspaper regularly circulated or delivered in Lakewood is a newspaper likely to give actual notice.