The purpose of this article is to provide persons who have received an administrative citation due process of law.
(Ord. 06-11 § 1, 2006; Ord. 08-08 § 1, 2008)
A.
An administrative citation review is the initial appeal process for a recipient of an administrative citation who believes that he or she received an administrative citation in error because either: (1) he or she is not the responsible party; or (2) no code violation occurred.
B.
Administrative citation reviews are conducted by city personnel who are qualified, by either experience or training, to conduct the review. The administrative citation review may be conducted by any city employee who is not the code enforcement official that issued the administrative citation. In the event that there is no qualified city employee, another qualified individual appointed by the city manager or city attorney may conduct the review.
C.
The administrative citation review shall consist of a review of the administrative citation and any supporting evidence supplied by the city, and supporting evidence provided by the recipient of the administrative citation.
(Ord. 06-11 § 1, 2006; Ord. 08-08 § 1, 2008; Ord. 18-02 § 6, 2018)
A.
Any recipient of an administrative citation who believes he or she received the administrative citation in error may contest the citation by completing a request for administrative citation review form and returning it to the city clerk's office within 30 days from the date of the administrative citation, together with an advance deposit of the total fine imposed by the administrative citation or notice that a request for an advance deposit hardship waiver has been filed pursuant to HMC § 1.17.290.
B.
A request for review form may be obtained from the city clerk's office or the city department specified on the administrative citation.
C.
The recipient of an administrative citation may waive the right to a formal, in-person review and elect instead to have the administrative citation review be based exclusively on written materials submitted to the city in advance.
(Formerly 1.17.130; Ord. 06-11 § 1, 2006; Ord. 08-08 § 1, 2008)
A.
Any party who intends to request a review of the administrative citation to contest the citation and who is financially unable to make the advance deposit of the imposed fine(s) as required in HMC § 1.17.280 may file a request for an advance deposit hardship waiver.
B.
The request shall be filed with the finance department on an advance deposit hardship waiver application form, available from the finance department, along with the request for administrative citation review request form.
C.
The requirement of depositing the full amount of the fine as described in HMC § 1.17.280 shall be stayed unless or until the finance department makes a determination not to issue the advance deposit hardship waiver.
D.
The finance director, or his or her designee, may waive the requirement of an advance deposit required by HMC § 1.17.280 and issue the advance deposit hardship waiver only if the cited party submits to the finance director a sworn statement, together with any supporting documents or materials, demonstrating to the satisfaction of the finance director the party's actual financial inability to deposit with the city the full amount of the fine in advance of the review.
E.
If the finance director declines to issue an advance deposit hardship waiver, the party shall remit the deposit to the city within 15 days of the date of that decision or 30 days from the date of the administrative citation, whichever is later.
F.
The finance director shall issue a written determination listing the reasons for his or her determination to issue or not issue the advance deposit hardship waiver. The written determination of the finance director shall be final.
(Formerly 1.17.140; Ord. 06-11 § 1, 2006; Ord. 08-08 § 1, 2008)
A.
Parties requesting a formal in-person review (the "requesting party") shall be notified of the date, time, and place set for the review at least five business days prior to the date of the review. Parties requesting a review based on submitted materials only, pursuant to HMC § 1.17.280(C), shall not be notified of the time and place set for the review.
B.
At the in-person review, the requesting party must provide the individual conducting the review with all information and evidence supporting the requesting party's position that the administrative citation was improperly issued.
C.
If city staff submits an additional written report concerning the administrative citation to the director for consideration at the review, then a copy of this report shall also be provided to the party requesting the review at least three days prior to the date of the review.
D.
The individual conducting the review shall examine the administrative citation, any supporting materials provided by the city and materials provided by the requesting party, and based on the sum of the evidence presented shall render a decision to either uphold the administrative citation as issued, modify and reissue the administrative citation, or dismiss the administrative citation.
E.
The requesting party shall be informed of the determination of the administrative citation Review in writing within five business days of the review.
F.
Parties who have scheduled an in-person review but who fail to appear at the stated time and place shall have a decision rendered against them automatically, and the administrative citation will be upheld as issued.
G.
If after a requested review it is determined that the party charged in the administrative citation was not responsible for the violation or that no such violation occurred, any administrative citation fine deposited with the city shall be refunded in its entirety within 30 days of the determination.
(Ord. 06-11 § 1, 2006; Ord. 08-08 § 1, 2008)
A.
An administrative hearing is a formal hearing where the city and a responsible party present their respective cases and have matters in controversy that relate to code violations decided by the appeals board.
B.
The appeals board is an impartial third party board with the training or expertise to conduct an administrative hearing. Qualifications and requirements pertaining to the appeals board are set forth in HMC § 1.17.410 et seq.
C.
An administrative hearing is the second level of review of a matter in controversy. An individual named as a responsible party who believes he or she has received an administrative citation in error must first request and undergo an administrative citation review. If the party named as a responsible party receives an adverse decision in the administrative citation review, and still maintains that he or she received the administrative citation in error, he or she may request an administrative hearing for a third-party review of the matter. The city may request an administrative hearing at any time.
D.
At the conclusion of the administrative hearing, the appeals board will consider all relevant evidence presented at the hearing by the city and responsible party and will render a decision on the matter in controversy. The appeals board's decision is final and may only be appealed in a court of law.
(Ord. 06-11 § 1, 2006; Ord. 08-08 § 1, 2008; Ord. 18-02 § 7, 2018)
A.
Any recipient of an administrative citation may contest the findings or decision made in the administrative citation review by completing a request for administrative hearing form and returning it to the city clerk's office within 15 days of the issuance of the decision in the administrative citation review.
B.
A request for hearing form may be obtained from the city clerk's office or the city department specified on the administrative citation.
C.
If city staff submits an additional written report concerning the administrative citation to the appeals board for consideration at the review, then a copy of this report shall also be provided to the party requesting the hearing at least three business days prior to the date of the hearing.
D.
The recipient of an administrative citation may, at the time that he or she files the request for administrative hearing form, waive the right to a formal hearing and elect instead to have the administrative hearing be based exclusively on written materials submitted to the appeals board. The recipient must submit all written materials within 15 days after he or she makes this election.
E.
Requests made by applicants/respondents for rescheduling of a formal hearing will be accommodated by the city; provided, that they are made at least five days before the scheduled hearing, and for good cause. Requests for rescheduling after this time frame may be considered by the city if for good cause which is independently substantiated (illness, or emergency situations). Requests for rescheduling made within 24 hours of the scheduled hearing will be denied and referred to the appeals board at the scheduled hearing.
(Formerly 1.17.160; Ord. 06-11 § 1, 2006; Ord. 08-08 § 1, 2008; Ord. 18-02 § 8, 2018)
A.
The responsible party shall be served with notice of the administrative hearing at least five business days prior to the date of the scheduled hearing.
B.
The notice shall contain the date, time and place at which the hearing shall be conducted by the appeals board.
C.
Each hearing shall be set for a date not less than five business days nor more than 30 calendar days from the date of the notice of hearing unless the city official determines that the matter is urgent or that good cause exists for an extension of time.
(Formerly 1.17.380; Ord. 06-11 § 1, 2006; Ord. 08-08 § 1, 2008; Ord. 18-02 § 9, 2018)
A.
No hearing to contest an administrative citation before the appeals board shall be held unless the fine has been deposited in advance or an advance deposit hardship waiver has been obtained in accordance with HMC § 1.17.290.
B.
A hearing before the appeals board shall be set for a date that is not less than five business days and not more than 30 calendar days from the date that the request for hearing is filed in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.
C.
At the hearing, the party contesting the administrative citation and the city shall be given the opportunity to present sworn testimony and/or written evidence on the matter to the appeals board.
D.
The administrative citation and any additional report submitted by city staff shall constitute prima facie evidence of the respective facts contained in those documents.
E.
The appeals board has the authority to compel the attendance of property owners, responsible parties, and/or other witnesses at the hearing, to examine them under oath, and to compel them to produce all relevant evidence relating to the matter.
F.
The hearing need not be conducted according to the technical rules of local, state or federal law relating to evidence and witnesses, except as provided in this section. Any relevant evidence shall be admitted if it is the sort of evidence on which reasonable persons are accustomed to rely in the conduct of serious affairs, regardless of the existence of any common law or statutory rule which might make improper the admission of the evidence over objections in civil actions. Hearsay evidence may be used for the purpose of supplementing or explaining other evidence but shall not be sufficient in itself to support a finding, unless it would be admissible over objection in civil actions or no objection was made to this use of hearsay evidence prior to the close of the hearing before the appeals board.
G.
The appeals board may continue the hearing and request additional information from the city official or the recipient of the administrative citation prior to issuing a written decision.
H.
The hearing proceedings shall be recorded. A record of the proceedings shall be governed by California Code of Civil Procedure Section 1094.6.
I.
Unless the recipient of an administrative citation formally requested a paper review pursuant to HMC § 1.17.280(C), the failure of the recipient to appear at the hearing shall constitute a forfeiture of the fine and a failure to exhaust his or her administrative remedies, resulting in a default judgment against the responsible party.
J.
The failure of any party subject to an administrative citation to appear at the administrative hearing shall constitute a failure by that party to exhaust the administrative remedies and will result in a default judgment entered against that party.
(Formerly 1.17.210; Ord. 06-11 § 1, 2006; Ord. 08-08 § 1, 2008; Ord. 18-02 § 10, 2018)
Both the city and the citation recipient are entitled to representation at the administrative hearing by legal counsel. If the responsible party is to be represented by an attorney, written notification of the attorney's name, address and phone number must be supplied immediately to the city department which is holding the hearing. Upon notification by the other party of legal representation, the city department may contact the city attorney's office to request representation at the hearing. Thereafter, all contact or communication between the city and the citation recipient should be made by the attorneys.
(Formerly 1.17.220; Ord. 06-11 § 1, 2006; Ord. 08-08 § 1, 2008)
After considering all of the testimony and evidence submitted at the hearing, the appeals board shall issue a written decision to uphold, modify, or cancel the administrative citation and shall list in the decision the reasons for that decision. The decision of the appeals board shall be issued within 30 days after the conclusion of the hearing, or the submission of all written materials if no hearing is requested, and the appeals board's decision shall be final.
A.
If the appeals board determines that the administrative citation should be upheld, then the fine amount on deposit with the city shall be retained by the city.
B.
If the appeals board determines that the administrative citation should be upheld, and the fine has not been deposited pursuant to an advance deposit hardship waiver, the appeals board shall set forth in the decision a schedule on which the fine must be paid.
C.
If the appeals board determines that the administrative citation should not be upheld or should be modified, and the fine was deposited with the city, then the city shall promptly refund the amount of the deposited fine or the amount due if the citation is modified. Unless the city returns the fine within 30 days after it was deposited, this refund shall also include interest at the average rate earned on the city's portfolio for the period of time that the fine amount was held by the city.
(Formerly 1.17.230; Ord. 06-11 § 1, 2006; Ord. 08-08 § 1, 2008; Ord. 18-02 § 11, 2018)
A.
The appeals board shall issue written findings on each code violation set forth in the administrative citation. The findings shall be supported by evidence received at the hearing.
B.
If the appeals board finds, by a preponderance of the evidence, that a code violation has occurred and that the violation was not corrected within the time period specified in the administrative citation, the appeals board shall issue an administrative order compelling the responsible party to correct the violation and pay all related fines, costs, or penalties.
C.
If the appeals board finds that no violation has occurred or that the violation was corrected within the time period specified in the administrative citation, the appeals board shall issue a finding of those facts.
(Formerly 1.17.410; Ord. 06-11 § 1, 2006; Ord. 08-08 § 1, 2008; Ord. 18-02 § 12, 2018)
A.
The appeals board may assess administrative costs against the responsible party when the appeals board determines that a code violation has occurred, and that compliance was not achieved.
B.
Administrative costs may include any and all costs incurred by the city (both direct and indirect costs) in investigating and commencing administrative proceedings for the violation as well as any and all costs incurred by the city in connection with the hearing before the appeals board, including but not limited to costs the city incurred in preparation for the hearing and for participating in the hearing itself and the costs of the city to conduct the hearing. Failure to pay administrative costs in the amount specified in the appeals board's administrative order, on or before the date specified in that order, shall constitute a violation of this code punishable as an infraction and shall further be subject to collection and late charges as otherwise provided for administrative penalties herein.
(Formerly 1.17.240; Ord. 06-11 § 1, 2006; Ord. 08-08 § 1, 2008; Ord. 18-02 § 13, 2018)
Failure to comply with the administrative order, including failure to pay the assessed administrative penalties and pay administrative costs specified in the administrative order of the appeals board, may be enforced as:
A.
A personal obligation of the violator; and/or
B.
A lien or special assessment upon the real property, if the violation is in connection with real property. The lien or special assessment shall remain in effect until all of the administrative penalties, interest and administrative costs are paid in full.
Failure to comply with an administrative order may also be punished as a misdemeanor pursuant to Chapter 1.12 HMC.
(Formerly 1.17.460; Ord. 06-11 § 1, 2006; Ord. 08-08 § 1, 2008; Ord. 18-02 § 14, 2018)
Any person directly aggrieved by an administrative decision of the appeals board regarding an administrative citation or a code violation issue, or the imposition of a lien, may obtain review of the administrative decision by filing a petition for review with the superior court of Stanislaus County.
(Formerly 1.17.280; Ord. 06-11 § 1, 2006; Ord. 08-08 § 1, 2008; Ord. 18-02 § 15, 2018)