(1) 
There is hereby adopted a rental housing inspection ordinance for the City of Rio Dell, State of California, as provided pursuant to the provisions of State of California State Housing Law, Division 13, Part 1.5 of the State of California Health and Safety Code, Division 13, Housing, and the Health and Safety Code itself, all as amended from time to time by the Legislature of the State of California.
(2) 
This chapter incorporates by reference the State Housing Law and the Health and Safety Code, including administrative and enforcement mechanisms of Health and Safety Code Chapters 5 and 6 of Division 13, Part 1.5, as amended from time to time by the Legislature.
(3) 
These State of California laws and codes preempt other provisions of this chapter in the event of differing or conflicting provisions. This chapter makes no local changes to the State Housing Law or State Housing Code due to local climatic, geographical or topographical conditions under Health and Safety Code Section 17958.5. Accordingly, no local legislative findings or filings are required under Health and Safety Code Section 17958.7.
(4) 
The provisions of this title shall apply to all lands and all owners of lands within all the incorporated area of the City of Rio Dell.
(Ord. 401 § 1, 2024)
This chapter shall be known and cited as the "Residential Rental Housing Program." In any administrative action taken by any public official under the authority set forth in this title the use of the term "housing ordinance," unless further modified, shall also refer to and mean this chapter.
(Ord. 401 § 1, 2024)
(1) 
This chapter is adopted to promote and protect the public health, safety, morals, comfort, convenience and general welfare and to ensure social and economic stability within the City of Rio Dell. Substandard housing has caused health risks to its occupants and those who reside in the surrounding neighborhood. Additionally, substandard housing has significantly contributed to neighborhood blight. As a result, substandard housing is a nuisance that threatens the public health, safety, and welfare of the citizens and community of Rio Dell.
(2) 
To eliminate this nuisance it is imperative to establish enforceable minimum standards for residential buildings. The purpose of this chapter is to establish such standards for maintaining all residential buildings within the City of Rio Dell and thereby safeguard life, limb, health, property, safety, and welfare of the public.
(3) 
The City is under a State mandate to have a program to enforce the provisions of the State Housing Law. Unsafe and substandard housing is a community blight often associated with unlawful activity. While the cost of enforcement is significant, the result of failing to abate substandard housing has more adverse and far-reaching consequences such as loss of housing and displaced individuals.
(4) 
Complaint-initiated enforcement actions are insufficient to provide the essential level of abatement of substandard housing conditions needed by this community. An increased level of service which includes routine inspections of rental housing units has been determined to be necessary to eliminate substandard housing in the City.
(5) 
Having determined the appropriate level of service to be provided by a housing code enforcement program, it is also determined that those persons who violate the State Housing Law should bear the greatest practical share of the costs of operating such a program through enforcement fees and penalties. However, the establishment of such a program requires revenue to fund its implementation costs and to fund the difference between the ongoing costs of such a program and the revenue collected from violators through enforcement fees and penalties. The source of this revenue must be reliable if such a program is to achieve its objectives. Collection of enforcement fees and penalties is inherently unreliable as a funding source, and therefore cannot be relied upon either to establish the initial operating revenue for such a program or to fully support its ongoing operational costs.
(6) 
It is therefore necessary to levy residential rental housing program registration and inspection fees for the purpose of generating the revenue required to fund the implementation and ongoing operating costs of such a program. The residential rental housing program fees may be adjusted annually, as necessary, for the purpose of ensuring adequate funding for the program.
(Ord. 401 § 1, 2024)
The Rio Dell City Council finds as follows:
(1) 
It is imperative to establish enforceable minimum standards for residential buildings and to provide a program for enforcing these standards which is self-supporting.
(2) 
Complaint-initiated enforcement actions are insufficient to provide the essential level of abatement of substandard housing conditions needed by this community.
(3) 
Violators of the State Housing Law must bear the largest feasible share of the cost of housing code enforcement.
(4) 
Rental property owners derive a substantial benefit from a housing code enforcement program and should therefore contribute to a portion of program costs.
(5) 
Residents of rental property also benefit from a housing code enforcement program and should therefore contribute to program costs indirectly through the cost of renting such housing.
(6) 
It is necessary to establish an operating fund, which is separate from the City's general fund, for the purpose of implementing a housing code enforcement program and operating it on an ongoing basis. It is necessary that this source of funds be predictable and reliable for the efficient and continued operation of such a program. The imposition of rental housing program registration and inspection fees is an appropriate means to accomplish this purpose.
(7) 
It is recognized that the majority of rental housing property owners comply with the State Housing Law and applicable City ordinances, and that only a relatively small percentage violate these laws. The intent of this chapter is that this group of violators should pay their fair share of the cost of enforcement affecting their properties.
It is recognized that the collection of enforcement fees and penalties from violators can be a protracted and costly process, and that reliance thereupon as the sole source to fund such a program is inherently speculative and unrealistic. Therefore, the primary source of revenue for the residential rental housing program is intended to come from the collection of program registration and inspection fees.
(8) 
This chapter satisfies the City's legal obligations under the State Housing Law.
(Ord. 401 § 1, 2024)
The provisions of this chapter shall apply to all residential rental dwelling units. This chapter is not an exclusive regulation of housing within the City of Rio Dell. It shall supplement, be accumulative with, and be in addition to any and all regulatory ordinances and State or Federal law existing or hereafter enacted by the City, the State or Federal government or any other legal entity that may have jurisdiction.
(Ord. 401 § 1, 2024)
For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions shall apply:
"Boarded building"
means a building in which at least 30 percent of the window and/or door surface has been covered with plywood or other material for the purpose of preventing entry into the building by persons or animals.
"Building"
means any structure having a roof used or intended to be used for the shelter or enclosure of persons, animals, or property.
"Building, accessory"
means a detached subordinate building located on the same building site as the main building and designed and intended for a use that is subordinate to the main building.
"Building Code"
means the California Building Code adopted pursuant to Chapter 15.05 RDMC.
"Building, main"
means a building in which is conducted the principal use of the building site on which it is situated.
"Building Official"
means the City of Rio Dell Building Official established pursuant to Chapter 15.05 RDMC or his designee.
"Building, vacant"
means a building that has been standing vacant for more than 90 consecutive days.
"City Council"
shall mean the City Council of Rio Dell.
"City Manager"
means the City Manager of Rio Dell, or his or her designated representatives.
"Clean and sanitary"
means interior walls, surfaces, appliances, and plumbing fixtures are clean, free of trash, rubbish, debris, dead vegetation, dismantled or inoperable motor vehicles, including trailers and boats, mold, etc., which may affect the health of the resident or a condition tending to reduce the value of private property and the surrounding neighborhood.
"Clerk"
means the Clerk of the Rio Dell City Council, or his or her designated representative.
"Complaint"
means notification by any person, filed with the City of Rio Dell, of a violation or a suspected violation of the Rio Dell Municipal Code or this chapter.
"Council"
means the City Council of Rio Dell.
"County"
means the County of Humboldt.
"Demolish"
means to destroy a building and to remove all debris and waste materials from the lot on which the building stood.
"Director"
means the City of Rio Dell Housing Director and/or Community Development Director.
"Displaced"
means if a tenant is ordered to move out of a rented dwelling unit or structure by an order to vacate issued by the City.
"Dwelling"
means any building or portion thereof containing one or more dwelling units designed or used exclusively as a residence for one or more families, but not including a tent, boat, trailer, mobile home, dormitory, labor camp, hotel or motel.
"Dwelling, multiple-family"
means a building or portion thereof containing three or more dwelling units.
"Dwelling, single-family"
means a building containing exclusively one dwelling unit.
"Dwelling, two-family" or "duplex"
means a building containing exclusively two dwelling units under a common roof.
"Dwelling unit"
means one room, or a suite of two or more rooms, designed and intended for occupancy or a place of residence by one family, and which unit has one kitchen or kitchenette.
"Family"
means a person living alone, or two or more persons related by blood, marriage or adoption, or a group of not more than five unrelated persons living together as a single nonprofit housekeeping unit in a dwelling unit.
"Electrical Code"
means the National Electrical Code adopted pursuant to Chapter 15.05 RDMC.
"Enforcement"
means diligent effort to secure compliance or abatement, including review of plans and permit applications, response to complaints, citation of violations, and other legal process. Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, "enforcement" may, but need not, include inspections of existing buildings on which no complaint or permit application has been filed, and effort to secure compliance as to such existing buildings.
"Fire Code"
means the Uniform Fire Code adopted pursuant to Chapter 15.05 RDMC.
"Fiscal Year"
means the year beginning July 1st and ending June 30th.
"Garbage"
means any refuse and waste material derived from the preparation, use and consumption of meats and food and all dead fish, animals, fowl, fruits, vegetables, and other noxious or offensive matter or material usually and ordinarily referred to as garbage or market refuse.
"Hearing officer"
means the City Council to hear matters as provided for and described in this chapter. The hearing officer (City Council) shall also serve as the Housing Appeals Board as that term is used in the State Housing Law.
"Housing Code"
means the Uniform Housing Code adopted pursuant to Chapter 15.05 RDMC.
"International Property Maintenance Code (IPMC)"
means the International Property Maintenance Code adopted pursuant to Chapter 15.05 RDMC.
"Landlord"
means an owner, lessor, or sublessor (including any person, firm, corporation, partnership, or other entity) who receives or is entitled to receive rent for the use of any dwelling, or the agent, representative, or successor of any of the foregoing.
"Mechanical Code"
means the Uniform Mechanical Code adopted pursuant to Chapter 15.05 RDMC.
"Notice and order"
means a written notice served by an authorized City official to the owner and posted on the affected property declaring that the nuisance and/or substandard condition be repaired, removed or demolished to the satisfaction of the City.
"Notice to abate nuisance"
means a written notice served by an authorized City official to the owner and posted on the affected property declaring that if the nuisance and/or substandard condition has not been repaired, removed or demolished within the time frame established in the notice of nuisance to the satisfaction of the City, the City shall file and record such notice with the Humboldt County Recorder's Office.
"Notice of nuisance"
means that if the nuisance and/or substandard condition is not repaired, removed or demolished within the time frame established in the notice and order to the satisfaction of the City, the City shall file and record such notice with the Humboldt County Recorder's Office.
"Notice of release of nuisance"
means that nuisance and/or substandard condition has been repaired, removed or demolished to the satisfaction of the City. The City shall file and record such notice with the Humboldt County Recorder's Office.
"Nuisance" or "public nuisance"
includes any public nuisance known at common law or in equity jurisprudence; any attractive nuisance which endangers health and safety and may prove detrimental to infants and other minors, whether in a building, on the premises of a building, or upon an unoccupied lot including any abandoned wells, shafts, basements and excavations; abandoned refrigerators; abandoned, dismantled or inoperable motor vehicles or parts thereof or machinery; any unsound fences or structures; any lumber, trash, fences, debris, or vegetation which may prove a hazard for inquisitive minors; whatever is dangerous to human life or is detrimental to health; any condition, matter, or thing declared by any law of the City of Rio Dell or the State of California to be a nuisance; abandoned buildings or structures in such neglected condition that the owner's intention to relinquish all further rights or interests in them may be reasonably concluded; abandoned structures or property that create a condition tending to reduce the value of private property; promote blight and deterioration; invite plundering; create fire hazards; harbor rodents and insects; jeopardize health, safety and general welfare; annoy, injure or endanger the safety, health, or offend the public decency; unlawfully interfere with, obstruct or render dangerous for passage any public park, square, street, alley or highway.
"Nuisance abatement"
means the correction, removal, stoppage, demolition or destruction of that which causes a nuisance.
"Nuisance abatement revolving fund"
means the fund established by this chapter, of that name, which shall be maintained by the City Finance Department either as an account or a fund, and may, for the purpose of accounting records, any audits thereof and any reports or statements with respect thereto, be treated either as an account or a fund. All such records with respect to any such fund shall at all times be maintained in accordance with sound accounting practice.
"Occupant"
means any person over one year of age living, sleeping, cooking, or eating in, or having actual possession of, a dwelling unit.
"Order to vacate"
is a written notice served by an authorized City official on the owner and posted on the affected property declaring that, due to failure to repair or maintain, the dwelling shall be vacated.
"Owner"
means the owner of the fee title to a dwelling unit.
"Parties in interest"
means all persons, businesses, partnerships, and corporations who have a mortgage or other interest of public record in a dwelling or dwelling unit, or who are in possession thereof.
"Person"
shall include any person, firm, company, corporation, partnership, association, organization or entity, however formed, as well as trustees, heirs, executors, administrators, or assigns, or any combination of such persons. The terms "person," "owner," "operator," "property manager" and "landlord" may herein be used interchangeably.
"Planning Commission"
shall mean the Planning Commission of the City of Rio Dell.
"Plumbing Code"
means the Uniform Plumbing Code adopted pursuant to Chapter 15.05 RDMC.
"Private property"
means such property as belongs absolutely to an individual, and of which he or she has the exclusive right of disposition. Property of a specific, fixed and tangible nature, capable of being in the possession of an individual and transmitted to another, such as houses, lands, vehicles, etc.
"Program"
means the housing code enforcement program created under this chapter.
"Proof of compliance"
is documentation, on such form and in such manner as the City may provide, that the deficiencies noted in the order or citation issued by the City have been corrected.
"Public property"
is a designation of those things which are considered as being owned by the public, the entire state or community, and not restricted to dominion of a private person. The term may also apply to any property owned by a state, nation or municipality.
"Public record"
means deeds, mortgages and other instruments of record relating to land titles and recorded by the Humboldt County Recorder.
"Rental dwelling unit"
means the dwelling unit rented for any tenure, type or price.
"Rental housing business license fee"
means the fee assessed and adopted pursuant to Chapter 5.05 RDMC.
"Rental housing code compliance fee"
means the fee assessed under this chapter for each rental dwelling unit.
"Residential rental inspection program"
(RRIP) means the rental inspection program created by this chapter.
"Responsible Fire Chief"
means the chief of the Rio Dell Fire Protection District.
"Rubbish"
means refuse matter, combustible and noncombustible, including tin cans, bottles, papers, ashes, wire, box strappings, packing materials, lawn trimmings, trees, plants and other nursery stock, crockery, glass, brick, cement, motor vehicle bodies and discarded mechanisms, sawdust, mill trimmings, waste and all other material and matter similar to that herein mentioned.
"Self-certification program"
means the program created by this chapter by which the owner or operator of a property or RDU certifies that the property and its occupancy comply with all applicable building, housing and sanitation codes or ordinances.
"State Housing Law"
means Division 13, Part 1.5 of the Health and Safety Code (commencing at Section 17913) and Article 1 (commencing at Section 1) of Chapter 1, Title 25 of the California Code of Regulations.
"Substandard dwelling"
has the same meaning as substandard building as set forth in Health and Safety Code Section 17920.3, or any successor statute.
"Summary abatement"
means the abatement of the nuisance by the City, or a contractor of the City, by removal, demolition, repair or other acts with or without notice to the owner, agent or occupant of the property when the City determines that the public nuisance constitutes an immediate and/or imminent peril to public health, safety or general welfare.
"Tenant"
means the individual or individuals occupying a rental dwelling unit.
"Untenantable rental dwelling unit"
means a rental dwelling unit deemed untenantable for the purposes of this chapter, if it or the common area of the dwelling, structure, or premises in which it is located is the subject of a Housing Code citation or order pursuant to this chapter and substantially lacks any of the affirmative standard characteristics set forth in Civil Code Section 1941.1.
"Vacation date"
means the date by which a tenant is required to vacate a rental dwelling unit, pursuant to an order by an authorized City official.
(Ord. 401 § 1, 2024)