Pursuant to the authority granted to it by sections 25845 and 25845.5 of the Government Code, the Board of Supervisors does enact this Chapter, which shall be known, and may be cited, as the Public Nuisance Ordinance.
(Amended by Ord. No. 3564, effective 7-4-19)
(a) 
It is the purpose of this Chapter to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the residents of the County of Tulare through the prevention of public nuisances in the County. It shall be construed liberally to that end.
(b) 
It is the intention of the Board of Supervisors to minimize the burden placed upon property owners and taxpayers in carrying out the purpose set forth in subsection (a) above. Accordingly, those methods of abatement are to be favored which are least costly and that are most directly related to protecting the public health, safety, and welfare.
(Amended by Ord. No. 3564, effective 7-4-19)
This Chapter is not the exclusive regulation of public nuisances. It shall supplement and be in addition to the other regulating statutes and ordinances heretofore or hereafter enacted by the State, the County, or any other legal entity or agency having jurisdiction.
(Amended by Ord. No. 3564, effective 7-4-19)
This Chapter applies to all real property owned by an individual, firm, partnership, joint venture, association, corporation, estate, or trust. In addition, it applies to any real property owned by the United States and any agency of the United States, the State of California and any agency of the State, any city, and a public district or political subdivision of the State of California, insofar as it is legally possible to enforce this Chapter, or any portion thereof, against such entities.
(Amended by Ord. No. 3564, effective 7-4-19)
Except where the context otherwise requires, the following definitions shall govern the construction of this Chapter:
(a) 
"Agent"
means a person or entity acting on behalf of and subject to the control of the owner of real property or of a person legally in possession of the real property.
(b) 
"Board"
means the Board of Supervisors of the County.
(c) 
"Cost of abatement"
means the direct cost to the County of physically abating a public nuisance.
(d) 
"Cost of administration"
means the cost to the County of performing the various administrative acts required under this Chapter with regard to the abatement of a public nuisance, including, without limitation, the costs of investigating such nuisance and the cost of prosecuting the public nuisance, but not including the actual cost of physically abating the nuisance.
(e) 
"County"
means the County of Tulare, acting by and through the Board, the County Administrative Officer, or any appropriate County agency, department, or division.
(f) 
"Department"
means the County department that employs the enforcement officer.
(g) 
"Director"
means the head of the Department that issued the notice of violation and order to abate a nuisance, or his or her designee.
(h) 
For the purposes of this Chapter, "enforcement officer"
means and includes the following County officials and their deputies, assistants, or other duly authorized representatives:
(1) 
Director of Resource Management Agency;
(2) 
County Health Officer;
(3) 
Agricultural Commissioner;
(4) 
Fire Chief;
(5) 
Sheriff; and/or
(6) 
Such other persons as may be designated by the Board.
(i) 
"Owner"
means the person in whom is vested the ownership, dominion, or title of real property.
(j) 
"Real property"
includes all of the surface or subsurface areas described in the most recently recorded deed or deeds relating to such property, and all improvements on the real property.
(Amended by Ord. No. 3564, effective 7-4-19)
The provisions of this Chapter are hereby declared to be severable. If any section, subsection, subdivision, sentence, clause, phrase, portion, or application of this Chapter is for any reason held invalid or unconstitutional by any court of competent jurisdiction, that portion shall be deemed a separate, distinct, and independent provision, and that holding shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this Chapter. The Board hereby declares that it would have enacted this Chapter, each section, subsection, subdivision, sentence, clause, phrase, and portion thereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more sections, subsections, subdivisions, sentences, clauses, phrases, or portions be declared invalid.
(Added by Ord. No. 3564, effective 7-4-19)
Nothing in this Chapter shall be construed as imposing any duty on the enforcement officer, or any other agency, department, or division of the County, to take any specific enforcement action with respect to alleged violations of this Chapter, including issuing citations or notices of violations pursuant to this Chapter. Neither the enforcement officer nor any other agency, department, or division of the County, or the County, shall be held liable for failure to take any specific enforcement action to correct an alleged violation of this Chapter.
(Added by Ord. No. 3564, effective 7-4-19)