Any owner may remove or cause to be removed a nuisance described in section 4-11-1065 of this Chapter at any time prior to commencement of abatement by, or at the direction of, the County Fire Chief.
(Amended by Ord. No. 3559, effective 6-20-19)
If the owner has not earlier removed the nuisance and if no request for administrative review as provided by section 4-11-1190 of this Chapter is received by the County Fire Chief on or before the fifteenth (15th) calendar day following the mailing or personal delivery of the notice required by section 4-11-1125 of this Chapter, or if no notice of appeal to the County Hearing Officer after the administrative review officer's decision is filed as provided by section 4-11-1210 of this Chapter, within the time provided in Article 31 of Chapter 1 of Part I of this Code, the County Fire Chief may cause the nuisance to be abated. The County Fire Chief shall not commence the abatement until at least thirty (30) days after said notice was mailed or personally delivered to the owner. The County Fire Chief, his or her deputies, the employees of his or her department, and independent contractors hired by him or her may enter upon private property on which a nuisance described in section 4-11-1065 of this Chapter exists for the purpose of abating that nuisance. If necessary, the County Fire Chief shall apply to a court of competent jurisdiction for a warrant authorizing entry upon the subject real property for purposes of undertaking the work of abatement.
(Amended by Ord. No. 3559, effective 6-20-19; amended by Ord. No. 3571, effective 8-22-19)
(a)
The County Fire Chief shall keep an account of the cost of every abatement carried out and shall prepare a statement of expenses in writing showing the cost of each abatement, itemized by parcel, and the applicable costs of administration. The County Fire Chief shall submit these statements of expenses to the Clerk of the Board. The statement of expenses or its supporting attachments shall include the following information:
(1)
Name(s) of the contractor(s) who performed the abatement, if any;
(2)
Dates when abatement activities were conducted on the real property, and information about what activities were conducted on which dates;
(3)
Number of individuals who worked on each type of abatement activity on the property;
(4)
Total number of hours the contractor's employees/agents spent on each type of abatement activity;
(5)
Rate for each type of abatement activity performed;
(6)
Itemized list of other fees or charges incurred in conducting the abatement, including, but not limited to, dump fees or travel fees; and
(7)
Costs of administration, including any applicable postage and attorneys' fees.
(b)
Upon receipt of the statement of expenses, the Clerk of the Board shall mail a copy of the statement of expenses, and a notice explaining the right to appeal the statement of expenses to the County Hearing Officer, to the owner of the affected real property at the address provided in section 4-11-1135 of this Chapter, unless the owner has otherwise requested in writing, and to any mortgagee, lienholders of record, or beneficiary under a deed of trust.
(Amended by Ord. No. 3559, effective 6-20-19; amended by Ord. No. 3571, effective 8-22-19)
(a)
The owner of the affected real property, or other individual with a legally protected interest in the affected real property, may appeal for a reconsideration or modification of the statement of expenses to the County Hearing Officer. Any appeal to the County Hearing Officer shall be in writing and shall be filed with the Clerk of the Board within ten (10) calendar days after the date of mailing of the notice and statement of expenses. An appeal shall specifically set forth the grounds of the appeal. At the time of filing the appeal, the appellant shall pay a fee adequate to cover the cost of processing and hearing the appeal as established from time to time by resolution of the Board of Supervisors. The appellant may request a waiver of the fee pursuant to section 1-31-1060 of this Code.
(b)
The Clerk of the Board shall mail notice to the appellant of the date and time that the County Hearing Officer will hear the appeal, which date shall be not less than (10) calendar days after the date of mailing the notice.
(c)
Unless otherwise expressly stated by the owner, payment of the cost of abatement and the cost of administration without filing an appeal, or payment prior to an appeal hearing on the statement of expenses, shall be deemed a waiver of the right thereto and an admission that said statement of expenses is accurate and reasonable.
(Amended by Ord. No. 3559, effective 6-20-19; amended by Ord. No. 3571, effective 8-22-19)
(a)
At the time fixed by the Clerk of the Board, the County Hearing Officer shall hear the appeal on the statement of expenses. The owner may appear and be heard on the questions of whether the statement of expenses and the costs included are accurate and reasonable.
(b)
The statement of expenses shall be admitted into evidence. The owner shall bear the burden of proving that the statement of expenses is not accurate and reasonable.
(c)
The hearing shall be conducted in the manner prescribed in Article 31 of Chapter 1 of Part I of this Code.
(Amended by Ord. No. 3559, effective 6-20-19; amended by Ord. No. 3571, effective 8-22-19)
The County Hearing Officer shall make such modifications in the statement of expenses as he or she deems necessary based on the evidence at the hearing, and thereafter shall confirm the statement of expenses in a written decision. The County Hearing Officer shall transmit the decision on the statement of expenses to the parties in the manner prescribed in section 1-31-1210 of this Code.
(Amended by Ord. No. 3559, effective 6-20-19; amended by Ord. No. 3571, effective 8-22-19)
(a)
The applicable owner of the real property shall be liable for the cost of the abatement, including the cost of administration, as so determined by the statement of expenses if such statement is not appealed, or by the County Hearing Officer if the statement of expenses is appealed.
(b)
Pursuant to section 25845 of the Government Code, the Board may order that the cost of abating nuisances pursuant to this Chapter and the applicable costs of administration be placed upon the County tax roll by the County Auditor as special assessments against the respective parcels of land and collected at the same time and in the same manner as ordinary county taxes are collected, or placed on the unsecured roll, if such costs and fees are not paid: (i) within five (5) days following service of the County Hearing Officer's decision under section 4-11-1280, if the statement of expenses is appealed, or (ii) within thirty (30) days following service of the statement of expenses, if not appealed; provided, however, that the cost of abatement and the cost of administration as finally determined shall not be placed on the tax roll if paid in full prior to entry of said costs on the tax roll.
(c)
The Board may also order that a notice of abatement lien be recorded against any applicable real property until such costs and fees have been paid in full.
(Amended by Ord. No. 3559, effective 6-20-19; amended by Ord. No. 3571, effective 8-22-19)
The maintenance on private property of a public nuisance as described in section 4-11-1065 of this Chapter shall constitute an infraction, punishable under section 125 of this Code, if any of the following conditions are met:
(a)
Such public nuisance is not corrected within thirty (30) days after the County Fire Chief has notified the property owner of the existence of the public nuisance and there has been no timely request made to the County Fire Chief for administrative review of the determination of the existence of such public nuisance; or
(b)
If, after administrative review, the administrative review officer determines that such a public nuisance exists and such public nuisance is not corrected within five (5) business days following mailing of the notice of the administrative review officer's decision to the property owner; or
(c)
If, after administrative review and determination by administrative review officer that such a public nuisance exists and that such public nuisance may be removed by some procedure proposed by the owner other than destruction of the fire hazardous plants or materials, the administrative review officer has set a specific time within which the owner must complete the procedure, and such public nuisance is not corrected within the period of time as set by the administrative review officer; or
(d)
If, after a hearing by the County Hearing Officer as set forth in Article 31 of Chapter 1 of Part I of this Code, the public nuisance is not corrected within the time set by the County Hearing Officer.
(Amended by Ord. No. 3559, effective 6-20-19; amended by Ord. No. 3571, effective 8-22-19)