Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2004-08-24 - ORDINANCES - MUNICODE ENFORCEMENT COSTS (2)ORDINANCE NO. 04-10 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA CLARITA, CALIFORNIA, ADDING CHAPTER 23.40 TO TITLE 23 OF THE SANTA CLARITA MUNICIPAL CODE ESTABLISHING PROCEDURES FOR ASSESSING AND COLLECTING ENFORCEMENT COSTS INCURRED BY THE CITY FROM ENFORCING PROVISIONS OF THE SANTA CLARITA MUNICIPAL CODE THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA CLARITA, CALIFORNIA, DOES HEREBY ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. A new Chapter 23.40, entitled "Enforcement Cost Recovery," consisting of §§ 23.40.010 to 23.40.190 is added to the SCMC to read as follows: Chapter 23.40 ENFORCEMENT COST RECOVERY 23.40.010 PURPOSE. 23.40.020 DEFINITIONS. 23.40.030 COMPUTATION OF COSTS. 23.40.040 PROCEDURES MANDATORY. 23.40.050 FIRST NOTICE. 23.40.060 NOTICE FOR REPEAT OFFENDERS. 23.40.070 ENFORCEMENT COST SUMMARY. 23.40.080 COST OF RECOVERY. 23.40.090 EXCEPTIONS AND LIMITATIONS. 23.40.100 COLLECTION OF ENFORCEMENT COSTS. 23.40.110 APPEALS. 23.40.120 ADVANCE DEPOSIT -HARDSHIP WAIVER. 23.40.130 DISPOSITION OF ENFORCEMENT COSTS. 23.40.140 RIGHT TO JUDICIAL REVIEW. 23.40.150 RECOVERY OF ENFORCEMENT COSTS. 23.40.160 LIEN PROCEDURE. 23.40.170 RECORDING A LIEN. 23.40.180 ADMINISTRATIVE FEE. 23.40.190 SATISFACTION OF LIEN. ARTICLE 1 — GENERAL PROVISIONS 23.40.010 PURPOSE. This chapter is adopted pursuant to the City's police powers under the California Constitution for the purpose of establishing procedures for recovering costs incurred by Ordinance No. 04-10 Page 2 the City when enforcing any provision of this Code through inspections, nuisance abatement, or other, similar, administrative or judicial means. 23.40.020 DEFINITIONS. Unless the contrary is stated or clearly appears from the context, the following definitions will govern the construction of the words and phrases used in this chapter. A. "Administrator" means the City Manager, or designee. B. "Code Violation" means any violation of this Code or any federal, state, or local law that the City may enforce pursuant to the City Council's legislative action or any other provision of law for which the City may recover its enforcement costs. This term will include both singular and plural. C. "Enforcement Action" means any action taken to correct a code violation. D. "Enforcement Costs" includes all of the following: 1. Actual cost of preparing notices, correspondence, specifications, and contracts; 2. Personnel costs incurred for property inspections. Such costs will be calculated at an hourly rate based on a schedule established by City Council resolution; 3. The cost of printing and mailing; 4. Costs related to inspection warrants; 5. Costs related to office hearings and administrative adjudications; 6. Attorney's fees expended in enforcement actions including, without limitation, any action to recover enforcement costs pursuant to this chapter; 7. All costs or expenses for which the City may be liable under state law arising from or related to an enforcement action; 8. All costs or expenses to which the City may be entitled pursuant to California law. E. "Enforcement Officer" means any official or employee responsible for implementing or assisting with enforcement actions. Ordinavee-No. 04-10 Page 3 F. "Reinspection Date" means the date on or after which an enforcement officer conducts an inspection to verify correction of a code violation. G. "Repeat Offender" means a responsible party who violates an identical code provision in a twelve (12) month period after a previous code violation. H. "Responsible Party" means a person or persons responsible for a code violation as specified in the code. 23.40.030 COMPUTATION OF COSTS. A. The Administrator will account for and maintain records of all enforcement costs associated with enforcement actions. Computing enforcement costs will be based upon records kept for each separate enforcement action. B. Computing enforcement costs will commence from the reinspection date through the date that all code violations are corrected except that enforcement costs for repeat offenders will be calculated from the time that an enforcement officer determines that a code violation exists. Should a repeat offender be responsible for both identical code violations and new code violations, the City will calculate enforcement costs from the time that an enforcement officer determines that a code violation exists. C. After an enforcement officer verifies that all code violations are corrected, the enforcement officer will send an enforcement cost summary to the responsible party. Unless a timely appeal is filed in accordance with this chapter, the enforcement cost summary will be deemed final and accurate. ARTICLE 2 — NOTIFICATION 23.40.040 PROCEDURES MANDATORY. An enforcement officer must comply with the procedures set forth in this article in order to collect enforcement costs from a responsible party. 23.40.050 FIRST NOTICE. After investigating allegations regarding code violations, and determining that a code violation exists, an enforcement officer will notify the responsible party in writing of the following: A. Existence of the code violation; B. The reinspection date; Ordinance No. 04-10 Page 4 C. That the City will charge the responsible party for enforcement costs associated with the enforcement action should the code violations not be remedied by the reinspection date; and D. That the responsible party may appeal the enforcement costs assessed by this chapter. 23.40.060 NOTICE FOR REPEAT OFFENDERS. After investigating allegations that a responsible party is responsible for more than one, identical, code violation in a twelve (12) month period, as measured from the reinspection date of the previous violation, the enforcement officer will notify the responsible party in writing of the following: A. The existence of the repeated code violation; B. The reinspection date; C. That the City will charge the responsible party for enforcement costs associated with the enforcement action commencing on the date of notice; and D. That the responsible party may appeal the enforcement costs assessed by this chapter. 23.40.070 ENFORCEMENT COST SUMMARY. A. Should the code violation continue as of the reinspection date, or if the responsible party is a repeat offender, the enforcement officer will take all legal measures needed to gain compliance. B. After all code violations are corrected, the enforcement officer will notify the responsible party in writing of the total enforcement costs the City incurred. C. The notice regarding enforcement costs will provide: 1. A written summary of enforcement costs that are chargeable to the responsible party; 2. Will require the responsible party to pay the enforcement costs within thirty (30) days of the notification date; and 3. Will advise the responsible party of the right to appeal the enforcement costs, provided that an appeal is filed within ten (10) working days of the date of mailing or personal delivery of the written notice. Ordinance No. 04-10 Page 5 23.40.080 COST OF RECOVERY. Enforcement costs will be charged in those instances where the responsible party fails to correct the code violations by the reinspection date or, for repeat offenders, will be charged from the date that an enforcement officer determines that an identical code violation exists in a twelve (12) month period. However, if a court of competent jurisdiction dismisses an enforcement action or subsequently finds the responsible party innocent of all alleged code violations, no enforcement costs will be charged to such Ply 23.40.090 EXCEPTIONS AND LIMITATIONS. The procedures prescribed in this chapter must only be followed if the City is to recover enforcement costs in an enforcement action. The recovery of enforcement costs will be in addition to any fines or penalties that may be imposed under this Code or by court order. ARTICLE 3 — COLLECTION OF ENFORCEMENT COSTS 23.40.100 COLLECTION OF ENFORCEMENT COSTS. All enforcement costs will be paid to the City. All payments will be due and payable within thirty (30) days of the date of the cost summary notice or, if a timely appeal is filed, within thirty (30) days of the date of the Administrator's decision. Should a responsible party fail to pay all enforcement costs for which it has been charged within the time prescribed herein, the City may effect payment through a collection agency or through any other legal means at its disposal. 23.40.110 APPEALS. Any responsible party may appeal the enforcement costs to the Administrator as follows: A. An appeal contesting the proposed enforcement costs will be filed with the Administrator within ten (10) days of the date that the cost summary notice was mailed or personally delivered to the responsible party. Any such filing must be accompanied by an advance deposit of the enforcement costs or a request for a hardship waiver. B. Within thirty (30) days of the filing of the appeal, and on ten (10) days written notice to the responsible party, the Administrator will hold a hearing on the objections to determine the validity of the enforcement costs. C. In determining the validity of the enforcement costs, the Administrator will consider all relevant information pertaining to whether the enforcement costs are reasonable in the circumstances of the case. Factors to be considered include, without limitation, the following: Ordinance No. 04-10 Page 6 1. Whether the responsible party created the violation; 2. Whether there was or is an ability to correct the violation; 3. Whether the responsible party moved promptly to correct the violation; 4. The degree of cooperation provided by the responsible party; and 5. Whether reasonable minds could differ as to whether a violation existed. D. At the time of the hearing, the Administrator's designee may either uphold, reverse, or modify the amount of enforcement costs chargeable to the responsible party. The responsible party will receive written notice of the Administrator's decision. The Administrator's decision is final and conclusive. The appellant will have no right to a City Council appeal. 23.40.120 ADVANCE DEPOSIT -HARDSHIP WAIVER. A. Responsible parties who are financially unable to make an advance deposit of the enforcement costs, may file for a hardship waiver. The request for a hardship waiver must be filed with the Administrator on a form containing information that may be required by the Administrator. The Administrator will review the request and determine whether a waiver is justified. A waiver may only be approved if the request for waiver is accompanied by a sworn affidavit, together with any supporting documents or materials, demonstrating the responsible party's actual financial inability to deposit the full amount of the enforcement costs. B. The Administrator will inform the responsible party in writing regarding whether the Administrator approved the waiver. This determination will be served upon the responsible by mail at the address provided in the waiver application. The Administrator's determination is final. C. Should the clerk determine that a waiver is unjustified, the responsible party will deposit the enforcement cost amount with the City not later than ten (10) days after the date of that decision. Failure to make a deposit within ten (10) days after waiver denial will be deemed a waiver of the responsible party's right to an administrative hearing and the enforcement costs will be deemed delinquent. 23.40.130 DISPOSITION OF ENFORCEMENT COSTS. A. Should the Administrator uphold the amount of enforcement costs, then the City will retain the deposited enforcement costs. B. Should the Administrator reverse the amount of enforcement costs, then the City will promptly refund the amount of the deposited enforcement costs, if any. Ordinance No. 04-10 Page 7 C. Should the Administrator modify the amount of enforcement costs, then the City will promptly refund the difference between the amount of the deposited enforcement costs, if any, and the amount of the enforcement costs approved by the Administrator. D. Should the Administrator uphold the amount of enforcement costs and a hardship waiver was previously granted, the due date for paying the enforcement costs will be thirty (30) days from the date of the notice of the Administrator's decision. 23.40.140 RIGHT TO JUDICIAL REVIEW. A. A responsible party may appeal the Administrator's decision by filing an appeal with the Superior Court in accordance with California Code of Civil Procedure § 1094.6, or any successor statute, within twenty (20) days from service of the Administrator's decision. B. Should the responsible party file a timely appeal with the Superior Court, the requirement to pay the enforcement costs will be suspended and the payment of the enforcement costs, if any, will be in accordance with the Superior Court decision. ARTICLE 4 – PROPERTY LIENS 23.40.150 RECOVERY OF ENFORCEMENT COSTS. In addition to any other legal remedy, the City may place a lien on property owned by the responsible party in an amount equal to the sum of the enforcement costs delinquent for more than (90) days, plus interest. Imposition of a lien pursuant to this Section must stem from an enforcement action relating to the condition or use of real property, or its improvements, which is owned by the responsible party. 23.40.160 LIEN PROCEDURE. A. The Administrator may initiate proceedings to record a lien conforming with this article if the decision is not being appealed. B. Before recording the lien, the Administrator will submit a report to the City Clerk stating the amounts due and owing. C. The Administrator will contact the City Clerk and fix a time, date, and place for the City Council to consider the report and any protests or objections to it. D. The Administrator will serve the responsible party with a hearing notice not less —' than ten (10) days before the hearing date. The notice will set forth the amount of the delinquent enforcement costs and any interest that is due. Notice will be delivered first-class mail, postage prepaid, addressed to each responsible party's Ordinance No. 04-10 Page 8 address as it appears on the last equalized assessment roll or supplemental roll of the County of Los Angeles, whichever is more current. Service by mail will be effective on the date of mailing and failure of the responsible party to actually receive notice will not affect its validity. E. At the conclusion of the hearing, the City Council will adopt a resolution confirming, discharging, or modifying the lien amount. 23.40.170 RECORDING A LIEN. Within thirty (30) days following the City Council's adoption of a resolution imposing a lien, the Administrator will file same as a judgment lien in the Los Angeles County Recorder's Office. 23.40.180 ADMINISTRATIVE FEE. Each responsible party against whose property an assessment is levied pursuant to this chapter will also be assessed an administrative fee in an amount established by City Council resolution based on the costs incurred in levying the assessment. The administrative fee will be included in the lien amount approved by the City Council and recorded against the responsible party's property. 23.40.190 SATISFACTION OF LIEN. Once the City receives full payment for outstanding principal and costs, the Administrator will either record a Notice of Satisfaction or provide the responsible party with a Notice of Satisfaction for recordation at the Los Angeles County Recorder's Office. This Notice of Satisfaction will cancel the City's lien." SECTION 2. This Ordinance is intended to set forth the entire procedure for assessing and collecting enforcement costs stemming from any action to enforce any provision of the SCMC. SECTION 3. If any part of this Ordinance or its application is deemed invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, the City Council intends that such invalidity will not affect the effectiveness of the remaining provisions or applications and, to this end, the provisions of this Ordinance are severable. SECTION 4. The City Clerk is directed to certify the passage and adoption of this Ordinance; cause it to be entered into the City of Santa Clarita's book of original ordinances; make a note of the passage and adoption in the records of this meeting; and, within fifteen (15) days after the passage and adoption of this Ordinance, cause it to be published or posted in accordance with California law. Ordinance No. 04-10 Page 9 --- SECTION 5. This Ordinance will become effective on thirty (30) days following its passage and adoption. PASSED, APPROVED AND ADOPTED this 24h day of August, 2004. ow P' W. ATTEST: A - x . CITY CLERK STATE OF CALIFORNIA ) COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES ) ss. CITY OF SANTA CLARTTA ) I, Sharon L. Dawson, CMC, City Clerk of the City of Santa Clarita, do hereby certify that the foregoing Ordinance No. 04-10 was regularly introduced and placed upon its first reading at a regular meeting of the City Council on the 13ei day of July, 2004. That thereafter, said Ordinance was duly passed and adopted at a regular meeting of the City Council on the 24th day of August, 2004, by the following vote, to wit: AYES: COUNCILMEMBERS: McLean, Weste, Ferry, Smyth, Kellar NOES: COUNCILMEMBERS: None ABSENT: COUNCILMEM 3ERS: None CITY CLERK STATE OF CALIFORNIA ) COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES ) ss. CITY OF SANTA CLARITA ) CERTIFICATION OF CITY COUNCIL ORDINANCE I, Sharon L. Dawson, City Clerk of the City of Santa Clarita, do hereby certify that this is a true and correct copy of the original Ordinance No. 04-10, adopted by the City Council of the City of Santa Clarita, CA on August 24, 2004, which is now on file in my office. Witness my hand and seal of the City of Santa Clarita, California, this _ day of 20_. Sharon L. Dawson, CMC City Clerk RV Susan Coffman Deputy City Clerk S/PBS/CounciVSCMC CostRecoveryO