Alameda Municipal Code § 13-15 Boarded Building and Vacant Parcel Monitoring Fee

Footnotes:

--- (4) ---

Editor's note— Ord. No. 3028 N.S., § 2, adopted April 5, 2011, redesignated provisions related to Boarded Building and Vacant Parcel Monitoring Fee, formerly §§ 13-12.1—13-12.5, to read as herein set out.

Boarded buildings and vacant parcels are a major cause and source of blight in residential and non-residential neighborhoods, especially when the owner of the building or parcel fails to maintain and manage the building or parcel to ensure that it does not become a liability to the neighborhood. Boarded buildings and vacant parcels often attract transients and criminals, including drug users, and accumulate debris and refuse, all of which impair the quality of life and reduce property values. Use of boarded buildings and vacant parcels by transients and criminals, who may employ primitive cooking or heating methods, creates a risk of fire for the boarded building, vacant parcel and adjacent properties. Boarded buildings and vacant parcels are often used as dumping grounds for debris, are often overgrown with weeds and grasses, and may include, among other things, hazardous or toxic substances and used drug needles. Buildings and vacant parcels which are boarded up to prevent entry by transients and other long-term vacancies discourage economic development and retard appreciation of property values.

Because of the potential economic and public health, welfare and safety problems caused by boarded buildings and vacant parcels, the City needs to monitor boarded buildings and vacant parcels, so that they do not become attractive nuisances, are not used by trespassers, are properly maintained both inside and out, and do not become a blighting influence in the neighborhood. City departments involved in such monitoring include the Police Department, the Fire Department, Planning Department and Public Works Department. There is a substantial cost to the City for monitoring boarded buildings and vacant parcels, which should be borne by the owners of the boarded buildings and vacant parcels.

(Ord. No. 2706 N.S. § 1)

Boarded building shall mean a building whose doors and windows have been covered with plywood or other material for the purpose of preventing entry into the building by persons or animals.

Vacant parcel shall mean a parcel of real property upon which there is an improvement of any type on any part or portion of said parcel and the parcel is unoccupied or unused by either the owner or any person with the owner's consent.

(Ord. No. 2706 N.S. § 1)

a. Fee Imposed. There is hereby imposed upon every owner of a boarded building or vacant parcel an annual boarded building and vacant parcel monitoring fee (hereinafter, "Monitoring Fee"), in an amount to be set by resolution of the City Council. The Monitoring Fee shall not exceed the estimated reasonable cost of monitoring the boarded building and vacant parcel. The Monitoring Fee shall be payable as to any boarded building, residential or non-residential, or vacant parcel which:

1. Is boarded up by voluntary action of the owner or as the result of enforcement activities by the City; or

2. Is vacant for more than ninety (90) days for any reason, except where all owners or occupants are continuously and temporarily absent from their place of residence and intend to return thereto.

b. Fee Waiver. The Monitoring Fee shall be waived upon a showing by the owner that:

1. The owner has obtained a building permit, or if a building permit is not required, is progressing diligently to prepare the premises for occupancy; or

2. The boarded building or vacant parcel meets all applicable codes and is actively being offered for sale, lease or rent; or

3. Imposition of the fee would impose a substantial economic hardship on the owner or would hinder the rehabilitation of the boarded building or vacant parcel; or

4. All of the owners or occupants have been continuously and temporarily absent from their place of residence for over ninety (90) days and intend to return.

c. Procedure. The Monitoring Fee shall be billed to the owner of the property and mailed to the owner as such owner's name and address appear on the last equalized assessment roll of the County Assessor.

Any owner billed may apply for a waiver on the grounds set forth in subdivision (b) of this subsection by submitting a written statement of the grounds for the waiver, and the owner's daytime telephone number, to the Chief Building Inspector within thirty (30) days after the billing is mailed to the owner. The Chief Building Inspector shall review the written statement and may contact the owner to discuss the application for waiver. The Chief Building Inspector shall prepare a written decision which shall be mailed to the owner.

(Ord. No. 2706 N.S. § 1)

a. Any person who is liable for the Monitoring Fee may appeal the decision of the Chief Building Inspector by filing a notice of appeal with the City Clerk not later than twenty (20) calendar days from the date of mailing of the written decision of the Chief Building Inspector. The Housing and Building Code Hearing and Appeals Board shall hear the appeal in not less than ten (10) nor more than thirty (30) days from the date of the filing of the notice of appeal. The person appealing the decision shall be given not less than ten (10) days written notice of the time, date and location of the hearing.

b. The Housing and Building Code Hearing and Appeals Board shall consider evidence on only those issues set forth in subsection 13-15.3 (a) and (b).

c. The decision of the Housing Building Code Hearing and Appeals Board shall be final.

(Ord. No. 2706 N.S. § 1)

If the Monitoring Fee is not paid within sixty (60) days after billing, or within sixty (60) days after the Chief Building Inspector's or the Housing and Building Code Hearing and Appeals Board's decision becomes final, the City Council may thereupon order that the amount of the Monitoring Fee be specially assessed against the property involved. If the City Council orders that the Monitoring Fee be specially assessed against the property, it shall confirm the assessment and thereafter said assessment may be collected at the same time and in the same manner as ordinary real property taxes are collected and shall be subject to the same penalties and the same procedure and sale in case of delinquency as provided for ordinary real property taxes. All laws applicable to the levy, collection and enforcement of real property taxes are applicable to the special assessment.

In addition to the imposition of a special assessment, the City Council may order a lien to be recorded against the property. The lien shall include, but not be limited to, the identity of the owner(s), the date of the imposition of the penalty, the amount of the penalty, and a description of the real property subject to the lien. A copy of the lien shall be mailed to the owner(s) of the property after the recordation, with all recording information affixed thereto, at the address of said owner(s) appearing on the last equalized assessment roll, or supplemental roll, or to the property address.

(Ord. No. 2706 N.S. § 1)