41-6 - Money judgments.

Any judgment of conviction which imposes a fine shall become a money judgment, as provided by Penal Code section 1214. It shall be the responsibility of the code enforcement officer to determine if the fine imposed has been paid. In any case where the fine remains unpaid for more than thirty (30) days, a code enforcement officer shall record an abstract of the judgment in the office of the county recorder, as provided by Code of Civil Procedure sections 674 and 697.310. Upon notice of payment of such a judgment, the code enforcement officer shall file and serve an acknowledgment of satisfaction of judgment, as provided by Code of Civil Procedure sections 724.030 and 724.040.

(Ord. No. 2704, § 1, 9-13-88)

(a)

Warning of Noncompliance. If the affected department so elects, it may, instead of, or in addition to, proceeding pursuant to section 41-2(b) through (e) above, issue a written warning of noncompliance.

(b)

Content of Warning. The warning of noncompliance shall state:

(1)

There is a noncompliance with a specified code section(s) on the identified property;

(2)

Unless such noncompliance is corrected or abated within a specified time of not less than twenty (20) days, a notice of noncompliance will be recorded in accordance with this section;

(3)

If a notice of noncompliance is recorded, a notice of compliance may subsequently be recorded after the noncompliance has been corrected or abated pursuant to subsection (k) of this section, upon payment of the required fee;

(4)

If a notice of noncompliance is recorded, county permits, licenses or other entitlements involving the premises shall not be issued or approved, except as necessary to correct or abate the noncompliance, pursuant to section 41-10 of this chapter;

(5)

The owner(s) may request an administrative hearing prior to recordation of a notice of noncompliance pursuant to subsection (d) below;

(6)

The name and phone number of the departmental employee from whom further information may be obtained.

(c)

Service. Any warning notice of noncompliance issued hereunder shall be personally served on the owner(s) or mailed by first class mail in a sealed envelope with postage thereon fully prepaid and addressed to the owner(s) at his or her last known address.

(d)

Request for hearing. The owner(s) may request an administrative hearing prior to recordation of a notice of noncompliance by mailing or delivering a written request therefor to the director of development services. Such request must be identified as a request for administrative hearing re-warning of noncompliance, must include the assessor parcel number of the parcel affected, and must be received within twenty (20) days

from the date of personal service or mailing of the warning of noncompliance. If a request for administrative hearing is timely received, no notice of noncompliance shall be recorded unless and until so ordered by the Hearing Officer after conclusion of the hearing.

(e)

Failure to Request Hearing. If no request for administrative hearing is received within said twenty (20) day period, a notice of noncompliance may be recorded by the affected department.

(f)

Appeals; Setting and Holding Hearing. Appeals shall be held before a Hearing Officer designated pursuant to the protocol set forth in that document entitled the "Butte County Administrative Hearing Officer Program." The Program is based upon an alphabetical rotation through attorneys currently under contract through the Program. Upon receipt of a request for administrative hearing, the director of development services shall: notify the Hearing Officer; set a date and time for the hearing to be held; and, not less than twenty (20) days prior to the hearing, notify the owner(s) and the affected department of the time, date, and place of the hearing. Such hearing shall be held within a reasonable time.

(g)

Hearing Procedure; Order. At the hearing, the parties may be represented by counsel and may present pertinent evidence and argument. The technical rules of evidence shall not be applicable to the hearing. The decisions and orders of the Hearing Officer must be based upon a preponderance of the evidence. If the Hearing Officer determines that there is a noncompliance with the Butte County Code as alleged in the warning of noncompliance, the Hearing Officer shall order that a notice of noncompliance be recorded by the affected department within ten (10) days from the date of decision. If the Hearing Officer determines that there is no such violation, the Hearing Officer shall order that no notice of noncompliance be recorded. The Hearing Officer is not authorized to make any other orders. The Hearing Officer shall issue his or her decision in writing, within ten (10) days from the conclusion of the hearing, based solely upon the evidence in the hearing record. The decision of the Hearing Officer shall be final.

(h)

Content of notice of noncompliance. If a notice of noncompliance is recorded pursuant to subsection (e) or (g) above, such notice shall include the following information, as applicable: the assessor parcel number of the premises; the legal description of the premises; a description of the noncompliance; the action necessary to correct or abate the noncompliance; the date of the noncompliance; the date of the personal service or mailing of the warning notice of noncompliance; notice that county permits, licenses or other entitlements involving the premises shall not be issued or approved, except as necessary to correct or abate the noncompliance, pursuant to section 41-10 of this chapter; and the date of issuance of the decision of the Hearing Officer.

(i)

Procedure Supplementary to Other Remedies. The remedy of recording a notice of noncompliance is supplementary and complementary to all other remedies in law or equity.

(j)

Public Nuisance. Any noncompliance that continues after recordation of a notice of noncompliance pursuant to this section is hereby declared to be a public nuisance and may be abated in the manner prescribed by law.

(k)

Notice of Compliance. Upon all work to correct or abate the noncompliance being completed by the owner(s) and approved by the affected department and payment by or on behalf of the owner(s) to the County of Butte of the amount set forth in section 41-9 of this chapter to defray the county's costs of recording the notice of noncompliance, conducting follow-up inspections and recording a notice of compliance pursuant to this subsection, the affected department shall submit a notice of compliance to the county recorder for recordation. Said notice of compliance shall reference the related notice of noncompliance recorded pursuant to subsection (e) or (g) above.

(Ord. No. 3310, § 2, 12-17-96; Ord. No. 3944, § 5, 11-21-06)