Clearlake Municipal Code § 10-3 Contesting and Appealing Abatement Orders

Any recipient of an abatement order may contest the order by filing a notice of appeal and request for administrative hearing with the City Clerk accompanied by the specified filing fee as set by resolution of the City Council, no later than fifteen (15) calendar days from the date of issuance of the abatement order. The notice of appeal and request for administrative hearing shall include a detailed written explanation of all grounds for the appeal. The appellant may not raise any grounds other than those specified in the notice of appeal and request for hearing at the appeal hearing. A recipient of an abatement order who fails to file an appeal in accordance with the provisions of this section shall be deemed to have waived his or her rights to an appeal hearing and to have failed to exhaust his or her administrative remedies. (Ord. #2012-159; Ord. #222-2019, S11)

Upon receipt of a notice of appeal and request for administrative hearing, the City shall initiate the process for holding an administrative hearing. The Hearing Officer shall be the City Manager or his/her designee and the conduct of the appeal hearing shall be in accordance with the procedures of that chapter. (Ord. #2012-159; Ord. #222-2019, S11)

The appeal hearing on an abatement order serves to provide a full opportunity to each person subject to an abatement order to object to the determination that a violation has occurred, that the violation continues to exist, that the remedy and Hearing Officer’s decision is final. In addition, the failure of any person who is subject to an abatement order to appear at the appeal hearing shall constitute a failure to exhaust administrative remedies. (Ord. #2012-159; Ord. #222-2019, S11)

a. At the place and time set forth in the notice of appeal hearing, the Hearing Officer shall conduct a hearing on the abatement order. b. No later than thirty (30) calendar days after the conclusion of the appeal hearing, unless otherwise stipulated by the parties, the Hearing Officer shall issue a written administrative order to uphold, modify or cancel the abatement order, which notice shall include the Hearing Officer’s determination regarding: 1. The existence of the violation; and 2. The failure of the violator or property owner to take required corrective action within the required time period. c. The administrative order shall include the reasons for the Hearing Officer’s decision which may be based on any or all of the following factors: 1. The duration of the violation; 2. The frequency, recurrence and number of violations, related or unrelated, by the same violator; 3. The seriousness of the violation; 4. The good faith efforts of the violator to come into compliance; 5. The economic impact of the penalty on the violator; 6. The impact of the violation on the community; or 7. Such other factors as justice may require. d. If the Hearing Officer determines that the abatement order should be upheld, the Hearing Officer’s administrative order may include one or more administrative remedies set forth herein, and shall include: 1. An order to correct the violation, including a schedule for correction and reinspection for compliance, where appropriate; 2. Administrative costs as provided in subsection 10-2.7, as well as the actual costs of the appeal hearing (e.g., payment of the Hearing Officer, any cost for the hearing facility and any other related costs), and any and all direct costs incurred by the City to prepare for and attend the hearing, including, but not limited to, costs of printing and mailing the notice of hearing and any related documents and correspondence; staff costs, including attorney’s fees, incurred in investigating, preparing for and attending the hearing; and costs for all reinspections of the property necessary to enforce the Hearing Officer’s order. The Hearing Officer may establish a payment schedule for any unpaid administrative costs, where appropriate. e. If the Hearing Officer finds that no violation has occurred or that the abatement order should not be upheld for some other reason, the Hearing Officer’s administrative order shall specify those facts supporting his conclusion and may terminate all further actions related to the abatement order. f. The Hearing Officer, in its discretion, may suspend the imposition of applicable penalties for any period of time during which: 1. The violator has filed for necessary permits; 2. Such permits are required to achieve compliance; and 3. Such permit applications are actively pending before the City, State or other appropriate governmental agency. (Ord. #2012-159; Ord. #222-2019, S11)

a. The Hearing Officer’s order may be appealed to the City Council by filing an appeal with the City Clerk within seven (7) days of the date of service of the Hearing Officer’s decision. The appeal shall contain: 1. A specific identification of the subject property; 2. The names and addresses of all appellants; 3. A statement of appellant’s legal interest in the subject property; 4. A statement in ordinary and concise language of the specific order or action protested and the grounds for appeal, together with all material facts in support thereof; 5. The date and signature of all appellants; and 6. The verification of all appellants as to the truth of the matters stated in the appeal, signed under penalty of perjury. 7. The appeal shall be accompanied by the fee required for the taking of any such appeal, which fee shall be set by City Council resolution. The City Council shall have the discretion to waive or modify the appeal fee if the responsible person demonstrates that no public nuisance existed at the time the notice to abate was issued. b. As soon as practicable after receiving the appeal, the City Clerk shall set a date for the City Council to hear the appeal which date shall be no less than seven (7) days nor more than thirty (30) days from the date the appeal was filed. The City Clerk shall give each appellant written notice of the time and the place of the hearing at least five (5)

days prior to the date of the hearing, either by causing a copy of the notice to be delivered to the appellant personally or by mailing a copy thereof (if the notice is mailed, City shall provide appellant an additional five (5) calendar days of notice before the date of the hearing), postage prepaid, addressed to the appellant at the address shown on the appeal. Continuances of the hearing may be granted by the City Council on request of the owner for good cause shown, or on the City Council’s own motion. c. If the City Council finds from the relevant evidence that a public nuisance exists and the notice of abatement was in conformance with the provisions of this chapter, it shall require the responsible person to comply with the order of abatement within thirty (30) calendar days after the date of mailing of the City Council’s decision to the responsible person, unless a longer period of time to abate the nuisance is specifically authorized by the City Council. d. The following will apply to the hearing procedure before the City Council: 1. At the time and place set for the appeal, the City Council shall hold a de novo hearing and shall afford the appellant and other interested parties a reasonable opportunity to be heard in connection therewith. 2. To allow appellants the opportunity to fully present their arguments, the formal rules of evidence shall not apply and all relevant evidence may be considered. However, the City Council has the discretion to exclude irrelevant evidence, i.e., evidence that does not pertain to the issue(s) on appeal. The City Council also has the discretion to exclude evidence it deems unnecessarily repetitive. (Ord. #265-2022, S2)

a. A person contesting the order of the City Council issued pursuant to this chapter may seek review in the Lake County Superior Court by filing an appeal pursuant to Section 53069.4(b) of the California Government Code within twenty (20) days after service of the City Council’s order, or may file a petition for writ of mandate pursuant to Section 1094.5 or 1094.6 of the California Code of Civil Procedure. b. The procedure and fees for an appeal or writ proceeding conducted pursuant to this section shall be as set forth in the California Government Code Section 53069.4(b) and (d). c. If no notice of appeal of the City Council’s order is filed with the Superior Court within the period set forth in this section, the order or decision shall be deemed final and confirmed. (Ord. #2012-159; Ord. #222-2019, S11)

If the Code Enforcement Officer determines that compliance has been achieved after an abatement order, Hearing Officer’s or City Council’s order has been issued, the Code Enforcement Officer shall file a report of compliance with the City Manager indicating that compliance has been achieved. (Ord. #2012-159; Ord. #222-2019, S11)