Fresno County Municipal Code Ch. 1.13 Administrative Fines

Footnotes:

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Prior ordinance history: Ord. 05-003.

The Fresno County board of supervisors (board) finds and declares as follows:

A. That code enforcement continues to persist as a problem for the county of Fresno (county), and that county departments (departments) devote considerable personnel and resources to code enforcement efforts;

B. That pursuant to state law, including but not limited to Government Code Sections 53069.4 and 25132, the board is empowered to establish an administrative citation process and provide for the imposition of fines as penalties for noncompliance;

C. That due to the nature of real property-related code violations in particular, as well as other code violations, it may often be unclear whether a real property owner, a tenant or an agent is responsible for causing a code violation, or for maintaining it once it exists;

D. That the issuance of an administrative citation will require that each responsible person cited must pay an administrative fine;

E. That to provide for notice of a code violation for a real property-related code violation, prior to issuance of a first administrative citation regarding that section of the code, the department charged with enforcement of that code shall send a notice of violation to the current property owner of record or other apparent responsible person, by the sending of a notice of violation, each such respective responsible person is encouraged to contact the issuing enforcement officer to establish a schedule within which the code violation shall be corrected; provided, further, that the enforcement officer shall be, depending upon the circumstances, empowered to grant a time extension or extensions to correct the code violation, which extension of time itself, if granted, will be memorialized in writing also sent to all respective responsible persons;

F. That the intent of this process is to encourage the correction of code violations prior to the issuance of an administrative citation or the imposition of a fine;

G. That despite best efforts of the department to work with the responsible person, a code violation may not be corrected and, if so, among other remedies or penalties, the ordinance codified in this chapter is intended to empower the department to issue an administrative citation and impose a penalty, and also compel compliance;

H. That a tenant, agent, or other responsible person, due to the transitory nature of some tenancies, may move rather than correct the violation, or that a tenant for whatever reason may fail to inform his landlord or other responsible person of a code violation, of the receipt of a notice of violation regarding a code violation, or of an administrative citation, but that real property upon which a code violation exists, or is maintained, remains in ownership of the property owner;

I. That sometimes due to delays in filing or recording of real property-related ownership documents, for whatever reason, the person identified in the records of the Fresno County assessor/recorder (assessor/recorder) as the current owner of record may no longer own the property when either a notice of violation or a resulting administrative citation is issued, or the property owner may have failed to update his current address with the assessor/recorder;

J. That real property-related code violations and other code violations existing on privately-owned real property adversely affect the economic development of the county, and the health, safety and welfare of its residents;

K. That ultimately, for real property-related code violations and other code violations existing on privately-owned real property, as between the owner thereof and a tenant or agent, it is ultimately the responsibility of the property owner to maintain the real property, or to cause it to be maintained, free of code violations, and to correct them, or cause them to be corrected, when they exist or occur;

L. That under the Revenue and Taxation Code, Sections 480 et seq., whenever any change of ownership occurs of real property or a manufactured home subject to local property taxation assessed by the county, the transferee must file a change of ownership statement with the county recorder (recorder), specifying, among other things, the name and address of the person to which tax information shall be sent, and that there are penalties for failing timely to file a change of ownership statement;

M. That under the Revenue and Taxation Code, Section 255.7, whenever a change of ownership statement is filed, the recorder must provide the assessor/recorder with a copy of the transfer of ownership document as soon as possible;

N. That the assessor/recorder documents and maintains records pertaining to change of ownership, including the name and address of the current property owner of record;

O. That under the Revenue and Taxation Code, Sections 601 et seq., the assessor/recorder is required to prepare an assessment roll (roll), including the name and address of the assessee, for the use of the county tax collector (tax collector) in billing taxpayers for real property taxes, and must transmit said roll to the tax collector;

P. That under Revenue and Taxation Code, Sections 2601 et seq., the tax collector uses the roll, and must mail, or electronically transmit, a county tax bill (tax bill) or a copy thereof for every property on the secured roll;

Q. That under the Revenue and Taxation Code, Section 2610.5, failure to pay a tax bill timely because the assessee did not receive a copy of the tax bill does not relieve the lien of taxes on the property or prevent the imposition of penalties for delinquent taxes, except that, if the property owner or assessee can demonstrate to the tax collector that the delinquency is due to the tax collector's failure to mail the tax bill to the address provided on the tax roll, or, in cases where the assessee has provided an electronic address to the tax collector, and authorized its use, to the failure to electronically transmit the tax bill thereto, delinquent penalties may be cancelled;

R. That tax bills sent by the tax collector request the addressee to forward the tax bill to the new owner, if the property has been sold;

S. That it is reasonable to presume that the use of the name and address of the current record owner maintained by the assessor/recorder for letters, administrative citations, and notices is a procedure most likely to reach the actual property owner;

T. That in recognition of the ultimate responsibility of a private property owner to maintain his or her property free of code violations, the ordinance codified in this chapter shall provide for notices of violations to be sent to any apparent responsible person, including any tenant and the current owner of record, prior to the issuance of an administrative citation; that the department charged with enforcement of the code violation shall investigate and shall attempt to ascertain the responsible party or parties; provided, however, that for real property-related code violations, and after investigation, an administrative citation shall be issued only to the current record owner, and not to the tenant, agent, or another occupant of the property, or another person; provided, further, that if it appears to the enforcing department after investigation that the property may no longer be owned by the current record owner, but by another person, who has not become the current record owner, for whatever reason, and that therefore the current owner of record, and the actual property owner are each apparently responsible persons, an administrative citation shall be issued both to the current record owner and to the actual property owner;

U. That the ordinance codified in this chapter shall provide any responsible person issued an administrative citation an opportunity to request an administrative hearing to contest that there was a violation of the code or that he or she is the responsible person;

V. That a person's failure to request an administrative hearing as provided in the ordinance codified in this chapter shall constitute a failure to exhaust administrative remedies; and

W. That to collect and enforce unpaid administrative fines constituting a final administrative order, or to enforce an order of the administrative hearing officer, after hearing, constituting a final administrative order, the county may file a civil action, impose a lien therefore on real property owned by such responsible person, after notice, or take other action allowed for enforcement of a civil judgment; and that the county may withhold or revoke issuance of licenses, permits, or other land use entitlements to any responsible person, including but not limited to the property owner, on any project, property, or application of any kind within the county whenever a violation of county code exits or an administrative fine or an abatement cost remains unpaid and until the violation is abated and the administrative fine or the abatement cost, accrued interest, and accrued late pay charges, are paid in full.

(Ord. 08-029, § 1, Exh. A)

In addition to all other legal remedies, criminal or civil, which may be pursued by the county to address any violation of the Fresno County Code, and in accordance with Government Code Section 53069.4, an administrative citation may be issued for any violation of the Fresno County Code, the Fresno County zoning ordinance, or any other ordinance adopted by the Fresno County board of supervisors. The following procedures shall govern the imposition, enforcement, collection and administrative review of administrative citations and penalties and recovery of abatement costs. The use of this chapter shall be at the sole discretion of the county.

(Ord. 08-029, § 1, Exh. A)

Any enforcement officer upon determining that a provision of this code, which he or she is charged to enforce, has been violated has the authority to issue a civil citation to any responsible person or persons. An enforcement officer may issue an administrative citation for a violation the officer did not see occur if the officer has determined through investigation that the responsible person did commit or is responsible for the violation. A responsible person to whom an administrative citation is issued shall be liable for and shall pay to the county the fine or fines described in the administrative citation when due pursuant to the provisions of this chapter.

(Ord. 08-029, § 1, Exh. A)

For purposes of this chapter:

"Abatement costs" means all actual and reasonable costs incurred by the department to abate violations of the Fresno County ordinances, including but not limited to building and zoning codes. These costs shall include all direct and indirect costs to the county resulting from the total abatement action including, but not limited to, investigation costs, enforcement costs to enforce county ordinances or state regulations, clerical and administrative costs to process paperwork, costs incurred to provide notices and prepare for and conduct administrative hearings, and cost to physically abate the violation(s). Examples of abatement costs include, but are not limited to, staff costs to prepare and issue a notice of violation or a citation, costs to prepare a hearing packet, administrative overhead costs, costs for equipment such as vehicles and cameras, staff time to hire a contractor to physically remove solid waste, etc. from the property. The abatement cost shall include reasonable attorneys' fees to abate violations of county ordinances.

"Administrative citation" means a written notice imposing a penalty for failing to abate a Fresno County Code violation within the period prescribed in the warning letter.

"Code," "the code" or "this code" means the Fresno County ordinance code, the Fresno County zoning ordinance, and/or any other ordinance adopted by the Fresno County board of supervisors.

"County administrative officer" means the person occupying the position heading the county administrative office as set forth in the Fresno County Code, Title 2, Chapter 2.08, Sections 2.08.010 et seq., or his designee.

"Courtesy notice" means a letter notifying the property owner of a reported violation.

"Current record owner" means the person identified in the records maintained by the assessor/recorder, as the current owner of record of the real property where the violation exists or where it is maintained. See also "Property owner."

"Director" means the director of any department of the county or his/her designee.

"Enforcement officer" means any county employee designated by the county administrative officer, or the director of the county department with authority to enforce any provision of this code or related state law, and shall also mean regular salaried, full-time employees of the sheriff-coroner's office.

"Hearing officer" means the person or persons appointed by the county administrative officer to preside over an administrative hearing provided for in this chapter.

"Issued," "issuing" or "issuance" means giving the administrative citation to the responsible person. Issuance occurs on the date when an administrative citation is personally served on the responsible person, or five calendar days after the date it is mailed to the responsible person. After the administrative citation is personally served on or mailed to the violator, the enforcement officer also may post it on real property where a property-related violation exists or is maintained.

"Issuing department" means the county department that has the authority and responsibility for enforcing the code section(s) designated on an administrative citation as having been violated.

"Notice of violation" means a letter notifying the property owner of a determination that a code violation exists on a property.

"Property owner" means the current record owner, as shown on the records maintained by the assessor/recorder, or the actual property owner, if such records have not been updated, of the property upon which a violation of this code exists or is maintained.

"Responsible person" means any of the following:

A. Any owner, manager, agent, employee, or member of a governing board, of a business enterprise or association, who causes, maintains, or allows a violation; or

B. Any property owner causing a violation, maintaining a violation, or allowing a violation to exist, on real property owned thereby.

"Violation" means the failure to comply with the provisions of this code, by action, inaction or failure to act.

(Ord. No. 25-020, § 1, 10-7-2025; Ord. 08-029, § 1, Exh. A)

When a violation of the building or zoning code is reported, but not verified, the enforcement officer shall issue a courtesy notice to the responsible person(s) by first class mail, postage prepaid, at the address maintained for the current record owner. The courtesy notice is to advise the responsible person of the reported alleged violation(s). The notice also requires that the property owner contact the code enforcement officer within ten calendar days or sooner should the reported violation presents an immediate health and safety hazard, to discuss the reportedly alleged violation and the potential steps that must be taken to achieve compliance.

(Ord. 08-029, § 1, Exh. A)

A. When a violation is determined to exist on a property, the enforcement officer shall issue the responsible person(s) a notice of violation as provided in Section 1.13.090 at the address maintained for the current record owner. The notice of violation shall identify the violation(s) at issue, date of inspection, location of the property, the applicable code section(s), and the corrective action(s) required to obtain compliance. The notice of violation shall demand compliance within a reasonable period of time, at the discretion of the enforcement officer, not to exceed thirty calendar days. The responsible person is advised that an inspection fee, as identified in the county's master fee schedule, will be imposed for additional inspections beyond the one inspection to verify compliance as stated in the notice of violation. The responsible person is also advised that administrative citation(s) may be issued if compliance is not obtained within the period specified in the notice of violation and that the notice of violation may be recorded per Section 1.13.080.

B. The time specified for correction of a code violation may be extended at the discretion of the enforcement officer, one or more times, if it is determined that reasonable progress is being made to correct the violation or for other good cause.

C. Service of a notice of violation is effective upon hand delivery or five calendar days after the date it is mailed to the violator by first class mail. Failure or refusal to accept the notice of violation does not invalidate the issuance of the notice of violation and subsequent proceedings.

D. The property will be inspected for compliance. If the responsible party refuses to allow inspection, after a reasonable demand, the code enforcement officer may obtain an inspection warrant pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure Section 1822.50. Failure of the responsible party to allow inspection or remedy the violation shall result in the issuance of an administrative citation, the charging of inspection fees, and may result in a separate criminal violation for the failure to allow inspection (CCP Section 1822.57).

E. If the violation also constitutes the performance of work without a required permit or in violation of an issued permit; the enforcement officer may issue a cease and desist order to temporarily and immediately halt the work and to take any other action appropriate at that time.

(Ord. 08-029, § 1, Exh. A)

A. Following the expiration of the compliance deadline stated in the notice of violation, the code enforcement officer shall investigate whether the code violation has been addressed. If the responsible person does not abate the violation within the applicable compliance deadline, the code enforcement officer may issue an administrative citation in the manner provided in Section 1.13.090. Following service of the administrative citation for a violation, the responsible person must comply with the following:

1. Pay the fine to the county within thirty days from the issuance date of the administrative citation. Payment of a fine shall not excuse or discharge the failure to correct the violation nor shall it bar further enforcement action by the county; and

2. Remedy the Violation Immediately. If the responsible person fails to correct the violation, a subsequent administrative citation may be issued for the same violation. The amount of the fine for failure to correct the violation shall increase at a rate specified in Section 1.13.110 with each subsequent administrative citation.

B. When the violation pertains to building, plumbing, electrical, or other similar structural or zoning issues, or any violation of a real property-related nature, e.g., maintenance of refuse, abandoned or prohibited vehicles, or other such violations occurring on or maintained on private property, an administrative citation shall be issued to the current record owner as the responsible person. When pursuant to the code enforcement officer's investigation, it appears that the property may no longer be owned by the current record owner, but by another person, who has not become the current record owner, for whatever reason, and that therefore the current record owner, and the actual property owner are each apparently responsible persons, an administrative citation shall be issued both to the current record owner and to the property owner.

C. Due to the nature of real property-related code violations, it may be unclear whether the owner, a tenant or agent, or another person is responsible for causing a code violation or for maintaining it once it exists. For that reason, the enforcement officer is required to send the notice of violation to both the current property owner and to any tenant, agent, or other apparent responsible person, prior to issuance of a first administrative citation, in the expectation that between them, the code violation shall be corrected. Due to the transitory nature of some tenancies, and of some code violations, on private real property, a tenant, agent, or other such responsible person may move rather than correct the violation, or otherwise evade compliance, but the property remains in private ownership. Further, at times a current record owner or property owner may have failed to file documents with the recorder, or keep their address updated for purposes of receiving their tax bill, for whatever reasons. Therefore, as between a tenant, agent, or other responsible person, and the current record owner, or the property owner, as applicable, of real property, the current record owner, or the property owner, as applicable, of real property shall be deemed to ultimately be responsible for real property-related code violations that exist or are maintained on his or her real property. Therefore, for real property-related code violations, including but not limited to circumstances set forth in subsection B of this section, and after investigation, an administrative citation shall be issued only to the current record owner and to the property owner, if applicable.

D. A notice of violation shall not be required before the issuance of a second or any subsequent administrative citation for a continuing or repeated violation.

(Ord. 08-029, § 1, Exh. A)

A. If a violation on real property is not corrected after the deadline established in the notice of violation, and an administrative citation has been issued and no appeal is timely requested, the enforcement officer may record the notice of violation with the office of the recorder when the following prerequisites are met:

1. The owner of record, if not the responsible party, has been notified of the prospective recordation and been offered the opportunity to correct the violation;

2. The owner of record, if not the responsible party, has been notified that development permits shall be withheld during the time the property remains in violation, except for those permits that are necessary to bring the property into compliance or extraordinary circumstances such as health and safety reasons;

3. Release of the Notice of Violation. The enforcement officer shall submit a release of notice of violation to the office of the recorder when it is determined that all violations have been corrected and administrative penalties, costs and fines involved in the enforcement process have been paid. The notice of compliance shall be recorded if the notice of violation was recorded.

(Ord. 08-029, § 1, Exh. A)

A. The notice of violation and/or the administrative citation shall be served on the responsible person as follows:

1. An enforcement officer may personally serve the responsible person. The enforcement officer may obtain the signature of the responsible person on the administrative citation or the notice of violation to establish personal service. If the responsible person refuses or otherwise does not sign the notice of violation or the administrative citation, the lack of signature shall in no way affect the validity of the notice of violation or the administrative citation and proceedings;

2. If the responsible person is not present for personal service when the enforcement officer determines there is a violation, or if the responsible person refuses to accept service of the notice of violation or the administrative citation, or in any other circumstance, the enforcement officer shall mail the notice of violation or the administrative citation to the responsible person by first class mail, postage prepaid; and/or

3. If the code violation is real property-related, the enforcement officer may post a copy of the administrative citation in a conspicuous location on the property where the violation exists or is maintained.

B. Service of the notice of violation or the administrative citation shall be effective on the date of posting, mailing or personal service.

C. Proof of Service. Proof of service of the notice of violation or the administrative citation may be made by a declaration of service by any officer or employee of the county or by affidavit of any person over the age of eighteen years. The failure of a person to receive a properly addressed service shall not affect its validity or the validity of any proceedings relating to the violation(s).

D. Due to the nature of real property-related code violations, Section 1.13.070 requires the enforcement officer to issue the notices of violation to the current record owner, or other responsible person, including a property owner, if that person is different from the current record owner.

E. If pursuant to the enforcement officer's investigation, real property upon which a code violation exists or is maintained, even if a tenant, agent, or other person appears, whether in conjunction with the owner, or independently, to be causing or maintaining the code violation, the administrative citation shall be issued to the current record owner. If the real property appears to be owned by someone other than the current record owner, that is, a property owner, and the name and address of the property owner is known, an administrative citation shall be issued both to the current record owner, and to the property owner. In such case a copy of the administrative citation issued to the property owner shall be sent to the current record owner and a copy of the administrative citation issued to the current record owner shall be sent to the property owner.

F. Unless the responsible person requests an administrative hearing pursuant to Section 1.13.170, the administrative citation shall constitute the final administrative order and the imposition of the administrative fine shall become a final order or decision at the expiration of the appeal period as provided in Section 1.13.170.

G. If a timely appeal is filed; the hearing officer shall issue an "Administrative Order" as provided in Section 1.13.210.

H. The county administrative officer shall:

1. Establish and maintain administrative procedures to implement this chapter, including administering and processing administrative citations;

2. Specify the form of any citations or notice required in this chapter, to implement the requirements of this chapter; and

3. Report and recommend, from time to time, to the board of supervisors regarding needed staffing, supplies and equipment for administering this chapter.

(Ord. No. 25-020, § 1, 10-7-2025; Ord. 08-029, § 1, Exh. A)

A. Inspection fees are authorized to recover county costs when it becomes necessary to obtain code compliance. Inspection fees are an appropriate method to recover costs that are disproportionately attributable to recalcitrant responsible parties.

B. After a notice of violation is issued to a responsible party to correct a violation, that party will be notified that he/she will be liable for any inspection fees beyond the one inspection that is performed at the expiration of the notice of violation to verify compliance. Additional inspection(s) necessary to abate the violation will be charged to the responsible party as part of the cost of enforcement and abatement.

C. Inspection costs may be collected and enforced as part of the enforcement process or in combination with other administrative proceedings under this chapter provided the responsible party was notified in advance of its liability for inspection fees under subsection B of this section.

D. Inspection fees will be charged according to the master fee schedule on file in the office of the county clerk.

(Ord. 08-029, § 1, Exh. A)

A. The fine for a code violation that is punishable as an infraction and imposed pursuant to this chapter, in accordance with California Government Code Section 25132, shall be one hundred dollars ($100) for the first citation, two hundred dollars ($200) for the second citation, and five hundred dollars ($500) for the third and any subsequent citations issued for a continuing or repeated violation of the same code provision, by the same responsible person, within one year (Gov. Code Section 25132(b).)

B. Notwithstanding any other law, a violation of local building and safety codes that is an infraction is punishable by the following:

(1) A fine not exceeding one hundred thirty dollars ($130) for a first violation.

(2) A fine not exceeding seven hundred dollars ($700) for a second violation of the same ordinance within one year of the first violation.

(3) (a)

A fine not exceeding one thousand three hundred dollars ($1,300) for each additional violation of the same ordinance within one year of the first violation.

(b) A fine not exceeding two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) for each additional violation of the same ordinance within two years of the first violation if the property is a commercial property that has an existing building at the time of the violation and the violation is due to failure by the owner to remove visible refuse or failure to prohibit unauthorized use of the property. (Gov. Code Section 25132(c).).

C. Notwithstanding any other law, including subdivisions (b), (c), and (e), a violation of an event permit requirement that is an infraction is punishable by the following:

(1) A fine not exceeding one hundred fifty dollars ($150) for the first violation of an event permit requirement.

(2) A fine not exceeding seven hundred dollars ($700) for a second occurrence of the same violation of an event permit requirement by the same owner or operator within three years of the first violation.

(3) A fine not exceeding two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) for each additional occurrence of the same violation of an event permit requirement by the same owner or operator within three years of the first violation.

(4) For purposes of this subdivision, "violation of an event permit requirement" means failure to obtain a permit required for a professionally organized special event on private property that is commercial in nature, or from which the owner or operator derives a commercial benefit.

D. (1)

For purposes of this paragraph, the following definitions apply:

(a) "Commercial in nature" means that a primary purpose of the special event is to derive an economic benefit resulting from the holding of the event through admission charges or sales of merchandise that occur as part of the event.

(b) "Commercial benefit" means any remuneration received in exchange for allowing the property upon which the event occurs to be used for the event, including any remuneration that results from the rental of the property for a term of less than 31 consecutive days.

E. The period of one year in subsection A of this section shall be calculated as three hundred sixty-five days after the date of issuance of the first administrative citation for that code provision, to that responsible person. Each day a violation exists or is allowed to continue to exist constitutes a violation under this Section. However, the Enforcement Officer, may in its discretion, defer the issuance of citations subsequent to the first citation or the imposition of subsequent fines under this section if the property owner or other responsible person makes a good faith effort to correct the violation and is likely to do so in a reasonable time period. If the Enforcement Officer defers the issuance of subsequent citations or fines during the period the property owner or responsible party are making a good faith effort to correct the violation, and the property owner or responsible party then fails to fully correct the violation within the reasonable time allowed by the Enforcement Officer all fines may be imposed retroactively for the full time of the existence of the violation upon five days written notice by the Enforcement Officer to the property owner or responsible party.

F. The responsible county department(s) shall establish a process, approved by the Board of Supervisors for granting a hardship waiver with respect to fines levied under Subsections B and C of this Section, upon a showing by a property owner or responsible party that the property owner or responsible party has made a bona fide effort to comply after the first violation, and that payment of the full amount of the fine would impose an undue financial burden on the property owner or responsible party.

G. This section does not limit the amount of administrative fine or civil penalty that may be imposed for violations of this Ordinance Code which are designated as misdemeanors or for which different fine amounts are set or allowed by State law.

(Ord. No. 22-014, § 1, 12-13-2022; Ord. 08-029, § 1, Exh. A)

A. The administrative fine and the abatement costs shall be paid to the county within thirty days from the issuance date of the administrative citation or the notice of abatement costs in accordance with the payment instructions printed on the citation form or the notice form.

B. Payment of the administrative fine shall not excuse the failure to correct the violation nor shall it bar further enforcement action by the county.

C. Any person who fails to pay to the county, on or before the due date, any administrative fine or abatement costs imposed pursuant to the provisions of this article shall be liable for the payment of the applicable late pay charges as follows:

1. For payments received within thirty days after the due date, a late fee in the amount of one hundred percent of the administrative fine due.

(Ord. 08-029, § 1, Exh. A)

A. The enforcement officer shall maintain records of all administrative costs incurred and associated with the processing of violations and enforcement of county ordinances and shall recover such costs from the property owner as provided herein.

B. Notice. Upon investigation and determination that a violation of any of the provisions of county ordinances is found to exist, the enforcement officer shall notify the record owner, or any person having possession or control of the subject property, of the existence of the violation(s), by issuing a notice of violation in person, by mail, or by posting the notice on the property in a conspicuous place. The notice shall also indicate the department's intent to charge the property owner for all administrative costs associated with enforcement, and of the owner's right to a hearing on objection thereto.

C. Summary of Costs. At the conclusion of the case, the enforcement officer shall send a notice of summary of costs associated with enforcement to the owner and/or person having possession or control of the subject property by first class mail. The notice shall inform the property owner that if they object to the charges, they must file a request for a hearing in the form attached to the notice within ten days of the date of the notice. The notice shall also inform the property owner that failure to request a hearing will result in the property owner being liable for the charges.

D. Costs and penalties that may be recovered and enforced against responsible parties under this chapter may include but are not limited to, the following:

1. County's direct cost for abatement of violation(s), together with applicable overhead;

2. Costs of salary and applicable overhead of those county employees and contract personnel involved in the investigation, enforcement and remediation or abatement of violation(s);

3. County costs for equipment use or rental;

4. Attorney fees;

5. Court costs and witness fees;

6. Costs of engineering and other technical services and studies;

7. Unpaid administrative fines and penalties imposed pursuant to this chapter;

8. Unpaid inspection fees per Section 1.13.100;

9. Costs of monitoring necessary to the correcting, monitoring or abating of violation(s);

10. Any other fee, cost, or expense reasonably and rationally related to the county's enforcement efforts to abate a violation of county codes or applicable state law.

All costs and penalties recovered in conjunction with the enforcement of this chapter shall be deposited into a trust account of the enforcing department and shall be used to offset future code-enforcement related activities.

E. Any property owner, or other person having possession and control thereof, who receives a summary of costs under this chapter, shall have the right to a hearing before the enforcement officer on his or her objections to the proposed costs in accordance with the procedures set forth in this section.

F. Request for Hearing. A request for hearing shall be filed with the department within ten days of the service by mail of the department's summary of costs. As practically as possible of the filing of the request, and on ten days written notice to the owner, the enforcement officer shall hold a hearing on the owner's objections, and determine the validity thereof.

G. Decision. In determining the validity of the costs, the enforcement officer shall consider whether total cost is reasonable in the circumstances of the case. Factors to be considered include, but are not limited to, the following: whether the present owner created the violation; whether there is a present ability to correct the violation; and whether the owner acted promptly to correct the violation.

H. In the event that: (1) no request for a hearing is timely filed; or (2) after a hearing, the code enforcement officer affirms the validity of the costs and the property owner or responsible person shall be liable to the county for the amount stated in the summary of costs or any lesser amount as determined by the enforcement officer.

I. Appeal. The decision of the enforcement officer may be appealed by filing a written notice of appeal with the department within five days after the decision. The appeal shall be heard by the hearing officer who may affirm, amend or reverse the decision and may take any other action deemed appropriate. The enforcement officer shall give written notice of the time and the place of the hearing to appellant. Following the hearing, the hearing officer shall issue a "confirmation of abatement costs" against the property owner or the responsible party. Payment of the abatement cost is subject to the provisions of Section 1.13.120(C) of this chapter. In the event the appeal is upheld, the responsible person shall not be liable to pay any cost and/or penalties listed in Section 1.13.130(D), and any fees collected shall be refunded in full.

(Ord. 08-029, § 1, Exh. A)

A. The failure of any person to timely pay an administrative fine, and/or late pay charges and other abatement costs constitutes a debt to the county and is recoverable through a civil action in the name of the county, in any court of competent jurisdiction within the county.

B. An administrative fine or the abatement costs not paid timely shall accrue interest at the same annual rate as any civil judgment. Interest shall accrue commencing on the twenty-fifth day after the administrative order becomes a final decision or order, also known as a "final administrative order" or in the case of the abatement costs; the "confirmation of abatement cost" is issued to the owner of record.

1. The administrative citation automatically becomes a final administrative order fifteen calendar days after issuance, unless a responsible person or the owner of record requests a hearing under Section 1.13.170 within fifteen calendar days after issuance of the administrative citation.

2. If a responsible person timely requests an administrative hearing under Section 1.13.170, the administrative citation issued thereto does not become a final administrative order as to that responsible person. The administrative hearing officer shall issue a written administrative decision entitled "administrative order." The "administrative order" shall become the final administrative order upon the twenty-fifth day after it is mailed to the owner of record first class, postage prepaid, as set forth in Section 1.13.210(E).

C. When an order becomes a final administrative order because a timely appeal is not filed, or the hearing officer's decision is not appealed to the superior court within twenty-five days of mailing of the decision, as set forth in Government Code Section 53069.4(b)(1), the county may proceed as follows:

1. The county may commence a civil action to collect the administrative fine specified in the final administrative order, the abatement costs as well as any accrued interest and/or late pay charges. In the event a civil action is commenced to collect, the county shall be entitled to recover all costs associated with the collection of the administrative fine and the abatement costs as specified in Sections 1.13.110 through 1.13.130 and those costs set forth in the Code of Civil Procedure Section 1033.5; or

2. The amount of any unpaid final administrative fine or the abatement costs, plus accrued interest, plus any other costs as provided in this chapter, may be imposed as a lien on any real property owned by a responsible person within this county against whom an administrative fine or the abatement costs has been imposed, as follows:

a. Notice shall be given to the responsible person before recordation of the lien and shall be served in the same manner as a summons in the civil action pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure Sections 415.10 et seq.;

b. The lien shall attach when the county records it with the recorder's office. The lien shall specify the amount of the lien, the date of the lien, the date of the code violation, the date of final decision, the street address or legal description, and Assessor's Parcel Number (APN) of the parcel on which the lien is imposed, and the name and address of the record owner(s) of the parcel, if known; and

c. In the event that the lien is discharged, released, or satisfied, either through payment, or foreclosure or other lawful means, the county shall record a notice of discharge or satisfaction of lien containing the information specified in subsection (C)(2)(b) of this section.

3. The county may take such other actions as are allowed for enforcement of a civil judgment pursuant to enforcement of Judgment Law, California Code of Civil Procedure Sections 680.010 et seq.

(Ord. 08-029, § 1, Exh. A)

A. As a separate and additional remedy, the County may seek recovery of all abatement costs as those are defined in Section 1.13.130(D) and Section 1.16.150(B), whenever occurred in the abatement of a public nuisance or violation of this Ordinance Code through any lawful process including, but not limited to, emergency or summary abatement of a public nuisance or public health hazard, Administrative Public Nuisance Abatement under Chapter 1.16 of this Ordinance Code, abatement authorized by court order or by any other lawful process, against real property through special assessment on the tax roll under the procedures set forth in this Section. For purposes of this Section, and the levying of a special assessment on the tax roll only, "abatement costs" shall not include administrative fines or civil penalties that may have been issued to the property owner or responsible party. Nothing in this Section shall restrict or limit the pursuit of collection of abatement costs and fines or penalties by the County through other legal means nor shall it restrict the County's rights to pursue any other legal remedy for the violation. However, upon successful collection or payment of that portion of abatement costs levied as a special assessment under this Section, the Enforcement Officer shall immediately record a satisfaction of lien to the extent of such recovery or amend any existing pleadings in any court action or any outstanding bill or administrative proceeding for collection that is pending against an owner or responsible party in order to avoid any double recovery.

B. Prior to the recording of a special assessment lien pursuant to this section, the procedures set forth in Fresno County Ordinance Code sections 1.16.150 through 1.16.180 shall be followed for the determination of the amount of all abatement costs, whether or not the abatement by the County was performed under the Administrative Public Nuisance Abatement Chapter of this Ordinance Code or through other lawful process.

C. Recording Special Assessment Lien; Creation of Lien. Immediately upon the hearing officer's confirmation of abatement costs under Ordinance Code Section 1.16.170, the enforcing department shall record a Notice of Special Assessment with the Fresno County Recorder's Office for all abatement costs less any outstanding administrative fines or civil penalties. Immediately upon recording the Notice of Special Assessment, the Special Assessment shall become a lien upon the subject property, except that if any real property to which the lien would attach has been transferred or conveyed to a bona fide purchaser for value, or if a lien of a bona fide encumbrancer for value has been created and attaches thereon, prior to the date on which the first installment of taxes that included the special assessment imposed under this section would become delinquent, then the lien that would otherwise be imposed by this section shall not attach to real property and the costs of abatement and enforcement relating to the property shall be transferred to the unsecured roll for collection. The Notice of Special Assessment shall be indexed in the grantor-grantee index.

D. Form of Notice of Special Assessment. The form of the Notice of Special Assessment shall be substantially in the following form:

NOTICE OF SPECIAL ASSESSMENT

Pursuant to the authority vested in the County of Fresno by the provisions of Section 1.13.145 of Chapter 1.13 of the Fresno County Ordinance Code, the County of Fresno did on or about the _______ day of _______, 20_______, [short description of County's action(s)] to [abate a nuisance/enforce the Fresno County Ordinance Code] on the real property described below ("Subject Property"), and an administrative hearing officer did on the _______ day of _______, 20_______, assess the cost of such [abatement/enforcement] on the Subject Property, and the assessment has not been paid, and the County of Fresno claims a lien on the Subject Property in the amount of _______ Dollars ($_______). The lien shall be on the property until the amount is paid, plus legal rate of interest to be accrued from the date of recording this lien, and any and all administrative costs to file and record the lien. The claimed lien having been created to collect for [abatement/enforcement] costs shall have the priority of a tax lien and shall attach upon the recording of this Notice. The Subject Property may be sold after 3 years pursuant to Revenue and Tax Code §3691 for unpaid delinquent assessments. The subject property upon which the lien is claimed is located at _______ in the [City of _______,] County of Fresno, State of California, and is more particularly described as APN #_______ and:

[LEGAL DESCRIPTION OF PROPERTY]

The record owner(s) of the Subject Property is/are _______, who reside(s) at _______.

Dated: This _______ day of _______, 20_______.

_______ [name of Enforcing Department]

[Name of Enforcing Officer/Department Head]

E. Filing Special Assessment. In addition to recording the Notice of Special Assessment, the enforcing department shall prepare and file a certified copy of the special assessment with the Fresno County Auditor-Controller/Treasurer-Tax Collector (hereinafter County ACTTC). The special assessment shall be delivered to the County Auditor before the date fixed by law or by the County ACTTC for the delivery of the assessment roll to the County ACTTC.

F. Collection with Taxes. After filing the special assessment with the County ACTTC, the County ACTTC shall collect the amount of the special assessment at the same time and in the same manner as ordinary county taxes, and impose the same penalties and procedures, including the sale of the property, in case of delinquency, as provided for ordinary county taxes. All laws applicable to the levy, collection and enforcement of property taxes shall be applicable to the special assessment. If the property is assessed for nuisance abatement costs, the property may be sold for delinquent taxes in three years pursuant to Revenue and Taxation Code Section 3691, with the exception of owner-occupied residential dwellings, which may be sold for delinquent taxes in five years pursuant to Revenue and Taxation Code Section 3691.

G. Release of Special Assessment and Lien. Once payment in full is received for the special assessment, including applicable interest charges; the amount is deemed satisfied pursuant to a subsequent administrative or judicial order; or the amount is written off pursuant to procedures provided in this Ordinance Code, the enforcing officer shall either record a Notice of Satisfaction with the Fresno County Recorder or provide the property owner or financial institution with the Notice of Satisfaction so they can record this Notice with the Fresno County Recorder's Office. To the extent a special assessment does not include all applicable administrative fines or penalties, any Notice of Satisfaction or release of lien shall be made only to the extent recovery of actual abatement costs, not including such fines or penalties, has been obtained. The Notice of Satisfaction shall include the same information as provided in the original Notice of Special Assessment. Such Notice of Satisfaction shall cancel the lien created under this section. In addition to recording the Notice of Satisfaction, the enforcing officer shall file a Notice with the County Auditor to strip the assessment from the tax rolls. The Notice of Satisfaction shall be indexed in the grantor-grantee index.

H. Refund. The Board of Supervisors may order a refund of all or part of a tax paid pursuant to this section if it finds that all or part of the tax has been erroneously levied. A tax or part thereof shall not be refunded unless a claim is filed with the Board of Supervisors on or before November 1 after the tax became due and payable. The claim shall be verified by the person who paid the tax, or his/her guardian, executor or administrator.

(Ord. No. 22-014, § 2, 12-13-2022)

A. No department or employee of the county vested with the duty or authority to issue or approve permits, licenses or other entitlements shall issue or approve such permits, licenses, or other entitlements nor accept a discretionary permit as complete where there is an outstanding violation of this title involving the property upon which there is pending application for such permit, license or other entitlement unless such permit, license, or other entitlement is the, or part of the, administrative remedy for the violation. The authority to deny or accept a discretionary application as complete shall apply whether the applicant for the permit was the owner of the record at the time of such violation or the applicant is the current owner. After recordation of a notice of violation by the enforcement officer, all departments and employees shall deny the issuance of permits, licenses or entitlements involving property except those necessary to abate the violation.

Written notice of the denial to issue permits or accept a land use entitlement applications as complete shall be mailed to the applicant for the permit, license or entitlement and to property owner. Such notice shall include information regarding the violation and the action necessary to abate the violation.

B. Rescission of the Denial to Issue Permits. The denial to issue permits shall be rescinded when the department has been notified, and subsequently verified, that all required work to abate the violation has been completed and has been approved by the affected department.

C. Waiver. The enforcement officer may waive the provisions of this section regarding refusal to issue when a determination is made that such waiver is necessary to allow necessary or desirable remedial, protective work, preventative work or other exceptional circumstances.

(Ord. 08-029, § 1, Exh. A)

No application for a discretionary land use permit under the authority of the director of the department of public works and planning, the planning commission or the board of supervisors shall be deemed complete if there is a violation on said property of a county ordinance which regulates grading, vegetation removal or tree removal until that property has been restored to its pre-violation state. "Restoration" of the property shall include, but not be limited to, the re-vegetation of native plants and trees and the reconstruction of natural features of the land which have been removed or changed in violation of county ordinances regulating grading, vegetation removal or tree removal. Alternatives to the restoration of the property shall not be considered unless the applicant can show that restoration would endanger the public health or safety, or that restoration is unfeasible due to circumstances beyond the control of the applicant or the property owner. Plans for restoration shall be submitted to and approved by the director of the department of public works and planning or his designee prior to the commencement of restoration and the plan shall include a time period to ensure reestablishment of the soil or vegetation.

(Ord. 08-029, § 1, Exh. A)

A. Any person issued an administrative citation may contest that there was a violation of the code or that he or she is not the responsible party by completing a request for hearing form and returning it to the department within fifteen calendar days from the date of issuance of the administrative citation, together with an advance deposit of the full amount of the fine or notice that a request for an advance deposit hardship waiver has been filed pursuant to Section 1.13.180. The failure of any person to properly file a request for hearing within the time specified in this section shall constitute a failure to exhaust his or her administrative remedies, and a waiver of the right to an administrative hearing and adjudication of the administrative citation or fine or any portion thereof.

B. A request for hearing form may be obtained from the county department issuing the administrative citation. Any person requesting a hearing shall provide the county in writing with a mailing address to which notices may be served, and shall inform the county in writing with any changes thereto.

C. A hearing before the hearing officer shall be set for the earliest practicable date after a request for hearing has been properly filed in accordance with the provisions of this section.

D. The person requesting the hearing shall be notified of the time and place set for the hearing at least ten days prior to the date of the hearing.

E. If the enforcement officer submits an additional written report concerning the administrative citation to the hearing officer for consideration at the hearing, then a copy of this report shall also be served on the person requesting the hearing at least five days prior to the date of the hearing. In the event that an administrative citation has been issued for the same code violation to more than one responsible person, each responsible person shall be sent a copy of such report, by first class mail, postage prepaid, sent to that person's last known address.

(Ord. 08-029, § 1, Exh. A)

A. Any person who intends to request a hearing to contest that there was a violation of the code or that he or she is the responsible party and who is financially unable to make the advance deposit of the fine as required by Section 1.13.170, may file a request for an advance deposit hardship waiver.

B. The request shall be filed with the county administrative officer or the county administrative officer's designee, the director or the designee of the director of the county department, or the sheriff-coroner or the sheriff-coroner's designee issuing the administrative citation on an advance deposit hardship waiver application form, available from the county department, within ten calendar days of the date of service of the administrative citation.

C. The requirement of depositing the full amount of the fine as described in Section 1.13.170 shall be stayed unless or until the county administrative officer, the director, sheriff-coroner, or the designee makes a determination not to grant the advance deposit hardship waiver.

D. The county administrative officer, director, sheriff-coroner, or the designee may waive the requirement of an advance deposit and grant the advance deposit hardship waiver only if the person receiving the administrative citation submits to the county administrative officer, director, sheriff-coroner, or the designee a sworn affidavit, together with any supporting documents or materials, demonstrating to the satisfaction of the county administrative officer, director, sheriff-coroner, or the designee of the person's actual financial inability to deposit with the county the full amount of the fine in advance of the hearing.

E. If the county administrative officer, director, sheriff-coroner, or the designee determines not to grant the advance deposit hardship waiver, the person shall remit the deposit to the county within ten calendar days of the date of that decision along with the appeal form to be considered timely filing of the appeal.

F. The county administrative officer, director, sheriff-coroner, or the designee shall issue a written decision listing the reasons for the determination to grant or not to grant the advance deposit hardship waiver. The written decision of the director or the designee shall be final.

G. The written decision of the county administrative officer, director, sheriff-coroner, or the designee shall be served by mail upon the person who applied for the advance deposit hardship waiver, at the address provided thereby when requesting the advance deposit hardship waiver.

(Ord. No. 25-020, § 1, 10-7-2025; Ord. 08-029, § 1, Exh. A)

The county administrative officer or his/her designee shall appoint a hearing officer to preside over an administrative citation or an abatement cost hearing that has been properly requested under the provisions of this chapter.

(Ord. No. 25-020, § 1, 10-7-2025; Ord. 08-029, § 1, Exh. A)

A. No hearing to contest an administrative citation before a hearing officer shall be held unless the fine has been deposited in advance in accordance with Section 1.13.170 or an advance deposit hardship waiver has been granted in accordance with Section 1.13.180.

B. At the hearing, the party contesting the administrative citation shall be given the opportunity to testify and to present evidence concerning the administrative citation.

C. Absent a showing of good cause therefore, the failure of any person receiving an administrative citation to appear at the administrative citation hearing shall constitute a forfeiture of the fine and a failure to exhaust their administrative remedies.

D. The administrative citation and any additional report submitted by the enforcement officer or his/her designee shall constitute prima facie evidence of the respective facts contained in those documents.

E. The hearing officer may continue the hearing and request additional information from the enforcement officer or the person receiving the administrative citation prior to issuing a written decision. In the event administrative citations have been issued for the same code violation to more than one responsible person, and not all responsible persons have timely requested an administrative hearing, the hearing officer shall cause such other cited responsible person(s) to be notified, by first class mail, postage prepaid, sent to that person's last known address, of the continued hearing day for the purpose of determining whether any person timely requesting the hearing is a responsible person.

(Ord. 08-029, § 1, Exh. A)

A. The administrative hearing officer shall issue a written administrative decision entitled "administrative order" no later than thirty days after the date on which the administrative hearing concludes. The administrative order shall include the hearing officer's decision to uphold or cancel the administrative citation and shall list in the decision the reasons for that decision. The decision of the hearing officer shall be final.

B. If the hearing officer determines that the administrative citation should be upheld, then the fine amount on deposit with the county shall be retained by the county.

C. If the hearing officer determines that the administrative citation should be upheld and the fine has not been deposited pursuant to an advance deposit hardship waiver, the hearing officer shall set forth in the decision a payment schedule for the fine.

D. If the hearing officer determines that the administrative citation should be canceled or the fine deposited with the county be returned, then the county shall promptly refund the amount of the deposited fine as ordered.

E. The person receiving the administrative citation shall be served with a copy of the hearing officer's written administrative decision at the address provided, by first class mail, postage prepaid.

(Ord. 08-029, § 1, Exh. A)

Any person aggrieved by the decision of an administrative hearing officer on an administrative citation, may obtain review of the administrative decision by filing a petition for review with the Fresno County superior court, central division, in accordance with the deadline and other provisions set forth in California Government Code Section 53069.4.

(Ord. 08-029, § 1, Exh. A)

Revenues received from citations issued and/or any abatement costs recovered by the enforcement officers and department shall be deposited in the account of the county department responsible for the abatement of the violation.

(Ord. 08-029, § 1, Exh. A)

If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase or portion of this chapter is for any reason held invalid or unconstitutional by the decision of any court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this chapter. The board of supervisors of the county of Fresno hereby declares that it would have adopted this chapter and each section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase or portion thereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase or portion thereof may be declared invalid or unconstitutional.

(Ord. 08-029, § 1, Exh. A)

The foregoing chapter shall take effect thirty days from the date of the passage hereof, and prior to the expiration of fifteen days from the passage hereof, the ordinance codified in this chapter shall be published once in the Fresno Bee, a newspaper printed and published in the county of Fresno.

(Ord. 08-029, § 1, Exh. A)

The board of supervisors (the "board") of the county of Fresno (the "county") hereby finds and declares the following:

A. The county from time to time imposes administrative fines (hereafter in this chapter referred to as "fine" or "fines") pursuant to chapter 1.13 of the Fresno County Ordinance Code.

B. Chapter 1.13 of the Ordinance Code was adopted in conformity with Government Code section 53069.4, subdivision (a)(1), which empowers the board to adopt an ordinance which sets forth the administrative procedures that shall govern the imposition, enforcement, collection, and administrative review by the county of such administrative fines.

C. Chapter 1.13 of the Fresno County Ordinance Code includes such administrative procedures. The board has determined that there is need to amend the Ordinance Code to provide additional procedures by which the county can further encourage the abatement of Ordinance Code violations.

D. Establishment of a program under which the amount of fines and late payment fees imposed by the department of public works and planning ("department") may be reviewed and reduced following abatement of the Ordinance Code violation(s) will facilitate collection of such fines and late payment fees and reduce the need to enforce such fines through the legal action or real property liens.

E. The board enacts the program in this chapter 1.14, by adopting additional procedures governing the enforcement, collection, and administrative review of administrative fines and late payment fees duly imposed pursuant to chapter 1.13. The enactment of these additional procedures is authorized by Government Code section 53069.4, subdivision (a)(1).

F. Such reduced amounts and the periodic payments plan referred to herein, have been approved in accordance with the program established herein, thereby serving a public purpose of the county.

(Ord. No. 16-009, § 1, 6-7-2016)

The county administrative officer or his or her designee, or the director of the department responsible for issuance of administrative citation (hereafter sometimes referred to as "director") or his or her designee, may, in his or her sole and exclusive discretion, reduce the amount of any fine and late payment fee duly imposed pursuant to chapter 1.13 of the Fresno County Ordinance Code up to the amount set by the board by resolution pursuant to section 1.14.030, subject to the following conditions:

A. When determining whether to reduce any fine amount hereunder, the county administrative officer or his or her designee, or the director, or his or her designee, may take into consideration the nature, circumstances, extent, and gravity of the violation or violations, any prior history of violations by the responsible party, the degree of culpability of the responsible party, abatement of or progress made to abate the outstanding code violation, economic savings to the county, if any, resulting from the violation being abated, the degree to which the proposed reduction will facilitate collection of the balance of the fines that are due without the need for legal action or imposition and foreclosure of property liens, and any other matters justice may require.

B. The reduction shall be subject to any terms and conditions prescribed by the county administrative officer or his or her designee, or the director or his or her designee.

C. Any person accepting a reduced fine hereunder shall be required to execute a settlement agreement in a form approved by the county counsel. The settlement agreement may, in the sole and exclusive discretion of the county administrative officer or his or her designee, or the director or his or her designee, include a provision to permit the reduced fine to be paid in installments (hereafter referred to as a "periodic payment plan"). Any such periodic payment plan shall require payment in full to be made over a period of time not longer than twenty-four months.

D. If the fine has been made a lien upon real property in accordance with Fresno County Ordinance Code, the clerk to the board of supervisors may either record or provide a notice of satisfaction upon payment in full of the reduced amount approved hereunder.

E. The county administrative officer or director shall make an annual public report to the board of supervisors regarding any fines reduced under this section. The annual public report shall be scheduled before the board of supervisors not later than December 31 following the end of the prior fiscal year.

(Ord. No. 25-020, § 2, 10-7-2025; Ord. No. 16-009, § 1, 6-7-2016)

The board may by resolution establish, and from time to time amend, the maximum amount of reduction of any administrative fine and, if applicable, late payment fees, by the county administrative officer or his or her designee, or the director, or his or her designee, pursuant to this chapter.

(Ord. No. 25-020, § 2, 10-7-2025; Ord. No. 16-009, § 1, 6-7-2016)

A. Approval of any reduced fine and payment plan, if applicable, under this chapter 1.14 shall be within the sole and exclusive discretion of the county administrative officer or the director, depending on the enforcement department, and the county administrative officer or the director, depending on the enforcement department, may refuse to reduce a fine even if the criteria set forth in this chapter may be satisfied. This chapter does not grant any person the right to have the amount of fines reduced or deferred under any circumstances or establish any mandatory duty of any nature of the county or any officer or employee thereof, including the county administrative officer and the director, and shall not be construed to give rise to any administrative appeal, cause of action, right, or remedy against the county or any officer or employee thereof, including the county administrative officer or his or her designee and the director or his or her designee.

B. A reduced fine and periodic payment plan approved under this chapter does not excuse or discharge any continuation or repeated occurrence of the violation that is the subject of the reduction or payment plan. The reduced fine or payment plan does not bar the county from taking any other enforcement action regarding a violation that is not corrected.

C. The provisions of chapter 1.14 of the Fresno County Ordinance Code shall not apply to administrative fines imposed pursuant to chapter 10.64 of this Code.

(Ord. No. 25-020, § 2, 10-7-2025; Ord. No. 16-009, § 1, 6-7-2016)

If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, portion, or phrase of this chapter is for any reason held illegal, invalid, or unconstitutional by the decision of any court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions hereof. The board of supervisors hereby declares that it would have passed this chapter and each section, subsection, sentence, clause, portion, or phrase hereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more sections, subsections, sentences, clauses, or phrases be declared illegal, invalid or unconstitutional.

(Ord. No. 16-009, § 1, 6-7-2016)