Gustine Municipal Code Art. 2 Administrative Citations

This article establishes an enforcement mechanism for all violations of the City Code and appropriate state codes.

(Ord. No. 438, 7-1-2008)

Administrative citation means an official notification, on an appropriate form as established by this article, of violation of any provision of the City Code or appropriately enforced state code. Said citations shall require correction of the violation and impose fines upon the responsible party.

Enforcement official, for purposes of this title, the enforcement official shall be defined as the chief of police, or his/her duly appointed and sanctioned representative.

Responsible party means any person who exercises legal and/or physical control over a property or business premises within the city and/or has the ability to correct City Code or applicable state code violations.

(Ord. No. 438, 7-1-2008)

(a) Fines for violations of the City Code or appropriate state code will be assessed through an administrative citation, issued by the enforcement official. The citation form shall be in a format approved by the city manager, and shall provide at a minimum:

(1) A header block, declaring the citation to be a city administrative citation.

(2) Each citation shall be individually numbered, and no number shall be duplicated on another citation.

(3) Each citation shall have an information block, providing for the following information to be entered upon issuance as appropriate:

a. Day, date, and time of issuance.

b. Report number.

c. Location of violation.

d. Name, D.O.B., ID number.

e. Height, weight, hair color, eye color, ethnicity/sex.

f. Address, phone.

g. Vehicle license number, year, model, month/year of reg., make, color, style.

h. Issuing officer's name and ID number.

(4) A violations block, designating which codes are being cited, identifying by code number, violation description, and fine amount. As pre-approved by the chief of police, a percentage of the codes enforced may be pre-designated on the citation, their application to an individual circumstance being indicated by a check box. The violations block shall also include adequate space to enter several non-predesignated violations, along with the appropriate fine amounts.

(5) A fine summary block, in which the fines indicated in the violations block are totaled as to amount.

(6) A payment block, designating where fines shall be paid, within what time period, and what additional penalties may be assessed for failure to meet time constraints. This block shall also include notice as to the appeal process, and shall designate not only the process by which to initiate an appeal, but time limitations therewith as follows, said statement being presented in all caps and boldface type, to wit, "NOTICE! FAILURE TO REQUEST AN APPEAL WITHIN TEN DAYS OF ISSUANCE OF THIS CITATION WILL BE CONSIDERED A WAIVER OF YOUR RIGHT TO APPEAL."

(7) A service block, indicating by check box if the citation was posted at the scene, personally served, or mailed. Notices that are designated as 'served' shall be deemed to have been served by issuing officer.

(8) Citations shall be published as three-part carbon forms, with the top two forms being forwarded upon completion to the chief of police for enforcement administration, and the bottom copy to be served to the offender in a manner prescribed in this title.

(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, fines for violations pertaining to building, plumbing, electrical, or other similar structural or zoning issues that do not create an immediate danger to health or safety may be imposed as administrative citations, as follows:

(1) Whenever the enforcement official determines that a violation has occurred, the enforcement official shall issue a first offense warning as a prerequisite to issuance of a first administrative citation. The first offense warning shall, in addition to the requirements set forth in subsection (a) above, identify how the violation(s) can be corrected and provide a date by which the violation(s) must be corrected. The stated period of time to correct the violation must be reasonable and appropriate to the violation as determined by the enforcement official, but in no event less than seven days. A first offense warning shall not be required for violations posing an immediate danger to the public health or safety.

(2) Any person receiving a first offense warning for a continuing violation may file a written petition with the city clerk for consideration by the city manager for an extension of time to correct the identified violation(s). The written petition must be received before expiration of the correction period set forth in the warning. The city manager may grant an extension of time if the request is timely received and there is sufficient evidence to support the need for additional time to reasonably correct the violation(s).

(3) If a violation is not corrected in the time specified in a first offense warning or applicable extension, the enforcement official may issue an administrative citation in accordance with the procedures in this chapter.

(c) A first offense warning shall not be required, and an administrative citation may be immediately imposed, if the violation of building, plumbing, electrical, or other similar structural, health and safety, or zoning requirements exist as a result of, or to facilitate, the illegal cultivation of cannabis. However, a reasonable period of time for correction or remedy of the violation shall be provided if all of the following are true:

(1) A tenant is in possession of the property that is the subject of the administrative citation;

(2) The rental property owner or agent can provide evidence that the rental or lease agreement prohibits the cultivation of cannabis; and

(3) The rental property owner or agent did not know the tenant was illegally cultivating cannabis and no complaint, property inspection, or other information caused the rental property owner or agent to have actual notice of the illegal cannabis cultivation.

(Ord. No. 438, 7-1-2008; Ord. No. 488, § 2, 12-18-2018)

Citations shall be issued in the following order of preference:

(1) Personal service. The enforcement official personally serves administrative citation on the offending party. When such service occurs, receipt by the individual served is not required, and failure to acknowledge receipt is not a defense, nor will it mitigate penalties assessed.

(2) Posting on unattended vehicle. When such vehicle is obviously being operated, posting in a conspicuous place (such as under a windshield wiper) shall be considered as service having been affected.

(3) Service by mail. When citation is to be issued to the owner of a business or private property where an alleged violation occurred, but the owner is not present, notice may be sent by certified mail to the business address or tax role address respectively. Such posting by certified mail shall be deemed to have been effected service for purposes of this title.

(4) Posting in a conspicuous place. When a property owner is not available, and a verifiable mailing address is not attainable or certified mail has been returned as non-deliverable, posting the citation in a conspicuous place relative to the alleged offense is acceptable. In such cases, a report specifying attempts to contact the responsible party shall be generated, and forwarded with the citation for processing.

(Ord. No. 438, 7-1-2008)