Gustine Municipal Code Art. 3 Appeal Hearing Procedure

Any recipient of an administrative citation shall the have the right to challenge the validity of the citation by requesting an appeal.

(1) Appeals shall be made within ten calendar days of the issuance of a citation. If the deadline for filing the appeal falls on a weekend or city holiday, the deadline shall be extended through the next business day. Counted days for appeal shall be considered to have passed for purposes of filing at 5:00 p.m. daily.

(2) Appeals must be made in writing on a form provided by the city specifying the basis for the appeal in detail. Details of the form referred-to in this section shall be specified in section 2-7-12. Upon accepting of an appeal request, a photocopy of the appeal form will be immediately returned to the appellant.

(3) Appeal requests must be accompanied by a posting in cash, or by certified check or money order, the full amount of any fines and administrative fees potentially to be levied as a result of the issuance of the citation, or a hardship waiver as defined in section 2-7-13 in the alternative.

(4) Failure to file for an appeal request within the allotted time will be deemed a forfeiture of appeal rights.

(5) In the event of exigent circumstance, an appellant who fails to meet timeliness requirements may request, and the city manager may grant, an appeal filing extension beyond the normal ten-day limitation. Such requests must be made in writing to the city manager directly, with the justification for requiring a longer than the ten day appeal period specified. Under such circumstances, the appellant will be notified in writing within ten days of a finding of additional time for appeal granted, with a new filing date, or additional time for appeal denied. No explanation of reasoning used in granting or denying the request for appeal extension need be provided by the city manager, and the determination of the city manager is final.

(6) Once an appeal request has been accepted, the city shall notify the appellant of the date, time, and location of the appeal hearing within 30 days. Such notification shall be made in a manner as to allow appellant ten days notice prior to the hearing.

(7) The city planning commission shall act as the appeals board.

(8) The failure of any person with an interest in sustaining the appeal to receive a properly addressed notice of hearing shall not affect the validity of any proceedings under this chapter.

(9) Should a person with an interest in sustaining the appeal fail to be present for the appeal hearing for any reason, such hearing shall be conducted in absentia, and the findings of the hearing panel shall obtain.

(10) Failure to file an appeal in accordance with the provisions of this section shall constitute an waiver of rights to contest the accompanying administrative citation and the imposition of the fine.

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

On appeal of an administrative citation, assuming appeal is being filed within approved time constraints, the city shall provide an appeals form, which form shall contain the following information:

(1) A heading block, designating said form as an administrative citation appeals form. The heading block shall identify the form as originating from the city and shall provide the city's contact address, phone number, and fax number.

(2) An appellant identifier block which shall include space for the appellant's name, address, phone number, citation number, and date of citation issue.

(3) A "basis for appeal" block, which shall provide room to list each charge being appealed, as well as a detailed explanation of the basis for the appeal. A notation should be made that additional explanation may be attached on a separate sheet if necessary.

(4) A deposit acknowledgement block designated as "For city personnel only", stating that one of two conditions has been met; either a deposit for the full amount of potential fines and fees in cash, certified check, or money order has been accepted and receipted by the city, or a hardship waiver as defined in section 2-7-13 is attached.

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

Any recipient of an administrative citation who requests an appeal hearing and is financially incapable of filing the required deposit may file a request with the city manager for a hardship waiver of the advance deposit requirement.

(1) Requests for hardship waivers shall be filed with the request for appeal hearing, and shall be accompanied by a sworn affidavit, together with any supporting documents or materials demonstrating to the satisfaction of the city manager of the person's actual inability to file the required deposit.

(2) The city manager shall either grant or deny the request for a waiver within ten calendar days of receipt of such request. Such determination shall be annotated on the waiver request by the city manager as either granted or denied, and returned to the appellant. No explanation of the basis for determination shall be required. The decision of the city manager is final.

(3) If the request for hardship waiver is denied, all required fines and fees shall be deposited within ten days of the date of denial, or 30 days from the date of the issuance of the administrative citation, whichever is later.

(4) If the request for hardship waiver is granted, but the administrative citation is upheld by the planning commission, the fine and all fees must be paid within ten calendar days of completion of the hearing, or additional fines and administrative collection fees may attach.

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

The chairman of the planning commission shall conduct a fair and orderly hearing and accept evidence on which persons commonly would rely in the conduct of their business affairs.

(1) At the appeal hearing, the appellant shall be given the opportunity to testify and present evidence, including witnesses, concerning the alleged violation. Any other interested party, including but not limited to a property or business owner being sanctioned or adversely affected by the issue at hand, employees, or neighbors may also he heard.

(2) Appellant may be represented by council at his or her own expense.

(3) Appellant or council may not cross examine witnesses, but may ask questions of the hearing board which they, in turn, may use to query principals in the allegations as they see fit.

(4) The administrative citation and any additional reports submitted by the issuing officer shall constitute prima facia evidence of the facts contained in these documents. The planning commission may subpoena testimony of the issuing officer at their discretion.

(5) The planning commission may take the matter under submission, or may continue the hearing and/or request additional information as pertains.

(6) The planning commission shall by majority vote determine whether to affirm or dismiss the administrative citation. The planning commission may not reduce, waive, or conditionally reduce the fines established by the city.

(7) The chairman of the planning commission shall publish findings based on deliberations conducted relevant to the hearing, clarifying the affirmation or dismissal of the administrative citation and the reasons therefore. The city shall preserve all exhibits submitted by the parties to the hearing for a period of thirty days. Determination of findings shall be advised to appellant in person at the conclusion of the hearing if a determination has been made, and shall be mailed by certified mail within ten days of conclusion of the hearing if determination is taken under consideration. The decision of the planning commission in determining the affirmation or dismissal of the administrative citation is final, without right of further administrative appeal.

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

Any person aggrieved by an administrative decision of the appeals board on an administrative citation may obtain review of the administrative decision by filing a petition for review with the municipal court in the city in accordance with the timeliness and other provisions set forth in Government Code § 53069.4.

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