Huntington Park Municipal Code Art. 4 Vector Control and Management

For the purpose of this article, the following words and phrases are defined as follows:

"Beehive" (managed bees) or "Nest" (feral bees)

means a colony of bees.

"City"

means the City of Huntington Park, its officers, directors, and employees, or a private contractor with which the City has entered into an agreement for the purpose of abating a public nuisance.

"District"

means the Greater Los Angeles County Vector Control District.

"Emergency situation"

means the presence of vectors, including, but not limited to, "killer bees," on private property within the City that pose an imminent threat to the health, safety, or welfare of the community.

"Feral bee"

means any wild honey bee, including, but not limited to, the Africanized Honey Bee, also known as the "killer bee."

"Infestation"

means a colony or an established swarm of bees forming a colony.

"Swarm"

means a number of bees, including a queen and leaving a hive to start a new colony.

"Vector"

means any animal capable of transmitting the causative agent of human disease or capable of producing human discomfort or injury, including, but not limited to, Africanized and European Honey Bees, mosquitoes, midges (chironomids), and black flies (simulids).

(§ 1, Ord. 642-NS, eff. May 31, 2000)

All buildings, structures, premises or any parts thereof within the City that are found or reported to be infested with feral bees and other vectors are declared to be public nuisances and shall be abated by either (1) the District, (2) the property owner, or (3) the City, at the property owner's expense.

(§ 1, Ord. 642-NS, eff. May 31, 2000)

(a) All buildings, structures, and premises shall be cleaned, and effective pesticides applied, as often as necessary to prevent the infestation of feral bees or other vectors that may pose a danger to the public health and safety. The District and/or City may prescribe the type of insecticides, their manner and frequency of application, and the manner and frequency of cleaning for such purposes.

(b) It is unlawful for any property owner or tenant to maintain or permit a beehive, nest, or swarm to exist. This includes a commercially managed European beehive that has become Africanized.

(c) The prohibitions regarding maintenance of beehives, nests, or swarms shall not restrict the activities of a professional beekeeper if not prohibited under the City's zoning code. For purposes of this subsection, the term "professional beekeeper" shall mean a person who holds a current registration as a beekeeper with the County of Los Angeles Department of Agriculture.

(§ 1, Ord. 642-NS, eff. May 31, 2000)

The District is authorized (pursuant to California Health and Safety Code Section 2270(f)) to enter upon any property in the City without hindrance or notice, for any of the following purposes:

(1) To inspect to ascertain the presence of vectors or their breeding places;

(2) To abate a public nuisance either directly or by giving notice to the property owner to abate a public nuisance;

(3) To ascertain if a notice to abate vectors has been complied with;

(4) To treat property with appropriate physical, chemical, or biological control measures.

(§ 1, Ord. 642-NS, eff. May 31, 2000)

Provisions for repayment by a property owner of all or part of abatement costs to the District, and collection thereof, are set forth in California Health and Safety Code Sections 2283, 2283.5, 2284, 2285, 2285.5, 2286, 2287, 2288, 2289, 2290.

(§ 1, Ord. 642-NS, eff. May 31, 2000)

(a) Authority. Upon a written declaration by the District of a public nuisance within or attached to a private structure, a copy of which shall be provided to the property owner, and provided that the City has a reasonable good faith basis to believe that an emergency situation exists, the City may enter upon such private property, without hindrance or notice, for any of the following reasons:

(1) To inspect to ascertain the presence of vectors or their breeding places;

(2) To abate a public nuisance either directly or by giving notice to the property owner to abate a public nuisance;

(3) To ascertain if a notice to abate vectors has been complied with;

(4) To treat property with appropriate physical, chemical, or biological control measures.

(b) Inspection. If, upon inspection, the City ascertains the presence of a public nuisance, it may issue a notice to abate for the parcel or premises upon which the public nuisance is discovered to each owner of record as shown on the last equalized assessment roll. The notice shall be posted in a conspicuous place on the property and a copy shall also be mailed to each owner of record as shown on the last equalized assessment roll. If an emergency situation exists, and the City makes a good faith determination that the public health and safety will not be jeopardized by allowing the property owner to make immediate arrangements for abatement of the nuisance, the notice to abate shall require the owner to abate the public nuisance immediately. If an emergency situation does not exist, the notice to abate shall require the owner to abate the public nuisance within 25 days from the date of the notice, or attend a hearing, at a specified time and place, not sooner than 10 days nor longer than 15 days from the date of posting the notice or of mailing the notice, whichever is later, to show cause why the owner should not be required to abate the public nuisance. The failure of any person to receive the notice shall not affect the validity of any proceeding under this section.

(c) Notice to Abate. The notice to abate shall do the following:

(1) State the finding of the City that a public nuisance exists on the property and the location of the public nuisance on the property;

(2) Specify the exact date by which the owner must take appropriate steps to abate, eliminate, and prevent the recurrence of the public nuisance;

(3) If an emergency situation does not exist, the notice shall inform the owner that before complying with the requirements of the notice, the owner may appear at a hearing before the City Council at a time and place stated in the notice; and

(4) Inform the owner that if he/she fails to comply with the requirements of the notice by the date specified: (a) the City, or its contractor, may enter upon the property and abate the public nuisance; (b) the City will bill the property owner for the cost of abatement, including administrative costs; and (c) that if the owner fails to pay the bill timely, the cost of the abatement, including administrative costs, shall become a special assessment against the property to be collected on the next regular property tax bill levied against the property.

(d) Hearing. If an emergency situation does not exist, the property owner(s) may appear at a hearing before the City Council at a time and place fixed by the City and stated in the notice, prior to complying with the requirements of the notice to abate. At the hearing, the City Council shall determine whether the initial findings as set forth in the notice are correct and shall permit the owner to present testimony. If, after hearing all the facts, the City Council makes a determination that a public nuisance exists on the property, the City Council shall order compliance with the requirements of the notice or with alternative orders issued by the City Council.

(e) Abatement—City May Abate Nuisance. In the event that the public nuisance is not abated by the date specified in the notice or by the date established by alternative order issued by the City Council, the City, or its contractor, may enter the property and abate the public nuisance.

In the event a contractor is hired, the contractor shall keep a complete account and submit an itemized written report with respect thereto to the City upon completion of the abatement work.

(f) Unless an emergency situation exists, before the City or a contractor retained by the City may enter upon private property to inspect and/or abate a public nuisance, the City must either obtain the property owner's consent or a search warrant.

(g) Assessment of Abatement Costs Against Owner. In the event that the City, or its contractor, abates the public nuisance pursuant to this article, the City may make the cost of the abatement, including administrative costs, a special assessment against the property. The assessment may be collected at the same time and in the same manner as ordinary municipal taxes are collected, and shall be subject to the same penalties and the same procedure and sale in case of delinquency as provided for ordinary municipal taxes. All laws applicable to the levy, collection and enforcement of municipal taxes shall be applicable to the special assessment.

However, under no circumstances shall a property owner be required to pay the cost of abatement, as provided in this article, unless a hearing before the City Council has been held, either prior to or subsequent to abatement by the City, at which the property owner was afforded the opportunity to be heard, and it is determined that a public nuisance actually existed.

If any real property to which the cost of abatement relates 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 and on which the first installment of the taxes would become delinquent, then the cost of abatement shall not result in a lien against the real property but instead shall be transferred to the unsecured roll for collection.

The City shall, at the time of imposing the assessment, provide notice to the property owner(s). Such notice shall be by certified mail and shall specify that the property may be sold after three years by the tax collector for unpaid delinquent assessments.

(§ 1, Ord. 642-NS, eff. May 31, 2000)