King City Municipal Code Art. 3 Enforcement

Whenever the city determines that a discharge violates any provision of this chapter, the city engineer or designee shall order the discharger to cease and desist discharging and cleanup and abate the discharge immediately or within the time frame prescribed in the most recently adopted and applicable version of the NPDES Municipal Stormwater Discharge Phase II Permit (NPDES permit) issued to the city of King City by the Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board.

(Ord. 702 § 1, 2013)

If the grading official or designee finds any discharge or any other action or lack thereof is in violation of any provision of this chapter, the city engineer or designee may order the work stopped by posting a notice on the site, or by written notice.

(Ord. 702 § 1, 2013)

Any person who intentionally or negligently violates any provision of this chapter shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be punished for each day in which the violation occurs or continues. The city’s share of any fine collected pursuant to this section shall be deposited into the city clean water program account.

(Ord. 702 § 1, 2013)

Any person who violates any provision of this chapter, any provision of any NPDES or other state permit issued pursuant to this chapter, or who discharges waste or wastewater that causes pollution, or who violates any order or notice of an authorized enforcement officer may also be in violation of the Federal Clean Water Act and/or the State Porter-Cologne Act and may be subject to the sanctions of those Acts including civil and criminal penalty.

(Ord. 702 § 1, 2013)

Pursuant to Section 836.5 of the California Penal Code, the director of planning, director of public works, building official or designees are authorized to enforce the provisions of this chapter and to oversee, inspect and require expedient compliance, clean up, pursue progressively stricter enforcement, and issue citations for violations thereof.

Whenever necessary for the purpose of determining compliance or enforcing the provisions of this chapter, or whenever any enforcement officer has reasonable cause to believe that there exists in any structure or upon any premises any condition which constitutes a violation of this chapter, the officers may enter the structure or premises at all reasonable times to inspect, or to perform any duty imposed upon any of the officers by law; provided that if the structure or premises is occupied, the officer shall first present proper credentials and request entry, and further provided, that if the structure or premises is unoccupied, the officer shall first make a reasonable attempt to contact a responsible person from the firm or corporation and request entry, except in emergency circumstances. If entry is refused, the officer seeking entry will have recourse to every remedy provided by law to secure entry.

There will be no civil liability on the part of, and no cause of action will arise against, any enforcement officer acting pursuant to this section and within the scope of authority. Furthermore, nothing in this chapter may be construed to hold the city or any officer, employee or representative of the city responsible for any damage to persons or property by reason of making an inadequate or negligent inspection or by reason of any failure to make any inspection or re-inspection or by reason of any failure to take any enforcement or remedial action.

(Ord. 702 § 1, 2013)

The director of the department of planning, the director of public works, and building official, or designees, may make such investigations of storm drainage facility conditions, construction sites, industrial and commercial sites, illicit connections to the storm drainage system, illicit discharge, illegal dumping to the storm drainage system, and of potential or actual sources of stormwater pollution deemed necessary to carry out the purpose of this chapter.

(Ord. 702 § 1, 2013)

(a) A property owner must reimburse the department of planning, the department of public works, and building official for actual costs incurred by any involved department for any activities necessary to enforce this chapter.

(b) Upon completion of enforcement activities, the director of public works will provide an invoice for the enforcement costs indication the total hours expended, the basis for the expenditure, and the hourly cost rate of the department involved.

(c) Charges for enforcement costs invoiced by the department of public works pursuant to this section will be based on hourly rate in an amount established by resolution of the city council.

(Ord. 702 § 1, 2013)

Any condition caused or permitted to exist in violation of any of the provisions of this chapter is a threat to public health, safety and welfare, and is declared to be a public nuisance and may be abated as such.

(Ord. 702 § 1, 2013)

Remedies in this chapter are in addition to and do not supersede or limit any and all other remedies, civil, criminal or administrative.

(Ord. 702 § 1, 2013)