Lafayette Municipal Code Ch. 1-9 Administrative Citations

Footnotes:

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Editor's note— Ord. No. 590, § 1, adopted Sept. 28, 2009, deleted the former Ch. 1-9, §§ 1-901—1-911, and enacted a new Ch. 1-9 as set out herein. The former Ch. 1-9 pertained to administrative citations and derived from Ord. 560 § 3 (part), 2006.

The city council finds and determines as follows:

(a) Sections 1-901 through Section 1-910, inclusive, shall be known as the administrative citation ordinance.

(b) This chapter is enacted under the authority of California Government Code §§ 36901 and 53069.4.

(c) The administrative citation process in this chapter is in addition to all other legal remedies, criminal or civil, available to the city to address a violation of this municipal code.

(d) This chapter may be used to enforce any violations of this municipal code, including Chapter 8-21.

(e) The use of this chapter is at the sole discretion of the city.

(Ord. No. 590, § 1, 9-28-2009)

(a) "Code enforcement appeals board" or "board" means the code enforcement appeals board as described in Chapter 2-10.

(b) "Code enforcement officer" or "officer" means the city employee or agent of the city designated by the city manager to administer this chapter. The code enforcement officer may be the same official as described in subsection 8-2102(c) or any other employee or agent designated by the city manager to serve in this capacity.

(c) "Days" means calendar days. In the event the last day of the specified time period falls on a Saturday, Sunday or federal holiday observed by the city, then the last day of the specified time period shall be the next business day.

(d) "Owner" means the owner or owners of record of real property as shown on the latest county equalized assessment roll; the lessee, tenant or other person having control or possession of the property where the violation occurred; the mortgagee under a recorded deed of trust; and any other person having a recorded beneficial or legal interest.

(Ord. No. 590, § 1, 9-28-2009)

(a) Warning Notice. Whenever the code enforcement officer determines that a violation of this municipal code has occurred and that the violation does not pose an immediate hazard to the general welfare, health and safety, the officer may issue a warning notice to the owner. A warning notice shall be served in accordance with section 1-905 and shall include the following information:

(1) Address or definite description of the location where the violation occurred;

(2) Description of the violation and applicable section or sections of this municipal code violated;

(3) Requirements for abating the violation, and the dated by which the correction must be completed not to exceed 20 days based on the type, severity and number of previous violations on the same property, unless the officer determines there are circumstances that warrant additional time for abatement; and

(4) Consequences for not abating the violation within the time specified in the warning, including but not limited to the imposition of administrative penalties, administrative charges, incurring of abatement costs, issuance of administrative citations and/or other legal remedies available to the city.

(b) Notice of Violation. If the violation is not abated within the time limit specified in the warning notice, the officer may issue a written notice of violation to the owner. Notice shall be served in accordance with section 1-905 and shall include the following information:

(1) Date the violation was observed by the code enforcement officer;

(2) Address or a definite description of the location where the violation occurred;

(3) Description of the violation and applicable section or sections of this municipal code violated;

(4) Requirements for abating the violation, and the date by which the correction must be completed not to exceed 30 days based on the type, severity and number of previous violations on the same property, unless the officer determines there are circumstances that warrant additional time for abatement;

(5) An explanation that if the violation is not corrected by the correction date set forth in the notice of violation, an administrative citation, carrying administrative penalties in the amounts set forth in this chapter, which will begin to accrue immediately on the date the administrative citation is issued, and continue to accrue on a daily basis thereafter until the violation is corrected, may be issued; and

(6) The name and signature of the code enforcement officer, and the date of issuance.

(Ord. No. 590, § 1, 9-28-2009)

(a) When the code enforcement officer determines that a violation of this municipal code for which a notice of violation was issued was not corrected by the correction date set forth in the notice of violation, the officer may issue an administrative citation to the person responsible for the violation.

(b) The administrative citation shall include the following information:

(1) Date the violation was observed by the code enforcement officer;

(2) Address or a definite description of the location where the violation occurred;

(3) Description of violation and applicable section or sections of this municipal code violated;

(4) Amount of the fine for the code violation;

(5) Date by which the fine is due and payable to the city;

(6) Consequences of not paying the fine by the due date; and

(7) Process for appealing the issuance of the administrative citation.

(c) The administrative citation may also include administrative costs pursuant to subsection 8-2111(b)(1) of this code.

(Ord. No. 590, § 1, 9-28-2009)

A warning notice, notice of violation and administrative citation shall be served in one of the following methods:

(a) The code enforcement officer may personally serve the warning notice, notice of violation or citation on the person responsible for the violation. The warning notice, notice of violation or citation shall become effective on the date of personal service.

(b) The code enforcement officer may mail the warning notice, notice of violation or citation by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the owner of the property where the violation occurred at the address shown on the county's last property tax assessment rolls or to any other address known for the owner. The warning notice, notice of violation or citation shall become effective on the date of the certified mailing.

(c) The code enforcement officer may post the property where the violation occurred with the warning notice, notice of violation or citation in a conspicuous place when the owner or person responsible for the violation resides at an unknown address. A copy of the warning notice, notice of violation or citation also shall be sent certified mail, return receipt requested, to the subject property where the violation occurred to the owner's attention. The warning notice, notice of violation or citation shall become effective on the date of the posting of the property.

(d) The failure of an owner or other person responsible for the violation to receive a notice or citation shall not affect the validity of any proceedings taken under this chapter.

(Ord. No. 590, § 1, 9-28-2009)

(a) Unless the code enforcement officer has received a notice of appeal to indicate that the administrative citation is being contested pursuant to the procedure and within the time period provided in this chapter, administrative penalties shall accrue on the date of the administrative citation and continue to accrue on a daily basis until the violation(s) is corrected as set forth in the administrative citation to the satisfaction of the code enforcement officer. Administrative penalties shall become due and payable within 30 days of the effective date of the administrative citation and shall be payable directly to the City of Lafayette, Citations c/o Finance Department, 3675 Mt. Diablo Blvd #210, Lafayette, CA 94549.

(b) Except where otherwise provided in the code, or where otherwise determined by the code enforcement officer pursuant to subsection (c) below, the amount of the administrative penalty imposed by an administrative citation shall be as follows:

(1) One hundred dollars for a first violation of any provision of this code determined to be an infraction including a violation of building or safety code provision;

(2) Two hundred dollars for a second violation of the same provision (other than a building or safety code provision) within one year from the date of issuance of the administrative citation, and $500.00 for a second violation of a building or safety code provision within one year from the date of issuance of the administrative citation;

(3) Five hundred dollars for each additional violation of the same provision (other than a building or safety code provision) within one year from the date of issuance of the administrative citation, and 1,000.00 for each additional violation of a building or safety code provision within one year from the date of issuance of the administrative citation;

(c) The code enforcement officer, in his/her discretion, may impose an administrative penalty in some lesser amount than those set forth in subsection (b) above, taking some or all of the following factors into consideration, in determining the amount of the penalty:

(1) The duration of the violation;

(2) The frequency, recurrence and number of violations, related or unrelated, by the same violator;

(3) The seriousness of the violation;

(4) The good faith efforts of the violator to come into compliance;

(5) The economic impact of the penalty on the violator;

(6) The impact of the violation on the community; or

(7) Such other factors as justice may require.

(d) The code enforcement officer, in its discretion, may suspend the imposition of administrative penalties for any period of time during which:

(1) The violator has filed for necessary permits;

(2) Such permits are required to achieve compliance; and

(3) Such permit applications are actively pending before the city, state or other appropriate governmental agency.

(Ord. No. 590, § 1, 9-28-2009)

A recipient of an administrative citation may appeal the citation and may request a hearing before the code enforcement appeals board as follows:

(a) An appeal form shall be obtained from the code enforcement officer. The completed appeal form shall be filed with the officer within 14 days of the effective date of the administrative citation together with an appeal fee established by resolution by the city council.

(b) Only after the completed appeal form has been filed together with the appeal fee shall the code enforcement officer set the date for a hearing. The hearing shall be set for a date not less than 14 days or more than 60 days after the officer received the request.

(c) The appellant may request one continuance, but in no event shall the hearing be continued more than 30 days after the date of the originally scheduled hearing unless the code enforcement officer finds circumstances of hardship warrant a longer continuance not to exceed 90 days after the date of the originally scheduled hearing.

(d) The appellant shall be notified by certified mail, return receipt requested, of the date, time and place set for the hearing. Notice shall be sent at least ten days prior to the date of the hearing. The notice shall include a statement that the city may pursue any and all legal and equitable remedies for the recovery of unpaid fines and administrative charges. The notice shall be mailed to the appellant at the address provided on the completed appeal form. Failure of the appellant to receive notice shall not affect the validity of any proceedings taken under this chapter.

(e) Any documentation, other than the administrative citation, which the code enforcement officer has submitted or will submit to the code enforcement appeals board shall be served on the appellant at least three days before the hearing.

(f) Failure of a recipient of an administrative citation to file an appeal in accordance with the provisions of this section shall be deemed to waive his or her right to an appeal hearing.

(Ord. No. 590, § 1, 9-28-2009)

(a) No appeal hearing shall be held unless the appeal fee has been paid in accordance with Section 1-907.

(b) Hearings by the code enforcement appeals board are informal and formal rules of evidence and discovery shall not apply.

(c) The code enforcement officer and appellant shall be given the opportunity to testify and present evidence concerning the alleged violation.

(d) The administrative citation and any additional report submitted by the code enforcement officer shall constitute prima facie evidence of the respective facts contained in those documents.

(e) The code enforcement appeals board may continue a hearing to request additional information from the code enforcement officer and/or appellant and/or to conduct an inspection of the location of the violation prior to concluding the hearing.

(f) If the violation is non-conformance with a permit issued under Title 6, the code enforcement appeals board may continue the hearing and refer the violation to the body that issued the permit for additional information and/or recommendation, including the zoning administrator, design review commission, planning commission, or city council.

(g) If the location of the violation is on property owned by the appellant, the code enforcement appeals board may inspect the property prior to the conclusion of the hearing provided that the appellant consents to the inspection, is given the notice of the date and time of the inspection, and is permitted to be present during the inspection. The board shall state for the record during the hearing the material facts observed and conclusions drawn from the inspection. The appellant shall be afforded an opportunity to rebut or explain the matters so stated by the board. If the location of the violation can be inspected from areas accessible to the general public or with the permission of other persons authorized to provide access to the location, then notice to and consent of the appellant is not required.

(h) Failure of the appellant to appear at the hearing shall constitute a waiver of his or her right to an administrative hearing.

(Ord. No. 590, § 1, 9-28-2009)

(a) After considering all of the testimony and evidence submitted during the hearing, the code enforcement appeals board shall adopt a resolution to uphold, modify or cancel the administrative citation. The decision of the board is final. The resolution shall include the reasons for that decision which may be based on any or all of the following factors:

(1) Duration of the violation;

(2) Frequency, recurrence and/or number of related violations by the appellant;

(3) Seriousness of the violation;

(4) Good faith efforts of the appellant to correct the violation; and/or

(5) Other factors as justice may require.

(b) If the code enforcement appeals board determines the administrative citation should be upheld, then the resolution shall include the action required to correct the violation and the date by which such action must be completed. The date of compliance shall be no more than 60 days from the date of the board's decision. The resolution shall include a payment schedule for any unpaid fines and/or administrative charges. The resolution shall also include the consequences of failing to correct the violation, including the placement of liens and/or special assessments, and the right to judicial review pursuant to Section 1-910.

(c) If the code enforcement appeals board determines the administrative citation should be modified in terms of methods of correcting the violation and/or time limit for compliance, then the resolution shall include the modified action to correct the violation and/or the date by which correction must be completed. The resolution shall include a payment schedule for any unpaid fines and administrative charges. The resolution shall also include the consequences of failing to correct the violation, and the right to judicial review pursuant to Section 1-910.

(d) The code enforcement appeals board may determine that the administrative citation should be canceled; in this case, all further actions related to this administrative citation shall be terminated.

(Ord. No. 590, § 1, 9-28-2009)

The appellant may seek judicial review of the board's decision by filing a petition with a court of competent jurisdiction pursuant to California Code of Civil Procedure §§ 1094.5 and 1094.6. The board's resolution shall contain a statement so advising the appellant of the time limit on seeking court review.

(Ord. No. 590, § 1, 9-28-2009)