Lancaster Municipal Code Ch. 9.50 Human Trafficking and Nuisance Motels

This chapter shall be known as the city's human trafficking and nuisance motels ordinance.

(Ord. No. 1056, § 1, 3-12-2019)

For the purposes of this chapter, the following words shall have the meanings respectively ascribed to them in this section:

"City" means the City of Lancaster.

"Code" means the Lancaster Municipal Code.

"City manager" means the city manager of the City of Lancaster and his or her designee(s).

"Enforcing officer" means and includes any Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputy, Lancaster public safety officer, Lancaster community services officer, Lancaster code enforcement officer, and any other public officer or employee designated by the city manager who shall be authorized to enforce the provisions of this chapter and to issue administrative citations in accordance with this chapter.

"Guest room" means one or more habitable rooms with facilities for sleeping and sanitation and which may or may not contain a kitchen, kitchenette, cooking facilities or cooking appliances.

"Human trafficking" means the deprivation or violation of the personal liberty of another, as more particularly described in Section 236.1(h)(3) of the California Penal Code, and includes the act of causing, inducing or persuading a minor to engage in any sex act, as more particularly described in Section 236.1(c) of the California Penal Code. For purposes of this chapter, "sex trafficking" and "human trafficking" may be used interchangeably.

"Motel" means and includes any structure, or any portion of a structure, containing one or more furnished guest rooms, as defined herein, which are rented, occupied, designed, intended to be used, or used as temporary sleeping or lodging accommodations for one or more persons. For purposes of this chapter, "motel" also includes a hotel, inn, motor lodge, hostel, bed and breakfast, and other similar structures.

"Operator" means a person who is proprietor of a motel, as defined herein, whether in the capacity of owner, lessee, sub-lessee, licensee, or any other capacity. Where the operator performs his or her functions through an on-site or off-site manager, the manager shall also be deemed an operator for the purposes of this chapter, and shall have the same duties and liabilities as his or her principal.

"Owner" means and includes any person, as defined herein, having legal title to a motel in the city, including all persons shown as owners on the last equalized assessment roll of the Los Angeles County Assessor's Office. Owners include persons with powers of attorney, executors of estates, trustees, or who are court appointed administrators, conservators, guardians or receivers.

"Person" as used in this chapter, means and includes any individual, partnership of any kind, corporation, limited liability company, association, joint venture or other organization or entity, however formed, as well as trustees, heirs, executors, administrators, or assigns, or any combination of such persons.

"Responsible person" for purposes of this chapter, means any motel owner, operator and/or manager. The actions or inactions of a responsible person's employee, agent, or representative may be attributed to that responsible person.

(Ord. No. 1056, § 1, 3-12-2019)

A. The city council finds and declares that it constitutes an unlawful public nuisance for any person to:

1. Directly or indirectly maintain or permit the use of a motel for the purpose of human trafficking, sex trafficking, prostitution, lewdness or illegal gambling, as set forth in California Penal Code Sections 11225 et seq.;

2. Directly or indirectly maintain or permit the use of a motel for the purpose of selling, storing, serving, manufacturing, cultivating, or giving away any controlled substance, precursor, or analog, as set forth in California Health and Safety Code Sections 11570 et seq.;

3. Allow, cause, create, maintain or permit any other public nuisance, as set forth in Lancaster Municipal Code chapter 8.28.

B. Any motel at which a nuisance occurs or is present, as set forth in subsection A. of this section, constitutes a nuisance motel, subject to abatement.

(Ord. No. 1056, § 1, 3-12-2019)

A. Every owner, operator, manager and/or employee shall be responsible for preventing the use of the motel for human trafficking, drug activity or other illegal activities. Evidence of a person or persons using or intending to use the motel or motel room for human trafficking or drug activity depends on the totality of the circumstances, however, indicators of such illegal activity may include, but are not limited to, the following:

1. Attempting to rent a room for less than twelve (12) hours, or leaving after only a few hours;

2. Paying with cash to avoid a paper trail;

3. Attempting to rent a room without presenting valid identification;

4. Reserving multiple rooms at once;

5. Reserving a room for extended periods of time, but bringing few or no possessions;

6. A guest who appears malnourished or physically abused;

7. A guest who is dressed inappropriately for his/her age;

8. Frequent guests coming and going;

9. Frequent vehicles coming and going;

10. The smell of marijuana, chemicals and/or other unusual odors coming from a room or rooms.

B. An owner, operator, manager and/or employee who suspects human trafficking, drug activity or other illegal activity may be intended or occurring shall notify the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, Lancaster Station, and the Lancaster Public Safety Department.

(Ord. No. 1056, § 1, 3-12-2019)

No person shall rent or permit to rent any motel room on an hourly basis. A motel room shall not be rented more than once within a calendar day.

(Ord. No. 1056, § 1, 3-12-2019)

A. Every owner, operator, manager and/or employee of any motel shall keep a register containing the name and address of each guest. No owner, operator, manager and/or employee of any motel shall rent or assign a motel room to any person without verifying that the guest has valid photo identification and has accurately and legibly completed the register with the information that corresponds to the identification presented by the guest. The register shall also include the date and time of arrival of each guest and the number or other identifying symbol of the room assigned or rented, and the date and time the guest departs. All registers shall be maintained for a period of three (3) years from the date of entry. No person shall alter, deface or erase any entry in a register so as to make the information illegible or unintelligible.

B. No person shall provide any false information, register under a fictitious name, or show or use a forged, altered or counterfeit identification when procuring a motel room. The owner, operator, manager and/or employee shall be responsible for verifying the authenticity of the identification used by the person renting the motel room.

C. Inspection of motels and motel registers may be made at any reasonable hour by any enforcing officer for the purpose of confirming compliance with the provisions of this chapter. If permission to inspect is refused or cannot be obtained, the city manager or his/her designee shall have recourse to every remedy provided by law to secure lawful entry and inspect the premises and register, including but not limited to securing an inspection warrant pursuant to California Code of Civil Procedure Sections 1822.50 through 1822.57; provided, however, that if the city manager or his/her designee has reasonable cause to believe that a motel or any room or portion thereof is so hazardous, unsafe or dangerous as to require immediate inspection to safeguard the public health or safety, the city manager or his/her designee shall have the right to immediately enter and inspect said motel or room or portion thereof and may use any reasonable means required to effect the entry and make an inspection.

(Ord. No. 1056, § 1, 3-12-2019)

It is unlawful for any responsible person, as defined in this chapter, to violate any provision of this chapter. Any responsible person violating a provision of this chapter shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.

(Ord. No. 1056, § 1, 3-12-2019)

A. Any enforcing officer, as defined in this chapter, may issue an administrative citation to a person when the officer has determined, through personal observation or after undertaking standard law enforcement investigatory actions, that the person is a responsible person, as defined in this chapter, who directly or indirectly allowed or maintained a nuisance motel.

B. Within five (5) days after issuance of a citation, an officer shall submit a copy of the citation and a written statement of facts to the city manager. Alternatively, the officer may elect to submit the written statement of facts to the city manager, who may then issue the citation.

C. An administrative citation may be personally given to the responsible person, or the responsible person may be served by first class mail to an address which is either: (i) indicated on any form of identification presented to the officer, or (ii) discovered by the officer during the course of his or her standard law enforcement investigatory actions. The date a citation is placed in a U.S. Postal Service mail receptacle shall be the date of service. A declaration of service shall be made by the person mailing the administrative citation showing the date and manner of service by mail and reciting the name and address of the citation addressee. Failure of any responsible person to receive an administrative citation by mail shall not invalidate any citation issued pursuant to this chapter.

D. The citation shall be in a city-approved format, and shall include the following information:

1. The date, location and approximate time of the activity or condition that caused the motel to be a nuisance motel;

2. A brief description of the activity, conduct, or condition at the location that constituted an unlawful nuisance as set forth in section 9.50.030 of this chapter;

3. A statement describing the right to appeal the citation;

4. A statement advising that the fine shall be paid to the city within thirty (30) days from the date of the administrative citation, procedure for payment, and the consequences of failure to pay.

E. The penalty amounts of administrative citations issued pursuant to this chapter shall be as follows:

1. For the first administrative citation, the penalty shall be one thousand dollars ($1,000.00);

2. For the second and any subsequent administrative citation, the penalty shall be five thousand dollars ($5,000.00).

F. The failure of any person to pay a penalty assessed by administrative citation within the time specified on the citation constitutes a debt to the city, which may be collected in accordance with chapter 1.16 of this code or in any other manner allowable by law.

(Ord. No. 1056, § 1, 3-12-2019)

A. A person who has been issued an administrative citation pursuant to this chapter may contest the citation by filing a written appeal on a city-approved form with the city manager within ten (10) calendar days from the date of the citation. The basis for the appeal must be specified in detail on the appeal form. There shall be no filing fee for the appeal, however, a deposit in the amount of the citation must be paid at the time the appeal is filed. If the citation is dismissed as a result of the appeal hearing, the deposit shall be returned to the appellant within thirty (30) days from the date of the written appeal decision.

B. Failure of the city manager to receive a timely appeal constitutes a waiver of the right to contest a citation; in this event, the citation is final and binding.

C. As soon as practicable after a timely appeal is filed, the City Manager shall fix a date, time and place for a hearing. The hearing shall be conducted by an independent and impartial hearing officer. Written notice of the time and place for the hearing shall be served by first class mail, at the return address indicated on the appeal form, at least ten (10) calendar days prior to the date of the hearing.

D. An appellant may request, in writing, that the city manager reschedule the hearing if the request is made at least twenty-four (24) hours prior to the hearing. The city manager shall grant one continuance of the hearing date.

E. Failure of an appellant to appear at the scheduled hearing shall constitute the appellant's waiver of the right to appeal and a forfeiture of the citation amount deposited at the time the appeal was filed.

F. Appeal hearings are informal, and formal rules of evidence and discovery do not apply. The city bears the burden of proof to establish, by a preponderance of evidence, that the appellant allowed or maintained a nuisance motel. The officer issuing the administrative citation and/or submitting the written statement of facts shall not be required to appear at the hearing. The hearing officer shall accept testimony by declaration under penalty of perjury relating to the commission of the offense, as set forth in the issuing officer's statement of facts, and shall consider any other relevant evidence concerning the commission of the offense that the city manager may present at the hearing. The hearing officer shall also take the testimony of the appellant, and/or his or her witnesses, and will consider any other credible relevant rebuttal evidence the appellant may wish to present. The appellant may represent himself or herself or be represented by anyone of his or her choice, including counsel, at his or her sole expense. The appellant may bring an interpreter to the hearing at his or her sole expense.

G. The hearing officer shall make findings based on the record of the hearing, and shall prepare a written decision, based on those findings, to either uphold or dismiss the citation. A copy of the written decision shall be served on the appellant by first class mail within ten (10) days after the hearing. If the citation is dismissed, the city shall refund the amount of the citation deposit to the appellant within thirty (30) days from the date of the decision.

H. The decision of the hearing officer is final and conclusive, subject only to review by the superior court in accordance with the time limits set forth in Government Code Section 53069.4 and/or Code of Civil Procedure Section 1094.6.

(Ord. No. 1056, § 1, 3-12-2019)

A. Any administrative citation pursuant to this chapter shall not prejudice or adversely affect any other civil, administrative or criminal action that may be brought to abate a nuisance motel or to seek compensation for damages suffered. A criminal or civil action may be brought concurrently with any other process regarding the same violation.

B. A nuisance motel may be abated in accordance with the provisions set forth in California Penal Code Sections 11225 et seq., California Health and Safety Code Sections 11570 et seq., or utilizing any other civil, judicial or equitable remedy available to the city.

C. A nuisance motel may be abated through the revocation or suspension of the owner's or operator's business license, in accordance with the provisions set forth in sections 5.04.070 through 5.04.110 of this code.

(Ord. No. 1056, § 1, 3-12-2019)

If any section, subsection, paragraph, sentence, clause or phrase of this chapter is declared by a court of competent jurisdiction to be unconstitutional or otherwise invalid, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this chapter. The city council declares that it would have adopted this chapter, and each section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase or portion thereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more sections, subsections, phrases, or portions be declared invalid or unconstitutional.

(Ord. No. 1056, § 1, 3-12-2019)