Lemoore Municipal Code Ch. 12 Administrative Citations

This chapter shall be known as the Administrative Citations ordinance of the City of Lemoore. (Ord. 2024-08, 11-5-2024)

This chapter is adopted to protect the health, safety and welfare of the citizens of the City of Lemoore and to provide a method to penalize responsible parties who fail or refuse to comply with certain provisions of the City of Lemoore Municipal Code; to minimize the expense and delay of enforcement of the Municipal Code by criminal citation; and to allow the City to recover costs associated with the enforcement process, while continuing to give persons who have been issued citations due process. (Ord. 2024-08, 11-5-2024)

Pursuant to Article XI, section 7, of the California Constitution, the City has the authority to make and enforce within its jurisdictional limits all laws for the public health, safety and welfare of the citizens of Lemoore which are not in conflict with general state laws. In addition, California Government Code section 53069.4 expressly authorizes the City to establish an administrative citation program to govern the imposition, enforcement, collection, and administrative review of administrative fines or penalties issued for violation of a City ordinance. (Ord. 2024-08, 11-5-2024)

For the purposes of this chapter the following definitions shall apply:

AUTOMATIC VIOLATION: A violation for which immediate imposition of administrative fines or penalties shall occur prior to and without any opportunity to correct.

CITATION Or ADMINISTRATIVE CITATION: A civil citation issued pursuant to this chapter stating that there has been a violation of one or more provisions of the Code and setting the amount of the administrative penalty to be paid by the responsible party.

DAYS: Calendar days.

HEARING OFFICER: Any person, persons or entity appointed to preside over the administrative hearings provided for by this chapter.

OFFICIAL Or ENFORCEMENT OFFICER Or PUBLIC OFFICER: The City manager, building official, building director, building inspector, public works director, community development director, police chief, fire chief, health officer, or designees, or any other individual or body appointed or designated by the City council or the City manager to enforce violations of the Municipal Code.

ORDINANCE Or CODE: Any provision of the Lemoore Municipal Code.

PERSON: Any natural person, firm, association, business, trust, organization, corporation, partnership, company or any other entity. (Ord. 2024-08, 11-5-2024)

RESPONSIBLE PARTY: Any person who is responsible for violating the provisions of the Municipal Code as described in this chapter, including but not limited to, any owner, tenant, occupant lessee, licensee or other person having control over a structure or parcel of land in the City who knows, or reasonably should have known, of the conditions constituting a violation of this Code.

THE ADMINISTRATOR: The City Manager for the City of Lemoore or his or her designated representative.

THE CITY: The City of Lemoore.

YEAR: Three hundred sixty-five (365) days.

A. Any responsible party violating any provision of the Municipal Code may be issued an administrative citation by an enforcement officer as provided for by this chapter.

B. Each and every day a violation of any provision of the Municipal Code exists will constitute a separate and distinct offense.

C. Each section of the Municipal Code violated on any day shall constitute a separate and distinct violation.

D. A fine for violations of the Municipal Code may be assessed by means of an administrative citation issued by the enforcement officer and shall be payable directly to the City.

E. Administrative fines assessed by means of an administrative citation shall be collected by the procedures specified in this chapter. (Ord. 2024-08, 11-5-2024)

A. Upon discovering or observing any violation of the Municipal Code, the enforcement officer shall determine the party responsible for the violation. If a business or other entity the responsible party shall be deemed to be the person who is in immediate control of the business or site on that day. The enforcement officer may also determine that the owner(s) or officer(s) of the business or property or entity are the responsible party.

B. Determination Of An Automatic Violation:

1. Any violation defined by the Municipal Code or the schedule of penalties as an automatic violation;

2. Violations that create an immediate danger to the public health, safety, and welfare, as determined by the enforcement officer, and for which immediate correction is required;

3. Repeat or chronic violations where either formal or informal notice of the violation, and previous reasonable opportunities to correct, have been provided;

4. Non-continuing violations for which it is not possible or practical to provide prior notice and an opportunity to correct; or

5. As otherwise provided for by state law.

C. Issuance of notice to correct:

1. Except as provided in Title 4, Chapter 4 "Property Maintenance," or subsection (B) of this section, upon discovering or observing any violation of the Municipal Code, the enforcement officer will issue a written notice to the responsible party of the violation. Said notice need not be in any particular form, but shall, at a minimum:

a. Describe the nature of the Municipal Code violation, including identifying the Municipal Code section(s) violated;

b. Identify what action is necessary to correct the violation;

c. Provide the responsible party with not less than ten (10) calendar days to correct the violation, unless (i) a lesser time is specified elsewhere in the Municipal Code for correcting the violation(s); or (ii) the enforcement officer determines that a lesser time is necessary to protect the public health, safety, or welfare of the citizens of the City; and

d. Explain the consequences of a failure to correct the violation.

D. Notice:

1. The notice required in subsection (C) of this section may be served on the responsible party by personal service, first class mail, certified mail, overnight mail, hand delivery, or by any other method reasonably likely to provide notice to the responsible party. Notice may be sent to the responsible party's business address, principal place of business address, residence address as it appears on the last available equalized assessment roll, supplemental roll of the County, or other address known to the enforcement officer by reliable information. In the case of property-related violations, a copy of the notice may also be posted on the subject property in a conspicuous place. The time within which to correct the violation shall run from the date the notice is sent or posted.

2. The notice required by subsection (C) of this section does not apply if the enforcement officer determines the violation is an automatic violation pursuant to subsection (B) of this section.

E. Except as provided for in subsection (B), if after the expiration of the time period provided to the responsible party to correct the violation, the responsible party has not corrected the violation, the enforcement officer may issue an administrative citation to the responsible party by one or more of the methods provided for in subsection (D). The failure of any person to receive an administrative citation shall not affect the validity of any proceedings taken under this chapter. Notice shall be effective on the date the citation is received if personally served, or the date the citation is sent or posted.

F. The notice provided pursuant to subsection C of this section shall be sufficient notice for subsequent violations of the same code occurring within one (1) year of the notice even if the violation occurs at a different location, and the enforcement officer may proceed directly to issuing an administrative citation for future violations of the same code section occurring within one (1) year of the notice even if the violation occurs at a different location.

G. The lack of a responsible party's signature on an administrative citation shall in no way affect the validity of the citation and subsequent proceedings. (Ord. 2024-08, 11-5-2024)

The administrative citation shall be on a form approved by the City Manager and should include, where applicable, the following:

A. The name and address of the responsible party;

B. Date and location of the violation(s) and the approximate time the violation(s) were observed and/or discovered;

C. Section or sections of the Municipal Code violated and a description of how the section(s) are violated;

D. A description of the action required to correct the violation(s), if applicable;

E. Statements to require the responsible party to immediately correct the violation(s) and to explain the consequences of failure to correct the violation(s);

F. Amount of fine imposed for the violation(s);

G. Explanation of how the fine shall be paid and the time period by which it shall be paid, and the consequences of failure to pay the fine;

H. Rights of appeal;

I. Signature of the enforcement officer, and the address where the citation is served, posted, or mailed. (Ord. 2024-08, 11-5-2024)

See Chapter 10 of Title 1. (Ord. 2024-08, 11-5-2024)

A. With the exception of violations that are automatically deemed infractions under the Municipal Code, and unless otherwise specified within the ordinance cited, the amount of the fine assessed for each administrative citation issued for the same violation(s) within one (1) year of the last administrative citation shall be as follows:

• 1. First administrative citation: one hundred dollars ($100.00);
• 2. Second administrative citation: five hundred dollars ($500.00); and
• 3. Each additional administrative citation: one thousand dollars ($1,000.00).

B. Unless otherwise specified within the ordinance cited, for violations of the code that are automatically deemed infractions, the amount of the fine assessed for each administrative citation issued for the same violation(s) within one (1) year of the last administrative citation shall be as follows:

• 1. First administrative citation: one hundred dollars ($100.00);
• 2. Second administrative citation: two hundred dollars ($200.00);
• 3. Each additional administrative citation: five hundred dollars ($500.00).

C. For the purposes of this subsection, the "same violation" shall mean violations of the same code section, even if they occur at a different location.

D. The payment of a fine or fines shall not excuse the failure to correct the violation, nor shall it bar any further enforcement action by the City. (Ord. 2024-08, 11-5-2024)

A. All fines assessed shall be payable to the City of Lemoore.

B. Interest shall accrue at a rate of ten percent (10%) per month on unpaid fines until paid.

C. The failure of any person to timely pay a fine assessed by administrative citation or final administrative decision shall constitute a debt to the City, a violation of this code, and a public nuisance.

D. The City is entitled and hereby authorized to recover any debts or outstanding fines owed to the City through any civil, criminal, or administrative action, including, but not limited, to a nuisance abatement lien or special assessment.

A special assessment or lien imposed under this section shall have the priority of a tax lien, unless prohibited by state law, in which case the special assessment or lien shall have the priority of a judgment lien.

E. If the failure by any person to pay a fine assessed by administrative citation results in the filing of an action in any court of proper jurisdiction, to collect the fine, the City of Lemoore shall be entitled to collect all costs, including reasonable attorney's fees, associated with the filing of such actions.

F. The payment of a fine or fines shall not excuse the failure to correct the violation nor shall it bar further enforcement action by the City. (Ord. 2024-08, 11-5-2024)

Nothing in this chapter precludes the City of Lemoore from using any other available method to enforce the provisions of the Municipal Code. (Ord. 2024-08, 11-5-2024)

The City administrator may adopt any necessary guidelines, policies, or procedures to aid in the interpretation and enforcement of this chapter. (Ord. 2024-08, 11-5-2024)