Chapter 20.68 — ENFORCEMENT, PENALTIES AND LEGAL PROCEDURE (§ 20.68.010 – § 20.68.060)

All departments, officials, and public employees of the City of Mill Valley, vested with the duty of authority to issue permits or licenses, shall conform to the provisions of this title, and shall issue no permit or license for uses, buildings or purposes in conflict with the provisions of this title. It shall be the duty of the Building/Zoning Code Inspector of the City to enforce the provisions of this title pertaining to the erection, construction, reconstruction, moving, conversion, alteration or addition to any building or structure. Any permit or license issued contrary to any of the provisions of this title shall be void.

Any building or structure set up, erected, constructed, altered, enlarged, converted, moved or maintained contrary to the provisions of this title and any use of any land, building or premises established, conducted, operated or maintained contrary to the provisions of this title, is unlawful and a public nuisance. The City Attorney of the City shall, upon order of the City Council, immediately commence action or proceedings for the abatement and removal and enjoinment thereof in the manner provided by law, and shall take such other steps and shall apply to such courts as may have jurisdiction to grant such relief as will abate and remove such building or structure, and restrain, and enjoin any person, firm or corporation from setting up, erecting, building, maintaining or using any such building contrary to the provisions of this title.

The cost of abatement of any nuisance referred to in this section, including attorney's fees and court costs incurred in any litigation for the enforcement of the provisions of this Title 20, shall constitute a personal obligation of the property owner and the City Council may assess the cost of such abatement as a special assessment against the property. Prior to making such assessment, the City Council shall give notice in writing to the owner of the property at his or her address shown on the last equalized assessment roll of the time when the Council will meet to consider making such assessment. The notice shall be mailed, postage prepaid, at least seven days prior to the date of said hearing. Any such special assessment shall be certified by the City Council to the Tax Collector of the County of Marin and shall 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 such special assessment.

The remedies provided for herein shall be cumulative and not exclusive.

(Ord. 457 § 17.3; Ord. 660; Ord. 970, October 6, 1980)

Any court action or proceeding to attack, review, set aside, void or annul any decision on matters listed in this Title 20, including, but not limited to, rezoning or reclassification of property, or concerning any of the proceedings, acts or determinations taken, done or made prior to such decision, or to determine the reasonableness, legality or validity of any condition attached thereto, shall not be maintained by any person unless such action or proceeding is commenced within 30 days after the effective date of such decision. Thereafter, all persons are barred from any such action or proceeding, or any defense of invalidity or unreasonableness of such decision or of such proceedings, acts or determinations. The provisions of this section shall apply to matters referred to in Section 65907 of the California Government Code and to all other matters listed in this Title 20. Provided, however, that should any court of competent jurisdiction hold that this section is invalid in its application to matters referred to in Section 65907 of the California Government Code, then such invalidity shall not affect the application of the provisions of this section to all other matters listed in this Title 20 and, to this end, the application of this section to matters other than those listed in Section 65907 of the California Government Code is declared to be severable. The City Council of the City of Mill Valley declares that it would have adopted this section and made the same applicable to matters other than those listed in Section 65907 of the California Government Code irrespective of any holding that this section cannot legally be applied to matters referred to in Section 65907 of the California Government Code.

(Ord. 929 § 1, August 21, 1978)

Compliance with the terms and conditions of any permit, approval, or plan issued pursuant to this title or with any other ordinance relating to land use development or use permits is required for any owner, lessee, licensee, agent, contractor, or employee, regardless of whether the applicant is the original applicant. It is presumed that a contractor, laborer, or employee working for the original applicant knew of said terms and conditions. There shall be a rebuttable presumption that the contractor, laborer, or employee working for

the person who was the original applicant for the permit knew of the terms and conditions of any permit, approval, or plan.

(Ord. 1332 § 1, December 6, 2021)

In addition to any other remedy provided for by law, the following types of enforcement action may be taken with respect to any violation of this title or the terms and conditions of any permit or approval: A.

The Code Enforcement Officer, Planning and Building Director or the Planning and Building Director's designated appointee(s) may revoke any permit, approval or plan pursuant to Municipal Code Section 20.64.140;

B.

The code enforcement officer may issue administrative citations pursuant to Municipal Code Section 8.02.200;

C.

The Code Enforcement Officer, Planning and Building Director, Director of Public Works, City Attorney or any other city official designated by the City Manager may institute nuisance abatement proceedings and/or enforcement remedies pursuant to Municipal Code Chapters 8.04 and 8.02;

D.

The City Attorney or district attorney may prosecute a violation as an infraction or misdemeanor pursuant to Municipal Code Section 8.03.010.

(Ord. 1332 § 1, December 6, 2021)