Monterey Municipal Code § 22-38 General Definitions

For the purposes of this Article, the following definitions shall apply:

a.“Enforcement Officer” shall mean any City employee or agent of the City granted the authority by the City Manager to enforce any provision of this Code, including, but not limited to, the Code Enforcement Officer, Fire Prevention Officer, Animal Control Officer, and any Police Officer.

b.“Abate” means to repair, replace, remove, destroy or otherwise remedy the condition in question by such means and in such manner and to such an extent as the enforcement officer in his or her judgment determines is necessary in the interest of the public health, safety and welfare.

c.“Premises” means any building, lot, parcel, real estate, or land or portion of land whether improved or unimproved, including adjacent sidewalks and parking strips.

No person shall have upon any premises or real property owned, occupied or controlled by him or her, any public nuisance as defined in this Article or anywhere else in this Code. Whenever an enforcement officer determines that any of such conditions exist upon any premises, he or she may require or provide for the abatement thereof pursuant to this Article.

The following conditions are hereby defined as and declared to be a public nuisance:

a.Any accumulation of filth, garbage, waste paper, litter, rubble, rubbish, combustible trash, unsanitary debris or waste material or decaying animal or vegetable matter upon any public or private property unless contained in a proper trash receptacle in compliance with Chapter 14 of this Code;

b.The existence of any dead, diseased, infested, or dying tree in any street; or on any private property so near to any street tree as to constitute a danger to street trees, or streets, or portions thereof, so as to be a danger to the public safety;

c.The existence of any tree or shrub on any private property or in any street, of a type or species apt to destroy, impair or otherwise interfere with any street improvements, sidewalks, curbs, approved street trees, gutters, sewers, other public improvements, including utility mains or services;

d.The existence within the thirty-five foot triangle of property at the intersection of streets improved for vehicular traffic, of any tree limb, shrub, hedge, or plant exceeding three feet in height where either traffic signals, stop signs, or yield signs are not installed, or at any intersections which are determined by the chief transportation official to contain tree limbs, shrubs, hedges, or plants that obscure and impair the view of passing motorists or pedestrians so as to create a safety hazard;

e.The existence of any branches or foliage which interfere with visibility on, or free use of, or access to, or obstruct public vehicular or pedestrian travel on any portion of any street improved for vehicular or pedestrian travel, including a sidewalk;

f.Any buildings, structures, or portion thereof found to be unsanitary;

g.Any matter or material which constitutes, or is contaminated by, animal or human excrement, urine or other biological fluids;

h.Any visible or otherwise demonstrable growth of mold or mildew in the interiors of any buildings or facilities;

i.Any pest harborage or infestation including but not limited to rats, pigeons, skunks, raccoons, opossums, or snakes;

j.Any noxious insect harborage or infestation including, but not limited to cockroaches, fleas, scabies, lice, spiders or other arachnids, houseflies, wasps or mosquitoes;

k.The existence of any act or condition that presents a fire, panic, or life safety hazard, or would contribute to the rapid spread of fire or inhibit mitigation or increase the chance of release of hazardous material, or would interfere with, hinder or delay the egress of occupants or response of emergency personnel;

l.The storage or keeping of any used or unused building material, including but not limited to lumber, plumbing materials, wallboard, sheet metal, plaster, brick, cement, concrete block, roofing materials, cans of paint and similar materials, in a location out of doors for more than thirty days within a year; provided, that nothing in this subsection shall:

1.Prohibit such storage upon the premises of a bona fide lumberyard or other dealer in building materials when the same is permitted under the Zoning Code and other applicable laws;

2.Prohibit such storage when done in conjunction with a construction project for which a valid building permit is in effect if required and which is being prosecuted diligently to completion.

m.The storage, or keeping in a location out of doors, any unused and abandoned open pit or excavation, building foundation, automobile, trailer, or other vehicle or major parts thereof, or indoor furniture. Without limiting the foregoing, any such item stored or kept for a period in excess of thirty days in a year shall be presumed to be unused and abandoned for purposes of this provision;

n.The existence of any fence or other structure or thing on private property abutting or fronting upon any public street, sidewalk or place, which is in a sagging, leaning, fallen, decayed or other dilapidated or unsafe condition;

o.Any other condition of property defined as a nuisance or public nuisance by any other section of this Code;

p.Any other condition on or use of property which is in fact a menace to the public peace, health, or safety;

q.Any violation of any Uniform Code or City amendment thereto;

r.Any business or use of property in violation of the City’s Municipal Code. (Ord. 3472 § 11, 2012)

Public nuisances under this Article may be remedied using the procedures set forth in Article 2 of Chapter 1 of the Monterey City Code, known as the Administrative Remedies Ordinance. These remedies include issuance of Administrative Citations (Monterey City Code section 1-2.00 et seq.) and utilization of the Administrative Orders process (Monterey City Code section 1-2.14 et seq.). These remedies shall be in addition to all other legal remedies, criminal or civil, which may be pursued by the City to address any public nuisance.

Imposition of an Administrative Order by the Administrative Appeals Hearing Board pursuant to Monterey City Code Sections 1-2.14 et seq. may result in any or all of the following:

1.An order to abate the nuisance, including a schedule for correction where appropriate;

2.Imposition of administrative penalties;

3.Imposition of administrative costs;

4.Interest on such penalties and costs at the legal rate;

5.Abatement of said nuisance by City with the full cost of abatement plus all administrative costs charged to the property owner;

6.Enforcement of any unpaid administrative costs, penalties and interest, or any unpaid nuisance abatement costs incurred by City, as a personal obligation of the property owner;

7.Imposition of a lien or special assessment against the property for any unpaid administrative costs, penalties and interest, or for any unpaid nuisance abatement costs incurred by City. Such lien or special assessment shall be imposed as provided in Monterey City Code sections 1-2.26 through 1-3.03 inclusive.

a.The City may, forthwith and without notice or prior order of the City Council or Administrative Appeals Hearing Board, abate the following nuisances:

1.Any nuisance defined by statute, ordinance or resolution as a public nuisance which constitutes an immediate danger to persons or property; or

2.A nuisance defined by statute, ordinance or resolution as a public nuisance which is located and maintained on public property, including but not limited to any street, highway, easement, park or building.

b.No notice need be given to any property owner or to the person or persons who created, caused, committed or maintained said nuisance prior to the City acquiring jurisdiction to enter the property and abate the nuisance. Following acquisition of jurisdiction, City or a contractor designated by City shall enter upon the private property for the purpose of abating the nuisance. All costs, including administrative costs, of such abatement shall be imposed on the property owner or person responsible for such nuisance, and may be enforced as a personal obligation, or as a lien or special assessment against the property as set forth in Monterey City Code section 1-2.26 et seq. herein.

In any action, administrative proceeding, or special proceeding to abate a nuisance, the prevailing party shall be entitled to recover reasonable attorneys’ fees. The recovery of attorneys’ fees by the prevailing party shall be limited to those actions or proceedings in which the City elects, at the initiation of that action or proceeding, to seek recovery of its own attorneys’ fees. In no action or proceeding shall an award of attorneys’ fees to a prevailing party exceed the amount of reasonable attorneys’ fees incurred by the City in the action or proceeding. (Ord. 3472 § 12, 2012)