National City Municipal Code Ch. 1.41 Cost Recovery for Code Enforcement and Emergency Response Services

The city of National City provides services to the community funded through the General Fund by tax revenues. Reimbursement may be sought for the increased costs of providing such services, whenever practicable, from parties who, by reason of neglect or malfeasance, cause incidents requiring police, fire and rescue services, or cause increased costs to the city for gaining compliance with municipal ordinances. Cost recovery is a mechanism whereby these costs may be levied upon responsible parties, rather than the taxpayers of National City. To accomplish this, the city of National City hereby establishes an omnibus cost recovery procedure in this chapter.

(Ord. 2242 § 2 (part), 2004)

The administration of this chapter is under the direction of the city manager and, by delegation, the finance director. Each department director is responsible for tracking costs associated with cost recovery for mailers under their respective cognizance and forwarding cost recovery invoices to the finance director. The procedures set out in this chapter should be followed, as appropriate, without further council direction.

(Ord. 2242 § 2 (part), 2004)

"Actual cost(s)" includes applicable city charges for personnel salaries and overhead costs as contained in the National City Fee Schedule.

"Expense of an emergency response" means the costs incurred by the city of National City in making an appropriate emergency response to an incident defined in Section 1.41.040. It consists of all costs directly arising because of the particular incident, including, but not limited to the actual costs of providing police, firefighting, hazardous material management, rescue and emergency medical services at the scene of the incident, as well as the actual salaries and fringe benefits of the personnel responding to the incident. Recoverable costs also include the actual costs for damage or destruction to city of National City property, any utility or service charges to the city from other public agencies resulting from the incident, and the actual cost of medical treatment for any city personnel injured during the response.

"Intentionally wrongful conduct" means conduct intended to injure another person or property.

"Responsible party" or "responsible person" within Chapter 1.41 means any person:

A. Who, by law is liable or made responsible for the payment to a governmental agency of its costs and expenses in providing police, fire, rescue and related emergency services;

B. Whose negligent or intentionally wrongful conduct proximately causes an incident affecting public health or safety which necessitates an emergency response or rescue effort by a governmental agency to deal with or prevent injury to persons or damage to property;

C. Any person who is indebted to the city by virtue of a duty, charge, tax or revenue imposed by law or ordinance; and

D. Any person defined in Section 1.36.010. If a responsible party is a minor, the parent or guardian of that minor shall be jointly and severally liable with the minor for the expense of an emergency response, as allowed by law.

(Ord. 2242 § 2 (part), 2004)

A. Cost recovery to recover the actual expenses of an emergency response or personnel injury from a responsible party may be initiated under the following situations:

1. Pursuant to Government Code Section 53150 et seq., each person who is under the influence of an alcoholic beverage or any drug, or their combined influence, and whose negligent operation of a motor vehicle, boat, vessel, or aircraft caused by that influence proximately causes any incident resulting in an emergency response, or whose intentionally wrongful conduct proximately causes any incident resulting in an emergency response shall be liable to the city for the expense of that emergency response, not to exceed one thousand dollars pursuant to Government Code Section 53155, or any higher amount as may from time to time be established by law.

2. The expense of an emergency response for the containment, confinement and/or mitigation of a hazardous substance or materiel release or threat pursuant to Health and Safety Code Section 13009.6.

3. The expense of an emergency response for fire suppression activity from a responsible party for the intentional setting of fire or the spread of fire to adjoining properties, or for fire suppression costs on occupied or mortgaged property against which a current, uncorrected notice of violation of a fire hazard has been issued pursuant to Health and Safety Code Sections 13009 and 13009.1.

4. The costs of second and subsequent police responses pursuant to Chapter 10.46 from responsible parties for organizing and failing to maintain an orderly event on private property in compliance with law.

5. The expense of an emergency response for the rescue or medical treatment, or both, of persons placed in jeopardy or injured by the negligence or intentionally wrongful conduct of a responsible party.

6. The expenses for injury to public safety personnel authorized pursuant to Civil Code Section 1714.9 or Labor Code Section 3852, or for damage to public property. Any limitation on liability under Government Code Section 53155 noted in subsection (A)(1) shall not apply to any separate recovery for damage to public property or injury to city personnel which was directly or proximately caused by the acts or omissions of a responsible party.

B. The director of finance shall charge the expense of an emergency response to each responsible party based on cost data submitted by a department director. The charge constitutes a debt to the city of National City, and may be collected by the city in the same manner as in the case of an obligation to a municipality under a contract, expressed or implied.

(Ord. 2242 § 2 (part), 2004)

A. Reinspection fees may be assessed as follows:

1. Reinspection fees may be charged to a responsible party for each subsequent reinspection and all succeeding reinspections for code violations which are not brought into compliance by the first regularly scheduled inspection after a notice of violation or administrative citation is issued by any building inspector, fire inspector or code compliance officer. Reinspection fees shall not be charged when the violation is brought into compliance prior to the first regularly scheduled inspection, or any authorized extension of that first inspection.

2. The initial notice of violation or administrative citation shall advise each responsible party that reinspection fees may be charged for each subsequent reinspection if the violation is not corrected prior to the first regularly scheduled inspection following issuance of the notice of violation or administrative citation.

3. Reinspection fees shall be based upon the average hourly salary rate and overhead for inspection services, computed on a one hour minimum charge for each reinspection. Reinspection fees may be posted in the National City Fee Schedule.

4. Depending on the seriousness of the violation, a minimum period for compliance may be prescribed and allowed for the first inspection following issuance of the notice of violation or administrative citation. Except for building code violations or conditions affecting immediate fire and life safety, the correction period shall not be less than ten days, nor exceed thirty days. Building code violations shall allow for a thirty-day correction period. Conditions affecting immediate fire or life safety concerns may require an immediate shutdown of the premises, or the affected portion if feasible, until correction is made, coupled with a defined period for compliance and reinspection, not to exceed thirty days.

5. Payment of reinspection fees shall not bar any criminal, civil or administrative action or penalty applicable to the violation.

B. The city attorney is authorized to seek restitution from responsible parties against whom civil, criminal, or administrative action is initiated for public nuisance abatement. Restitution shall be based on the full, direct costs of abatement services, and the average hourly salary rates and overhead of all enforcement personnel involved in the abatement process, as reflected in the National City Fee Schedule. Direct costs shall also include costs for legal services, based on actual billings for legal services or, when performed by the city attorney, the charge's for comparable, customary hourly attorney fees charged in San Diego County.

C. Upon prior notice to a responsible party, cost recovery for the full costs of abatement of a public nuisance may also be accomplished through an assessment lien adopted by resolution of the city council and filed with the county assessor against the real property interests of that responsible party.

(Ord. 2242 § 2 (part), 2004)

A. After the issuance of a notice of violation or administrative citation affecting the use or occupancy of real property, a notice of violation may be recorded with the county recorder as an existing public nuisance against that property in the real property records of the County of San Diego as soon as it is determined that compliance is not forthcoming, or that the condition is serious enough to warrant immediate action. Normally, recordation should not precede the date of the first inspection set out in the notice of violation or administrative citation, except for serious violations. Without limiting the applicability of this subsection, a public nuisance may be considered serious when it affects the fire and life safety or structural or habitability condition of a building or violates excavation or land grading requirements. The property owner shall be given ten calendar days' advance notice of the intention to record and an opportunity to show why the recordation of the violation should not be made, before the violation may be recorded against that owner's property interest. Unless successfully protested, the violation shall thereafter be promptly recorded. Procedures for any requested hearing and related action are outlined in Chapter 1.42.

B. Once the violation against the property is corrected and any costs of abatement have been recovered, the city manager or designate shall promptly execute a Notice of Correction releasing the prior public nuisance recordation and deliver it to the property owner for recording. No fee shall be charged for issuing the release, nor shall the city be responsible for recording the release.

(Ord. 2242 § 2 (part), 2004)

A. Except for those permits necessary to correct code violations, any business or residential rental tax license, development permit or building permit may be withheld or final inspection be postponed until payment to the city of any indebtedness for delinquent taxes, fees or sewer charges applicable to the use of the property for which the indebtedness was incurred. Processing may continue after all delinquencies are paid or a written agreement is executed with the finance director to pay the delinquencies and any interest and penalties due in monthly installments, or more often, over a period not to exceed one year.

B. The execution of an agreement under subsection A shall not excuse previously accrued penalties or interest against the account, but additional penalties or interest may not accrue on amounts included in the agreement while the debtor is not in breach of the agreement. If, however, a default in payment occurs, then the additional penalties and interest may reattach back to the date of execution of the agreement and shall become due and payable; any permit that was issued in reliance on the agreement shall be suspended or revoked pending full payment of the indebtedness, except to the extent necessary to allow correction of existing violations.

(Ord. 2242 § 2 (part), 2004)

A. Whenever charges for cost recovery are not paid within a reasonable time following demand, the director of finance and the city attorney, as applicable, are authorized to prosecute the claim to judgment in an appropriate court with jurisdiction and to take any other action appropriate for collection without further direction from the city council after demand has been refused. The council shall be notified when litigation is initiated.

B. The city attorney is authorized to collect any amounts due by civil or administrative action or both, together with all costs incurred in the collection of that indebtedness after demand for payment has been refused. Costs for legal services shall be based on actual billings for legal services or, when performed by the city attorney, the charges for comparable and customary hourly attorney fees charged in San Diego County.

C. Recovery of costs for emergency response is in addition to any separate right of the city to recover costs and damages from a responsible party whose negligence or wrongful conduct causes damage or injury to public property or personnel, or both, pursuant to Civil Code Section 1714.9 or Labor Code Section 3852.

D. Cost recovery may also be initiated by means of an assessment lien adopted by the city council upon prior notice to a responsible party for the costs of nuisance abatement or the amount of an administrative citation or administrative penalty issued against or pertaining to the real property which is the subject of the associated enforcement action.

(Ord. 2242 § 2 (part), 2004)

The initiation of administrative or civil proceedings for cost recovery does not bar the criminal prosecution of a responsible party for the associated violation. Similarly, criminal prosecution does not bar administrative or civil collection for cost recovery for the violation giving rise to the criminal prosecution. The existence of an issued permit shall not bar civil or criminal enforcement proceedings when corrective work under that permit is not proceeding diligently to completion.

(Ord. 2242 § 2 (part), 2004)