Oakland Municipal Code § 8.54.400 Compliance

The responsible party of all properties subject to this Chapter shall comply fully and in all instances with the provisions of this Chapter and with all other applicable requirements of ordinances of the City, regulations of this Code, statutes of the State and the United States Code of Regulations, and decisions, rulings, and orders of courts of competent jurisdiction.

(Ord. No. 13126, § 2, 6-19-2012)

A. General. The failure of a responsible party to comply fully with the provisions of this Chapter shall be a separate violation which shall be immediately subject to abatement actions and fees, assessment of penalties and fines, and collection actions provided herein. Each and every day a violation of any provision of this Chapter exists shall constitute a separate and distinct offense. The owner shall remain liable for any violation of this Chapter even though the owner, by agreement, has imposed such duties on another individual, group, firm, or other entity.

B. Remedies. Remedies provided in this Chapter for violations are in addition to and do not supersede or limit any other remedies, whether civil or criminal, whether by Federal, State or local law. The remedies provided for herein shall be cumulative and not exclusive.

C. Notification. The owner shall be notified of a violation in accordance with the provisions for notification for abatement of violations, as set forth in Article II of Chapter 15.08 and shall have at least 30 days to correct prior to the assessment of any fines or penalties.

D. Defaulted Properties. If the property has received a notice of default, but has not been transferred to the beneficiary or other person through foreclosure, deed in lieu of foreclosure, or other transfer, no fine or penalty may be imposed against the beneficiary unless the owner of record has been first notified of the violation and given at least 30 days to cure and the beneficiary has been notified that the owner of record failed to cure and has been given at least 30 days to cure. The 30-day notice period shall not apply if the Building Services Division determines that a specific condition of the property threatens public health or safety.

E. Fines or Penalties. The City may assess penalties pursuant to O.M.C. Chapter 1.08, 1.12, and/or 1.16 as appropriate to the violation. A failure to register, or permitting blight or a nuisance to exist on any property subject to this Chapter is considered a major violation and subject to the penalties set out in Chapter 1.08.

(Ord. No. 13126, § 2, 6-19-2012)

A. Penalties and Fines. The assessment of penalties as set forth in Chapters 1.08 or 1.12, or fines as set forth in Section 2929.3 of the California Civil Code shall apply to the enforcement of the provisions of this Chapter. For properties cited pursuant to California Civil Code Section 2929.3 fines and penalties shall be assessed pursuant to that Code Section and the procedures and requirements of that Section and O.M.C. Section 8.54.450.

B. Interest. Unpaid amounts shall be subject to the assessment of accruing interest as established in the master fee schedule.

C. Collection. The City may serve a demand (invoice) to the owner for payment of fees, costs, penalties, and accruing interest by mailing with regular postage to the address identified on the statement of registration, or when such statement has not been filed, to the address as it appears on the last equalized assessment roll of the Alameda County Assessor, or as otherwise may be known to the City. Whenever such amounts are not fully paid within 14 calendar days of service, the City may recover unpaid amounts by all available legal means including, but not limited to, civil and small claims court action, and may undertake collection by one or more of the following means:

1. Priority Lien. The City may file a priority lien with the Alameda County Clerk-Recorder for recordation on the property title which shall be remain as a financial encumbrance until such unpaid amounts with accrued interest have been fully paid. The amount of such lien shall draw interest thereon at a rate as established in the master fee schedule or such higher rate as may be established by the Alameda County Assessor for collection of municipal and county taxes from and after the date of service of such demand. The statute of limitations shall not run against the right of the City to enforce payment.

2. Special Assessment of the General Levy. The City may transmit such unpaid amounts with accrued interest to the Alameda County Assessor, who shall thereupon enter a special assessment of the general levy taxes on the County Assessment Book opposite the description of the particular lot or parcel of land, and such special assessment shall be collected together with all other taxes levied against the property. Such special assessment shall be subject to the same penalties and interest and to the same procedure under foreclosure and sale, in the case of delinquency, as provided for all other municipal and county taxes against the property, and all laws applicable to the levy, collection, and enforcement of general property taxes are hereby made applicable to such special assessment.

3. Nuisance Abatement Lien. The City may file a nuisance abatement lien with the Alameda County Clerk-Recorder for recordation on the property title which shall, from the date of recordation, have the force, effect, and priority of a judgment lien. Such nuisance abatement lien may be foreclosed by an action brought by the City for a money judgment.

D. Pursuant to California Civil Code Section 2929.45, the City of Oakland shall not:

1. Impose an assessment or lien unless the costs that constitute the assessment or lien have been adopted by the City Council at a public hearing; and

2. The assessment or lien to recover the costs of nuisance abatement measures taken by the City with regard to property that is subject to a notice of default, that is purchased at a foreclosure sale, or that is acquired through foreclosure under a mortgage or deed of trust, shall not exceed the actual and reasonable costs of nuisance abatement.

E. The City may recover from the responsible party the costs incurred for processing such demands and liens and non-sufficient funds checks, recording such liens, transferring such special assessments, providing notice for court, collection or foreclosure actions, for other recovery actions, and for reasonable attorneys' fees.

(Ord. No. 13126, § 2, 6-19-2012)

Pursuant to State law, actual notice of the assessment of fees, penalties, and fines shall be established on the date the City notifies the owner of such assessment. Constructive notice of the pendency of a collection action for an assessment to all other interested parties shall be established on the date a lien is recorded by the Alameda County Clerk-Recorder. A subsequent owner of a property subject to this Chapter without actual or constructive notice of the assessment under this Chapter shall not be liable for such assessment.

(Ord. No. 13126, § 2, 6-19-2012)

A. Any violation of this Chapter shall be treated as a strict liability offense; a violation shall be deemed to have occurred regardless of a violator's intent.

B. Any person, partnership, association, corporation, fiduciary or other legal entity, that owns, leases, occupies, controls or manages any property subject to this Chapter, and causes, permits, or maintains a violation of this Chapter as to that property, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof, shall be punished as provided in Chapter 1.28 of this Code.

C. This chapter is intended to be cumulative to, and not in place of, other rights and remedies available to the City pursuant to the Oakland Municipal Code or available under State or Federal law. The City Attorney or a duly authorized enforcement official may pursue any other right or remedy permitted by the Oakland Municipal Code, including, but not limited to, commencement of any civil action, or administration action to abate the condition of a property as a public nuisance.

D. In the event that the City takes administrative action to abate the condition of a property subject to the registration requirement contained in this Chapter, above and beyond the rights and remedies specified in Chapters 1.08, 1.12, 1.16 and 15.08 the following administrative penalties shall apply:

1. In each instance when a party becomes subject to a penalty specified in this section, a Building Official shall issue an order providing written notice of that party's obligation to make payment of said penalty. Each such order shall constitute a special assessment against the property in question having the same legal status as an order determining the cost of abatement of a public nuisance pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 15.08.

(Ord. No. 13126, § 2, 6-19-2012)

A. This section is intended to carry out the provisions of California Civil Code Section 2929.3. Nothing in this section shall be interpreted or implemented in a manner that is inconsistent with State law. If there is a conflict between the provisions of State law and this section, State law shall control.

B. The City may elect to impose monetary penalties on a legal owner, pursuant to California Civil Code Section 2929.3, if that legal owner fails to maintain vacant residential property that is either purchased at a foreclosure sale or acquired through foreclosure under a mortgage or deed of trust.

1. For purposes of this section, "fails to maintain" means failing to care for the exterior of the property, including, but not limited to, permitting excess foliage growth that diminishes the value of surrounding properties, failing to take action to prevent trespassers, squatters or other unauthorized persons from remaining on the property, or failing to take action to prevent mosquito larvae from growing in standing water, or other conditions that create a public nuisance.

C. The City may impose a fine of up to $1,000.00 per day for each day that the legal owner fails to maintain the property as required by this section, commencing on the day following the expiration of the period to remedy the violation, as established by the City in Subsection D.

1. In determining the amount of the fine, the City shall take into consideration any timely and good faith efforts by the legal owner to remedy the violation.

2. Fines and penalties collected pursuant to this section shall be directed toward local nuisance abatement programs.

3. Pursuant to Section 2929.3 of the California Civil Code, the City may not impose fines on a legal owner under both this section and any other local ordinance. However, Section 2929.3 of the California Civil Code shall not preempt any local ordinance.

4. Notwithstanding Subsection C.3. above, the rights and remedies provided in this section are cumulative and in addition to any other rights and remedies provided by law.

D. If the City imposes a fine pursuant to this section, the City shall give notice of the alleged violation to the owner of record. The notice shall include a description of the conditions that gave rise to the alleged violations, and state the City's intent to assess a civil fine if action to correct that violation is not corrected within a period of not less than 30 days.

1. The notice shall be mailed to the address provided in the deed of trust or other instrument as specified in subdivision (a) of Section 27321.5 of the Government Code, or if none to the return address provided on the deed or other instrument.

2. If the violation(s) are not corrected after the City has mailed the notice of violation pursuant to Subsection 8.54.340.D.1., the responsible party or the beneficiary and/or trustee as appropriate shall remedy the violations contained in the notice. All measures to remedy the violations contained in the notice shall comply with the Oakland Municipal Code.

3. The City may provide less than 30 days' notice to remedy a condition, if the City determines that a specific condition of the property threatens public health or safety and the notice of violation states that there is a threat to public health or safety and lists the required time to correct the violation.

(Ord. No. 13126, § 2, 6-19-2012)