Chapter 19.03 — ADMINISTRATIVE COMPLIANCE

A violation of the Code shall be subject to civil penalties. When a violation of the code has occurred, the compliance officer shall issue an administrative citation to the person or entity responsible for the violation, imposing the penalty provided by this title. (Government Code Sections 53069.4 and 36901.) A. Contents of Citation. Each administrative citation shall be in a form prescribed by the compliance officer and shall contain the following information: 1. The date of the violation; 2. The address or a definite description of the location where the violation occurred; 3. The section of the code violated and a description of the violation; 4. The amount of the fine for the violation; 5. A description of the fine payment process, including a description of the time within which and the place to which the fine shall be paid; 6. An order prohibiting the continuation or repeated occurrence of the violation described in the administrative citation; 7. A description of the administrative citation appeal process, including the time within which the administrative citation may be contested; and 8. The name and signature of the compliance officer. B. Notice of Violation. Except in the case of a violation creating an immediate danger to health or safety, the compliance officer shall issue a warning notice of the violation to the responsible person or entity for a continuing violation seventy-two (72) hours prior to issuance of an administrative citation. The warning notice shall be posted at the property or personally served on the responsible person at the time of issuance.

C. Service of Citation. The compliance officer may issue an administrative citation to the: (1) violator, (2) property owner, (3) tenant, (4) whoever is in control of the premises or the activity which constitutes a violation, or (5) all of them, in any manner provided in this subsections: 1. Personal Service. The compliance officer may serve the administrative citation directly to a responsible party. If so, the compliance officer may obtain the signature of the responsible person on the administrative citation to establish personal service of the citation. If that person is not located, refuses or otherwise does not sign the administrative citation, the lack of signature shall in no way affect the validity of citation and proceedings. In such cases, the compliance officer shall serve the citation as provided in subsection (C)(2) of this section; 2. Service by Mail. If the compliance officer is unable to locate the responsible party, or the responsible party refuses or otherwise does not sign the citation, the administrative citation shall be served on the responsible party as follows: a. The administrative citation shall be mailed to the responsible party by first class mail. If the responsible party is the property owner, it shall be sent to the mailing address maintained for the property by the County Tax Assessor. If the responsible party is the tenant or other possessor of property where the violation exists, it shall be sent to the property address, if possible. In all other cases, service shall be made at the responsible party's last known address, b. The failure of any responsible party to receive a properly addressed and mailed citation shall not affect the validity of any proceeding under this chapter, c. Service of the administrative citation in the manner described above shall be effective on the date of mailing. D. Appeal. A person receiving an administrative citation may appeal it within twelve (12) calendar days from the date the administrative citation is served. The notice of appeal must be in writing on the form included on the administrative citation, and accompanied by the penalty deposit, specifying the basis for the appeal in detail. Failure to specify the basis for the appeal in detail shall render the appeal void. The notice of appeal must be actually received by the compliance officer within the twelve (12) day period. If the deadline falls on a weekend or city holiday, then the deadline shall be extended until the next regular business day. 1.

The City Manager shall hear and decide an appeal of an administrative citation. 2. As soon as practical after receiving the written notice of appeal, the City Manager shall review it for sufficiency. If found to be complete and in conformance with this section, the City Manager shall fix a date, time and place for the hearing during the city's regular working hours. Written notice of the time and place for the hearing may be served by personal service, or first class mail to the address provided by the responsible party on the notice of appeal. 3. The failure of any person with an interest in the property to receive such properly addressed notice of the hearing shall not affect the validity of any proceedings under this chapter. Service by first-class mail shall be effective on the date of mailing. 4. Failure of any person to file an appeal in accordance with the provisions of this section shall constitute a waiver of that person's rights to contest the merits of the citation and the imposition of the penalty. 5. The City Manager shall conduct a hearing on the appeal and accept evidence on which persons commonly would rely in the conduct of their business affairs as follow: a. A valid citation shall be prima facie evidence of the violation; b. The Hearing Officer shall accept testimony by declaration under penalty of perjury relating to the violation and the appropriate means of correcting the violation; c. The owner, agent, responsible party or any other interested person may present testimony or evidence concerning the violation and the means and time frame for correction; d. The Hearing Officer shall determine whether to affirm or dismiss the administrative citation. The Hearing Officer may not reduce, waive or conditionally reduce the civil penalties stated in the citations or any late fees assessed. The Hearing Officer may impose conditions and deadlines for correction of violations and make such direction to compliance officers to assure compliance; e.

The City Manager shall make findings based on the record of the hearing and make a written decision based on the findings. The compliance officer shall preserve all exhibits submitted by the parties for a one hundred eighty (180) day period and shall serve the decision by first class mail on the contestant with ten working days after the hearing. The decision of the City Manager affirming or dismissing the citation is final and conclusive, without right of further administrative appeal; f. The City Manager shall establish administrative regulations for conducting hearings and rendering decisions pursuant to this section. (Ord. 04-08 § 3 Exh. B (part))

A violation of the code may be corrected by abatement as follows: A. Determination of Nuisance and Notice to Property Owner. If the compliance officer determines that a nuisance exists, the compliance officer shall notify the owner of the property on which the nuisance exists of that determination. The notice shall state the conditions which constitute the public nuisance and shall require abatement of the nuisance within no less than ten days after the date of the notice. The notice shall be sent by certified mail and shall state that the city will impose a special assessment against the parcel if the property owner does not abate the nuisance and the city takes action to abate the nuisance. The notice shall also specify that the property may be sold after three years by the tax collector for unpaid, delinquent assessments. In addition to the mailed notice, the compliance officer shall post at least one copy of the notice conspicuously on the property where the nuisance exists. B. Failure to Comply, Determination to Abate, and Notice to Property Owner. After notice has been provided as required in subsection A of this section, and the property owner fails to abate the nuisance, the compliance officer shall determine whether or not the city shall abate the nuisance. If the compliance officer makes the determination to proceed with abatement by the city, the compliance officer shall send a notice to the property owner entitled "Notice to Abate Nuisance" in substantially the following form: NOTICE TO ABATE NUISANCE _______[Name of Person to Whom Notice is Given] is notified to appear before the City Manager of the City of Orinda at a meeting to be held on ___, 20 ___, at the hour of _____. m., at _____[Place of Meeting], and show cause why the nuisance should not be abated and the cost of abating the nuisance should not be made a special assessment against that parcel. Dated: CITY OF ORINDA By: _______ [Compliance Officer]

C. Hearing. At the time fixed in the notice, the City Manager, or the delegate of the City Manager, shall hear the testimony of all competent persons desiring to testify concerning the declared nuisance, the estimated cost of the abatement and any other pertinent matter. At the conclusion of the hearing, the City Manager or the City Manager's delegate shall: 1. Direct abatement by the property owner within a reasonable time, reserving the right of the city to abate the nuisance without further notice if the property owner fails to meet the specified deadline; 2. Direct abatement by the city; 3. Determine that abatement is not necessary; or 4. Make such other order as is reasonable to achieve compliance with this chapter. The City Manager's decision shall be in writing and a copy shall be delivered to the property owner and all other affected persons. D. Record of Expenses. If the city abates a nuisance under this chapter, the compliance officer shall keep an itemized account of the expenses involved in abating the nuisance, including attorney's fees for services related to all stages of enforcement activity. The city shall post conspicuously on the property, and shall also mail to the owner of the property, a statement showing the expense of the abatement, together with a notice of the time and place when the statement will be submitted to the City Manager for approval and confirmation and at which time the City Manager shall consider objections or protests to those costs and expenses. E. Hearing on Expenses. At the time fixed for the hearing on the statement of expense, the City Manager shall consider the statement and protests or objections raised by the person liable to be assessed for the cost of the abatement. Such testimony may be in person or in writing. The City Manager may make reasonable revisions, corrections or modifications to the statement and shall thereafter confirm the statement in writing, with a copy to be mailed by certified mail to the property owner within ten days after the hearing. F. Expenses are a Special Assessment. If the property owner does not pay the expense of abating the nuisance within twenty (20) days after the date the written statement of confirmation of the costs of abatement was placed in the mail, the costs shall become a special assessment against the real property

upon which the nuisance was abated. The assessment shall continue until it is paid, together with interest at the rate of ten percent per year computed from the date of confirmation of the statement until payment. The assessment may be collected at the same time and in the same manner as ad valorem real property taxes are collected and shall be subject to the same penalties and the same procedure, and sale in case of delinquency as provided for ad valorem real property taxes. All laws applicable to levy, collection, and enforcement of ad valorem real property taxes shall apply to this special assessment. G. Notice of Special Assessment. The city shall record in the Office of the City Recorder a certificate substantially in the following form: NOTICE OF SPECIAL ASSESSMENT Under the authority of Government Code Section 38773.5 and Section 19.03.020 of the Orinda Municipal Code, the City on __, 200, abated a nuisance upon a real property described in Exhibit A. On __, 200, the city assessed the cost of the abatement upon the real property. The City of Orinda claims a special assessment on the real property for the expense of doing the work in the amount of _____ ($ _____). This amount is a special assessment against the real property until it is paid, with interest at the rate of ten percent (10%) per year from __, 200, and until discharged of record. The real property referred above and upon which the special assessment is claimed is that certain parcel of land in the city of Orinda, city of Contra Costa, State of California, more particularly described on Exhibit A, which is attached to this Notice and incorporated by this reference. Date: CITY OF ORINDA By: _______ (Ord. 04-08 § 3 Exh. B (part))

A. Revocation or Amendment. A permit obtained under the code may be revoked or amended by the approving body based on any one or more of the following grounds: 1. The activity, structure or other improvement violates the code, state or federal law; 2. The activity, structure or other improvement violates a term, limitation or condition of the permit or is not described in the permit; or 3.

The activity, structure or other improvement causes or allows a nuisance or is otherwise detrimental to the public health, safety or general welfare. B. Procedure for Revocation of Permit or Other Approval. 1. If the compliance officer determines that an outstanding permit or approval should be modified or revoked, the compliance officer shall set the matter for hearing by the Planning Commission and shall give notice to the permittee and the public in the same manner as prescribed for the original application. 2. The public hearing shall be conducted in the same manner as an original application. The city has the burden of proving the grounds for revocation, and findings shall be made in support of any action to revoke a previous approval. If the Planning Commission finds that grounds for revocation exist, it may revoke the use permit or other approval, or it may impose new conditions to allow its continuance in a manner which assures that issues related to the revocation proceeding are adequately addressed. 3. An order revoking, modifying or declining to modify or revoke a permit or approval may be appealed to the City Manager under Chapter 1.16 of this code except that an order concerning a permit issued under Title 17 shall be appealed to the Planning Commission or the City Council, as appropriate, in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 17.43 of this code. C. Permit Withholding. No permit or approval under this code may be obtained if there is an existing violation of this code. (Ord. 04-08 § 3 Exh. B (part))