Chapter 17.78 — Enforcement

This Chapter establishes provisions which are intended to ensure compliance with the requirements of this Zoning Code, and any conditions of land use permit or subdivision approval, to promote the City's planning efforts, and for the protection of the public health, safety, and welfare of the City.

All departments, officials, and public employees of the City who are assigned the authority or duty to grant/issue certificates, entitlements, licenses, permits, or other approvals shall comply with the provisions of this Zoning Code.

A.

Compliance with this Zoning Code. All persons empowered by the Municipal Code to grant certificates, entitlements, licenses, permits, or other approvals shall comply with the provisions of this Zoning Code.

B.

Permits in conflict with Zoning Code. Any certificate, license, entitlement, permit, or other approval that would be in conflict with the provisions of this Zoning Code shall not be granted/issued.

C.

Permits deemed void. Any certificate, license, entitlement, permit, or other approval granted/issued in conflict with the provisions of this Zoning Code shall be deemed void.

D.

Actions deemed void. An action taken by an official or public employee of the City in conflict with the provisions of this Zoning Code shall be deemed void.

All projects subject to this Zoning Code shall comply with all applicable provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), including all requirements for environmental documentation, mitigation compliance, and mitigation monitoring. Environmental processing of the projects shall be conducted in compliance with the City's Environmental Policy Guidelines.

A.

Designated City official. The Code Compliance Manager shall be responsible for enforcing all provisions of this Zoning Code.

B.

Other City officials. All officials of the City charged by law with the general duty of enforcing City ordinances shall also enforce the provisions of this Zoning Code.

(Ord. 7169 § 25, 2009)

A.

When voidable. Any deed of conveyance, sale, or contract to sell made contrary to the provisions of this Zoning Code shall be voidable at the sole option of the buyer, grantee, or person contracting to purchase, or their heirs, personal representatives, or trustee in insolvency or bankruptcy, within 12 months after the date of execution of the deed of conveyance, sale, or contract to sell.

B.

When binding. The deed of conveyance, sale, or contract to sell shall be binding upon any assignee or transferee of the buyer, grantee, or person contracting to purchase other than those identified above, and upon the grantor, person, or vendor contracting to sell or their assignee, devisee, or heir.

Any use of land or structure operated or maintained contrary to the provisions of this Zoning Code, any structure constructed or maintained contrary to the provisions of this Zoning Code, and any conditions of land use permit or subdivision approval not properly complied with shall be subject to the following:

A.

Public nuisance. Any use or structure which is altered, constructed, converted, enlarged, erected, established, installed, maintained, moved, operated, set up, or used contrary to the provisions of this Zoning Code, including the failure to comply with or carry out any condition attached to the grant of any Certificate of Appropriateness, Conditional Use Permit, Variance, or other permit or entitlement granted in compliance with this Zoning Code, is hereby declared to be unlawful and a public nuisance and shall be:

Subject to the remedies and penalties identified in this Chapter and Chapter 14.50 (Property Maintenance and Nuisance Abatement) of the Municipal Code;

Subject to the remedies and penalties identified in Chapters 1.25 (Administrative Penalties — Compliance Orders) and 1.26 (Administrative Penalties — Citations) of the Municipal Code; and

Summarily abated by this City.

B.

Stop Work Order.  

Any construction in violation of this Zoning Code or any conditions imposed on a permit shall be subject to the issuance of a "Stop Work Order."

Any violation of a Stop Work Order shall be subject to the penalties described in Subsection A. above.

A.

New and separate offence.  

Each day a violation of this Zoning Code or any conditions of land use permit or subdivision approval continues is a new and separate offense.

Consequently, each person convicted may be deemed guilty of a separate offense for each and every day during any portion of which any violation is committed or allowed to exist.

B.

Cumulative, not exclusive. All remedies contained in this Zoning Code for the handling of violations or enforcement of the provisions of this Zoning Code shall be cumulative and not exclusive of any other applicable provisions of City, County, State, or Federal law.

C.

Other remedies. Should a person be found guilty and convicted of violating any provision of this Zoning Code, and any conditions of land use permit or subdivision approval, the conviction shall not prevent the City from pursuing any other available remedy to correct the violation(s).

A.

Preapproval inspections. Every applicant seeking a permit or any other action in compliance with this Zoning Code shall allow the City officials handling the application access to any premises or property which is the subject of the application.

B.

Post-approval inspections. If the permit or other action in compliance with this Zoning Code is approved, the owner or applicant shall allow appropriate City officials access to the premises in order to determine continued compliance with the approved permit and any conditions of approval imposed on the permit.

A.

Purpose. Discretionary land use permits issued in compliance with this Zoning Code may be revoked or modified in compliance with this Section.

B.

Procedures. This Section provides procedures for securing punitive revocation or modification of previously approved land use permits or entitlements.

C.

Revocations. The City's action to revoke a permit or entitlement shall have the effect of terminating the entitlement and denying the privileges granted by the original approval.

D.

Modifications.  

The City's action to modify a permit or entitlement, rather then to revoke it, shall have the effect of changing the operational aspects of the permit or entitlement.

The changes may include the operational aspects related to buffers, duration of the permit or entitlement, hours of operation, landscaping and maintenance, lighting, parking, performance guarantees, property maintenance, signs, surfacing, traffic circulation, or any other aspect/condition determined to be reasonable and necessary to ensure that the permit or entitlement is operated in a manner consistent with the original findings for approval.

E.

Hearings and notice.  

Scheduling of hearing. Upon a determination by the Zoning Administrator that there are reasonable grounds for revocation or modification of a discretionary permit approved in compliance with this Zoning Code, a public hearing shall be scheduled by the Zoning Administrator before the review authority which originally approved the permit.

Notice.  

a.

Public notice shall be given in the same manner required for the original public hearing on the permit application, in compliance with Chapter 17.76 (Public Hearings).

b.

If public notice was not required for the original application, none shall be required for the revocation/modification hearing.

c.

Fourteen days before the public hearing, notice shall be mailed to the applicant and/or owner of the use or structure for which the permit was granted.

d.

Notice shall be deemed delivered two days after being mailed, first-class mail, postage prepaid, through the United States Postal Service, to the owner as shown on the County's current equalized assessment roll and to the project applicant, if not the owner of the subject property.

Hearing.  

a.

The applicable review authority conducting the hearing shall hear testimony of City staff and the owner, or the project applicant if not the owner, of the use or structure for which the permit was granted, if present.

b.

At the public hearing, the testimony of any other interested person(s) shall also be heard.

F.

Review authority action.  

Permits. A land use permit or entitlement may be revoked by the review authority (e.g. Hearing Officer, Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA), Design Commission (DC), Historic Preservation Commission (HPC), or Council) which originally approved the permit or entitlement if any one of the following findings of fact can be made in a positive manner:

a.

Circumstances under which the permit or entitlement was granted have been changed by the applicant to a degree that one or more of the findings contained in the original permit or entitlement can no longer be made in a positive manner and the public health, safety, and welfare require the revocation;

b.

The permit or entitlement was issued, in whole or in part, on the basis of a misrepresentation or omission of a material statement in the application or in the applicant's testimony presented during the public hearing for the permit or entitlement;

c.

One or more of the conditions of the permit or entitlement have not been substantially fulfilled or have been violated;

d.

The exercise of rights granted by the permit or entitlement has been discontinued for a continuous period of at least 12 months;

e.

The improvement authorized in compliance with the permit or entitlement is in violation of any code, law, ordinance, regulation, or statute; or

f.

The improvement/use allowed by the permit or entitlement has become detrimental to the public health, safety, or welfare, or the manner of operation constitutes or is creating a public nuisance.

Variances. A Variance (major or minor) may be revoked by the review authority which originally approved the entitlement if any one of the following findings of fact can be made in a positive manner:

a.

Circumstances under which the Variance was granted have been changed by the applicant to a degree that one or more of the findings contained in the original Variance can no longer be made in a positive manner, and the grantee has not substantially exercised the rights granted by the Variance; or

b.

One or more of the conditions of the Variance have not been met, or have been violated, and the grantee has not substantially exercised the rights granted by the Variance.

Modifications. The following finding shall be made before the modification of the conditions of approval of a permit or entitlement:

There are sufficient grounds to justify revocation that can be corrected by modifying existing conditions or imposing new or additional conditions.

G.

Decision and notice. Within 10 days of the conclusion of the hearing, the applicable review authority that conducted the hearing shall render a decision, and shall mail notice of the decision to the owner of the use or structure for which the hearing was held, to the project applicant, if not the owner of the subject property, and any other interested person who has filed a written request for the notice.

H.

Effective date. The effective date of a decision to revoke or modify a discretionary permit or entitlement shall be in compliance with Chapter 17.64.020 (Effective Dates).

(Ord. 7057 § 29, 2006)

This Section describes the procedures for initiating enforcement action in cases where the Zoning Administrator and Code Compliance Manager have determined that real property within the City is being used, maintained, or allowed to exist in violation of the provisions of this Zoning Code and any conditions of land use permit or subdivision approval. It is the objective of these provisions to encourage the voluntary cooperation of responsible parties in the prompt correction of violations, so that the other enforcement measures provided by this Chapter may be avoided. For purposes of this Section, whenever the term "Neighborhood Services Administrator" is used, it should be understood that the term also includes the "Zoning Administrator."

A.

Notice of Violation. The Code Compliance Manager shall provide the record owner of the subject site and any person in possession or control of the site with a written Notice of Violation, which shall include the following information:

A description of the violation(s), and citations of applicable Zoning Code provisions being violated;

A time limit for correcting the violation(s) in compliance with Subsection B, below;

A statement that the City intends to charge the property owner for all administrative costs associated with the abatement of the violation(s) in compliance with Chapter 1.30 of the Municipal Code and/or initiate legal action as described in Section

A statement that the property owner may request and be provided a meeting with the Code Compliance Manager to discuss possible methods and time limits for the correction of the violation(s).

B.

Time limit for correction.  

The Notice of Violation shall state that the violation(s) shall be corrected within 30 days from the date of the notice to avoid further enforcement action by the City, unless the responsible party contacts the Code Compliance Manager within that time to arrange for a longer period for correction.

The 30-day time limit may be extended by the Code Compliance Manager upon determining that the responsible party would likely correct the violation(s) within a reasonable time.

The Code Compliance Manager may also require through the Notice of Violation that the correction occur within less than 30 days if the Code Compliance Manager determines that the violation(s) constitutes a hazard to public health or safety.

C.

Use of other enforcement procedures. The enforcement procedures of Section 17.78.110 (Legal Remedies), below may be employed by the Code Compliance Manager after or instead of the provisions of this Section where the Code Compliance Manager determines that this Section would be ineffective in securing the correction of the violation(s) within a reasonable time.

(Ord. 7169 § 26, 2009)

The City may choose to undertake any, or a combination, of the following legal actions to correct and abate any nuisance or violation of this Zoning Code.

A.

Civil actions.  

Injunction. The City Attorney, upon order of the Council, may apply to the Superior Court for injunctive relief to terminate a violation of this Zoning Code.

Abatement proceedings. Where any person fails to abate a violation(s) after being provided a Notice of Violation in compliance with Section17.78.100 A. (Notice of Violation) above and the opportunity to correct or end the violation(s), the City Attorney, upon order of the Council, shall apply to the Superior Court for an order authorizing the City to undertake actions necessary to abate the violation(s) and require the violator to pay for the cost of the actions.

Nuisance abatement. The City may pursue nuisance abatement in compliance with Chapter 14.50 (Property Maintenance and Nuisance Abatement) of the Municipal Code.

B.

Civil remedies and penalties.  

Civil penalties. Any person who willfully violates the provisions of this Zoning Code, and any conditions of land use permit or subdivision approval, shall be liable for a civil penalty for each day that the violation continues to exist.

Costs and damages. Any person violating any provisions of this Zoning Code or any permit issued in compliance with this Zoning Code, shall be liable to the City for the costs incurred and the damages suffered by the City, its agents, and agencies as a direct result of the violation(s) in compliance with Chapter 1.30 of the Municipal Code.

Procedure. In determining the amount of the civil penalty to impose, the Court should consider all relevant circumstances, including the extent of the harm caused by the conduct constituting a violation, the nature and persistence of the conduct, the length of time over which the conduct occurred, the assets, liabilities, and net worth of the defendant, whether corporate or individual, and any corrective action taken by defendant.

C.

Criminal actions and penalties. Any person, whether as agent, principal, or otherwise, violating or causing the violation of any of the provisions of this Zoning Code, and any conditions of land use permit or subdivision approval, shall be subject to the penalties in Section 17.78.060 (Violations) above.

D.

No limit on City's options. The penalties identified in this Chapter do not limit the right of the City through its legal representative(s), as authorized by the Council upon request of the enforcing officials, to institute any appropriate legal procedure(s) as prescribed by law to abate, correct, enjoin, or restrain any actual or threatened violation of this Zoning Code.

E.

Limitations on action.  

Any action or proceeding to annul, attack, review, set aside, or void any decision made in compliance with this Zoning Code relating to any right or entitlement allowed or authorized by this Zoning Code, including Certificates of Appropriateness, Code Compliance Certificates, Conditional Use Permits, Variances, interpretations of the Zoning Administrator, and each and every other permit, entitlement, revocation, or grant authorized or allowed by this Zoning Code, and decisions to change a district classification, or use, or development regulation; or concerning any of the acts, determinations, or proceedings taken, done, or made before the decisions; or to determine the legality, reasonableness, or validity of any condition attached thereto shall not be maintained by any person unless the action or proceeding is filed and served in accordance with State law (Government Code Section 65009).

Thereafter, all persons are barred from any action or proceeding or any defense of invalidity or unreasonableness of the decision or of the acts, determinations, or proceedings.

F.

Exhaustion of administrative remedies. Nothing in this Section shall relieve a person desiring to annul, attack, review, set aside, or void any decision of the acts, determinations, or proceedings taken, done, or made before the decision from their obligations to exhaust their administrative remedies before commencing any action or proceedings.

G.

Limitations on issues.  

In an action or proceeding to annul, attack, review, set aside, or void a finding, decision, or determination made in compliance with this Zoning Code at a properly noticed public hearing, the issues raised shall be limited to those raised in the public hearing or in written correspondence delivered to the City before, or at, the public hearing, except where the courts find either of the following:

a.

The issue could not have been raised at the public hearing by persons exercising reasonable diligence; or

b.

The applicable review authority conducting the public hearing prevented the issue from being raised at the public hearing.

These limitations shall apply only if the public notice issued in compliance with this Zoning Code contains substantially the notice identified in State law (Government Code Section 65009[B][2]), or in any successor Section enacted after the effective date of this Section.

H.

Notice of determination.  

Notice of the applicable review authority's decision and its written findings shall be mailed first-class mail, postage prepaid and include a copy of an affidavit or certificate of mailing, to the applicant and any interested party.

The notice shall include direct notice that the time within which judicial review of the decision shall be sought is governed by State law (California Code of Civil Procedure Section 1094.6.).

I.

Notice of violation. Whenever knowledge is obtained that real property has been divided in violation of State law (Government Code Section 66410 et seq.) or any City ordinance enacted in compliance with State law, an intent to record a notice of violation shall be pursued by the Director.

The intent of this Chapter is to recover City administrative costs reasonably related to enforcement in compliance with Chapter 1.30 (Inspection and Cost Recovery) of the Municipal Code.