Division 17.80 — ENFORCEMENT

Sections:

17.80.010 Violations

17.80.020 Permits, licenses, certificates, approvals

17.80.030 Enforcement responsibilities 17.80.040 Informal show cause hearing 17.80.050 Revocation or modification

17.80.060 Notice of violation

A. General. Violation of a permit or approval, or of any required condition, constitutes a violation of this chapter. Each day the violation (or a portion of it) continues is a separate offense.

B. Administrative citation. A violation of this chapter may be enforced under chapter 1, article II.

C. Public nuisance. A violation of this chapter is a public nuisance and may be abated under chapter 6, Government Code sections 38773 through 38773.7, or any other remedy available by law. The City Council may provide for the summary abatement of a nuisance at the expense of the persons creating, causing, committing, or maintaining it and by ordinance may make the expense of abatement a lien against the property on which it is maintained and a personal obligation against the property owner.

D. Criminal penalty. A violation of this chapter is a misdemeanor and is punishable by fine or imprisonment or both as provided in Penal Code section 19.

E. Civil penalties. The City Council may enact penalties and abatement procedures for failure to comply with the provisions of this chapter.

A permit, license, certificate, or approval granted in conflict with a provision of this chapter is void.

The Director is responsible for enforcing the terms of discretionary permits and their conditions under this chapter. The chief building official is responsible for enforcing the City Code regarding the erection, construction, reconstruction, moving, conversion, alteration, or addition to a building or structure. All other officers of the city are responsible for enforcing provisions related to their areas of responsibility.

If the Director has reason to believe a violation of this chapter exists, the Director may direct the violator or property owner or both to appear before the Director to show cause why the city

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should not proceed with enforcement action. Notice of the possible violation and the time and place of the hearing will be mailed to the property owner and any other interested person at least ten calendar days before the hearing. The contents of the notice shall be as set forth in division 17.62.

At the hearing, the Director will consider the testimony of the city staff, the property owner and any other interested person. The Director may make a finding as to whether or not a violation of this chapter exists, and may recommend to the staff and to the property owner one or more courses of action. The Director may, in his or her discretion, refer the matter directly to the Planning Commission for a revocation hearing under section 17.80.050, or a notice of violation hearing under section 17.80.060.

A. General. If the Director or Planning Commission determines there may be grounds for revocation of a conditional use permit, variance, design review permit, wireless communication facilities permit, accessory dwelling unit permit, or other discretionary approval under this chapter, the Director will schedule a revocation hearing before the Planning Commission.

B. Notice and public hearing. The city will give notice in the same manner required for a public hearing to consider approval. The contents of the notice will be as prescribed by Division 17.62.

The hearing body will hear the testimony of city staff, the permittee, and any other interested person. A public hearing may be continued to a specific date and time without additional public notice.

C. Required findings. The hearing body may revoke or modify a permit or approval if it makes one or more of the following findings:

1. The permit or approval was issued on the basis of erroneous or misleading information or representation.

2. The use or the user is in violation of a condition of approval of the permit or approval, including the terms of the use stated in the application, or other law or regulation.

3. The use is so conducted as to be detrimental to the public health, welfare, or safety, or as to be a nuisance.

D. Modification. If the hearing body finds that grounds for revocation exist (under subsection C above), it may, instead of revocation, modify the conditions of approval so as to eliminate the reason for revocation.

E. Decision and notice; Effective date. The hearing body will render a decision and mail notice of the decision to the permittee and to any other person who has filed a written request for notice. A decision to revoke becomes final ten days after the decision, unless appealed.

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F. Other remedies. The city’s right to revoke a discretionary permit or approval is in addition to any other remedy allowed by law.

A. General. If property in the city exists in violation of this title, and the owner fails or refuses to correct the violation, the city may record a notice of violation against the affected property.

B. Procedure; Recording notice. Before recording such a notice, the city will do all of the following:

1. The Director will send written notice to the current owner that a violation exists and request that the owner correct the violation within a specific, reasonable period of time. The Director may, in his or her discretion, send more than one notice and conduct an informal show cause hearing to discuss the violation with the owner. (See section 17.80.040.)

2. If the owner fails or refuses to correct the violation within the time specified, the Director shall mail to the current owner by regular first class and by certified mail a notice of intention to record a notice of violation, describing the real property in detail, naming the owners, describing the violation in detail (including relevant municipal code sections), and stating that an opportunity will be given to the owner to present evidence. The notice shall specify a time, date and place for a Planning Commission hearing at which the owner may present evidence to the Planning Commission why the notice should not be recorded. The hearing shall take place no sooner than 30 calendar days and no later than 60 calendar days from the date of mailing.

3. The Planning Commission will hear the matter on the date scheduled. If, after the owner and the city staff have presented evidence, the Commission determines that there is no violation, the Director will mail a clearance letter to the current owner. If the owner fails to appear, or the Commission determines that there is a violation, the Commission may, by resolution, direct the Director to record the notice of violation with the county recorder. The Commission's decision may be appealed to the City Council under division 17.78.

4. The notice of violation, when recorded, is constructive notice of the violation to all successors in interest in the property, under California Civil Code sections 1213 and 1215.

C. Release. If the owner corrects the violation after the notice has been recorded, and has notified the city in writing and consented to an inspection to confirm the correction, the Director will record a release or cancellation of the notice of violation.

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