Pismo Beach Municipal Code Ch. 1.24 Administrative Code Enforcement Procedure

The purpose of this chapter is to enable the city to impose and collect civil administrative fines in conjunction with the enforcement of provisions of this code. Notwithstanding the provisions herein, the city has, and shall continue to employ, the philosophy of voluntary compliance when seeking compliance with this code. Prior to the implementation of the enforcement policies and penalties stated herein, voluntary compliance approaches, when practical, should first be used in order to educate city property owners and businesses concerning the requirements of this code and the corrective action necessary to correct a violation of this code.

(Ord. O-2025-002, § 2 (part), 2025; Ord. 2009-003, § 1 (part), 2009)

A. Enforcement of the Municipal Code. This chapter makes any violation of the provisions of the Pismo Beach Municipal Code, including but not limited to all construction and property maintenance codes adopted by reference and amended pursuant to Title 15 of this Code, subject to administrative fines.

B. Administrative authority. This chapter establishes the procedures for the imposition, enforcement, collection, and review of civil administrative fines pursuant to Section 53069.4 of the California Government Code.

C. Remedies not exclusive. The use of the administrative enforcement remedies provided by this chapter is solely at the city's discretion. By adopting this chapter, the city does not intend to limit its discretion to choose the use of any other remedy, civil or criminal, or other administrative procedures, for the abatement of such violations that the city may select in a particular case, including procedures for the imposition of civil or criminal penalties.

D. Strict liability of the owner. Because serious code violations may impact public health, welfare, and safety and the adequacy and safety of housing, this chapter is intended to impose strict civil liability upon the owners of real property (or the owner of a business where the violation is caused by or relates to the operation of a business) for all violations of the Pismo Beach Municipal Code which may occur in the city of Pismo Beach regardless of the existence of specific or general intent or prior knowledge of such violations and, further, regardless of any intent (or lack thereof) to violate the code.

(Ord. O-2025-002, § 2 (part), 2025; Ord. 2009-003, § 1 (part), 2009)

The following definitions apply to the use of these terms for the purposes of this chapter:

A. "Code violation" means any violation of the Pismo Beach Municipal Code.

B. "Director" means the department head, or designee as approved by the City Manager, responsible for enforcing the municipal code with respect to the Director's department.

C. "Enforcement officer" means those city employees designated by the director and all peace officers providing law enforcement services in the city of Pismo Beach.

D. "Hearing officer" means the person designated to serve as the hearing officer for administrative hearings. The hearing officer shall be a city department head, or designee, from a city department other than the department that issued the administrative citation. The employment, performance evaluation, compensation and benefits of the hearing officer, if any, shall not be directly or indirectly conditioned upon the amount of notice of administrative citation fines upheld by the hearing officer.

E. "Issued" means giving, mailing, or posting a notice of administrative citation to a person where "issuance" is deemed to have occurred on the earlier of the date when a notice of administrative citation is personally served on a person, the date it is mailed to a person by posting in the regular United States mail, or the date it is physically posted on real property where a property related code violation is occurring.

F. "Notice of administrative citation" means an official city Municipal Code violation notice issued to a person(s) notifying them that they are in violation of the Pismo Beach Municipal Code with respect to certain real property or the operation of a certain business. In the case of an initial notice, if the violation has not been corrected by a specified date, a civil administrative fine will be imposed. Subsequent notices regarding the same type of violation, within any twelve (12) month period, may be cause for imposing additional administrative fines without warning.

G. "Person" means any of the following:

1. An individual who causes a code violation to occur.

2. An individual who maintains or allows a code violation to continue, by their action or failure to act in a lawful manner.

3. An individual whose agent, employee, or independent contractor causes a code violation by its action or failure to act in a lawful manner.

4. An individual who is an owner of real property where a property related code violation occurs.

5. An individual who is an owner of a business or who is the on-site manager of a business and who normally works at the site when the business is open and is responsible for the activities at such premises.

For purposes of this subsection "person" includes a natural person or a legal entity including but not limited to, the owners, majority stockholders, corporate officers, trustees, and general partners of a legal entity. There shall be a legally rebuttable presumption that the record owner of a parcel as listed on the county's latest equalized property tax assessment rolls is the person responsible for a code violation on such parcel. In addition, where applicable, a commercial lessee, sublessee, or operator of a business on a parcel shall be presumed responsible for code violations relating to the operation of the business on that parcel.

(Ord. O-2025-002, § 2 (part), 2025; Ord. 2009-003, § 1 (part), 2009)

A. Limitations. Nothing in this chapter shall be construed or interpreted as providing a code enforcement officer designated by the director with the authority to enforce any provision of the California Penal Code, the California Vehicle Code or any other statute that is specifically required to be enforced solely by the city's law enforcement agency.

B. Persons to retain exclusive authority. Nothing in this chapter shall limit or otherwise restrict any employee, agent or official of the city from exercising any exclusive authority to enforce any law or regulation as provided by any applicable statute, regulation, or policy.

C Right to inspect. Enforcement officers are authorized to inspect all real property and other premises to ascertain whether such real property and other premises are in full compliance with the provisions of this Code and/or applicable statutes, codes and regulations. All such inspections shall be conducted in such a manner as to be consistent with this code, all state and federal law, and the constitutions of the United States and the State of California.

(Ord. O-2025-002, § 2 (part), 2025; Ord. 2009-003, § 1 (part), 2009)

Pursuant to the authority of Section 38771 of the California Government Code, any continuing violation of the Pismo Beach Municipal Code constitutes a public nuisance. Therefore, any person owning or having possession of any real property in the City of Pismo Beach who is in violation of any provision of the Pismo Beach Municipal Code may be determined to be maintaining a public nuisance; provided, however, that it shall not be the intent of the city that this chapter preempt any private nuisance right of action or any and all other legal remedies available to private parties to abate such nuisances.

(Ord. O-2025-002, § 2 (part), 2025; Ord. 2009-003, § 1 (part), 2009)

A. Inspections. Whenever an enforcement officer charged with the enforcement of any provision of this code inspects a property and determines that conditions constituting a violation of the Municipal Code exist thereon, the enforcement officer shall have the authority to issue an administrative citation to any person responsible for the violation.

B. Development review conditions. Every person who applies for and receives a permit, license, or any type of land use approval (such as, but not limited to, a development review approval, a subdivision map approval, a conditional or special use permit, a zoning requirement modification, a variance, or other discretionary approval) shall comply with all mandatory approval conditions imposed upon the issuance of the permit, license, or other such approval. If a person violates any condition of such permit, license, or similar land use approval, that person may be issued an administrative citation.

C. Notice of administrative citation issuance. The enforcement officer shall generally issue a notice of administrative citation to the owner or owners of the real property upon which the violation exists as the person presumed under this chapter to be responsible for the violation, or to any other person deemed responsible for the violation. A person to whom a notice of administrative citation is issued shall be liable for and shall pay to the city the administrative fine or fines described in the notice of administrative citation when due pursuant to the provision of this chapter. Each administrative citation 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 this code violated and a brief description of the violation;
• 4. The amount of the fine for the code 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 code 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 the city office from which a request for hearing form to appeal the administrative citation may be obtained;

8. The name and signature of the citing enforcement officer.

D. Continuing violations. Each day a violation of this code exists shall be a separate and distinct violation and may be subject to a separate administrative fine. A notice of administrative citation may charge a violation for one or more days on which a violation exists and for violation of one or more applicable code sections. Pursuant to Section 53069.4(a)(2)(A) of the Government Code, a person responsible for a continuing violation shall be given not less than two (2) calendar days to correct or otherwise remedy a continuing violation before a subsequent citation may be issued.

E. Prior violations. The city may take into consideration the fact that a person has been previously issued a notice of administrative citation when the city is determining whether to accept an application or to grant any permit, license or any similar type of land use approval for that person, and such notice of administrative citation may be used as evidence that the person has committed acts that are not compatible with the health, safety, and general welfare of other persons and businesses within the city.

F. Service of notice. The notice of administrative citation and any amended notice of administrative citation shall be served as provided in Section 1.24.150 of this Code.

(Ord. O-2025-002, § 2 (part), 2025; Ord. O-2020- 001, § 1, 2020: Ord. 2009-003, § 1 (part), 2009)

If the director receives a request from any person required to comply with a notice of administrative citation, the director may grant an extension of any fine due date or abatement deadline if the director determines that such an extension of time will not create or perpetuate imminent danger to the public health and safety. The director shall have the authority to place reasonable conditions on such an extension.

(Ord. O-2025-002, § 2 (part), 2025; Ord. 2009-003, § 1 (part), 2009)

A. Amount of fine. The amounts of the fines for code violations imposed pursuant to an administrative citation shall be set forth in a schedule of fines established by resolution of the city council and shall not exceed the maximum fine or penalty amounts for infractions set forth in Section 36900 of the California Government Code. In the event no fine is specified in the schedule of fines authorized by this section, the maximum fines shall be those set forth in Section 36900 of the California Government Code.

B. Repeat violations. The schedule of fines shall specify any increased fines for repeat violations of the same code provision by the same person.

C. Late payment charges. Any person who fails to pay to the city any fine imposed pursuant to an administrative citation on or before the date that the fine is due shall be liable for the payment of any applicable late payment charges set forth in the schedule of fines.

(Ord. O-2025-002, § 2 (part), 2025; Ord. 2009-003, § 1 (part), 2009)

A. Due date. The fine shall be paid to the city within thirty (30) days from the date of the issuance of the administrative citation, or, in the event of an appeal, as determined by the hearing administrator.

B. Refunds. Any administrative citation fine paid pursuant to Section 1.24.080.A. of this Code shall be refunded if it is determined by the hearing administrator, after a hearing, that the person charged in the administrative citation was not responsible for the violation or that there was no violation as charged in the administrative citation.

C. Further violations. Payment of an administrative citation fine shall not excuse or discharge any continuation or repeated occurrence of the code violation that is the subject of the administrative citation. The issuance of a notice of administrative citation or the payment of a fine does not preclude the city from taking any other enforcement or legal action regarding a code violation that is not corrected, including issuing additional notices of administrative citation or the initiation of criminal or civil proceedings.

(Ord. O-2025-002, § 2 (part), 2025; Ord. 2009-003, § 1 (part), 2009)

A. Appeal to hearing administrator. Any person aggrieved by the action of the enforcement officer in issuing a notice of administrative citation pursuant to the provisions of this chapter may appeal such notice to the hearing administrator. If no appeal is filed within ten (10) business days of the date of issuance of the notice of administrative citation, the order of the enforcement officer shall be deemed final.

B. Corrections. Revocation of the notice of administrative citation by the hearing officer or voluntary abatement of the nuisance either on or prior to the notice of administrative citation due date, and any authorized extensions thereto, shall cause the case to be closed.

C. Citation appeals. To appeal a notice of administrative citation, the person receiving the notice (the "appellant") shall file a signed written request complying with this chapter. An appellant may appeal the notice of administrative citation by denying that a violation occurred, by alleging that a violation was corrected within the required correction period or, if applicable, by establishing that the appellant was not the owner of the real property or the owner of the business at the time the violation should have been corrected.

D. Receipt of an appeal. To be effective, the citation appeal must be received by the city clerk, or designee, not later than 5:00 p.m. ten (10) business days after the date the notice of administrative citation was issued. Where an appeal is submitted by mail, the appeal shall be deemed filed on the date actually received by the city clerk. Failure by the appellant to timely request an appeal shall be deemed a waiver of the right to appeal. The appellant shall be responsible for ensuring timely receipt of the appeal by the city clerk, regardless of the method of transmission of the appeal.

(Ord. O-2025-002, § 2 (part), 2025; Ord. O-2021- 003 § 3, 2021: Ord. 2009-003, § 1 (part), 2009)

A. Time and place of hearings. Hearings shall be conducted by a hearing administrator on the date, time and place specified by the city not less than ten (10) days and not more than twenty days (20) from the date the appeal request is received. As soon as practicable after scheduling the hearing, the hearing administrator or city clerk shall prepare a notice of administrative citation appeal hearing, which shall be in substantially the following form:

"You are hereby notified that a hearing will be held before the Administrative Hearing Officer at ________ on the ___ day of _______, ____, to hear your appeal of the administrative citation issued or otherwise served upon you. You must appear at the hearing, or obtain a continuance in accordance with Municipal Code Section 1.24.110(F), otherwise your appeal will be deemed abandoned. You may be, but need not be, represented by an attorney. You may testify at the hearing and present any relevant evidence prior to and/or at the hearing."

The notice of administrative citation appeal shall be served by mail or personal service as provided in Section 1.24.150 of this Code.

B. Appeal records. The city clerk or designee shall ensure that the pertinent notice of administrative citation, together with the enforcement officer's evidence file if requested by the hearing administrator, is delivered to the hearing administrator in sufficient time prior to the appeal hearing. Before the hearing, the city clerk shall also make available to the appellant a copy of any information concerning the notice of administrative citation which will be provided to the hearing administrator.

C. Presentation of evidence. At the hearing, the appellant shall be given the opportunity to testify and to present evidence relevant to the code violation specified in the notice of administrative citation.

D. Use of reports as evidence. The notice of administrative citation and any other reports prepared by the enforcement officer or the director concerning a code violation or attempted correction of a code violation that are provided to the hearing administrator shall be accepted by the hearing administrator as prima facie evidence of the code violation and the facts stated in such documents.

E. Witnesses and additional evidence. Neither the enforcement officer nor any other representative of the city shall be required to attend the appeal hearing, nor shall the hearing administrator require that there be submitted any evidence, other than the notice of administrative citation, that may exist among the public records of the city with respect to the violation. However, any such appearance or submission may be made at the discretion of the director.

F. Continuances. The hearing administrator may continue an appeal hearing if a request is made showing good cause by the appellant or the director. All continuance requests shall either: (1) be made in person at the hearing by the appellant or appellant's representative if the appellant is physically unable to attend; or (2) be made by a written request received from the director or the appellant prior to the hearing. If the continuance is granted, a new hearing date shall be set within thirty (30) days. If the continuance is denied, the hearing shall proceed then and there as scheduled, and if the appellant is not present the appeal request(s) shall be deemed abandoned in accordance with subsection H. of this section.

G. Rules of evidence. The appeal hearing shall be conducted informally and the legal or formal rules of evidence need not be followed. The hearing administrator does not have the authority to issue a subpoena.

H. Failure to appear. The failure of the appellant to appear at the hearing, unless the hearing was continued per subsection F. of this section, shall constitute an abandonment of the appeal.

(Ord. O-2025-002 § 2 (part), 2025; Ord. O-2021- 003, § 4, 2021: Ord. 2009-003, § 1 (part), 2009)

A. Notice of decision. After considering all the evidence and testimony submitted at an appeal hearing, the hearing administrator shall issue a notice of decision within ten (10) days to either uphold or revoke the notice of administrative citation, based upon a conclusion of whether a violation occurred. Within one (1) business day subsequent to the hearing administrator's issuance of the notice of decision, the notice of decision shall be mailed by first class and certified mail, postage prepaid, return receipt requested, to the appellant or their designated representative. Any failure by the appellant to appear at the appeal hearing shall be noted on the notice of decision by the hearing administrator. The hearing administrator may reduce or cancel the amount of any administrative fine or revoke the notice of administrative citation in unusual cases when extenuating circumstances make doing so appropriate and in the interest of justice. The decision of the hearing administrator shall be final.

B. Payment of fine after appeal decision. The filing of an appeal shall suspend any fine assessed in the notice of administrative citation. In the event that the notice of administrative citation is revoked, the fine shall also be revoked. In the event that the notice of administrative citation is upheld, a new compliance deadline and fine due date shall be established by the hearing administrator and indicated on the notice of decision for the appeal.

(Ord. O-2025-002, § 2 (part), 2025; Ord. 2009-003, § 1 (part), 2009)

A. Applicability of Section 53069.4 of the California Government Code. The appellant may seek judicial review of the hearing administrator's decision by filing a further appeal with the San Luis Obispo County Superior Court, Limited Civil Division, within twenty (20) calendar days after the service of the notice of decision, in accordance with the provisions of Section 53069.4 of the California Government Code. The appeal filed with the court must also contain a proof of service showing a copy of the appeal was served upon the hearing administrator for the City of Pismo Beach. The appellant must pay to the Superior Court the appropriate court filing fee when the appeal is filed.

B. Failure to exhaust administrative appeal. No judicial review is permitted from a decision where the appellant is deemed to have abandoned the contest of the notice of administrative citation by an unexcused failure to appear at the appeal hearing or by the failure to request an administrative appeal hearing before the hearing administrator.

C. Forwarding of records to Superior Court. Within fifteen (15) days of the Court's request, the city attorney or the city attorney's designee shall forward to the Superior Court the pertinent notice of administrative citation documents for any case appealed to that court. If the Superior Court revokes any notice of administrative citation or otherwise finds in favor of the appellant, the city will refund to the appellant the Superior Court filing fee paid by the appellant as required by Section 53069.4(b)(2) of the California Government Code .

(Ord. O-2025-002, § 2 (part), 2025; Ord. 2009-003, § 1 (part), 2009)

A. City remedies. The city, at its discretion, may pursue any and all legal, equitable, and administrative remedies for the collection of unpaid civil administrative fines imposed pursuant to this chapter.

1. Remedies cumulative. Pursuit of one remedy does not preclude the pursuit of any other remedies until the total fines owed by a person under this chapter have been collected.

2. Refusal to issue permits. A city department may refuse to accept an application for a city permit or license or to refuse to issue, extend, or renew to any person, who has unpaid delinquent fines, liens, or assessments, any city permit, license, or other city approval pertaining to the property that is the subject of a notice of administrative citation and an unpaid administrative fine.

3. Suspension of issued permits. Notwithstanding any other provision of the code, any permit, license, or any type of land use approval issued by the city to a person who has unpaid administrative fines totaling five hundred dollars ($500) or more which remain delinquent for thirty (30) days or longer may be suspended by the department which issued the permit or other entitlement. The suspension becomes effective ten (10) days after the date the notice of the suspension is placed by the issuing department in the United States mail, postage prepaid, addressed to the person, and continues until the administrative delinquency is paid in full. The person may request an appeal/or review hearing pursuant to the specific permit, license, or other city approval procedures or ordinance if such a request is filed before the ten-day period ends.

4. Criminal remedies. The city attorney, at their discretion, may also issue a criminal citation or complaint (infraction or misdemeanor) to any person for a code violation when the applicable fine has not been paid.

B. Violations constitute a public nuisance. The director may pursue the remedies described in this section whether or not the city is pursuing any other action to terminate an ongoing code violation that was the basis for an administrative fine or to otherwise abate the violation or sanction the property owner. To compel code compliance, the city may also seek to collect assessed fines by means of a nuisance abatement lien or special assessment against the property where a property related violation occurred in accordance with the procedures in Sections 38773.1 and 38773.5 of the California Government Code.

C. Lien conditions. To recover any delinquent administrative fines as a lien or special assessment on real property, the following conditions must be met:

1. The director must submit to and receive approval from the city council for a resolution certifying the amounts of the liens and special assessments sought to be collected from each property owner; and

2. The total amount of the delinquent fine against the property owner must be delinquent for sixty days or more.

D. Lien collections. The director is authorized to take any steps necessary to enforce collection of the lien or special assessment, including but not limited to the following:

1. Request the county recorder to record a notice of any lien or special assessment certified by resolution of the city council.

2. Request the county tax collector on behalf of the city to collect any special assessments certified by resolution of the city council.

E. Notice of lien collection procedures. All notices of administrative citation shall contain a notice that unpaid fines are subject to the assessment and lien collection procedures of this chapter. This notice shall satisfy the notice requirements of Sections 38773.1 and 38773.5 of the California Government Code when a notice of administrative citation is served on the person. In addition, the director shall by first class mail send notice stating the date, time, and location of the meeting to each property owner at least ten days before the city council considers the resolution to certify the amounts of the liens and special assessments. The lien or special assessment shall be imposed on the date the notice of administrative citation for the code violation is issued to the responsible person and shall become effective upon the recording of a notice of lien or special assessment by the county recorder.

F. Contesting certification of a lien. A person may contest the amount or the validity of any lien or special assessment for a civil fine at the public hearing when the city council considers the resolution to certify the liens or assessments. Such contests shall be limited to the issue of the amount or validity of the lien or assessment and may not consider whether the underlying code violation occurred. Pursuit of such a contest by a person is necessary to exhaust the administrative remedies concerning a legal challenge to the validity of any such lien or special assessment.

G. Satisfaction of lien. When payment in full is received by the city for outstanding penalties and costs, the director shall either record a notice of satisfaction or provide the property owner or financial institution with a notice of satisfaction so they may record this notice with the county recorder. Such notice of satisfaction shall cancel the city's lien.

(Ord. O-2025-002, § 2 (part), 2025; Ord. 2009-003, § 1 (part), 2009)

A Service. Except as otherwise required by applicable law, all notices required to be given by this chapter, including, but not limited to, administrative citations, notice of hearings and the hearing administrator's decision shall be given either by personal delivery thereof to the person to be notified or by deposit in the United States mail, in a sealed envelope postage paid, addressed to such person to be notified at the person's last known business or residence address as the same appears in the public records or other records pertaining to the matter to which such notice is directed. Except for notices of appeal pursuant to Section 1.24.100.D. of this Code, service by mail shall be deemed to have been completed at the time of deposit in the United States mail. Where real property is involved, written notices shall be mailed to the property owner(s) at the address shown on the last equalized county assessment roll.

B. Unsuccessful service of notice. Where personal service or service by mail upon the property owner is unsuccessful, the city shall cause all of the following to occur:

1. A copy of the noticed material shall be conspicuously posted at the real property which is the subject of the citation, abatement or compliance order;

2. A copy of the notice, as appropriate, shall be published at least three (3) consecutive days in a newspaper of general circulation in the city. A copy of the notice shall be published at least five (5) days prior to the date of any public hearing or proceeding related to the notice.

C. Validity. Failure to receive any notice specified in this chapter shall not affect the validity of proceedings conducted hereunder.

(Ord. O-2025-002, § 2 (part), 2025; Ord. 2009-003, § 1 (part), 2009)