Salinas Municipal Code Div. 2 Administrative Orders

(a) The sections of this division herein provide for administrative remedies, which are in addition to all other legal remedies, criminal or civil, which may be pursued by the city to address any violation of this Code.

(b) These sections shall not supersede any other sections of this Code which address other legal or administrative remedies for City Code violations; use of this article shall be at the sole discretion of the city.

(c) The administrative order process set forth in this article may be utilized to enforce continuing violations of this Code that pertain to building, plumbing, electrical, or other similar structural or zoning issues; provided, however, that the person responsible for said continuing violation shall be allowed a period of at least ten days to correct or otherwise remedy the violation prior to the city's issuance of an administrative order. This shall not, however, require the city to provide a correction period to persons responsible for violations pertaining to matters creating an immediate danger to health or safety, or to building, plumbing, electrical, or other similar structural of zoning violations.

(Ord. No. 2586(NCS), § 1, 2-7-2017)

(a) Whenever the director or his/her designee determines that a violation of any provision of this Code is occurring or exists, a written compliance order may be issued to any person responsible for the violation and/or the property owner.

(b) A compliance order issued pursuant to this article shall contain the following information:

(1) The date and location of the violation;

(2) The section of this Code violated and a description of the violation;

(3) The actions required to correct the violation;

(4) The time period after which administrative penalties will begin to accrue if compliance with the order has not been achieved;

(5) Either a copy of Division 2 or this article or an explanation of the consequences of noncompliance with this article and a description of the hearing procedure and appeal process.

(Ord. No. 2586(NCS), § 1, 2-7-2017)

(a) All notices required herein shall be served as provided in this article unless otherwise specified.

(b) Where real property is involved, written notice shall be mailed to the property owner at the address as shown on the last equalized county assessment roll.

(c) Where personal service or service by mail upon the property owner cannot be made despite a diligent effort, a copy of the order shall be conspicuously posted at the property that is the subject of the order.

(d) The failure of any person to receive any notice required under this article shall not affect the validity of any proceedings taken under this article.

(Ord. No. 2586(NCS), § 1, 2-7-2017)

Whenever a notice is required to be given under this article, unless different provisions are otherwise specifically made, such notice may be given either by personal delivery to the person to be notified or by deposit in the United States Mail, in sealed envelope postage prepaid, addressed to such person to be notified at his last-known business or residence address as the same appears in the last equalized county assessment roll or to the records pertaining to the matter to which such notice is directed. Service by mail shall be deemed completed at the time of deposit in the United States Mail receptacle.

(Ord. No. 2586(NCS), § 1, 2-7-2017)

(a) If the director determines that all violations have been corrected within the time specified in the compliance order, no further action shall be taken.

(b) If full compliance is not achieved within the time specified in the compliance order, the director or his or her designee shall set a hearing before the administrative hearing officer.

(c) The director or his or her designee shall cause a written notice of hearing to be served on the violator and, where real property is involved, a notice of hearing shall be served on the property owner at the address as it appears on the last equalized county assessment roll available on the date the notice is prepared.

(d) All hearings shall be open and public.

(Ord. No. 2586(NCS), § 1, 2-7-2017)

Unless otherwise specified in this Code or by other ordinance, the city manager shall designate an administrative hearing officer for administrative order hearings. The hearing officer will have the authority to set, notice and conduct public hearings required or allowed pursuant to this article to contest fees, charges, costs, expenses, penalties or other sums of money owed to the city and to allow the imposition of a lien, special assessment, special collection or other collection process against a responsible party and any affected property, as appropriate. The officer shall have the following functions, powers, and duties:

(a) Hear all administrative hearings and appeals authorized by this Code or by ordinance;

(b) Conduct all administrative abatement action hearings authorized by this Code or by ordinance;

(c) Authorize the imposition of liens, assessments, special collection or other collection process against a responsible party any affected property, as appropriate;

(d) Perform such other programs or functions related to administrative hearings and appeals that the city council or the city manager may, from time to time, authorize or request.

(Ord. No. 2586(NCS), § 1, 2-7-2017)

(a) Every notice of hearing on a compliance order shall contain the date, time and place at which the hearing shall be conducted by the administrative hearing officer.

(b) Each hearing shall be set for a date not less than fifteen days nor more than sixty days from the date of the notice of hearing unless the Director determines that the matter is urgent or that good cause exists for an extension of time.

(c) The hearing serves to provide the full opportunity of a person subject to a compliance order to object to the determination that a violation has occurred and/or that the violation has continued to exist. The failure of any person subject to a compliance order, pursuant to this article, to appear at the hearing shall constitute a failure to exhaust administrative remedies.

(Ord. No. 2586(NCS), § 1, 2-7-2017)

(a) At the place and time set forth in the notice of hearing, the administrative hearing officer shall conduct a hearing on the compliance order issued pursuant to this article.

(b) The administrative hearing officer shall consider any written or oral evidence consistent with its rules and procedures regarding the violation and compliance by the violator and/or by the real property owner, including but not limited to:

(1) The report of the director or his or her designee;

(2) Objections or protests of property owners or other responsible or interested persons who may be held liable for the amounts owed or whose property may be assessed or liened for the amounts owed;

(3) Evidence on whether the person before the officer is responsible for the amounts owed to the city;

(4) Whether the violator or owner has taken the required corrective action within the required time period; and

(5) Such other and further evidence as justice may require.

(c) Within a reasonable time following the conclusion of the hearing, the administrative hearing officer shall make findings and issue its determination regarding:

(1) The existence of the violation; and

(2) The failure of the violator or owner to take required corrective action within the required time period.

(d) The administrative hearing officer shall issue written findings on each violation. The findings shall be supported by evidence received at the hearing.

(e) If the administrative hearing officer finds by a preponderance of the evidence that a violation has occurred and that the violation was not corrected within the time period specified in the compliance order, the officer shall issue an administrative order.

(f) If the administrative hearing officer finds that no violation has occurred or that the violation was corrected within the time period specified in the compliance order, the officer shall issue a finding of those facts.

(Ord. No. 2586(NCS), § 1, 2-7-2017)

If the administrative hearing officer determines that a violation occurred which was not corrected within the time period specified in the compliance order, the officer shall issue an administrative order described in Section 1-05.24(e) that imposes any or all of the following:

(a) An order to correct, including a schedule for correction where appropriate;

(b) Administrative penalties as provided in this article;

(c) Administrative costs as provided in this article; and

(d) Interest as provided in this article.

The administrative order shall state that failure to comply with its provisions may result in the city abating the nuisance and charging the cost of said abatement plus all administrative costs to the property owner, and may further result in the city collecting the monies due as a personal obligation of the responsible party or by recordation of a lien or filing of a special assessment against the subject real property.

(Ord. No. 2586(NCS), § 1, 2-7-2017)

(a) If correction of the violation has not occurred within the time period specified in the administrative order, the continuing violation shall be deemed a public nuisance and the city or a contracting agent hired by the city may enter upon the private property on which the violation exists for the purpose of abating the violation. It shall be unlawful for any person, owner, agent or person in possession of any premises to refuse to allow the city or its contracting agents to enter upon the premises for the purpose of abating the violation

(b) The cost of any such abatement by city authorized herein shall be borne by the property owner, which cost shall include administrative costs well as the actual cost of abatement.

(c) The cost of abatement, including administrative costs, may be enforced as a personal obligation against the property owner and as a lien or special assessment against the property as provided herein.

(Ord. No. 2586(NCS), § 1, 2-7-2017)

(a) The administrative hearing officer may impose administrative penalties for the violation of any provision of this Code in an amount not to exceed two thousand five hundred dollars per day for each ongoing violation, except that the total administrative penalty shall not exceed one hundred thousand dollars exclusive of interest, administrative costs, and restitution for compliance re-inspections, for any related series of violation.

(b) In determining the amount of the administrative penalty, the administrative hearing officer may take any or all of the following factors into consideration:

(1) The duration of the violation;

(2) The frequency, recurrence and number of violations, related or unrelated, by the same violator;

(3) The seriousness of the violation;

(4) The good faith efforts of the violator to come into compliance;

(5) The economic impact of the penalty on the violator;

(6) The impact of the violation on the community; and

(7) Such other factors as justice may require.

(c) Administrative penalties imposed by the officer shall accrue from the date specified in the compliance order and shall cease to accrue on the date the violation is corrected as determined by the director or the officer. Administrative penalties may be suspended for any period of time during which the violator has filed for necessary permits and such permit applications are actively pending before the city, state or other appropriate agency.

(d) Administrative penalties assessed by the officer shall be due by the date specified in the administrative order.

(e) If the violation is not corrected as specified in the officer's order to correct, administrative penalties shall continue to accrue on a daily basis until the violation is corrected, subject to the maximum amount set forth in subsection (a) above.

(f) If the violator gives written notice to the director that the violation has been corrected and if the director finds that compliance has been achieved, the director shall deem the date the written notice was postmarked or personally delivered to the director or the date of the final inspection, whichever first occurred, to be the date the violation was corrected. If no written notice is provided to the director, the violation will be deemed corrected on the date of the final inspection.

(Ord. No. 2586(NCS), § 1, 2-7-2017)

(a) The administrative hearing officer shall assess administrative costs against the violator when it finds that a violation has occurred and that compliance has not been achieved within the time specified in the compliance order.

(b) The administrative costs may include any and all costs incurred by the city in connection with the matter before the administrative hearing officer including, but not limited to, costs of investigation, staffing costs incurred in preparation for the hearing and for the hearing itself, and costs for all re-inspections necessary to enforce the compliance order.

(Ord. No. 2586(NCS), § 1, 2-7-2017)

The administrative hearing officer may also assess interest on the amount of administrative penalties, abatement costs and administrative costs imposed at the legal rate from the date of the administrative order.

(Ord. No. 2586(NCS), § 1, 2-7-2017)

(a) The administrative order of the administrative hearing officer shall be the final decision of the city.

(b) The administrative order of the board, once recorded, shall have the same force and effect and priority as a judgment lien governed by the provisions of Sections 697.340 of the California Code of Civil Procedure and may be extended as provided in Sections 683.110 to 683.220, inclusive, of the Code of Civil Procedure.

(c) The administrative order shall have the same force and effect as a resolution of the city council for the purpose of filing a lien, special assessment, or special collection with the county of Monterey or tax collectors office pursuant to this Code and for the purpose of pursuing any other collection or enforcement action to obtain payment of the amounts owed to the city.

(Ord. No. 2586(NCS), § 1, 2-7-2017)

If unpaid as of the date specified in the administrative order, the administrative penalties, administrative costs and interest assessed by the officer shall be collected by the city by use of all available legal means, and may be enforced as:

(a) A personal obligation of the violator; and/or

(b) If the violation is in connection with real property, a lien or special assessment upon the real property. The lien or special assessment shall remain in effect until all of the administrative penalties, interest and administrative costs are paid in full.

(Ord. No. 2586(NCS), § 1, 2-7-2017)

The decision of the administrative hearing officer shall be final. Any person aggrieved by an administrative order of the administrative hearing officer may obtain review of the administrative order in the superior court by filing with the court a petition for writ of mandate pursuant to California Code of Civil Procedure section 1094.6.

If the director determines that compliance has been achieved after a compliance order has been sustained by the administrative hearing officer, the director shall prepare a report indicating that compliance has been achieved. A copy of the compliance report shall be served on the violator.

(Ord. No. 2586(NCS), § 1, 2-7-2017)

(a) If the director does not prepare and serve the compliance report specified above, a violator who believes that compliance has been achieved may request a compliance hearing before the administrative hearing officer by filing a request for a hearing.

(b) The hearing shall be noticed and conducted in the same manner as a hearing on a compliance order provided herein.

(c) The officer shall determine if compliance has been achieved and, if so, when it was achieved. The decision of the officer shall be final.

(Ord. No. 2586(NCS), § 1, 2-7-2017)

Whenever the amount of any administrative penalty and/or administrative cost imposed by the administrative hearing officer pursuant to this article in connection with real property has not been satisfied in full within ninety days and/or has not been successfully challenged by a timely writ of mandate, this obligation may constitute a lien or, in the alternative, a special assessment against the real property on which the violation occurred.

(Ord. No. 2586(NCS), § 1, 2-7-2017)

Any lien recorded against real property under this article shall be imposed following the procedure set forth in Division 3 of this article.

(Ord. No. 2586(NCS), § 1, 2-7-2017)

Any special assessment filed against real property under this article shall be imposed following the procedure set forth in Division 3 of this article.

(Ord. No. 2586(NCS), § 1, 2-7-2017)

Once payment in full is received by the city for outstanding penalties and costs, the city shall follow the procedures set forth in Division 3 of this article regarding satisfaction of lien/special assessment.

(Ord. No. 2586(NCS), § 1, 2-7-2017)