San Luis Obispo County Municipal Code Ch. 1.05 Administrative Fines

The procedures established in this chapter shall be in addition to any criminal, civil, administrative or any other legal remedy established by other sections of the county code, state codes or any other applicable laws. Any applicable law which is the subject of a violation, as defined in Section 1.05.020, may be enforced by the procedures established in this chapter, regardless of whether other sections of this code state that the violation shall be enforced by civil action, criminal action, or other enforcement procedure.

(Ord. 2906 § 1 (part), 2000)

"Code enforcement officer" shall mean any officer, employee or agent of the county who is authorized to enforce the San Luis Obispo County Code.

"Responsible person" shall mean any individual or entity who:

(1) Owns, occupies or has a right of control over the property upon which the violation exists;

(2) Causes, maintains, or is otherwise responsible for a condition, activity, or use of property which constitutes a violation.

"Serve" shall mean to serve a document either by personal service or by mail. Service by mail shall be deemed complete by the mailing of a document by both certified mail and regular first-class mail. Service need not be made on other responsible persons in order for service on a responsible person to be deemed complete.

"Violation" means any and all violations of any title of the San Luis Obispo County Code, as the County Code may be amended from time to time. Each and every day a violation exists constitutes a separate and distinct violation.

(Ord. 2906 § 1 (part), 2000)

(Ord. No. 3436, § 1, 1-5-21)

(a) Service. Upon determining that a violation exists with respect to any property within the unincorporated area of the county, the code enforcement officer may serve a notice of violation upon one or more of the responsible persons.

(b) Contents. The notice of violation shall include:

(1) The date, approximate time, and location of the violation(s);

(2) The conditions constituting the violation(s) on the property and the code section violated;

(3) A specified time period from the date of service of the notice of violation within which the violation must be corrected/abated;

(4) That in the event the violation is not corrected/abated by the expiration of the correction period, the owner shall be subject to an administrative fine under this chapter;

(5) An approximate estimate of the possible fines; and

(6) That the owner may submit in writing, to the code enforcement officer, any information relating to a determination of the existence of a violation or the amount of the fine to be imposed.

(c) Correction Period. The notice of violation shall generally provide a responsible person thirty days from its date of service to correct the violation(s). If the violation cannot be completely corrected, the violation must be abated in the manner described in the notice of violation. If the code enforcement officer determines that a good faith effort is being made to correct (or abate) the violation, he or she may grant an additional period of time for the correction/abatement of the violation. However, if the violation(s) create an immediate danger to health or safety of persons or property, the notice of violation may require that the violation(s) be corrected/abated immediately or within some time period less than thirty days.

(d) Acknowledgment of Correction. When the violation(s) are determined by the enforcement officer to have been corrected, the enforcement officer shall provide the property owner with a letter acknowledging that correction has occurred.

(Ord. 2906 § 1 (part), 2000)

(a) Every violation that is an infraction shall be subject to the following fine amounts:

(1) A fine not exceeding one hundred dollars for the first violation;

(2) A fine not exceeding two hundred dollars for a second violation of the same ordinance, within one year from the date of the first violation on the same property;

(3) A fine not exceeding five hundred dollars for each additional violation of the same ordinance, within one year from the date of the first violation.

The amount of the fine shall be the maximum fine allowed for each day the violation exists after the correction period has expired.

(b) Every violation that is a misdemeanor shall be subject to a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars per violation.

(c) Every violation of the Title 19 County Building and Construction Ordinance shall be considered an infraction for purposes of this section and be subject to the following fine amounts:

(1) A fine not exceeding one hundred thirty dollars for a first violation.

(2) A fine not exceeding seven hundred dollars for a second violation of the same ordinance within one year of the first violation.

(3) A fine not exceeding one thousand three hundred dollars for each additional violation of the same ordinance within one year of the first violation.

(4) A fine not exceeding two thousand five hundred dollars for each additional violation of the same ordinance within two years of the first violation if the property is a commercial property that has an existing building at the time of the violation and the violation is due to failure by the owner to remove visible refuse or failure to prohibit unauthorized use of the property.

(d) Every violation of an event permit requirement under Chapter 6.56 of the County Code or Sections 22.30.610 and 23.08.248 of the County Code shall be considered an infraction for purposes of this Section, and shall punishable subject to the following fine amount:

(1) A fine not exceeding one hundred fifty dollars for the first violation of an event permit requirement.

(2) A fine not exceeding seven hundred dollars for a second occurrence of the same violation of an event permit requirement by the same owner or operator within three years of the first violation.

(3) A fine not exceeding two thousand five hundred dollars for each additional occurrence of the same violation of an event permit requirement by the same owner or operator within three years of the first violation.

(e) A property owner or other responsible property may apply to the county department imposing a fine under the provisions of paragraphs (2) and (3) of subdivisions (a), (b), and (c) for a hardship waiver to reduce the amount of the imposed fine. The department shall grant a waiver and reduce the fine amount upon a showing by the property owner or other responsible party that they have made a bona fide effort to comply after the first violation and that that payment of the full amount of the fine would impose an undue financial burden upon the owner or responsible party.

(f) The increased fines for subsequent violations described in subsection (a) of this section may cumulatively accrue under one notice of violation, and may be cumulatively imposed under one notice of fine, if the code enforcement officer finds that the criteria listed below justifies imposing such higher fines:

(1) The extent and effect of the violation on the terrain, the environment and/or neighboring properties;

(2) The extent to which the violation affects health and/or safety;

(3) The length of time the violation existed;

(4) Attempts, if any, to comply with the applicable ordinance;

(5) The willfulness of the violation;

(6) The culpability of the responsible person for the violation;

(7) The extent to which the violation resulted in a pecuniary gain to the responsible person;

(8) The extent to which the violation relates to a commercial use of property engaged in for pecuniary gain;

(9) The number of previous violations of the same related type committed by the responsible person within the preceding thirty-six months; and

(10) Any other information relevant to a determination of the fine.

(Ord. 2906 § 1 (part), 2000)

(Ord. No. 3436, § 2, 1-5-21)

If the violation(s) are not corrected/abated within the period stated in the notice of violation, the code enforcement officer may serve a notice of fine on the responsible person(s). The notice of fine shall contain the following information:

(1) Date, approximate time, and location of the violation(s);

(2) The code sections or conditions violated and a description of the violation(s);

(3) The date the notice of violation was served on the responsible person, and the time specified therein to correct the violation(s);

(4) A statement as to whether the violation(s) have been corrected with the correction period;

(5) The amount of the fine for the violation(s);

(6) A statement that the fine shall be paid directly to the county department that is responsible for administrating the code section(s) violated within twenty days from the service of the notice of fine;

(7) An explanation of the procedure for seeking administrative review of the fine; and

(8) The name and signature of the code enforcement officer.

(Ord. 2906 § 1 (part), 2000)

Any individual or entity upon which a fine is imposed by a notice of fine may contest that there was a violation, or that he or she is the responsible person, by completing a request for hearing form and submitting it to the administrating department within twenty days from the date the notice of fine was served, together with an advanced deposit of the fine. If said form and deposit are not received by the department within said time periods, the notice of fine shall become a final order.

(1) Hearing Officer. A hearing officer shall be appointed by the director of the department of planning and building to conduct a hearing in accordance with Sections 22.74.060 and 23.10.030, for an administrative review hearing of the fine(s) imposed by the notice of fine.

(2) Hearing Procedure.

a. No hearing to contest a notice of fine before a hearing officer shall be held unless and until a request for hearing form has been completed and submitted and the fine has been deposited in advance.

b. A hearing before the hearing officer shall be set for a date that is not less than fourteen and not more than thirty days from the date that the request for hearing is filed in accordance with the provisions of this chapter. The person requesting the hearing shall be notified of the time and place set for the hearing at least fourteen days prior to the date of the hearing.

c. The responsible person contesting the notice of fine shall be given the opportunity to testify and present witnesses and evidence concerning the administrative fine.

d. The failure of any appealing recipient of a notice of fine to appear at the hearing shall constitute a waiver of the administrative appeal, a forfeiture of the deposited fine and a failure to exhaust their administrative remedies. In such event, the notice of fine shall become a final order.

e. If the code enforcement officer submits any written reports concerning the notice of fine to the hearing officer for consideration prior to the hearing, then a copy of said report also shall be concurrently served by mail on the person requesting the hearing.

f. Up to ten days prior to the hearing, the recipient of a notice of fine may request in writing that it be provided copies of any documents which the code enforcement officer intends to present as evidence at the hearing. Within five days of receipt of such a request, the code enforcement officer shall serve copies of such documents submitted or relied upon by the code enforcement officer.

g. Formal rules of evidence shall not apply at the hearing.

h. The hearing officer may continue the hearing and request additional information from the code enforcement officer or the recipient of the notice of fine prior to issuing a written decision.

(3) Hearing Officer Decision.

a. After considering all relevant testimony and evidence submitted at the hearing, the hearing officer shall issue a written decision within ten days of the hearing to uphold or deny the notice of fine. The decision of the hearing officer shall be final when signed and served in accordance with subdivision (3)d., below.

b. If the hearing officer determines that the notice of fine should be upheld, the fine amount on deposit with the department shall be retained by the department.

c. If the hearing officer determines that the notice of fine should be reduced or canceled, and the fine was deposited with the department, then the department shall promptly refund the corresponding amount of the deposited fine.

d. The recipient of the notice of fine shall be served with a copy of the hearing officer's written decision by first class mail.

(4) Right to Judicial Review. Any person aggrieved by an administrative decision of a hearing officer on a notice of fine may obtain judicial review of the administrative decision by filing a petition for review with the San Luis Obispo County Superior Court in accordance with the time lines and provisions as set forth in California Government Code Section 53069.4.

(Ord. 2906 § 1 (part), 2000)

(Ord. No. 3436, § 3, 1-5-21)

The failure of any person to pay the civil fines assessed by a notice of fine within the time specified on the notice may result in the matter being filed with a claim in small claims court. Alternatively, the department may pursue any other legal remedy to collect the civil fines. The department may also recover its collections costs according to proof.

(Ord. 2906 § 1 (part), 2000)

For violations which relate to or arise from a cannabis or industrial hemp activity, as those terms are defined in Section 22.80.030, the administrative fines identified in a notice of violation issued under Section 1.05.030 by the code enforcement officer shall become effective immediately upon expiration of the correction period identified in the notice of violation, and no further notice of fine is required under Section 1.05.050 in order for the administrative fines to become effective, and the fines shall continue to accrue daily until the violation has been fully abated and verified by the code enforcement officer. Pursuant to Government Code sections 53069.4 and 27721, for all violations of County Code which relate to or arise from a cannabis or industrial hemp activity, whether or not such cannabis or industrial hemp activity is ongoing, dormant or abandoned, the code enforcement officer may seek final determination of any administrative fines levied pursuant to this chapter by the office of county cannabis hearing officer, established under Section 22.40.130.C, in lieu of any appeal rights under Section 1.05.060. In such event, notice to appear before the cannabis hearing officer at a stated time and place not less than five calendar days after service of the notice should be provided to the responsible persons. The notice of violation and/or notice of fine may be consolidated with a notice(s) of nuisance abatement under Sections 22.40.130.B, 22.74.150, 23.08.432.b and 23.10.150. The cannabis hearing officer shall issue a written decision which affirms, reverses or modifies the administrative fines within two calendar days after the hearing. The decision shall be mailed to, or personally served upon, the responsible persons and the code enforcement officer. The decision shall be final when signed by the cannabis hearing officer and served as herein provided, and only subject to judicial review in accordance with the timelines and provisions as set forth in Government Code section 53069.4.

(Ord. No. 3362, § 5, 3-20-18; Ord. No. 3416, § 1, 5-5-20; Ord. No. 3526, § II, 2-25-25)