Santa Barbara County Municipal Code Div. 12 Recovery of Costs

(a) Purpose and Intent. This section establishes procedures for the recovery of administrative costs, including staff time expended on the enforcement of the provisions of this chapter in cases where no permit is required in order to cure a violation. The intent of this section is recoup administrative costs reasonably related to enforcement.

(b) Definitions. For the purpose of this section, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings respectively ascribed to them herein:

(1) "Costs" means administrative costs, including staff time expended and reasonably related to enforcement, for items including site inspections, summaries, reports, telephone contacts and correspondence. Travel time for site inspections shall not be included.

(2) "Department" means the planning and development department of the County of Santa Barbara.

(3) "Director" means the director of the planning and development department, or any person within the department authorized by the director.

(4) "Owner" means the record owner or any person having possession and control of the subject property.

(c) The planning and development department shall maintain records of all administrative costs, incurred by responsible county departments, associated with the processing of violations and enforcement of this chapter and shall recover such costs from the property owner as provided herein. Staff time shall be calculated at an hourly rate as established and revised from time to time by the board of supervisors.

(d) Notice. Upon investigation and a determination that a violation of any of the provisions of this chapter is found to exist, the director, or any person within the department authorized by the director, shall notify the record owner or any person having possession or control of the subject property by mail of the existence of the violation, the department's intent to charge the property owner for all administrative costs associated with enforcement, and of the owner's right to a hearing on objections thereto.

The notice shall be in substantially the following form:

NOTICE

The Planning and Development Department has determined that conditions exist at the property at ___________ which violate Section ___________ of the County Code, to wit:

(description of violation)

_____ _____

Notice is hereby given that at the conclusion of this case you will receive a summary of administrative costs associated with the processing of this violation, at an hourly rate as established and adjusted from time to time by the Board of Supervisors. The hourly rate presently in effect is _______ per hour of staff time.

You will have the right to object to these charges by filing a Request for Hearing with the Planning and Development Department within ten days of service of the summary of charges, pursuant to Section 21-71.1.6.

(e) At the conclusion of the case, the director shall send a summary of costs associated with enforcement to the owner and/or person having possession or control of the subject property by certified mail. Said summary shall include a notice in substantially the following form:

NOTICE

If you object to these charges you must file a Request for Hearing on the enclosed form within ten days of the date of this notice.

IF YOU FAIL TO TIMELY REQUEST A HEARING, YOUR RIGHT TO OBJECT WILL BE WAIVED AND YOU WILL BE LIABLE TO THE COUNTY FOR THESE CHARGES, TO BE RECOVERED IN A CIVIL ACTION IN THE NAME OF THE COUNTY, IN ANY COURT OF COMPETENT JURISDICTION WITHIN THE COUNTY.

Dated: ___________

___________

Director

In the event that (a) a request for hearing is not timely filed, or (b) after a hearing the director affirms the validity of the costs, the property owner or person in control and possession shall be liable to the county in the amount stated in the summary or any lesser amount as determined by the director. These costs shall be recoverable in a civil action in the name of the county, in any court of competent jurisdiction within the county.

(f) Any property owner, or other person having possession and control thereof, who receives a summary of costs under this section shall have the right to a hearing before the director on his objections to the proposed costs in accordance with the procedures set forth herein.

(1) A request for hearing shall be filed with the department within ten days of the service by mail of the department's summary of costs, on a form provided by the department.

(2) Within thirty days of the filing of the request, and on ten days written notice to the owner, the director shall hold a hearing on the owner's objections, and determine the validity thereof.

(3) In determining the validity of the costs, the director shall consider whether total costs are reasonable in the circumstances of the case. Factors to be considered include, but are not limited to, the following: whether the present owner created the violation; whether there is a present ability to correct the violation; whether the owner moved promptly to correct the violation; the degree of cooperation provided by the owner; whether reasonable minds can differ as to whether a violation exists.

(4) The director's decision shall be appealable to the board of supervisors.

(Ord. 3609, § 1: Ord. No. 4436, § 26)

Any person who shall erect, construct, alter, enlarge, move or maintain any building or structure, or institute a use for which a permit is required by this article without first having obtained a permit therefor, shall, if subsequently granted a permit for that building, structure or use, or any related building, structure or use on the property, first pay such additional permit processing fees as established from time to time by the board of supervisors.

(Ord. 3609, § 1)

The purpose of this section is to set forth the minimum requirements for providing notice of a public hearing.

(Ord. No. 4157, § 12)

For all projects that require a noticed public hearing, notice shall be given pursuant to sections 65090-65096 of the California Government Code. The minimum requirements for such notice shall be as follows:

(a) Notice shall be published in at least one newspaper of general circulation within the county, and circulated in the area affected by the project, at least ten days prior to the hearing.

(b) Notice shall be mailed to any person who has filed a written request therefor and has supplied the county with self-addressed stamped envelopes.

(c) Notice shall be mailed to the applicant(s) and appellant(s).

(d) Notice shall be mailed to the owners of the affected property and the owners of property within three hundred feet of the exterior boundaries of the affected property. The names and addresses used for such notice shall be those appearing on the equalized county assessment roll, as updated from time to time.

(e) If the number of owners to whom notice would be mailed or delivered pursuant to section 21-71.3 of this division is greater than one thousand, the county may provide notice by placing a display advertisement of at least one-eighth page in at least one newspaper of general circulation within the county at least ten days prior to the hearing.

(Ord. No. 4157, § 12)

The notice shall contain the following information:

(a) The date of filing of the application and the name of the applicant;

(b) The resource management department number assigned to the application;

(c) A description of the project and its location;

(d) The place, date and general time of the hearing;

(e) The procedure for the submission of public comments in writing before the hearing;

(f) The procedure for public comments at the hearing.

(Ord. No. 4157, § 12)

(Ord. No. 4157, § 13: Ord. No. 4436, § 27; Ord. No. 4805, § 5, 10-18-2011)

The purpose of this section is to provide procedures for accepting and processing appeals to the board of supervisors and the planning commission.

(Ord. No. 4805, § 5, 10-18-2011)

A. Who May Appeal. An appeal may only be filed by an applicant or any aggrieved person. An aggrieved person is defined as any person who in person, or through a representative, appeared at a public hearing in connection with the decision or action appealed, or who, by other appropriate means prior to a hearing or decision, informed the decision-maker of the nature of their concerns or who for good cause was unable to do either.

B. Appeals of Decisions of the County Surveyor or the Planning Commission.

1. An appeal, which shall be in writing, and accompanying fee, of a decision of the county surveyor or the planning commission shall be filed with the clerk of the board of supervisors within the ten calendar days following the date of the decision that is the subject of the appeal.

a. The time within which the appeal shall be filed shall commence on the day following the day on which the decision or determination was made. In the event the last day for filing an appeal falls on a non-business day of the county, the appeal may be timely filed on the next business day.

2. The appellant shall use the form provided by the clerk of the board of supervisors in addition to any other supporting materials the appellant may wish to furnish explaining the reasons for the appeal. The appellant shall state specifically how the decision or determination of the county surveyor or the planning commission is inconsistent with the provisions and purposes of chapter 21 (Land Division) of the County Code or other applicable law, or the error or abuse of discretion committed by the county surveyor or the planning commission.

C. Appeals of Decisions of the Planning Director or the Zoning Administrator.

1. Filing, Form and Timing of an Appeal.

a. An appeal, which shall be in writing, and accompanying fee, of a determination of the planning director or a decision of the zoning administrator shall be filed with the planning and development department within the ten calendar days following the date of the decision that is the subject of the appeal.

(1) The time within which the appeal shall be filed shall commence on the day following the day on which the decision or determination was made. In the event the last day for filing an appeal falls on a non-business day of the county, the appeal may be timely filed on the next business day.

b. The appellant shall use the form provided by the planning and development Department in addition to any other supporting materials the appellant may wish to furnish in compliance with subsection C.2 (Requirements for contents of an appeal) below, explaining the reasons for the appeal.

2. Requirements for Contents of an Appeal. The appellant shall specifically provide in the appeal all of the following:

a. The identity of the appellant and their interest in the decision.

b. The identity of the decision or determination appealed which may include the conditions of that decision or determination.

c. A clear, complete, and concise statement of the reasons why the decision or determination is inconsistent with the provisions and purposes of chapter 21 (Land Divisions) of the County Code or other applicable law.

d. If it is claimed that there was an error or abuse of discretion on the part of the decision-maker, or other officer or authorized employee, or that there was a lack of a fair and impartial hearing, or that the decision is not supported by the evidence presented for consideration leading to the making of the decision or determination that is being appealed, or that there is significant new evidence relevant to the decision which could not have been presented at the time the decision was made, then these grounds shall be specifically stated.

3. Acceptance of an Appeal. An appeal shall not be accepted by the planning director unless it is complete and complies with all requirements of subsection C.2 (Requirements for contents of an appeal) above. This decision of the planning director is final and not subject to appeal.

4. Urban Lot Splits. The decision of the planning director on an urban lot split and modifications to an urban lot split is final and not subject to appeal.

D. Appeal Fees. The appellant shall pay the required filing fee in compliance with the applicable fee established by the board of supervisors at the time of the filing of the appeal.

E. Effect of Filing an Appeal. The filing of the appeal shall have the effect of staying the issuance of any permit or approval that is dependent on the decision that is the subject of the appeal until a final action has occurred on the appeal.

F. Public Hearing Required. The decision-maker shall consider all appeals of decisions of the county surveyor, planning commission or zoning administrator in a noticed public hearing. Notice of the time and place of the hearing shall be given and the hearing shall be conducted in compliance with section 21-71.3. (Public hearing notice).

(Ord. No. 4805, § 5, 10-18-2011; Ord. No. 5237, § 18, 2-11-2025)

A. Decisions Appealed to the Planning Commission. The following decisions and determinations may be appealed to the planning commission provided the appeal complies with the requirements of section 21-71.4.2 above.

1. A determination by the planning director that an application for a conditional certificate of compliance is incomplete for processing in compliance with section 21-71.30.B.2.d.(2) (Appeal of determination).

2. Any final action of the zoning administrator to approve, conditionally approve, or deny an application where the zoning administrator is designated as the decision-maker in compliance with section 21-6 (Discretionary decision-maker jurisdiction and designation of responsibility) and the property that is the subject of the application is located outside of the Montecito Community Plan area may be appealed to the planning commission.

B. Report to the Planning Commission. The planning and development department shall transmit to the planning commission copies of the permit application including all maps and data and a statement identifying the reasons for the decision by the zoning administrator before the hearing on an appeal.

C. Scope of Appeal Hearings. The hearings on the appeal shall be de novo.

D. Action on Appeal. The planning commission shall affirm, reverse, or modify the decision of the zoning administrator.

(Ord. No. 4805, § 5, 10-18-2011)

The following decisions and determinations may be appealed to the board of supervisors provided the appeal complies with the requirements of section 21-71.4.2 above.

A. Decisions Appealed to the Board of Supervisors.

1. County Surveyor. Any final action on decisions of the county surveyor to approve or deny an application where the county surveyor is designated as the decision-maker in compliance with section 21-6 (Discretionary decision-maker jurisdiction and designation of responsibility), including a decision that an application for a certificate of compliance shall be processed as a conditional certificate of compliance and determination to record a notice of violation.

2. Planning Commission. The following decisions of the planning commission may be appealed to the board of supervisors provided the appeal complies with the requirements of section 21-71.4.2 above.

a. Any final action on decisions or determinations that are appealed to the planning commission in compliance with section 21-71.4.3 (Appeals to the planning commission) above.

b. Any final action of the planning commission to approve, conditionally approve, or deny an application where the planning commission is designated as the decision-maker in compliance with section 21-6 (Discretionary decision-maker jurisdiction and designation of responsibility).

B. Report to the Board of Supervisors.

1. Appeals of Decisions of the Planning Commission. The planning and development department shall transmit to the board of supervisors copies of the permit application including all maps and data and a statement identifying the reasons for the decision by the planning commission before the hearing on an appeal.

C. Scope of Appeal Hearings. The hearings on the appeal shall be de novo.

D. Action on Appeal. The board of supervisors shall affirm, reverse, or modify the decision of the county surveyor or the planning commission. The decision of the board of supervisors shall be final.

(Ord. No. 4805, § 5, 10-18-2011; Ord. No. 4932, § 1(C), 8-25-2015)