Vallejo Municipal Code Ch. 16.615 Enforcement and Abatement

The provisions of this chapter establish procedures and requirements to ensure compliance with the Zoning Code. These provisions shall apply to the enforcement of this code but shall not be deemed to exclude other measures. The provisions of this chapter are applicable not only to private persons, firms, corporations, agencies and organizations, but also to all public agencies to the extent permissible by law.

A. Duty to Enforce. It shall be the duty of the director to enforce all of the provisions of the Zoning Code, including all permits, conditions of approval, and non-conforming uses. All officials, departments, and employees of the city vested with the authority to issue permits, certificates, or licenses shall adhere to, and require conformance with this Zoning Code, and any such permit certificate or license issued in conflict with the provisions of this Zoning Code shall be null and void.

B. Deputies. The authority granted in the Zoning Code to the director may be delegated to a person or persons under the director's supervision.

C. Violation. Whenever any building, structure or premises is being used in violation of any provision of the Zoning Code, the director may by written notice order the owner or user or both to discontinue such use and to vacate such building, structure or premises. The person so notified shall discontinue the use or modify the use to comply with the provisions of this Zoning Code within fifteen days after receipt of such written notice.

The setting up, erection, construction, alteration, enlargement, conversion, moving or maintenance of any building or structure contrary to the provisions of this Zoning Code, and any use of land, building or premises established, conducted, operated or maintained contrary to the provisions of this Zoning Code is a public nuisance.

A. For purposes of this chapter, a "permit" includes any minor use permit, major use permit, development review permit, exception, planned development permit or any other land use entitlement granted by the director or his or her designee, the planning commission, architectural heritage and landmarks commission and design review board, as may be applicable, pursuant to the requirements of the Zoning Code.

B. No permit issued pursuant to the provisions of the Zoning Code may be revoked except in compliance with the procedures of this chapter.

C. Whenever the director or his or her designee has sufficient cause to believe that the holder of a permit is in violation of the provisions of the Zoning Code, or has failed to maintain a use in accordance with the specific conditions of approval attached to the permit, the director or his or her designee shall give notice to the property owner(s) and the occupant(s) that the manner of use of the property is violation with the provisions of this Zoning Code or the conditions of approval attached to the permit. The notice shall specify the violation(s) and identify the date by which the corrective action(s) must occur.

D. If the corrective action specified by the director or his or her designee does not occur within fifteen days of the date of the notice, the director or his or her designee shall issue a written notice of hearing before the planning commission on the proposed permit revocation, together with written notification of the specific grounds of complaint against the property owner(s) and the occupant(s). Proposed permit revocations for historic districts and landmark properties shall be heard by the architectural heritage and historic preservation commission and the design review board shall hear proposed permit revocations for properties in the DMX and WMX Zoning Districts. The written hearing notices shall be personally delivered or sent by certified mail to the property owner and the occupant at least fourteen calendar days prior to the hearing.

E. The public hearing on the permit revocation shall be scheduled for consideration by the planning commission, architectural heritage and landmarks commission or design review board, based on Table 16.601-A: Permit Review Authority for the original permit, within sixty calendar days of the date set in the notice and shall be in accordance with the provisions of the Zoning Code. The review authority for the original permit may revoke, modify or take no action on the permit. Any additional conditions imposed on the permit shall be in keeping with the applicable standards for the use and the zoning district in which the property is located.

F. The review authority for the original permit shall be hand delivered or mailed to the property owner and the occupant.

G. The review authority for the original permit shall make its decision within thirty calendar days of the public hearing.

H. The decision of the review authority for the original permit shall be final.

I. In the event a permit is revoked pursuant to this chapter, a new permit for the same use may not be issued for twelve months after the date of such revocation.

A permit may be revoked by the city on the basis of any of the following:

A. That the business or activity has been conducted in a manner which violates the provisions of this Zoning Code or is a public nuisance in violation of the Vallejo Municipal Code or fails to adhere to one or more of the conditions of approval imposed upon the issuance of the permit, or which fails to conform to the plans and procedures described in the application.

B. That the permittee has failed to obtain or maintain all required city and state licenses and permits required for its operation.

C. That the permittee is engaging in a use that is not allowed or a use that is different from that for which the permit was issued.

D. The permit was obtained by fraud; or where the conditions of such permit have not been or are not complied with.

E. Conditions of approval. Any condition of approval attached to the granting of a minor or major use permit, planned development permit, variance, or development review permit approval, or any other permit or approval provided for in this Zoning Code shall have the same force and effect as if it were a requirement mandated by this Zoning Code. Maintaining a use in the absence of or in a manner inconsistent with, a previously imposed condition of approval is a public nuisance.

Whenever under the provisions of this Zoning Code notice is required to be mailed to property owners, such notice shall be addressed to the person or persons listed as the owner of the real property in the most current equalized assessment roll of Solano County available at the time the notice is prepared at owner's last known place of address as shown therein.

A. The failure of any property owner to receive such notice shall not invalidate the proceeding that has been noticed.

B. The procedures set forth herein shall not be exclusive and shall not in any manner limit or restrict the city from enforcing other city ordinances or abating public nuisances by all other remedies, including Chapters 1.12, 1.14, and 1.15 Vallejo Municipal Code, or through other legally established procedures.

C. Appeals of administrative citations issued for violations of the Zoning Code shall be heard by either the planning commission, architectural heritage and landmarks commission or design review board in accordance with the procedures stated in Chapter 1.15 of the Vallejo Municipal Code. Their decisions shall be final. See Table 16.601-A: Permit Review Authority.