Woodside Municipal Code § 10.61 Notice of abatement

A nuisance is anything which is injurious or threatening to health or safety, obstructs the customary free use or passage of any stream, park, street, public easement, or highway, is specifically declared by this Code or state law to be a nuisance, or obstructs the free use of property in a manner that interferes with the comfortable enjoyment of life or property. Examples of a nuisance include but are not limited to:

(A) Any explosives, flammable liquids or hazardous materials which are stored in a manner or an amount contrary to state law or this Code;

(B) Any building or structure which is made, erected, altered, maintained, partially destroyed or abandoned contrary to state law or this Code;

(C) Any obstruction or excavation which interferes with the ordinary use of public streets, ways, alleys, thoroughfares, sidewalks, public easements, or public grounds unless otherwise permitted by law;

(D) Any accumulation of debris, garbage, refuse, weeds, overgrowth, livestock waste, or machine or equipment parts which constitute:

(1) A fire hazard;

(2) A hazard to pedestrian or vehicular traffic;

(3) A harborage for rats, vermin, or insect infestation; or

(4) Any other hazard to public health or safety.

(E) Any inoperative, abandoned, wrecked or dismantled vehicle; or

(F) Any swimming pool, pond, well, or other body or container of water polluted or otherwise maintained in an unhealthy or unsafe condition.

(G) A drainfield that fails and causes flow of effluent above ground.

(Ord. 1994-477, effective 1-12-95)

(A) Whenever the Town Manager or his/her designee determines that a nuisance exists on private property, that Town Officer may serve notice as provided in Section 10.48 to abate the nuisance by certified mail upon the owner of the property and anyone known to the Town Officer to be in possession of the property.

(B) The notice shall specify the property address, describe the nuisance and instruct the owner and/or possessor to abate that condition or activity. The notice shall further inform the owner and the possessor that if the nuisance is not abated within 15 calendar days of service of the notice, the Town will abate the nuisance and require the owner and/or possessor to pay the cost of the abatement. Cost of abatement includes the cost for actual removal or correction of the nuisance plus reasonable administrative costs. Administrative costs are either actual administrative costs or 20 percent of the cost of actual removal or correction, whichever is less.

(C) If the owner and/or possessor fails to pay such cost, that cost may be collected by the Town Attorney, or be specially assessed to the parcel and shall be subject to the same collection procedures, including any lien, penalty and sale procedures that are provided for delinquent taxes.

(D) The notice shall further state that either the owner or the possessor, or both, may request a hearing to contest the abatement action and/or assessment of cost by filing a written request for a hearing within 15 days of service of the notice to abate with the Town officer who ordered the abatement. Failure to request this hearing within this time period shall waive any right to appeal the Town's action.

(Ord. 1994-477, effective 1-15-95)

Upon a timely request for a hearing and providing that there is no immediate threat to public health and safety, the Town shall postpone any abatement action or assessment of cost until the owner and any possessor is given an opportunity to be heard and present evidence to the Town Council as to why the abatement and/or assessment should not proceed. The Town Clerk shall mail a notice of the date, time and place of the hearing to the owner and any possessor and all property owners within 500 feet of the subject property at least 15 days prior to the hearing date. After the hearing, the Council shall issue and serve a written notice upon the owner and any possessor of the property. The decision of the Council shall be final and conclusive in the matter.

(Ord. 1994-477, effective 1-12-95)

(A) If, after notice of abatement and no request for hearing is timely made under Section 10.61, and corrective action to abate the nuisance has not occurred within the time for requesting a hearing or any extension granted in writing by the Planning Director, then the Town Manager or his/her designee may order abatement to be done by Town personnel, or by a private licensed contractor.

(B) Town personnel or private contractors can enter on private property in a reasonable manner to abate the public nuisance.

(Ord. 1994-477, effective 1-12-95)

(A) The Town Council hereby authorizes the Town Manager or his/her designee to file and record a notice of abatement lien on behalf of the Town in the event the owner and/or possessor of the property fail to pay the costs of abatement upon a 30-day written demand for payment.

(B) The notice of abatement lien shall identify and set forth the last known address of both the record owner and the possessor of the parcel. The notice shall further set forth the date upon which the abatement of the nuisance was ordered and the date the abatement was completed. Finally, the notice shall describe the real property subject to the lien and the amount of the cost of abatement.

(C) Recordation of a notice of abatement lien under this provision shall have the same effect as recordation of an abstract of a money judgment recorded under state law. The lien created shall have the same priority as a judgment lien on real property and shall continue in effect until released. An abatement lien created under this section may be released or subordinated in the same manner as any judgment lien on real property.

(D) The Town Council hereby authorizes the Town Manager or his/her designee to compromise, subordinate or settle any lien imposed under this section in the amount of $10,000.00 or less.

(Ord. 1994-477, effective 1-12-95)

Nothing in this chapter shall affect, prevent or prejudice any other remedy or penalty, civil or criminal, for the creation or maintenance of a nuisance. Nothing in this chapter shall prohibit the summary and immediate abatement of a nuisance upon the order of the Town Council or any Town officer as authorized by law if the Council or officer determines that the nuisance constitutes an immediate threat to the public health or safety.

(Ord. 1994-477, effective 1-12-95)

(A) The Town shall not pursue zoning or site development code violations for any structure or use which existed prior to August 12, 1980, regardless of its legality prior to that date. Notwithstanding the foregoing provision, however, the Town may pursue such violations where it determines that an imminent health and/or safety hazard exists from the violation.

(B) Administrative and abatement costs. Pursuant to Cal. Gov't Code § 38773.5, in any action, administrative proceeding, or special proceeding brought by the Town to abate a public nuisance due to a violation of the Woodside Municipal Code, pursuant to Section 10.99(A)(4), or pursuant to Section 10.40 et seq., or pursuant to Section 10.60 et seq., the prevailing party shall be entitled to reasonable attorney's fees. Recovery of attorney's fees shall be limited as follows:

(1) To those actions or proceedings where the Town has elected to recover attorney's fees at the initiation of such actions or proceedings.

(2) The amount of attorney's fees in any action, administrative action, or special proceeding awarded to a prevailing party shall not exceed the amount of reasonable attorney's fees incurred by the Town in the action or proceeding.

(Ord. 1994-477, effective 1-12-95; Am. Ord. 1997-486, effective 6-26-97; Am. Ord. 1997-488, effective 7-10-97)

(A) Violations misdemeanors or infractions.

(1) It shall be unlawful for any person to violate any provision or to fail to comply with any of the requirements of this Code or the provisions of any code adopted by reference by this Code. Any person violating any of such provisions or failing to comply with any of the mandatory requirements of this Code shall be guilty of a misdemeanor or an infraction as designated by, and provided for, in Cal. Penal Code §§ 16, 17, and 19, and as expressly specified in Cal. Veh. Code § 40000. Each such person shall be guilty of a separate offense for each and every day during any portion of which any violation of any provision of this Code or the provisions of any code adopted by reference by this Code is committed, continued, or permitted by such person and shall be punishable accordingly.

(2) Any person convicted of a misdemeanor under the provisions of this Code shall be punished by a fine of not more than $1,000.00, or by imprisonment in the county jail for a period not exceeding six months, or by both such fine and imprisonment.

(3) Any person convicted of an infraction under the provisions of this Code shall be punished for a first conviction by a fine of not more than $100.00, for a second conviction within a period of one year by a fine of not more than $200.00, and for a third or any subsequent conviction within a period of one year by a fine of not more than $500.00.

(4) In addition to the penalties provided by this section, any condition caused or permitted to exist in violation of any of the provisions of this Code, or the provisions of any code adopted by reference by this Code, or any subdivision, building, wiring, plumbing, or other similar activity in violation of the provisions of this Code shall be deemed a public nuisance and may be summarily abated by the Town in a civil action, and each day such condition continues shall be a new and separate offense.

(1975 Code, § 1-2.01) (Ord. 1984-318, effective 5-10-84)

(B) Civil penalties.

(1) The Town Council finds that in addition to any other procedures, fines, or penalties, that where it is necessary for the Town to file a civil action in court to obtain compliance with Town codes or ordinances, the court may, in its discretion, assess a civil penalty of up to $5,000.00 against the violating parties in connection with the code enforcement action in the event the Town is the prevailing party. The court shall consider some or all of the following factors:

(a) The duration of the violation(s).

(b) The frequency or recurrence of the violation(s).

(c) The seriousness of the violation(s).

(d) The history of the violation(s).

(e) The person's conduct after issuance of the notice of violation.

(f) The good faith effort by the person to comply.

(g) The economic impact of the penalty on the person.

(h) The impact of the violation upon the community.

(i) Any other factors that justice may require.

(2) Any person or entity who commences development or begins construction of any improvement prior to obtaining a zoning approval, site development, subdivision, or building permit required by this Code shall pay a civil penalty to the Town equivalent to three times any and all fees required for the development or improvement plus the permit fee. The Planning Director may reduce or waive the administrative civil penalty fee in those cases where an application for permit is filed prior to staff awareness of a potential violation, and may reduce the fee by one-half where the Director determines that the applicant has not acted wilfully to violate the Code, provided that a complete permit application is submitted not later than ten days after staff has notified the owner of the violation.

(Ord. 1994-477, effective 1-12-95)

(C) Change of misdemeanors to infractions. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Code, whenever the violation of any section contained in this Code is punishable as a misdemeanor, the prosecuting attorney having jurisdiction to prosecute such misdemeanor may specify that the offense is an infraction, and proceed with prosecution as an infraction.

(1975 Code, § 1-2.11) (Ord. 1986-337, passed 7-10-86)