Yuba City Municipal Code Ch. 6 Administrative Citations

(a) The City Council hereby finds that there is a need for an alternative method of enforcement for minor violations of the Municipal Code and applicable Uniform Codes. The City Council further finds that an appropriate method of enforcement for minor violations is an Administrative Citation Program as authorized by Government Code § 53069.4.

(b) The procedures established in this chapter shall be in addition to criminal or any other legal remedy established by law which may be pursued to address violations of the Municipal Code or applicable Uniform Codes.

(c) The City Council hereby finds and determines that enforcement of the Yuba City Municipal Code, other ordinances adopted by the City, conditions on entitlements and terms and conditions of City agreements are matters of local concern and serve important public purposes. Consistent with its powers as a general law city, the City of Yuba City adopts this Administrative Citation Program in order to achieve the following goals:

(1) To protect the public health, safety and welfare of the citizens of the City of Yuba City;

(2) To gain compliance with the Municipal Code and uniform codes, ordinances and regulations in a timely and efficient manner;

(3) To provide for an administrative process to appeal the imposition of administrative citations and fines;

(4) To provide a method to hold parties responsible when they fail or refuse to comply with the provisions of the Municipal Code, ordinances, agreements or terms and conditions on entitlements in the City of Yuba City;

(5) To minimize the expense and delay where the sole remedy is to pursue responsible parties in the civil or criminal justice system.

(d) Use of this chapter shall be at the sole discretion of the City.

(§ 1, Ord. 006-09, eff. May 2, 2009)

(a) "Responsible person" shall mean any individual who is the owner or occupant of real property, owner or authorized agent of any business, company, or entity, or the parent or the legal guardian of any person under the age of 18 years, who causes or maintains a violation of the Municipal Code, ordinances, agreements or terms and conditions on entitlements in the City of Yuba City.

(b) "Enforcement officer" shall mean any City officer, employee, or agent of the City designated by the Municipal Code or the City Manager to enforce particular provisions of the Municipal Code or any Code adopted by the City, and includes the City's Fire Chief, Building Official, Director of Community Development, enforcement officer, and their respective designees.

(c) "Correction date" shall mean the date by which a violation must be corrected in order to avoid imposition of an administrative fine.

(d) "City Manager" shall mean the City of Yuba City's City Manager, or duly authorized designee of the City Manager.

(e) "Hearing Officer" shall mean any individual designated by the City Manager and assigned to conduct hearings under this chapter. The employment, performance evaluation, compensation and benefits of the hearing officer(s), if any, shall not be directly or indirectly conditioned upon the amount of administrative citation fines upheld by the hearing officer(s).

(§ 1, Ord. 006-09, eff. May 7, 2009)

For the purposes of this chapter, any enforcement officer shall have the power to enter onto any public or private property within the City of Yuba City in order to determine the existence of a violation of any provision of the Municipal Code and to make any inspection, examination, or survey as may be necessary to perform enforcement duties. All entries, inspection, examination, and surveys shall be done in a reasonable manner. If an owner, occupant, or agent refuses permission to enter or inspect, the enforcement officer shall seek an administrative inspection warrant pursuant to Civil Procedure Code §§ 1822.50 through 1822.59, as may be amended from time to time.

(§ 1, Ord. 006-09, eff. May 7, 2009)

(a) Any person violating any provision of the Yuba City Municipal Code may be issued an administrative citation by an enforcement officer as provided in this chapter. A violation includes, but is not limited to, all violations of the Municipal Code, the Uniform Codes adopted by the City Council, the failure to comply with any condition imposed by any entitlement, permit, agreement or environmental document issued or approved pursuant to this Code.

(b) Each and every day a violation of the Municipal Code exists constitutes a separate and distinct offense.

(c) A civil fine shall be assessed by means of an administrative citation issued by the enforcement officer and shall be payable directly to the Yuba City Finance Department.

(d) Fines shall be assessed in the amounts specified by resolution of the City Council, or where no amount is specified:

(1) A fine not exceeding $100 for a first violation;

(2) A fine not exceeding $200 for a second violation of the same ordinance or permit within one year from the date of the first violation:

(3) A fine not exceeding $500 for each additional violation of the same ordinance or permit within one year from the date of the first violation.

(e) All funds collected under the proceedings in this chapter shall be paid to the City Treasurer who shall credit the same to the abatement, repair and demolition fund.

(§ 1, Ord. 006-09, eff. May 7, 2009)

All written notices required by this chapter, including, but not limited to an administrative citation shall be served in the following manner:

(a) Personal service. In any case where an administrative citation is issued:

(1) The enforcement officer shall attempt to locate and personally serve the responsible person and obtain the signature of the responsible person on the administrative citation.

(2) If the responsible person served refuses or fails to sign the administrative citation, the failure or refusal to sign shall not affect the validity of the administrative citation or of subsequent proceedings.

(b) Service of citation by mail. If the enforcement officer is unable to locate the responsible person, the administrative citation shall be mailed to the responsible person by certified mail, postage prepaid with a requested return receipt. Simultaneously, the citation may be sent by first class mail. If the citation is sent by certified mail and returned unsigned, then service shall be deemed effective pursuant to first class mail, provided the citation sent by first class mail is not returned.

(c) Service of citation by posting notice. If the enforcement officer does not succeed in personally serving the responsible person, or by certified mail or regular mail, the enforcement officer shall post the administrative citation on any real property within the City in which the City has knowledge that the responsible person has a legal interest, and such posting shall be deemed effective service.

(§ 1, Ord. 006-09, eff. May 7, 2009)

Each administrative citation shall contain the following information:

(a) Date, approximate time, and address or definite description of the location where the violation(s) was observed;

(b) The Code sections or conditions violated and a description of the violation(s);

(c) An order to the responsible person to correct the violations by the correction date, and an explanation of the consequences of failure to correct the violation(s);

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

(e) An explanation of how the fine shall be paid and the time period by which it shall be paid;

(f) Identification of rights of appeal, including the time within which the citation may be contested and the place to obtain a request for hearing form to contest the administrative citation; and

(g) The name and signature of the enforcement officer and if possible the signature of the responsible person.

(§ 1, Ord. 006-09, eff. May 7, 2009)

Upon receipt of an administrative citation, the responsible person must do the following:

(a) Pay the fine to the City within 15 days from the correction date of the administrative citation. All fines assessed shall be payable to the Yuba City Finance Department. Payment of a fine shall not excuse or discharge the failure to correct the violation(s) nor shall it bar further enforcement action by the City.

(b) Remedy the violation(s), if the violation(s) is of such a nature that it can be remedied. If the violation(s) is corrected before the correction date provided on the citation, no fine shall be imposed. If the responsible person fails to correct the violation(s) by the correction date, subsequent administrative citations may be issued for the same violation(s). The amount of the fine for failure to correct the violation shall increase at a rate specified in this chapter or by ordinance.

(§ 1, Ord. 006-09, eff. May 7, 2009)

Any recipient of an administrative citation may contest that there was a violation of the Yuba City Municipal Code or that he or she is the responsible person by completing a request for hearing form and returning it to the City within 15 days from the correction date of the administration citation, together with an advanced deposit of the fine. Any administrative citation fine which has been deposited shall be refunded if after a hearing it is determined that the person charged in the administrative citation was not responsible for the violation(s) or that there was no violation(s) as charged in the administrative citation.

(§ 1, Ord. 006-09, eff. May 7, 2009)

(a) No hearing to contest an administrative citation before a Hearing Officer(s) 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(s) shall be set for a date that is not less than 15 and not more than 60 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 ten days prior to the date of the hearing.

(c) The Hearing Officer(s) shall only consider evidence that is relevant to whether the violation(s) occurred and whether the responsible person has caused or maintained the violation(s) of the Municipal Code on the date(s) specified in the administrative citation.

(d) The responsible person contesting the administrative citation shall be given the opportunity to testify and present witnesses and evidence concerning the administrative citation.

(e) The failure of any recipient of an administrative citation to appear at the administrative citation hearing shall constitute a forfeiture of the fine and a failure to exhaust their administrative remedies.

(f) The administrative citation and any additional documents submitted by the enforcement officer shall constitute prima facie evidence of the respective facts contained in those documents.

(g) At least ten (days prior to the hearing, the recipient of an administrative citation shall be provided with copies of the citations, reports and other documents submitted or relied upon by the enforcement officer. No other discovery is permitted. Formal rules of evidence shall not apply.

(h) If the enforcement officer submits an additional written report concerning the administrative citation to the Hearing Officer(s) for consideration at the hearing, then a copy of this report also shall be served by mail on the person requesting the hearing at least ten days prior to the date of the hearing.

(i) The Hearing Officer(s) may continue the hearing and request additional information from the enforcement officer or the recipient of the administrative citation prior to issuing a written decision.

(§ 1, Ord. 006-09, eff. May 7, 2009)

(a) After considering all of the testimony and evidence submitted at the hearing, the Hearing Officer(s) shall issue a written decision within ten days of the hearing to uphold or deny the administrative citation and shall list in the decision the reasons for that decision. The decision of the Hearing Officer(s) shall be final.

(b) If the Hearing Officer(s) determines that the administrative citation should be upheld, then the fine amount on deposit with the City shall be retained by the City.

(c) If the Hearing Officer(s) determines that the administrative citation should be canceled and the fine was deposited with the City, then the City shall promptly refund the amount of the deposited fine.

(d) The recipient of the administrative citation shall be served with a copy of the Hearing Officer(s)'s written decision in the manner prescribed by this chapter.

(§ 1, Ord. 006-09, eff. May 7, 2009)

The failure of any person to pay the civil fines assessed by an administrative citation within the time specified on the citation may result in the matter being referred to the City's authorized agent to file a claim with the Small Claims Court. Alternatively, the City may pursue any other legal remedy to collect the civil fines. The City may also recover its collections costs according to proof.

(§ 1, Ord. 006-09, eff. May 7, 2009)

Any person aggrieved by an administrative decision of a Hearing Officer(s) on an administrative citation may obtain review of the administrative decision by filing a petition for review with the Sutter County Superior Court in accordance with the timelines and provisions as set forth in Government Code § 53069.4.

(§ 1, Ord. 006-09, eff. May 7, 2009)

(a) The administration citation and all notices to be given by this chapter shall be served on the responsible person in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.

(b) Failure to receive any notice specified in this chapter does not affect the validity of proceedings conducted hereunder.

(§ 1, Ord. 006-09, eff. May 7, 2009)