Yuba County Municipal Code § 11.67.050 Penalties

This Chapter establishes the responsibilities of various departments, officials and public employees of the County to enforce the requirements of this Code and establishes uniform procedures the County will use to identify, abate, remove, and enjoin uses, buildings, or structures that are deemed to be in violation of this Code.

(Ord. No. 1624)

All departments, officials, and public employees of the County vested with the duty or authority to issue permits or licenses shall conform to the provisions of this Code, and shall not issue any permit or license for uses, buildings or purposes in conflict with the provisions of this Code, and any such permit or license issued in conflict with the provisions of this Code shall be null and void.

(1) Authority.

a. Primary authority. The Director of the affected department shall be the Enforcement Official and is empowered to use any of the provisions of the Yuba County is Code where appropriate to correct violations of, and secure compliance with, the provisions of this Code.

b. Warning not required. Issuance of a warning shall not be a requirement prior to using any enforcement provision of this Code. Violations of this Chapter are not tiered and are subject to citations without notice of violation.

(Ord. No. 1624)

It shall be the duty of the Enforcement Official to enforce the provisions of this Chapter and the Enforcement Official has the following responsibilities and authorities in the enforcement and administration of the provisions of this Code:

(1) To review with affected individuals the provisions of this Code through methods to support voluntary compliance with its provisions;

(2) To issue citations for violations of this Code, and to issue orders;

(3) To initiate necessary proceedings to forfeit securities, bonds or cash deposits;

(4) To initiate proceedings to revoke land use permits and other entitlements granted under this Code;

(5) To initiate and conduct nuisance abatement proceedings and to carry out additional abatement responsibilities regarding violations of this Code;

(6) To carry out any other special enforcement programs initiated by ordinance, order or resolution of the Board of Supervisors, and any other responsibilities and authorities specified by this Subchapter or this Code; and

(7) To recover enforcement costs.

(Ord. No. 1624)

(a) Any of the following activities in violation of this Code shall be declared a public nuisance and may be abated in the manner prescribed by law:

(1) Activity inconsistent with the Development Code. Any development, use or other activity of any building, structure, sign or use of any land in contravention of any provision or any regulation of this Code.

(2) Activity inconsistent with permit or approval. Any development, use, or other activity in any way inconsistent with the terms or conditions of any permit or approval required to engage in such activity, whether issued under or required by this Code.

(b) Illustrative examples of violations. Examples of activities inconsistent with this Code or with permit or approval issued under this Code include, but are not limited to, the following:

(1) Use of any land, structure, or improvement except in accordance with the requirements of this Code;

(2) Increasing the density or intensity of any use of any land or structure except in accordance with the requirements of this Code;

(3) Filing or recording of a subdivision plat in any public office without approval for recording pursuant to this Code;

(4) Failure to remove a temporary use once authorization for the temporary use under this Code and all other applicable regulations has lapsed;

(5) Damage to or removal of required landscaping and vegetation inconsistent with this Code;

(6) Creation, expansion, replacement, or change of a nonconformity inconsistent with this Code and all other applicable regulations;

(7) Failure to remove any sign installed, created, erected, or maintained in violation of this Code, or for which a permit has lapsed;

(8) Failure of a property owner to construct, improve, or maintain any amenity, landscaping, buffers, fencing, drainage improvement, water quality improvement or other improvements required by the terms of any permit or approval as set forth in this Code;

(9) Failure to initiate, establish, and comply with all conditions of approval of any permit or approval prior to initiating or establishing the use, development, or activity such permit or approval allows;

(10) Grading without appropriate permits or clearances;

(11) Discharging into a waterway or storm drain system without appropriate permits or clearances.

(c) Any use, event, structure or building, whether non-conforming or otherwise, that meets any of the following criteria shall be deemed a public nuisance subject to abatement as set forth herein: disturbances of the peace, illegal drug activity including sales or possession thereof; public drunkenness, drinking in public, harassment of passers-by, gambling, prostitution, public vandalism, excessive littering, excessive noise (particularly between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m.), noxious smells or fumes, curfew violations, lewd conduct or police detention, citations or arrests or any other activity declared by the County to be a public nuisance; violation of any provision of this Chapter or any other County, State or federal regulation, ordinance or statute.

(Ord. No. 1624)

Any person, firm, or corporation, whether as principal, agent, employee or otherwise, violating a provision of this Code or failing to comply with a mandatory requirement of this Code shall be guilty of a misdemeanor but may be cited or charged, at the election of the Enforcement Official, as an infraction with penalties assessed consistent with the Yuba County Code.

(Ord. No. 1624)

The remedies provided for herein shall be cumulative and not exclusive. Upon a finding of nuisance pursuant to this Chapter, and after giving the property owner an opportunity to cure the nuisance and determining that the nuisance still exists; the CDSA Director, Planning Commission, or Board of Supervisors may impose any remedy available at law or in equity, which shall include, but is not limited to, any of the following or combination thereof:

(1) Ordering the cessation of the use in whole or in part;

(2) Imposing reasonable conditions upon any continued operation of the use, including those uses that constitute existing non-conforming uses;

(3) Requiring continuous compliance with any conditions so imposed;

(4) Requiring the user to guarantee that such conditions shall in all respects be complied with;

(5) Imposing additional conditions or ordering the cessation of the use in whole or in part upon a failure of the user to comply with any conditions so imposed;

(6) Impose fees to cover staff time involved in investigating the violation;

(7) Imposing fines and penalties such as but not limited to double the standard permit fees or fines as outlined in County Code Chapter 7.36;

(8) Recordation of notice of non-compliance or lien against the property.

(Ord. No. 1624)

Notice and order(s) shall be provided and abated, according to the procedures of Chapter 7.36 (Property Maintenance Ordinance) of the County Code.

(1) Urgency summary abatement. The Community Development and Services Agency Director may, in addition to other authorized procedures, take immediate action to abate any nuisance that is deemed to be an immediate threat to the health, safety or well-being of the public. If any such violation is not abated immediately as directed by the Agency Director, the County is authorized to enter onto private property and to take any and all measures required to remediate the violation. Any expense related to such remediation undertaken by the County shall be fully reimbursed by the property owner and/or responsible party. Any relief obtained under this Section shall not prevent County from seeking other and further relief authorized under this Chapter.

(Ord. No. 1624)