HomeMy WebLinkAboutMC-370
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ORDINANCE NO. MC-370
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ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF SAN BERNARDINO AMENDING SAN
BERNARDINO MUNICIPAL CODE CHAPTER 8.69 TO DECLARE EXISTENCE OF
GRAFFITI TO BE A NUISANCE AND PROVIDE FOR THE ABATEMENT THEREOF.
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THE MAYOR AND COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAN BERNARDINO DO
ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
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SECTION 1. The Mayor and Common Council find:
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(al Existence of graffiti and other inscribed material,
8 other than authorized signs, on public or private property, on
9 buildings, walls, fences, curbs and other structures, leads to
10 diminution of property values of entire neighborhoods of the City,
11 and creates blight in the community.
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(bl Continued existence of graffiti and other inscribed
13 material on such property, without timely removal or covering by
14 paint, leads to the proliferation of other graffiti and
15 inscriptions on nearby property, encourages the rapid
16 deterioration of property, with diminution of property values
17 spreading throughout large areas of the community, and increases
18 the spread of blight.
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(cl Existence of such graffiti and other inscribed material
20 on such property constitutes a public nuisance which the City of
21 San Bernardino, as a chartered City, has power to abate under its
22 police powers. The need to abate the existence of such graffiti
23 and inscribed material is a municipal affair, and affects only the
24 owners of property situated within the City of San Bernardino, and
25 has no discernible adverse effect on transient citizens.
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SECTION 2. Chapter 8.69 of the San Bernardino Municipal Code
27 is amended by adding the following:
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"8.69.030 Nuisance; notice to abate; abatement upon consent.
MC-370 .
1 A. The existence of graffiti, writings and other inscribed
2 material, other than signs authorized under this Code, on public
3 or private property, including on buildings, walls, fences, curbs
4 and other structures, in a place visible to the public, from a
5 public street, alley or other place open to the public, is hereby
6 declared a public nuisance, and the periodic removal thereof is
7 necessary to protect the health, safety and public welfare of the
8 inhabitants of the City.
9 B. Whenever any of the public nuisances mentioned in
10 Subsection A exist in the City, the Director of Public Services,
11 or his or her designee, may find and declare the same to be a
12 public nuisance under the provisions of this chapter and may order
13 the abatement of such public nuisance as hereinafter provided.
14 Special priority shall be given to the abatement of any writings
15 or symbols which are offensive to a substantial number or class of
16 citizens, or any graffiti or writing which demeans any individual,
17 or causes or is likely to cause a breach of the peace.
18 C. Any owner whose property is found to be or contain a
19 public nuisance by the Director of Public Services shall have the
20 right to request a hearing to determine whether in fact a public
21 nuisance exists as hereinafter provided. The owner may
22 specifically consent to removal, in which event the Director of
23 Public Services is authorized to immediately abate the nuisance.
24 8.69.040 Notice to remove graffiti, protests and notice of
25 hearing thereon.
26 A. When the Director of Public Services finds a nuisance as
27 described in Section 8.69.030 to exist, he or she shall cause a
28 'Notice to Remove Graffiti' to be given in regard to all property
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on which, or abutting that property on which, the nuisance exists.
A Notice shall be mailed to each property owner as his, her or its
name and address appears in the current records of a title company
or the tax assessment rolls of the county, or as may be otherwise
known. The Notice shall contain a date, a description of the
property by street designation and any other information deemed
appropriate by the Director of Public Services to designate the
location from which graffiti, writings or other inscriptions are
to be removed. The Notice shall be in substantially the following
form:
'NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN pursuant to Section
8.69.040 of the San Bernardino Municipal Code that the
Director of Public Services of the City of San
Bernardino has determined that a nuisance exists on or
abutting the property described in this Notice, or on
the parkway thereof. The nuisance consists of
graffiti, writings or other inscriptions, on
buildings, walls, fences, curbs or other structures on
such property or abutting such property. You must
abate or remove this nuisance, by removal or covering
of such graffiti, writings or other inscriptions. If
you do not remove such nuisance, the nuisance may be
removed and abated by the City of San Bernardino,
without further notice to you, and for that purpose
officers, agents, employees or contractors working
under the direction of the Director of Public Services
may enter upon your property to abate such nuisance.
Any person objecting to this determination of a
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nuisance or the proposed removal and abatement of said
nuisance shall file a written protest with the City
Clerk not later than five days from the date of mailing
of this Notice. The City Clerk shall transmit such
protest promptly to the Director of Public Services,
who shall promptly schedule a date, time and place for
hearing, and shall give notice thereof to the
protesting property owner or other protester.
The Director of Public Services will personally,
or by an official hearing officer designated by him or
her, hear any protests and consider any information,
evidence or argument concerning the existence of such
alleged nuisance, and after having given to the
property owner, or his or her representative, the
reasonable opportunity to be heard, shall render a
decision as to whether a nuisance exists. If a timely
protest has been filed, you or your agent may appear
at said hearing and be heard and may present and hear
evidence concerning the existence of the alleged
nuisance and the proposed abatement.
If you desire to have the City remove such
nuisance, you may notify the Director of Public
Services that you consent to abatement of the nuisance
by the City. I
B. In addition to mailing the Notice in the manner and form
required herein, such Notice may (permissive) be conspicuously
posted on or adjacent to the property from which the nuisance is
to be abated.
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MC-310.
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8.69.050 Hearing by Director of Public Services - Appeal
2 to Mayor and Common Council.
3 At the time set for hearing, the Director of Public Services,
4 or his or her designee, shall hear and consider all objections or
5 protests to the finding of nuisance and proposed abatement of the
6 nuisance, and may continue the hearing from time to time. The
7 hearing officer shall consider among other things whether the
8 expense necessarily incurred in complying with the ordinance and
9 the sanctions imposed for noncompliance are reasonable in relation
10 to the health, safety and public welfare interest being protected,
11 whether the existence of graffiti, writings or other inscriptions
12 in its present location is in fact a public nuisance, and has the
13 effect of diminishing property values of the neighborhood and
14 contributes to community blight, and shall consider the effect of
15 the existence of such graffiti, writings or other inscriptions on
16 a normal person of normal sensibility, and the environment in
17 which the graffiti, writings or other inscriptions exists
18 including, for instance, whether in an urban or rural setting.
19 The Director of Public Services, or his or her designee, shall not
20 find a nuisance to exist unless such hearing officer finds the
21 existence of an injurious effect upon the public in general. The
22 decision of the Director of Public Services, or his or her
23 designee, is final, subject to the right of the property owner to
24 appeal to the Mayor and Common Council pursuant to Chapter 2.64 of
25 the San Bernardino Municipal Code, except that the Notice of
26 Appeal must be filed within ten days of the hearing, or within ten
27 days of the mailing of notice of the decision by the Director of
28 Public Services, whichever occurs last. If a decision is rendered
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1 at the time of the hearing, and a representative of the property
2 owner was present at such hearing, no mailing of the decision
3 shall be required. The decision of the Mayor and Common Council
4 upon any appeal shall be final and conclusive. Any person failing
5 to protest as authorized in Section 8.69.030 or failing to appeal
6 after the decision of the Director of Public Services shall be
7 deemed to have waived any and all objections, and the Director of
8 Public Services shall be deemed to have acquired jurisdiction to
9 abate the nuisance and have the work of removal performed.
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8.69.060 Abatement of nuisance.
11 Upon acquiring jurisdiction, the Director of Public Services
12 shall abate the nuisance, and he and his assistants or deputies,
13 or any person, firm or corporation under contract to do the work,
14 are expressly authorized to enter upon private property for that
15 purpose.
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8.69.070 Abatement of nuisance by property owner - Time
17 limit.
18 Any property owner shall have the right to have any such
19 nuisance removed or abated at his or her own expense provided the
20 same is done within ten days after the mailing of the 'Notice to
21 Remove Graffiti' as provided in Section 8.69.040, provided such
22 abatement is performed to the satisfaction of the Director of
23 Public Services. If additional time is desired in order to remove
24 the graffiti, writings or other inscriptions, a request therefor
25 shall be made to the Director of Public Services, who may grant
26 additional time within which the property owner shall have the
27 right to have any such nuisance removed at his or her own expense.
28 Upon expiration of such additional time, however, if the nuisance
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1 is not removed, the Director of Public Services shall be deemed to
2 have acquired jurisdiction to abate the nuisance without further
3 notice or hearing and shall have authority to proceed to abate the
4 nuisance."
5 I HEREBY CERTIFY that the foregoing ordinance was duly
6 adopted by the Mayor and Common Council of the City of San
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meeting thereof, held on
Bernardino at a
reqular
the 21st day of
9 to wit:
, 1984, by the following vote,
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Mav
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Council Members Castaneda, Marks, Ouiel,
AYES:
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Frazier, Strickler
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None
NAYS:
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Council Members Reilly, Hernandez
ABSENT:
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o<.;:ffdd'/'?/'?/' .c.C;7/./r/
City Clerk
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The foregoing ordinance is hereby
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of
!~ay
, 1984.
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Approved as to form:
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