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HomeMy WebLinkAbout24- City Attorney CITY OF SAN BERNARDINO - REQUEST FOR COUNCIL ACTION From: James F. Penman, City Attorney Subject: ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF SAN BERNARDINO AMENDING CHAPTER 8.27 OF THE SAN BERNARDINO MUNICIPAL CODE AUTHORIZING THE CODE COMPLIANCE DIRECTOR TO CONDUCT ANNUAL WEED ABATEMENTS AND RECOVER COSTS. Dept: City Attorney Date: September 8, 1998 O p� Synopsis of Previous Council action: Ord. MC-460, 5-13-85, Ord. MC-344, 2-20-84, Ord. MC-140, 3-1-82, Ord. 3375 (part), 8-27-73, Ord. 2022 section 2, 9, 10, 13 '/z, 3-16-54, Ord. MC-239, 12-20-82, Ord. 3615 (part), 1-3-77, Ord. MC-742, 9-17-90, Ord. 2645 (part), 2-14-65, Ord. MC-364, 4-16-84, Ord. 2603, 8-17-64, Ord. MC-603, 6-15-87. Recommended motion: That said ordinance be laid over for final adoption. iSignature Contact person: Jolena E Barnes Phone: 5355 Supporting data attached: Staff Report Ward: ALL FUNDING REQUIREMENTS: Amount: NONE Source: (Acct. No.) (Acct. Description) Finance: Council Notes: I /, 1 to 75-0262 Agenda Item No. C�q STAFF REPORT Council Meeting Date: September 21, 1998 TO: Mayor and Common Council FROM: City Attorney's Office DATE: September 8, 1998 AGENDA: September 21, 1998 Currently, San Bernardino Municipal Code Chapter 8.27 gives the Director of Public Services the power to abate public nuisances. This Chapter also provides for a hearing of all objections by the Board of Building Commissioners with an appeal to the Mayor and Common Council. The proposed amendment transfers the power to abate nuisances from the Director of Public Services to the Code Compliance Director. The amendment also provides for a hearing of all objections to the Code Compliance Director's finding of a public nuisance to the Hearing Officer with an appeal to the Board of Building Commissioners. I ORDINANCE NO. 2 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF SAN BERNARDINO AMENDING CHAPTER 8.27 OF THE SAN BERNARDINO MUNICIPAL CODE AUTHORIZING 3 THE CODE COMPLIANCE DIRECTOR TO CONDUCT ANNUAL WEED ABATEMENTS AND RECOVER COSTS. 4 5 THE MAYOR AND COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAN BERNARDINO DO ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS: 6 SECTION 1. Section 8.27.020 is hereby amended to read as follows: 7 "8.27.020 Refusal of owner to remove nuisances - Infraction 8 - Power of arrest-Notice to appear. 9 Any owner, agent or person having charge of or occupying 10 any lot or premises within the City who refuses or neglects for a period of five days after receiving notice from the Code Compliance Director 11 of the City to remove any of the things declared to be a nuisance in Section 12 8.27.010 thereof, is guilty of an infraction, which upon conviction thereof 13 is punishable in accordance with the provisions of Section 1.12.010 of this Code. The Code Compliance Director, or his or her designated representatives 14 shall have the authority to enforce the provisions of this Chapter and may 15 arrest and issue notices to appear for violations hereof pursuant to Section 16 836.5 and Chapter 5C of Part 2, Title 3 (853.6 et seq.) of the California Penal Code." 17 18 SECTION 2. Section 8.27.030 is hereby amended to read as follows: 19 "8.27.030 Declaration and order to abate public nuisance - 20 Right of protest and hearing. 21 A. Whenever any of the public nuisances described or mentioned in 22 Section 8.27.010 exist in the City, the Code Compliance Director may find and declare the same to be a public nuisance under the 23 provisions of this Chapter and may order the abatement of such 24 public nuisance as hereinafter provided. The Code Compliance 25 Director may further find and declare that weeds and vegetation on specified parcels of property are seasonal and recurrent nuisances 26 and order the periodic abatement of such nuisances as hereinafter 27 28 CDK/tbm[amend.8271 1 I ORDINANCE NO. 2 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF SAN BERNARDINO AMENDING CHAPTER 8.27 OF THE SAN BERNARDINO MUNICIPAL CODE AUTHORIZING 3 THE CODE COMPLIANCE DIRECTOR TO CONDUCT ANNUAL WEED ABATEMENTS AND RECOVER COSTS. 4 5 provided, and may further find that weeds and other matters 6 constituting public nuisances along and near dead trees and fences 7 increase the fire hazard and may notify the owner of such condition in order that remedial action can be undertaken.. 8 9 B. Any owner whose property is found by the Code Compliance 10 Director to support a nuisance may protest the finding and be heard by the Hearing Officer, according to the terms of the Notice received 11 pursuant to Section 8.27.040 of the San Bernardino Municipal Code." 12 13 SECTION 3. Section 8.27.040 is hereby amended to read as follows: 14 "8,27,040 Notice to clean premises; protest and notice of hearing 15 thereon. 16 A. When the Code Compliance Director finds a nuisance to exist, he shall cause a "Notice to Clean Premises" to be given in regard to all 17 property on which, or abutting that property on which, the nuisance 18 exists. Notices shall be mailed to all property owners as their names 19 and addresses appear in the latest records of a title company or the tax assessment rolls of the County or as may be otherwise known. In 20 addition to the date and a description of the property by street 21 designation and any other information deemed appropriate by the 22 Code Compliance Director, the contents of the Notice shall be in substantially the following form: 23 24 "NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN pursuant to Section 8.27.040 of 25 the San Bernardino Municipal Code that the Code Compliance 26 27 28 CDK/tbm[=end.8271 2 I ORDINANCE NO. 2 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF SAN BERNARDINO AMENDING CHAPTER 8.27 OF THE SAN BERNARDINO MUNICIPAL CODE AUTHORIZING 3 THE CODE COMPLIANCE DIRECTOR TO CONDUCT ANNUAL WEED ABATEMENTS AND RECOVER COSTS. 4 5 Director of the City of San Bernardino has determined that a 6 nuisance exist on or abutting the property described in this Notice 7 or on the parkway thereof. The nuisance consists of one or more 8 of the following: weeds, sage brush, chaparral, brush, dry vegetation or vegetation which attains such extensive growth as to 9 become a fire menace when dry, poison oak or ivy or other plants 10 which are noxious or dangerous, dry grass, stubble, dead I I wood, dead or diseased trees, dead or dry palm fronds, fences in disrepair or broken, litter, flammable material which creates a fire 12 hazard, empty containers, abandoned asphalt or concrete, rubble 13 or waste materials. You must abate or remove this nuisance; 14 otherwise, it will be removed and abated by the City of San Bernardino, in which case the cost of such removal shall be 15 assessed upon the property from which, or abutting the property 16 from which said nuisance is removed, and such costs shall 17 constitute a tax lien upon such lots or land until paid. 18 "Any person objecting to this determination of a nuisance 19 or the proposed removal and abatement of said nuisance shall file 20 a written protest with the City Clerk not later than ten days from the date of this Notice. The City Clerk shall transmit such protest 21 promptly to the Hearing Officer of San Bernardino. 22 23 NOTICE IS FURTHER GIVEN that said protest shall be heard before the Hearing Officer in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 300 North "D" 24 Street, San Bernardino, California, on the second or fourth Thursday of the 25 next month after the date of this Notice at two o'clock in the afternoon. If 26 a timely protest has been filed, you or your agent may appear at said 27 hearing' and be heard and may present and hear evidence concerning the 28 CDK/tbmJ mend.8271 3 I ORDINANCE NO. 2 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF SAN BERNARDINO AMENDING CHAPTER 8.27 OF THE SAN BERNARDINO MUNICIPAL CODE AUTHORIZING 3 THE CODE COMPLIANCE DIRECTOR TO CONDUCT ANNUAL WEED ABATEMENTS AND RECOVER COSTS. 4 proposed abatement." 5 B. In addition to mailing the notice in the manner and form required 6 herein, such notice may (permissive) be conspicuously posted on 7 or adjacent to the property to be charged with the costs of abatement." 8 SECTION 4. Section 8.27.050 is hereby amended to read as follows: 9 10 "8.27.050 Notice to clean regrowth - Seasonal and recurrent I I nuisances. 12 A. Whenever the Code Compliance Director has determined that 13 weeds, dead or dry palm fronds or other dry vegetation of any 14 type on specified parcels of property are seasonal or recurrent nuisances, the Notice provided for in Section 8.27.040 shall have 15 this additional language added to the first paragraph of the Notice: 16 17 "The Code Compliance Director has also determined that the property described in this Notice supports the growth of 18 weeds, dead or dry palm fronds and dry grass which are seasonal 19 and recurrent nuisances that must also be removed and abated 20 hereafter from time to time. Notice of regrowth of this nuisance during this calendar year will be given by postcard only without 21 further hearing. Failure to abate such recurring conditions will 22 result in the City abating such nuisances, in which case the cost 23 of such removal shall constitute a tax lien upon the property described in this Notice until paid. The efficient and economical 24 control of such seasonal and recurrent nuisances may require 25 preventative chemical control of such weed seeds and weed 26 seedlings, and the City may require preventative chemical control 27 28 CDK/tbm[amend.827] 4 I ORDINANCE NO. 2 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF SAN BERNARDINO AMENDING CHAPTER 8.27 OF THE SAN BERNARDINO MUNICIPAL CODE AUTHORIZING 3 THE CODE COMPLIANCE DIRECTOR TO CONDUCT ANNUAL WEED ABATEMENTS AND RECOVER COSTS. 4 of such nuisance." 5 B. After such seasonal and recurrent nuisance has been abated once 6 and the nuisance recurs in the same calendar year, the Code 7 Compliance Director shall cause a postcard notice to be mailed to the property owners as their names and addresses appear in the 8 latest records of a title company or the tax assessment rolls of the 9 County or as may be known to the Code Compliance Director. 10 The notice shall show the property address to which the notice relates and the contents of the postcard notice shall be in I I substantially the following form: 12 13 NOTICE OF REGROWTH 14 A "NOTICE TO CLEAN PREMISES" was previously 15 mailed to you declaring a nuisance on the above property. That 16 Notice, which required removal or abatement of such nuisance, also declared that substantial regrowth must be abated. 17 18 The above property was recently inspected and the removal 19 of the following items is required at this time: 20 21 22 You are hereby urged to perform the abatement work indicated 23 within ten days from the date of this notice. If the property is not cleaned 24 and the nuisance abated within that time, the City will have the work done 25 to abate the nuisance and will assess the cost thereof as a tax lien against the property." 26 27 28 CDK/tbm(=end.8271 5 I ORDINANCE NO. 2 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF SAN BERNARDINO AMENDING CHAPTER 8.27 OF THE SAN BERNARDINO MUNICIPAL CODE AUTHORIZING 3 THE CODE COMPLIANCE DIRECTOR TO CONDUCT ANNUAL WEED ABATEMENTS AND RECOVER COSTS. 4 5 SECTION 5. Section 8.27.060 is hereby amended to read as follows: 6 8.27.060 Hearing by the Hearing Officer- Appeal to 7 Board of Building Commissioners. 8 At the time set for hearing, the Hearing Officer shall hear and consider all 9 objections or protest to the finding of nuisance and the proposed removal of the nuisance and may continue the hearing from time to time. Upon the 10 conclusion of the hearing, the Hearing Officer shall allow or overrule any I 1 or all objections, and if the nuisance is confirmed, the Code Compliance 12 Director shall be deemed to have acquired jurisdiction to have the work or removal performed. The decision of the Hearing Officer is final, subject 1 to the right of the property owner to appeal to the Board of Building 14 Commissioners, the notice of appeal under this section must be filed with 15 the City Clerk's office within ten days following the mailing of the decisions of the Hearing Officer and shall include the payment of all 16 applicable appeal fees. The appeal shall be made in accordance with 17 Section 8.30.70. The Board's decision shall be final and conclusive and 18 shall not be subject to appeal to the Mayor and Common Council. Pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure Section 1094.6, any action to review 19 the decision of the Board shall be commenced no later than the ninetieth 20 day after the date the Board's order is adopted. 21 SECTION 6. Section 8.27.070 is hereby amended to read as follows: 22 23 "8.27.070 Abatement of nuisance. 24 Upon acquiring jurisdiction, the Code Compliance Director shall 25 abate the nuisance, and his or her assistants or deputies, or any person, 26 27 28 CDK/tbmlamend.8271 6 I ORDINANCE NO. 2 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF SAN BERNARDINO AMENDING CHAPTER 8.27 OF THE SAN BERNARDINO MUNICIPAL CODE AUTHORIZING 3 THE CODE COMPLIANCE DIRECTOR TO CONDUCT ANNUAL WEED ABATEMENTS AND RECOVER COSTS. 4 firm or corporation under contract to do the work are expressly authorized 5 to enter upon private property for that purpose." 6 SECTION 7. Section 8.27.080 is hereby amended to read as follows: 7 8 "8.27.080 Performance of work under contract Bids. 9 At least annually, the Code Compliance Director shall solicit bids 10 for the performance of the work described in this Chapter. All bids so 11 submitted shall be accompanied by cash, cashier's check, money order, or certificate of deposit payable to the City in the sum of three hundred 12 dollars, which sum must be forfeited to the City upon failure of the bidder 13 to enter into the contract awarded. The Mayor and Common Council may 14 reject any and all proposals or bids and readvertise or may order the Code Compliance Director to abate the nuisance." 15 16 SECTION 8. Section 8.27.090 is hereby amended to read as follows: 17 "8.27.090 Removal of nuisance by property owner- Time limit. 18 19 A. Any property owner shall have the right to have such nuisance 20 removed at his own expense provided the same is done within ten days after the mailing of the "Notice to Clean Premises", 21 as provided in Section 8.27.040, and to the satisfaction of the 22 Code Compliance Director. 23 B. Upon the written approval of the Code Compliance Director, 24 an owner of a lot or parcel larger than one acre or two hundred 25 feet by two hundred feet in area, or of two or more subdivided 26 27 28 CDK/tbm[amend.827] 7 1 ORDINANCE NO. 2 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF SAN BERNARDINO AMENDING CHAPTER 8.27 OF THE SAN BERNARDINO MUNICIPAL CODE AUTHORIZING 3 THE CODE COMPLIANCE DIRECTOR TO CONDUCT ANNUAL WEED ABATEMENTS AND RECOVER COSTS. 4 and unimproved lots adjacent to one another and under the same 5 ownership, may construct at his own expense a fifty-foot fire break 6 around the entire perimeter of the lot, lots or parcel within the ten-day period and to the satisfaction of the Code Compliance 7 Director; provided, that such fire break must be one hundred feet 8 in width when adjacent or in close proximity to a building; and 9 provided further, that a fifty foot fire break shall be constructed adjacent to any public highway on the lot, lots or parcel. The 10 Code Compliance Director shall not give his written approval to I I such owner for fire breaks in the event he determines that said larger 12 lot or parcel or subdivided lots are so dangerous and hazardous to life or property as to require immediate abatement." 13 14 SECTION 9. Section 8.27.091 is hereby amended to read as follows: 15 "8.27.091 Removal of seasonal and recurrent nuisance by property 16 owner- Time limit. 17 A. Any property owner shall have any seasonal and recurrent nuisance 18 removed at his own expense provided the same is done within ten days from the date of mailing of the postcard notice under 19 Section 8.27.050 and to the satisfaction of the Code Compliance 20 Director. 21 B. In lieu of removing the nuisance, a fire break may be installed and 22 maintained as provided for in Section 8.27.090." 23 24 SECTION 10. Section 8.27.100 is hereby amended to read as follows: 25 "8.27.100 Assessment for abatement by City - Filing of objection. 26 27 28 CDK/tbm[=end.8271 8 I ORDINANCE NO. 2 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF SAN BERNARDINO AMENDING CHAPTER 8.27 OF THE SAN BERNARDINO MUNICIPAL CODE AUTHORIZING 3 THE CODE COMPLIANCE DIRECTOR TO CONDUCT ANNUAL WEED 4 ABATEMENTS AND RECOVER COSTS. 5 The Code Compliance Director shall, upon completion of the 6 abatement, itemize the costs thereof including incidental expenses which 7 if unpaid shall be assessed against and become a lien upon the property on 8 which the nuisance was abated to be collected at the time and in the manner of the real property taxes by the Tax Collector, pursuant to the procedure set 9 forth in Chapter 3.68. The Code Compliance Director shall forthwith 10 initiate proceedings before the Board of Building Commissioners under 11 Chapter 3.68 for determination and collection of fee assessment for cost of abatement." 12 13 14 15 16 17 HI 18 HI 19 20 21 HI 22 23 24 25 /// 26 HI 27 28 CDKAbmlamend.8271 9 I ORDINANCE NO. 2 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF SAN BERNARDINO AMENDING CHAPTER 8.27 OF THE SAN BERNARDINO MUNICIPAL CODE AUTHORIZING 3 THE CODE COMPLIANCE DIRECTOR TO CONDUCT ANNUAL WEED ABATEMENTS AND RECOVER COSTS. 4 5 I HEREBY CERTIFY that the foregoing Ordinance was duly adopted by the Mayor 6 and Common Council of the City of San Bernardino at a meeting thereof, held on the _ day of 1998, by the following vote, to wit: 7 8 COUNCIL MEMBERS: AYES NAYS ABSTAIN ABSENT 9 ESTRADA LIEN 10 ARIAS 11 SCHNETZ 12 DEVLIN ANDERSON 13 MILLER 14 15 Rachel G. Clark, City Clerk 16 17 The foregoing Ordinance is hereby approved this day of 1998 18 Judah Valles, Mayor 19 City of San Bernardino Approved as to form 20 and legal content: 21 JAMES F. PENMAN, City At orney 22 By 23 / 24 (! 25 26 27 29 CDK/tbm[amend.827l 10