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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06-05-2018 Item 13 Second reading of Ordinance amendments to 1.24 Meeting Date: 6/5/2018 FROM: Michael Codron, Community Development Department Prepared By: Cassia Cocina, Acting Code Enforcement Supervisor SUBJECT: ADOPTION OF AN ORDIN ANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 1.24 (ADMINISTRATIVE CODE ENFORCEMENT PROCEDURES) OF TITLE 1 TO THE SAN LUIS OBISPO MUNICIPAL CODE RECOMMENDATION Adopt Ordinance 1648 (2018 Series) (Attachment A) amending Chapter 1.24 (Administrative Code Enforcement Procedures) of Title 1 to the San Luis Obispo Municipal Code . DISCUSSION On May 15, 2018 the City Council voted 5:0 to introduce Ordinance 1648 to amend Chapter 1.24. The amendments of Chapter 1.24 include the following: 1. Late payment fee assessed on delinquent citations at an interest rate of 8% per month until paid. The fee will recover costs associated with collectio n and help encourage timely payments. 2. Clarification for repeat violations which may occur over multiple properties. This clarification will allow higher penalties on subsequent violations without requiring additional notification. 3. Recording Notice of Violation on the property’s title. This will serve as a notice to any person performing due diligence prior to purchasing a property that outstanding violations exist. Once violations are corrected, a notice of compliance will be recorded on the property. The Ordinance is now ready for adoption and the amendment to Chapter 1.24 will become effective July 5, 2018. ALTERNATIVES 1. Continue the proposed ordinance. The City Council may continue action if more information is needed. Direction should be given to staff regarding additional information needed to make the decision. 2. Reject the proposed ordinance. The City Council may reject the proposed ordinance although this would limit code enforcement effectiveness. Attachments: a - Ordinance 1648 Packet Pg. 115 Item 13 O 1648 ORDINANCE NO. 1648 (2018 SERIES) AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO, CALIFORNIA, AMENDING CHAPTER 1.24 (ADMINISTRATIVE CODE ENFORCEMENT PROCEDURES) OF TITLE 1 TO THE SAN LUIS OBISPO MUNICIPAL CODE NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED by the Council of the City of San Luis Obispo as follows: SECTION 1. Section 1.24.050, subsection E of the San Luis Obispo Municipal Code is hereby amended as follows: E. Prior and Repeat Violations. The city may take into consideration the fact that a person has been previously issued an uncorrected notice of violation and/or a sustained administrative citation when the city is determining whether to accept an application or to grant any permit, license or any similar type of land use approval for that person and such notice of violation and/or administrative citation may be used as evidence that the person has committed acts that are not compatible with the health, safety, and general welfare of other persons and businesses within the city. Repeated violations by the same person or the same property of the same code provision within any twelve-month period may result in the issuance of an administrative citation(s) imposing additional or escalated administrative fines without a notice of violation and/or notice to correct preceding the citation. SECTION 2. Section 1.24.070, subsection C is hereby added to the San Luis Obispo Municipal Code as follows: C. Late Payment Charges. Any person who fails to pay to the City any fine imposed pursuant to this chapter on or before the date that fine is due also shall be liable for interest accrued at a rate of 8% per month until paid. SECTION 3. Sections 1.24.160 through 1.24.200 are hereby added to the San Luis Obispo Municipal Code as follows: 1.24.160 Issuance and recordation of notices of violation. This chapter shall govern the procedures relating to the recordation of administrative notices of violation. 1.24.170 Procedures for recordation. A. Once the director has issued a notice of violation to a responsible person and the property remains in violation after the deadline established in the notice of violation, the director may record a notice of violation with the Recorder’s O ffice of San Luis Obispo County. Packet Pg. 116 Item 13 Ordinance No. 1648 (2018 Series) Page 2 O 1648 B. Before recordation, the director shall provide to the responsible person a letter of intent to record a notice of violation unless a written appeal is filed pursuant to the procedures outlined in this chapter. The letter shall be served pursuant to any of the methods of service set forth in Chapter 1.24 of this code. The director may also send a courtesy copy of the letter to any financial institution with a legal interest in the real property. C. If a written appeal is not filed pursuant to the procedures set forth in this chapter, the director may record the notice of violation if the violation has not been corrected. D. The recorded notice of violation shall include the name of the property owner, the property’s assessor’s parcel number, the parcel’s legal description, and a copy of the notice of violation. 1.24.180 Service of recorded notice of violation. A copy of the recorded notice of violation shall be served on the responsible person and property owner pursuant to any of the methods of service set forth in Chapter 1.24 of this code. 1.24.190 Notice of compliance – Procedures. A. After a notice of violation has been recorded, and after the violations listed on the notice of violation have been corrected, the responsible person or property owner may file with the director a written request for a reinspection of the property to determine compliance with the municipal code and applicable state codes listed in the recorded notice of violation, and for the issuance of a notice of compliance on a form provided by the city. B. Once the director receives this request, the director shall reinspect the property to determine whether the violations listed in the notice of violation have been corrected and whether all necessar y permits have been issued and final inspections have been performed. C. The director shall serve a notice of compliance to the responsible person or property owner in the manner provided in Chapter 1.24 of this code if the director determines that: 1. All violations listed in the recorded notice of violation have been corrected; and 2. All necessary permits have been issued and finalized; and 3. All civil penalties assessed against the property have been paid; and Packet Pg. 117 Item 13 Ordinance No. 1648 (2018 Series) Page 3 O 1648 4. The party requesting t he notice of compliance has paid an administrative fee in an amount set by resolution of the City Council to reimburse the city for all administrative costs related to the request for a notice of compliance. Upon finding that the conditions above have been satisfied, the director shall record the notice of compliance with the County Recorder’s Office. The recordation of the notice of compliance shall have the effect of canceling the recorded notice of violation. D. If the director denies a request to issue a notice of compliance, the director shall serve the responsible person or property owner with a written explanation setting forth the reasons for the denial. The written explanation shall be served by any of the methods of service listed in Chapter 1.24 of this code. E. The director’s decision denying a request to issue a notice of compliance shall be final and non-appealable. 1.24.200 Prohibition against issuance of permits. Subject to the exception set forth herein, the city may withhold any permit for any alteration, repair or construction pertaining to any existing or new structures or signs on a property where a notice of violation is recorded, or any permits pertaining to the use and development of the real property or the structure. The city ma y thereafter withhold permits until a notice of compliance has been issued by the director. The city may not withhold permits which are necessary to obtain a notice of compliance or which are necessary to correct serious health and safety violations. SECTION 4. Severability. If any subdivision, paragraph, sentence, clause, or phrase of this Ordinance is, for any reason, held to be invalid or unenforceable by a court of competent jurisdiction, such invalidity or unenforceability shall not affect the validit y or enforcement of the remaining portions of this Ordinance, or any other provisions of the city’s rules and regulations. It is the city’s express intent that each remaining portion would have been adopted irrespective of the fact that any one or more subdivisions, paragraphs, sentences, clauses, or phrases be declared invalid or unenforceable. Packet Pg. 118 Item 13 Ordinance No. 1648 (2018 Series) Page 4 O 1648 SECTION 5. A summary of this ordinance, together with the names of Council members voting for and against, shall be published at least five (5) days prior to its final passage, in The Tribune, a newspaper published and circulated in this City. This ordinance shall go into effect at the expiration of thirty (30) days after its final passage. INTRODUCED on the 15th day of May, 2018, AND FINALLY ADOPTED by the Council of the City of San Luis Obispo on the 5th day of June, 2018, on the following vote: AYES: NOES: ABSENT: ____________________________________ Mayor Heidi Harmon ATTEST: ____________________________________ Teresa Purrington City Clerk APPROVED AS TO FORM: _____________________________________ J. Christine Dietrick City Attorney IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the official seal of the City of San Luis Obispo, California, this ______ day of ______________, _________. ____________________________________ Teresa Purrington City Clerk Packet Pg. 119 Item 13 Page intentionally left blank. Packet Pg. 120 Item 13