(A) Violation of provisions unlawful. In the event of the declaration of a water emergency by the City Manager or his or her designee in accordance with the provisions of this chapter, it shall be unlawful for any person to use or permit the use of water from the water system of the city in violation of any of the provisions set forth in this chapter until such time as the City Manager or his or her designee has declared the restrictive provision(s) in question to be no longer in effect.
(B) Review of operational status of water system. Once a water emergency has been declared and the appropriate staged restrictions imposed, the Director of Public Utilities or his or her designee shall review the operational status of the city's water system and the supply of water available to the city's water system at least once daily. The Director of Public Utilities shall notify the City Manager or his or her designee of the operational status of the city's water system and the available water supply. The Director of Public Utilities or his or her designee shall recommend to the City Manager or his or her designee during the course of this daily notification procedure whether a different stage of restriction should be implemented. The City Manager or his or her designee shall make the final determination as to whether any change in the stage of restriction is warranted. If such a change in the stage of restriction is warranted, the notification procedures shall be followed in the same manner as for the initial declaration of a water emergency.
(C) Enforcement by Public Utilities Departments, et al. Compliance with the provisions of this chapter shall be enforced by personnel of the Public Utilities Department, the Albemarle Police Department, and any other personnel designated by the City Manager. Failure to comply with any of the regulations or restrictions of this chapter shall be considered unlawful and a violation of this section. All remedies authorized by law for noncompliance with this chapter, including the issuance of a civil penalty citation or an action for injunctive relief, may be exercised to enforce the provisions of this chapter. It shall be unlawful to fail to act in accordance with the provisions of this chapter or to use water in any manner that constitutes an attempted and/or actual evasion or avoidance of the water restrictions prescribed by this chapter.
(D) Civil penalties.
(1) Any consumer of water from the city water system who violates any provision of this chapter shall be subject to civil penalties as follows:
(a) During a declared Level II water emergency, residential users who violate any of the mandatory restrictions of this chapter shall be subject to a written warning for the first offense; a civil penalty in the amount of $100 for the second offense; and a civil penalty in the amount of $200 for the third and each successive offense;
(b) During a declared Level III or Level IV water emergency, there shall be no warnings issued, and residential users who violate any of the mandatory restrictions of this chapter shall be subject to a civil penalty in the amount of $100 for the first offense and a civil penalty in the amount of $200 for the second and each successive offense;
(c) During any declared water emergency, any non-residential user who violates any of the mandatory restrictions of this chapter shall be subject to a written warning for the first offense; a civil penalty of $200 for the second offense; a civil penalty of $500 for the third offense; and a civil penalty of $1,000 for the fourth and each successive offense.
(2) Violations shall be accumulated by all consumers of water from the city water system so long as a declared water emergency, in any stage, is continuously in effect and until no stage of this chapter has been in effect for one calendar year. Violations of any of the mandatory restrictions of any stage of a declared water emergency under the provisions of this section shall accumulate with violations of the mandatory restrictions of any of the other stages under this section. If a customer of the water system moves or ceases service and subsequently renews service during any of the stages of a declared water emergency under this section, the customer's violations shall continue to accumulate as if such move or cessation had not occurred.
(E) Administrative review of citation. Any citation that is issued by authorized personnel under this chapter and that is enforceable by civil penalties shall be subject to administrative review by the Director of Planning and Community Development or his or her designee. This administrative review shall occur only when the alleged violator has made a written request for such a review within 15 calendar days of the issuance of the citation at issue. This written request for administrative review must be hand delivered or sent by certified mail to the Director of Planning and Community Development at his office. If a request for administrative review is not received in person by the Director of Planning and Community Development or his or her designee or postmarked within 15 calendar days of the date of issuance of a citation, administrative review of the matter shall be deemed to have been waived.
(F) Hearing. When an alleged violator of the provisions of this chapter has filed in a timely manner a written request for administrative review that conforms to the provisions, the Director of Planning and Community Development or his or her designee shall hold a hearing within 30 calendar days of the date of receipt of the written request for such a hearing. At this hearing, the Director of Planning and Community Development or his or her designee shall review the violation alleged in the citation and shall provide the alleged violator an opportunity to be heard in response to the allegations alleged in the citation under review. Within five calendar days of the date on which the administrative hearing is held, the Director of Planning and Community Development or his or her designee shall render a written decision whereby liability or no liability on the part of the alleged violator is found to exist. Such a decision shall be delivered to the person or entity that filed the request for administrative review by means of hand delivery or certified mail, return receipt requested. Upon receipt of notification of any decision finding liability, the violator shall make payment of any civil penalty incurred within 15 calendar days. If payment of any civil penalty due is not received within 15 calendar days following receipt of notice of liability after administrative review, the violator shall be liable for an additional civil penalty of $100.
(G) Failure to pay civil penalty. Cases involving any person or entity that fails to pay any civil penalty assessed against that person or entity after the later of either 30 calendar days from the date of receipt of a citation alleging liability or the date of receipt of notice finding liability following administrative review shall be referred to the City Attorney for institution of a civil action in the name of the city, in the appropriate division of the General Courts of Justice, for recovery of the penalty.
(H) Repeated violations. Upon a fourth violation of this section, a violator shall be guilty of a Class 3 misdemeanor and shall be fined not more than $500 as provided by G.S. § 14-4, and, in addition thereto, such violation may be enjoined and restrained as provided in G.S. § 160A-175. The issuing of a criminal warrant shall not prohibit the imposition of further civil penalties.
(I) Discontinuance of service upon violation of mandatory restrictions. The Director of Public Utilities or his or her designee shall have the authority to discontinue or restrict water service to any person, entity, or structure in the event of any violation of the mandatory restrictions imposed pursuant to this section. The Director of Public Utilities shall provide by the most expeditious means reasonably available a minimum of two working days written notice of his or her intent to discontinue or restrict water service to a particular person, entity, or structure before such discontinuance or restriction of service is implemented. During the period of the two day notice, any person or entity claiming the status of an aggrieved party may make a request of the City Manager or his or her designee to be heard as to why such discontinuance or restriction of water service should not be enforced. If such a request is received by the City Manager or his or her designee in a timely manner, the requesting party shall be heard by the City Manager or his or her designee on the said matter as soon as is practicable. Once a matter is scheduled by the City Manager for hearing, the decision of the Director or her designee renders a decision as to the aggrieved party's request. The decision rendered by the City Manager or his or her design in such a matter shall be final. When water service has been discontinued or restricted pursuant to and in accordance with this division, it shall be unlawful to reactivate such service without the permission of the Director of Public Utilities.
(J) Separate offenses. Each day's continuing violation of this chapter shall be a separate and distinct criminal and civil offense. Each violation of this chapter shall be a separate offense even if occurring on the same day.
(Ord. 07-26, passed 9-4-07)