A. Violation; Penalty: Any person who violates the provisions of this Title, fails to comply with any of its requirements (including violations of conditions and safeguards established in connection with grants of variances or conditional uses) or makes any false statement in any document required to be submitted under the provisions thereof shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be punished as defined by law.
B. Enforcement:
1. Administrative Officer: The Zoning Administrator, Planning Director or other appointed official is responsible for the administration and enforcement of this Title.
2. Additional Actions Or Proceedings: In the event of a violation or threatened violation of this Title, the administrative officer, in addition to other remedies, may institute appropriate actions or proceedings to prevent, restrain or abate such violations or threatened violations, and it shall be the duty of the County Attorney to institute such action.
3. Suspected Ordinance Violation: In responding to a suspected ordinance violation, the Zoning Administrator and County may utilize the full array of enforcement actions available to it, including, but not limited to, prosecution and fines, injunctions, after-the-fact permits, orders for corrective measures or a request to the National Flood Insurance Program for denial of flood insurance availability to the guilty party. The County must act in good faith to enforce these official controls and to correct ordinance violations to the extent possible so as not to jeopardize its eligibility in the National Flood Insurance Program.
4. Discovery Of Violation: When an ordinance violation is either discovered by or brought to the attention of the Zoning Administrator, the Zoning Administrator shall immediately investigate the situation and document the nature and extent of the violation of the official control. As required and as soon as is reasonably possible, this information will be submitted to the appropriate agency, Department of Natural Resources and/or Federal Emergency Management Agency Regional Office, along with the County's plan of action to correct the violation to the degree possible.
5. Notification Of Violation: The Zoning Administrator shall notify the suspected party of the requirements of this Title and all other official controls and the nature and extent of the suspected violation of these controls. If the structure and/or use is under construction or development, the Zoning Administrator may order the construction or development immediately halted until a proper permit or approval is granted by the County. If the construction or development is already completed, then the Zoning Administrator may either: a) issue an order identifying the corrective actions that must be made within a specified time period to bring the use or structure into compliance with the official controls, or b) notify the responsible party to apply for an after-the-fact permit/development approval within a specified period of time not to exceed thirty (30) days.
6. Failure To Comply: If the responsible party does not appropriately respond to the Zoning Administrator within the specified period of time, each additional day that lapses shall constitute an additional violation of this Title and shall be prosecuted accordingly. The Zoning Administrator shall also upon the lapse of the specified response period notify the landowner to restore the land to the condition which existed prior to the violation of this Title.
7. Mandamus Proceedings: Any taxpayer or taxpayers of the County may institute mandamus proceedings in the District Court to compel specific performance by the proper official or officials of any duty required by this Title. (Amd. Ord., 5-25-1993; amd. 2000 Code)