(a) It is unlawful for any property owner or tenant to knowingly permit to exist, or to maintain, on any premises under his or her ownership or control, any nest, hive, colony, swarm or infestation of Africanized honey bees, including any managed beehive that has become Africanized, and the same is declared to be a public nuisance which shall be immediately and properly abated by either the property owner or tenant, or by the greater Los Angeles County vector control district ("district") or the city, at the expense of the property owner as provided in this section. Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, authorized representatives of the district and/or city are authorized to immediately enter any property and abate Africanized honey bees constituting a public nuisance when necessary to protect the public from an imminent threat of harm, as determined by a district or city representative.
(b) Upon discovering the presence of Africanized honey bees on any premises, designated district and/or city representatives shall be authorized to enter upon such property, with the consent of the owner or tenant, to determine whether such infestation constitutes a public nuisance and, if so, to abate the same utilizing appropriate physical, chemical or biological control measures. Nothing in this section shall affect the authority of the district to enter property and abate the presence of Africanized honeybees pursuant to California Health and Safety Code Section 2270(f).
(c) In the event the city is required to abate Africanized honey bees constituting a public nuisance on any property, the property owner or tenant shall be provided with an invoice reflecting the cost of such abatement, together with written notice that the decision to abate and/or the cost of abatement incurred by the city may be appealed, by filing a written request for a hearing with the city manager no more than five business days following the date of the notice. Upon receipt of a timely request, the city manager shall schedule a hearing, giving written notice thereof to the property owner or tenant, and the hearing shall be conducted substantially in accordance with the provisions of Section 21.55.150 of Chapter 21.55. All costs of abatement are hereby deemed to be recoverable as a debt on a written contract or as a civil penalty in such amount as may be established by resolution of the city council.
(d) Abatement and recovery of abatement costs by the district shall be conducted pursuant to applicable provisions of state law including, but not limited to, the provisions of Health and Safety Code Section 2270 et seq.
(e) The abatement procedures contained in this section are alternative to any other procedures provided by law.
(Ord. 555 § 1 (part), 2000).