The following are expressly declared to be property nuisances.
(A) Substandard buildings or structures. Buildings or structures or portions of such buildings or structures having one or more or a portion of the following conditions:
1. Unoccupied. Buildings or structures that are not properly secured or closed and are accessible to juveniles, transients or others not legally entitled to such access;
2. Unfinished. Buildings or structures that are unfinished and that have been in the course of construction or demolition for an unreasonable period of time, but not less than six months; provided however, that such time period may be extended if orderly progress is demonstrated to the building official;
3. Inadequate sanitation.
(a) Lack of hot or cold running water to plumbing fixtures in a dwelling unit or hotel;
(b) Lack of minimum amounts of natural light and ventilation required by the building and safety codes;
(c) Room and space dimensions less than required by the building and safety codes;
(d) Dampness of habitable rooms; or
(e) Violation of any applicable provisions of any health ordinances as adopted by the city or by the county.
4. Structural hazards.
(a) Deteriorated or inadequate foundations;
(b) Defective, deteriorated or inadequate size flooring or floor supports;
(c) Defective, deteriorated or inadequate size members of walls, partitions or other vertical supports;
(d) Defective, deteriorated or inadequate size ceiling, roof or other horizontal supports; or
(e) Defective, damaged or inadequately constructed fireplaces or chimneys.
5. Inadequate or hazardous wiring.
(a) Lack of required electrical lighting or convenience outlets. In existing residential occupancies, every habitable room is required to contain at least two supplied outlets or one supplied outlet and one supplied electric fixture. Every water closet compartment, bathroom, laundry room, furnace room and public hallway in such occupancies is required to contain at least one supplied electric fixture; or
(b) Inadequate or hazardous wiring, except that wiring that conformed with applicable laws in effect at the time of installation and that has been maintained in good and safe condition and is being used in a safe manner shall not be prohibited by this provision.
6. Inadequate or faulty plumbing.
(a) Lack of plumbing fixtures required by this code; or
(b) Plumbing that has not been maintained in good condition or has improper or excessive cross connections.
7. Inadequate or faulty mechanical equipment.
(a) Lack of safe, adequate heating facilities in a dwelling, apartment house or hotel;
(b) Lack of or improper operation of, required ventilating equipment; or
(c) Inadequate or faulty mechanical equipment, including vents, except that which conformed with all applicable laws in effect at the time of installation and which has been maintained in good and safe condition shall not be prohibited by this provision.
8. Faulty weather protection.
(a) Lack of sound and effective roof covering;
(b) Lack of sound and effective exterior wall covering;
(c) Broken windows or doors;
(d) Deteriorated or ineffective waterproofing of foundation walls or floors; or
(e) Unpainted buildings or structures or those where the condition of the paint has deteriorated to an extent to allow dry rot, warping, termite infestation, rust and appearance incompatible to the neighborhood and generally acceptable standards.
9. Faulty materials of construction. Use of any faulty materials of construction except those that are allowed or approved by the city and that have been adequately maintained in good and safe condition;
10. Unsanitary. Buildings or structures having an accumulation of vegetation, junk, dead organic matter, debris, garbage, offal, rat harborages, stagnant water, or similar materials or conditions;
11. Hazardous. Any building or structure that is otherwise determined to be unsafe for any reason;
12. Fire hazard. Any building, structure, device, apparatus, equipment, combustible waste or vegetation that is maintained in such a condition as to cause a fire or explosion or provide a ready fuel to augment the spread and intensity of fire or explosion arising from any cause;
13. Inadequate fire structures or firefighting equipment. All buildings or structures that are not provided with adequate ingress and egress facilities or fire resistive construction or fire extinguishing system or equipment as required by the building and safety codes, except those buildings or structures that conformed with all applicable laws at the time of their construction, and that provide adequate safe ingress and egress, and that have fire resistive integrity and fire extinguishing systems and equipment that provide adequate fire safety shall not be prohibited by this provision;
14. Improper occupancy. All buildings or portions of buildings occupied or used for any purpose for which they were not designed or intended to be used;
15. Substandard building or structure exteriors. Improperly maintained building or structure exteriors, including building or structure exteriors, in a state of neglect or damage, from fire, and other causes, or in need of repairs such as painting, weatherproofing or insect extermination;
16. Substandard swimming pools. Maintaining a swimming pool in a manner that permits the swimming pool to become a breeding place for mosquitoes or other vectors. For the purposes of this subsection (A)16., SWIMMING POOL means any public or private artificial basin, chamber, tank, or other structure located above, at or below grade and used or intended to be used for wading, swimming, diving, bathing or any other form of water recreation, therapy or sport.
(B) Substandard property. Property or portions of property having one or more of the following conditions:
1. Substandard buildings. Buildings that do not meet all applicable requirements of the city’s building ordinances and regulations;
2. Overgrown and dead vegetation. Keeping of property with overgrown, diseased, dead or decaying vegetation that constitutes a safety hazard, including lawns, weeds, plants, shrubs, hedges and trees and including any such vegetation within parkway areas of the property subject to utility and city easements. Keeping of property with vegetation that presents a safety hazard or restricts, impedes or obstructs the use of a public right-of-way, street, easement, sidewalk or roadway; provided however, that overgrown or dead vegetation, in side and rear yards not visible to the general public must be determined a safety or health hazard or in violation of the city’s weed abatement ordinances and regulations before enforcement is initiated. There shall be a conclusive presumption that vegetation is overgrown under this subsection (B) if the vegetation has not been properly cut and trimmed within 30 days after written notification that such vegetation is overgrown;
3. Equipment visible in front or side yards. The storage of any machine or machinery, including any boat, vehicle, recreational vehicle, camper, all-terrain vehicle or other similar equipment, shall be prohibited in front, side or rear yards where visible from a street, public right-of-way or public place, except the parking of vehicles as expressly permitted by provisions of the city’s zoning ordinances or regulations;
4. Garbage cans. Garbage cans stored in front or side yards and visible from public streets, except when placed in places of collection at the time permitted and in full compliance with the provisions of this code;
5. Lack of landscaping. Landscaping not provided or maintained as required by the city’s zoning ordinances or regulations;
6. Stagnant water or excavations. Existence of pooling of stagnant water or any excavations that, after a rain, could cause pools or ponds of stagnant water, excepting swimming pools, fountains or similar water features that are well maintained;
7. Unsightly appearance. Any device, decoration, design, inscription, fence, structure, clothesline or vegetation that is unsightly by reason of its condition or its inappropriate location;
8. Human-made debris. Keeping of property, including any parkway, areas with lumber, junk, trash, debris, salvage material, packing boxes; abandoned, neglected and broken equipment, including visually damaged vehicles; abandoned, discarded or unused objects of equipment, such as furniture, stoves, refrigerators, freezers, cans, containers or boxes;
9. Organic debris. Keeping of property, including parkway areas, with an accumulation of weeds, vegetation, junk, dead organic matter, debris, garbage, offal, rat harborages, stagnant water, or similar materials or conditions;
10. Fire hazard. Keeping of property with combustible waste or vegetation that is in such condition as to cause a fire or explosion or to provide a ready fuel to augment the spread and intensity of fire or explosion arising from any cause;
11. Attractive nuisances. Allowing the existence of any attractive nuisance. ATTRACTIVE NUISANCE includes, but is not limited to, abandoned, broken or neglected equipment and machinery; hazardous pools, ponds and excavations; abandoned wells, shafts or basements; abandoned refrigerators or motor vehicles; any structurally unsound fence or structure; or any other lumber, trash, garbage, rubbish, refuse, fence, debris or vegetation, when such may prove a hazard for inquisitive minors;
12. Visual blight. Allowing property to become defective, unsightly or in some other condition of deterioration or disrepair that may cause a substantial decrease in the property values or similar detriment to surrounding properties, or an adverse effect on the health, safety or welfare of the citizens, residents and visitors of the city. Visual blight conditions include, but are not limited to, the presence of any improvement, including, but not limited to, buildings, garages, carports, wooden fences, block walls, roofs or gutters, in which the condition of the patio, stucco, siding or other exterior coating has become so deteriorated as to permit decay, excessive checking, cracking or warping so as to render the improvement or property unsightly and in a state of disrepair;
13. Accumulation of dirt. The accumulation of dirt, litter or debris in vestibules, doorways or the adjoining sidewalks of commercial or industrial buildings;
14. Unused signs. The maintenance of signs or sign faces relating to uses no longer conducted or products no longer sold on vacant commercial buildings more than 45 days after such building becomes vacant;
15. Deteriorated signs. The maintenance of signs in deteriorated condition on commercial or industrial buildings;
16. Hazardous substances. The storage, discharge, holding, handling, maintenance, or use of any hazardous or toxic substances, as defined by applicable federal, state or local laws or regulations:
(a) In violation of federal, state or local laws or regulations;
(b) In such a manner to affect in any way air or water quality; or
(c) In such a manner as to create an identifiable risk of accidental release of the substances which release might adversely affect the health or safety of persons, damage property or adversely affect air or water quality.
17. Storage vessels. The failure to remove underground or aboveground storage vessels or tanks within six months after the use of such tanks or vessels ceases;
18. Zoning or Building Code violations. The maintenance of any building, structure or property that has been constructed or is maintained in violation of any specific requirement or prohibition applicable to the building or structure or property, contained in the city’s building or zoning ordinances or regulations, or any law or any ordinance of the city or state relating to the condition, location, maintenance or construction of buildings and property; and
19. Drainage problems. Land, the topography, geology or configuration of which whether in natural state or as a result of grading operations, excavation or fill, causes erosion, subsidence or surface water drainage problems of such magnitude as to be injurious or potentially injurious to the public health, safety and welfare or to adjacent properties.
(C) Abandoned, wrecked, dismantled or inoperative vehicles or parts thereof. This section is adopted in addition to and in accordance with the determination made by the state under Cal. Vehicle Code § 22660 that abandoned, wrecked, dismantled or inoperative vehicles or parts thereof on private or public property creates a condition tending to reduce the value of private property, to promote blight and deterioration, to invite plundering, to create fire hazards, to constitute an attractive nuisance creating a hazard to the health and safety of minors, to create a harborage for rodents and insects, to be injurious to the health, safety and general welfare, and therefore should be declared and removed as public nuisances.
1. Violations.
(a) It is unlawful and an infraction for any person to abandon, store, leave or permit the abandonment, storing or leaving of any licensed or unlicensed vehicle or parts thereof which is abandoned, wrecked, dismantled or inoperative upon any private property or public property, including highways, within the city for a period in excess of 72 or more consecutive hours unless an exception as set forth applies.
(b) It is unlawful and an infraction for any person to fail or refuse to remove an abandoned, wrecked, dismantled or inoperative vehicle or part thereof, or refuse to abate such nuisance when ordered to do so in accordance with the abatement provisions of this chapter or state law, where such state law is applicable.
2. Enforcement/authority of private contractor. The city staff person designated to enforce this chapter may enter upon private or public property to examine a vehicle, or parts thereof, obtain information as to the identity of the vehicle, and remove or cause the removal of a vehicle or parts thereof declared to be a public nuisance pursuant to this chapter. Where the City Council has contracted with or granted a franchise to any person(s) to remove vehicles pursuant to this chapter, such person(s) shall be authorized to enter upon private property or public property to remove or cause the removal of a vehicle or parts thereof declared to be a nuisance pursuant to this chapter.
3. Noticing requirements.
(a) A ten-day notice of intention to abate and remove the vehicle, or parts thereof, as a public nuisance shall be mailed by registered or certified mail to the owner of the land as shown on the last equalized assessment roll and to the last registered and legal owner of record of the vehicle, unless the vehicle is in such condition that identification numbers are not available to determine ownership.
(b) A notice of intention to abate shall not be required if:
(1) The property owner and the owner of the vehicle have signed releases authorizing removal and waive further interest in the vehicle or part thereof; or
(2) All of the following conditions are satisfied:
A. The vehicle or part thereof is inoperable due to the absence of a motor, transmission or wheels, and is incapable of being towed;
B. The vehicle or part thereof is valued at less than $300 by the Police Chief or his or her designee; and
C. The Building Department has determined that the vehicle or part thereof is a public nuisance presenting an immediate threat to public health or safety; and
D. The property owner has signed a release authorizing the removal and waiving further interest in the vehicle or part thereof.
(c) If a vehicle is removed pursuant to subsection (C)3.(b)(2) of this section, prior to final disposition, a notice of intent to dispose of the vehicle or parts thereof shall be mailed by registered or certified mail to the last registered and legal owner of record of the vehicle. If the vehicle or parts thereof is not claimed and removed from the scrap yard, automobile dismantler’s yard or public disposal area where it is being stored within 12 days after the notice to dispose of vehicle is mailed, final disposition may proceed.
4. Cost recovery. The administrative “enforcement costs” (see § 1-19-2 of this code) and the costs of abatement and removal of the vehicle or parts thereof may be charged against the owner of the land on which the abated vehicle or parts thereof is located, in accordance with the procedures set forth in Title 1, Chapter 19 of this code. Unpaid charges shall be assessed against the parcel of land pursuant to Cal. Gov’t Code §§ 25845 or 38773.5, and shall be transmitted to the tax collector for collection. Said assessment shall have the same priority as other county taxes. If it is determined at the public hearing held pursuant to this chapter that the vehicle was placed on the land without the consent of the landowner and that he or she has not subsequently acquiesced in its presence, costs shall not be assessed against the property upon which the vehicle is located, or otherwise sought from the landowner.
5. Administrative hearing procedure and appeal. The owner of the vehicle or the land notified of the city’s intention to abate a vehicle or part thereof as a public nuisance under this chapter may request an administrative hearing, pursuant to § 1-18-10 of this code within ten days of the city’s mailing of the notice of intention to abate and remove the vehicle, or part thereof. Except as expressly provided below and in this chapter, all administrative procedures governing requesting and conducting the administrative hearing on the question of abatement and removal or disposal of a vehicle or parts thereof, shall be those set forth in Title 1, Chapter 18 of this code. If at the conclusion of the administrative hearing, the hearing officer finds that a vehicle or part thereof has been abandoned, wrecked, dismantled, or is inoperative on public or private property, the officer shall order the same removed from the property as a public nuisance and disposed of as provided in this chapter. The order requiring removal shall include a description of the vehicle, or part thereof, and the correct identification number and license number, if available, written findings explaining the officer’s conclusion and a determination of the administrative enforcement costs and the cost of removal to be charged against the owner of the parcel of land on which the vehicle, or part thereof, is located. The hearing officer’s decision may be appealed within ten days of the order.
6. Vehicle disposal. Five days after the hearing officer’s decision declaring the vehicle or parts thereof to be a public nuisance or 15 days from the date of mailing of notice of intention to abate, whichever date is later, the vehicle or parts thereof may be disposed of by removal to a scrap yard or automobile dismantler’s yard. After a vehicle has been removed, it shall not thereafter be reconstructed or made operable unless it is a vehicle which qualifies for either horseless carriage license plates or historical vehicle license plates pursuant to Cal. Vehicle Code § 5004, in which case the vehicle may be reconstructed or made operable.
7. Notice to Department of Motor Vehicles. Within five days after the date of removal of the vehicle or parts thereof, notice shall be given to the Department of Motor Vehicles by the persons authorized to remove the vehicle identifying the vehicle or parts thereof removed. At the same time there shall be transmitted to the Department of Motor Vehicles evidence of registration available, including registration certificates, certificates of title and license plates.
8. Exceptions. This section shall not apply to:
(a) A vehicle or part thereof, which is completely enclosed within a building in a lawful manner where it is not visible from a highway or other public or private property;
(b) A vehicle or part thereof, which is stored or parked in a lawful manner on private property in connection with the business of a licensed dismantler, licensed vehicle dealer or a junkyard; and
(c) Nothing in this section authorizes the maintenance of a public or private nuisance as defined under provision of law other than Cal. Vehicle Code Chapter 10 (commencing with § 22650) of Division 11 and this chapter.
9. Nonexclusivity of regulation. This chapter is not the exclusive regulation of abandoned, wrecked, dismantled or inoperative vehicles within the city and/or county. It shall supplement and be in addition to the other regulatory codes, statutes and ordinances heretofore and hereafter enacted by the city, county, the state or any other legal entity having jurisdiction.
(Ord. 572, passed 5-20-2008; Ord. 575, passed 8-5-2008)