(A) Appeal of decision by Director regarding sidewalk vendor permits.
(1) Decisions of the Director may be appealed to the Planning Commission. Decisions of the Planning Commission may be appealed to the City Council. Appeals may be submitted by any interested person, in writing, and must include the specific grounds for the appeal. All appeals must be accompanied by the fee set by the City Council.
(2) Unless otherwise provided by a specific provision of this Code, all written appeals (whether of a Community Development Director's decision or of the Planning Commission) with payment of the fee, must be submitted to the City Clerk no more than ten calendar days after adoption of the resolution or other notice of decision.
(3) The Planning Commission or City Council shall conduct a public hearing on the appeal within 30 days from the date of receipt of the appeal, which hearing may be continued from time to time. Notice of the public hearing shall be given in the same manner as original hearing.
(4) A timely appeal suspends and sets aside the decision of the lower authority.
(5) All appeals are de novo; the Planning Commission or City Council may approve, deny or modify the recommendation of the lower authority.
(6) Any Planning Commissioner or City Council member may appeal a project according to the procedures and within the time frames set out here without payment of the appeal fee.
(B) Appeal of issuance of administrative citation.
(1) Decisions of the Director may be appealed to the Hearing Officer by a recipient of an administrative citation.
(2) Appeals for an administrative citation shall be initiated within 30 calendar days of the decision by the Director.
(3) A request for hearing form may be obtained from the City Clerk. A request for hearing must be accompanied by an advanced deposit of the administrative fine, unless the recipient of the administrative citation obtains an advanced hardship waiver pursuant to Section 5.70.080, subdivision (C).
(4) The person requesting the hearing shall be notified of the time and place set for the hearing at least 15 days prior to and not more than 60 days from the date the date of the hearing.
(5) At the hearing, the party contesting an administrative citation shall be given the opportunity to testify and to present evidence concerning the administrative citation.
(6) The failure of any recipient of any administrative citation to appear at the administrative citation hearing shall constitute a forfeiture of the fine and a failure to exhaust administrative remedies.
(7) The administrative citation and any additional report submitted by the Director shall constitute prima facie evidence of the respective facts contained in those documents.
(8) The Hearing Officer may continue the hearing and request additional information from the Director or the recipient of the administrative citation prior to issuing a written citation.
(9) After considering all of the testimony and evidence submitted at the hearing, the Hearing Officer shall issue a brief written decision stating the reasons for upholding or cancelling the administrative citation. The decision of the Hearing Officer shall be final.
(10) If the Hearing Officer determines that the administrative citation should be upheld, the Hearing Officer shall provide the person with notice of his or her right to request an ability-to-pay determination and shall make available instructions or other materials for requesting an ability-to-pay determination discussed in Section 5.70.080, subdivision (B)(11). The person may request an ability-topay determination at or before the hearing or while the administrative fine remains unpaid.
(12) The Hearing Officer may allow the person to complete community service in lieu of paying the total administrative fine, may waive the administrative fine, or may offer an alternative disposition.
(13) If a person does not satisfy the ability-to-pay requirements, all fines deposited with the city shall remain with the city after the Hearing Officer upholds the issuance of an administrative citation.
(14) If the Hearing Officer determines that the administrative citation should be canceled and the fine was deposited with the city, then the city shall promptly refund the amount of the deposited fine, together with interest at the average rate earned on the city's portfolio for the period of time that the fine amount was held by the city.
(15) The recipient of the administrative citation shall be served with a copy of the Hearing Officer's written decision in the same manner as notices (MMC, § 1.03.150).
(C) Advanced deposit hardship waiver.
(1) Any person who intends to request a hearing to contest that there was a violation of the code or that he or she is the responsible party and who is financially unable to make the advance deposit of the fine may file a request for an advance deposit hardship waiver.
(2) The request shall be filed with the City Clerk on an advance deposit hardship waiver application form, available from the City Clerk, within ten days of the date of the administrative citation.
(3) The requirement of depositing the full amount of the fine shall be stayed unless or until the City Clerk makes a determination not to issue the advance deposit hardship waiver.
(4) The City Clerk may waive the requirement of an advance deposit and issue the advance deposit hardship waiver only if the cited party submits to the City Clerk a sworn affidavit, together with any supporting documents or materials, demonstrating the person meets the criteria set forth in Government Code Section 68632, subdivisions (a) or (b).
(5) If the City Clerk determines not to issue an advance deposit hardship waiver, the person shall remit the deposit to the city within ten days of that decision or 30 days from the date of the administrative citation, whichever is later.
(6) The City Clerk shall issue a written determination listing the reasons for his or her determination to issue or not issue the advance deposit hardship waiver. The written determination of the City Clerk shall be final.
(7) The written determination of the City Clerk shall be served upon the person who applied for the advance deposit hardship waiver.
(Ord. 2018-263, passed 12-19-2018)