(A) Any person violating any provision of this chapter for which no specific penalty is prescribed shall be subject to § 10.99 of this code of ordinances.
(B) Any person, firm, partnership or corporation or the principals or agents thereof, violating or causing the violation of any provision of this chapter, as the same may be amended from time to time, shall be subject to the following penalties.
(1) Criminal penalty.
(a) Any person, firm or corporation, whether as principal, agent or employee, who violates or causes the violation of any of the provisions of this chapter shall be guilty of a class C misdemeanor, as allowed by UCA § 17-27a-803 and, upon conviction thereof, shall be subject to penalty as provided in § 10.99 of this code.
(b) In addition, the following may institute injunction, mandamus, abatement or any other appropriate action or proceeding to prevent, enjoin, abate or remove such unlawful erection, construction, reconstruction, alteration, maintenance or use:
1. The county by action of the governing body; or
2. Any owner of real estate within the zoning district in which an alleged violation of this chapter has occurred; or the owner of real estate across a zoning district line and abutting or facing the real estate where the alleged violation has occurred.
(2) Civil penalties. In lieu of pursuing criminal remedies with respect to any violation of any provision of this chapter, the county may elect, in its sole discretion based upon the particular facts and circumstances of each case, to pursue the following civil remedies regarding such violation. The following civil remedies may not be pursued for a violation that occurs in conjunction with a criminal violation as part of a single criminal episode that will be prosecuted in a criminal proceeding, but the following civil remedies may be pursued if no criminal proceedings will occur with respect to the violation.
(a) Courtesy notice. The Zoning Administrator or designee will investigate alleged zoning violations and determine if a violation exists. If a violation exists, the county shall send a courtesy notice to the property owner, stating the nature of the violation, possible action of the county and allowing a ten day compliance period in which the property owner may either bring the property into compliance or meet with the Zoning Administrator for an inspection to determine if in fact a violation exists and what remedies may be available to the property owner. Courtesy notice shall be delivered by certified mail or shall be served by a constable.
(b) Notice to comply.
1. The county shall issue a written notice to comply regarding each such violation to the offending party, which written notice shall identify the offending party, identify the violation, set forth the time period afforded to the offending party to come into compliance with this chapter and thereby avoid further enforcement proceedings, and set forth the date, time and location of the administrative hearing to be held regarding the same in the event that the offending party does not comply within the prescribed time period. For a first-time offense, the applicable compliance period shall be 30 calendar days from the date of the written notice to comply.
2. If the offending party is unable to correct the offense within the allowed compliance period, the party may request an extension. The extension must be in writing and must be signed by all property owners, tenants and parties, with all signatures notarized. The request for extension shall contain the requested extension date, factual evidence as to why the extension is justified and a commitment to correct the violation within the extension period. The extension may be granted by the Zoning Administrator at his or her discretion. Written approval or denial of the extension will be given to the offending party. In the event that the Zoning Administrator does not grant the extension, his or her decision may be appealed to the administrative hearing officer.
3. In the event that a second notice to comply is issued to the same party with respect to a particular violation within any rolling 12-month period, the applicable compliance period shall be 15 calendar days from the date of the written notice to comply. In the event that a third notice to comply is issued to the same party with respect to a particular violation within any rolling 12- month period, the applicable compliance period shall be the next calendar day after the date of the written notice to comply. Notice shall be delivered by certified mail or shall be served by a constable.
(c) Amount of civil penalty. If a violation is not completely cured within the time period set forth in the written notice to comply, then such violation of any provision of this chapter shall be subject to a civil penalty in the minimum amount of $25 and the maximum amount of $100 per day, depending upon the particular facts and circumstances of each case, which fine shall be imposed beginning on the first calendar day after the applicable compliance period has expired and ending on the date that the violation is completely cured and the offending party is in full compliance with this chapter with respect thereto.
(d) Administrative hearing. The administrative hearing shall be a public meeting during regularly scheduled hours, conducted by an administrative law judge appointed by the County Commission (which administrative law judge may be an employee of the county). The offending party shall be given an opportunity to be heard at the administrative hearing and shall otherwise be afforded due process. The administrative hearing shall be recorded or otherwise documented so that a true and correct transcript may be made of its proceedings. The administrative law judge shall make a final administrative determination with respect to the citation, which determination may be that there was no violation, or that a violation occurred and must be abated, and the amount of the appropriate civil penalty within the parameters set forth herein.
(e) Appeal. Any person adversely affected by any such administrative proceeding and order may petition a district court for review of the determination. In the petition, the petitioner may only allege that the administrative order was arbitrary, capricious or illegal. The petition is barred unless it is filed within 30 calendar days after the administrative order is final. No evidence may be submitted to the district court as part of such petition that is not included in the administrative record of the proceedings unless the evidence was offered to the administrative law judge as part of the administrative hearing and the district court determines that the evidence was improperly excluded by the administrative law judge.
(f) Collection. In the event that the county is required to take formal legal action to collect any civil penalty imposed pursuant to this division (B)(2)(f), the person responsible therefor shall also be responsible for paying any costs of collection incurred by the county, including, but not limited to, reasonable attorney fees, which costs of collection may exceed the amount of the civil penalty itself. Collection may be opened by obtaining a judgment in small claims court and/or attaching a tax lien on the property.
(3) Third-party enforcement. Each and every continuing violation of any provision of this chapter is declared to constitute a nuisance. Private citizens of and/or property owners in the county shall also have the right to commence and pursue formal civil legal proceedings with respect to any ongoing violations affecting their interests; provided, that no such legal action shall be filed until after the expiration of 30 calendar days from the date that a written notice of intent to commence such legal proceedings is actually received by the County Clerk. The prevailing party in any such private civil legal proceedings shall be entitled to an award of reasonable attorney fees incurred in pursuing or defending such action.
(4) Inspector to issue fix-it tickets. The Planner/Building Inspector is hereby authorized to issue fix-it tickets to persons whom it is his or her opinion are violating this chapter. The other law enforcement personnel, including the Sheriff’s force and animal control officers, are hereby authorized to issue fix-it tickets to such persons as they believe are violating county ordinances:
(a) A person authorized to issue a fix-it ticket may set down on the ticket the terms for which the ticket is issued, which shall give the person receiving the fix-it ticket a reasonable time in which to rectify the conceived violation of this chapter or other ordinances of the county;
(b) If a person receiving a fix-it ticket does not respond and rectify the perceived violation of county ordinances, including this chapter, within the time permitted by the issuer of the fix-it ticket, then and in that event such failure shall be considered a violation of the county ordinances; and
(c) A violation of county ordinances and failure to respond to a fix-it ticket shall be and is hereby ordained to be a class B misdemeanor and shall be punishable in accordance with the statutes of the state fixing penalties for a class B misdemeanor.
(Prior Code, § 8-1-8)
(Prior Code, § 8-5H-7)
(D) It shall be a class C misdemeanor for any person to fail to comply with the provisions of §§ 155.385 through 155.450 of this code. In addition to any criminal prosecution, the county may pursue any other legal remedy to ensure compliance with this chapter including, but not limited to, injunctive relief and the withholding of approvals.
(Prior Code, § 8-12-13)
(Ord. 10-16, passed 12-14-2010; Ord. 19-09, passed 10-15-2019; Ord. 20-15, passed 10-20-2020)