A. In addition to the code enforcement remedies and penalties provided for in this Code, any condition caused or permitted to exist in violation of any of the provisions of this Code or any code adopted by reference by this Code or any ordinance of the city not included within this Code, or any such threatened violation, shall be deemed a public nuisance and may be, by the City, abated as such, summarily or otherwise; and each day that such condition continues shall be regarded as a new and separate offense.
B. Any such violation or threatened violation as referred to in subsection A above, or any condition caused or permitted to exist in violation of any of the provisions of any code adopted by reference by this Code, or of the provisions of any other city ordinance, shall be deemed a public nuisance which may be abated by the city in a civil judicial action.
C. In accordance with California Government Code Section 38773, the City may summarily abate any nuisance at the expense of the persons creating, causing, committing, or maintaining it and hereby authorizes the expense of the abatement a lien against the property on which it is maintained and a personal obligation against the property owner, in accordance with California Government Code Section 38773.1 or alternatively Section 38773.5.
1. Proceedings pursuant to Section 38773.1: Prior to recording a lien, the City shall provide notice to the owner of record of the parcel of land on which the nuisance is/was maintained, based on the last equalized assessment roll or the supplemental roll, whichever is more current. The notice shall be served in the same manner as summons in a civil action in accordance with the applicable law. If the owner of record, after a diligent search cannot be found, the notice may be served by posting a copy thereof in a conspicuous place upon the property for a period of 10 days and publication thereof in a newspaper of general circulation published in the county in which the property is located as required by that section. The lien shall be recorded in the county recorder’s office in the county in which the parcel is located and from the date of recording shall have the force, effect, and priority of a judgment lien. The lien shall specify the amount of the lien, the City’s name, the date of the abatement order, the street address, the legal description and assessor’s parcel number of the affected parcel, and the name and address of the recorded owner of the parcel. The lien may be foreclosed by an action brought by the City for a money judgment. In the event the lien is discharged, released, or satisfied, either through payment or foreclosure, notice of the discharge containing the information specified in the lien shall be recorded by the City. If the county recorder imposes a fee on the city to reimburse the costs of processing and recording the lien and/or providing notice, the City may recover any such costs from the property owner as part of its foreclosure action to enforce the lien.
2. Alternative Proceedings pursuant to Section 38773.5: As an alternative to the procedure set forth in subsection (1) above, the City may abate a nuisance and make the cost of the abatement a special assessment against the parcel. The City shall provide notice by certified mail to the property owner, if the property owner’s identity can be determined from the county assessor’s or county recorder’s records. The notice shall be given at the time of imposing the assessment and shall specify that the property may be sold after 3 years by the tax collector for unpaid delinquent assessments. The assessment may be collected at the same time and in the same manner as ordinary municipal taxes are collected, and shall be subject to the same penalties and the same procedure and sale in the case of delinquency as provided for ordinary municipal taxes. Subject to the requirements specified in the California Revenue and Taxation Code Section 3691, the City may conduct a sale of vacant residential developed property for which the payment of that assessment is delinquent.
D. Recovery of Abatement Expenses.
1. In addition to any other recovery processes allowed by this Code and other laws and regulations, whenever any person creating, causing, committing or maintaining a public nuisance, pursuant to this Code, has been given notice, by or on behalf of the city attorney or by any other city officer, employee, or policing agent authorized to give such notice, to abate such nuisance or cease and desist from continuing such nuisance or violation of law, and such person fails, refuses, or neglects to comply with the notice within the time specified therein, or if such time is not specified, then within a time reasonably sufficient to enable such compliance, such noncomplying person shall be liable to the City for any and all costs and expenses to the city involved in thereafter abating the nuisance and in obtaining compliance with or enforcing the law as referred to or encompassed within such notice.
2. The costs and expenses referred to in Subsection D.1. above, may include, but are not limited to, any and all direct costs and expenses related to such things as personnel salaries and benefits, operational overhead, rent, interest, fees for experts or consultants, legal costs or expenses, claims against the city arising as a consequence of the nuisance or violation, and procedures associated with collecting moneys due hereunder.
3. The provisions of subsection D.1. of this Section shall also apply to any person who received notice, as specified therein, abated the nuisance or violations, but subsequently allowed or was responsible for a recurrence of the nuisance or violation.
4. Money due to the City pursuant to this Section may be recovered in an appropriate civil action. Alternatively, such liability may be enforced by liens or special assessment proceedings as authorized by subsection C. of this Section.
5. Additionally, recovery of Attorney’s fees is authorized in accordance with Municipal Code Section 1-9.F. (Ord. Code § 13.6; Ord. 1883, 5-4-2021)