This chapter shall be known and cited as the "Public Nuisance Abatement Procedure." It is enacted pursuant to Government Code Section 25845 and is intended to establish an administrative procedure for the abatement of a public nuisance resulting from a violation of any statute, regulation or ordinance the County enforces.
(Amended by Ord. No. 9889 (N.S.), effective 10-26-07)
State law reference(s)--Authority to enact, Gov. Code, § 25845.
The following definitions shall apply to this chapter:
(a) The "County Abatement Officer" means the County officer responsible for enforcement of the County ordinances being violated and who declares a violation to be a public nuisance.
(b) The "Clerk" means the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors.
(c) "Hearing officer" means a County Hearing Officer appointed pursuant to County Administrative Code sections 650 et seq.
Cross reference(s)--Definitions generally, § 12.101 et seq.
(a) Whenever this code or any other law the County enforces provides that violation of that law is a public nuisance, this chapter authorizes a County Abatement Officer to institute an administrative proceeding to abate the nuisance. The County's right to institute an administrative proceeding under this chapter is in addition to all other legal remedies the County has and does not limit the County's ability to avail itself of any other legal remedy. This chapter also does not limit the County's ability to summarily abate a public nuisance when necessary.
(b) Any time this chapter provides for a hearing, the hearing shall be held before a County Hearing Officer appointed pursuant to sections 650 et seq. of the County Administrative Code. The Clerk of the Board of Supervisors shall assign the matter to a hearing officer by selecting a hearing officer on a rotating basis from the list of appointed hearing officers.
(Amended by Ord. No. 9889 (N.S.), effective 10-26-07)
(a) Notwithstanding the administrative procedures for abating a nuisance pursuant to this chapter, a County Abatement Officer may summarily abate a public nuisance if the officer determines the nuisance constitutes an immediate threat to public health and safety. If immediate action becomes necessary a County Abatement Officer may summarily abate a public nuisance even though the officer initiated an administrative proceeding under this chapter.
(b) If a County Abatement Officer summarily abates a public nuisance he may keep an account of the cost of abatement, including the County's administrative costs, and bill the property owner. If the bill is not paid within 15 days from the date the County mails the bill, the Abatement Officer may proceed as provided under sections 16.213 through 16.217 to obtain a special assessment and lien against the property. In cases of summary abatement, however, at the hearing to confirm the abatement costs under section 16.214, the hearing officer shall also determine whether a public nuisance existed.
(Amended by Ord. No. 9889 (N.S.), effective 10-26-07)
To initiate an administrative abatement under this chapter the County Abatement Officer shall declare a public nuisance and issue a Notice and Order to Abate in substantially the following form:
NOTICE AND ORDER TO ABATE
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN THAT (specify the condition constituting the nuisance) violates Section of the (San Diego County Code, the Zoning Ordinance or other applicable code or ordinance). The violation has been declared a public nuisance by the (County Abatement Officer) and must be abated immediately. The public nuisance is on property located at (insert address or other legal property description) .
YOU ARE HEREBY ORDERED TO ABATE THE PUBLIC NUISANCE within (insert a reasonable number of days)( ) consecutive days from the issuance of this order. The issuance date is specified below. You may abate the nuisance by (insert desired action which, if taken, will adequately remedy the situation) . If you fail to abate the public nuisance within the number of days specified, the County may order its abatement by public employees, private contractor, or other means, and the cost of the abatement may be levied and assessed against the property as a special assessment lien or billed directly to the property owner.
YOU MAY APPEAL FROM THIS ORDER OF ABATEMENT but only if you file the appeal before the expiration of the number of days specified above for completing the abatement. The appeal must be in writing; specify the reasons for the appeal; contain your name, address and telephone number; be accompanied by an appeal fee of ____ dollars ($____); and be submitted to the Clerk of Board of Supervisors at the following address:
Clerk of the Board of Supervisors
County of San Diego
1600 Pacific Highway, Room 402
San Diego, California 92101
Tel. No. (619) 531-5600
ATTN: Chief Deputy Clerk
One who is legally indigent may obtain a waiver of the appeal fee. Upon timely receipt of the appeal and accompanying fee, or waiver, the matter will be set for hearing before a County Abatement Board and notify you of the date and location of the hearing.
If you have any questions regarding this matter, you may direct them to the County Abatement Officer issuing this notice at the address or telephone number listed below.
ISSUANCE DATE:
(Name, title, address and
telephone number of the
County Abatement Officer
issuing this notice)
(Amended by Ord. No. 9889 (N.S.), effective 10-26-07)
The Notice and Order to Abate shall be servedas follows:
(a) By U.S. mail, addressed to the owner or the owner's agent, at the address shown on the current assessment roll and addressed to any other person the County Abatement Officer knows to be in possession, of the property, at the street address of the property where the nuisance exists, and,
(b) By posting the Notice and Order to Abate conspicuously in front of the property on which, or in front of which, the nuisance exists, or if the property has no frontage, at a conspicuous location on a roadway closest to the property most likely to give actual notice to the owner and a person in possession of the property.
(Amended by Ord. No. 9889 (N.S.), effective 10-26-07)
Following service of a Notice and Order to Abate, as specified in Section 16.205, the County Abatement Officer may cause a notice of the initiation of public nuisance abatement proceedings to be recorded in the Office of the County Recorder, which reads substantially as follows:
NOTICE OF INITIATION OF PUBLIC NUISANCE ABATEMENT PROCEEDINGS
Notice is hereby given that proceedings have been initiated by the County of SanDiego under the Public Nuisance Abatement Procedure found at SanDiego County Code sections 16.201 et seq. concerning property at (Address) . The property is located within SanDiego County Assessor's Parcel No. __________.
For information concerning the Public Nuisance Abatement proceedings and how they may impact the property, please contact the Director of Planning and Development Services, County of San Diego, 5510 Overland Avenue, Suite 310, San Diego, CA 92123.
The County Abatement Officer shall cause any recorded notice of the initiation of public nuisance abatement proceedings to be removed when the public nuisance abatement proceedings, including any appeals of the Notice and Order To Abate, and any work necessary to abate the nuisance, have been completed. If work to abate the nuisance is performed at County expense, the notice of the initiation of public nuisance abatement proceedings need not be removed until those costs have been paid or a lien for those costs has been recorded.
(Added by Ord. No. 9343 (N.S.), effective 6-22-01; amended by Ord. No. 9889 (N.S.), effective 10-26-07; amended by Ord. No. 10224 (N.S.), effective 10-25-12)
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