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(a) General. The County Official and each agent or deputy thereof who is assigned to duties which include the enforcement of this Division, and any peace officer, are authorized to enforce the provisions of this Division, including the activities set forth in this section below.
(b) Directors of Public Works and Planning and Development Services. The Director of Public Works and the Director of Planning and Development Services shall each generally have enforcement authority relating to work done pursuant to, or compliance with, a permit issued by the respective Director, acting as the "County Official" in the areas specified in Section 87.803. Enforcement authority relating to work or activities conducted without the necessary permit having been obtained, is given to the Director of Public Works in cases involving work or activities subject to Chapter 6 (Watercourses) of this Division, and to the Director of Planning and Development Services in all other cases.
(c) Inspections. The County Official may enter any property or premises subject to this Division for the purpose of determining compliance with this Division.
(d) Order to Stop or Repair Work. Whenever the County Official determines that any existing excavation, embankment or fill endangers or adversely affects the safety, use or stability of any public or private property, or that any work is being done contrary to the provisions of this Division or other laws implemented through the enforcement of this Division, he or she may order work to be stopped and/or repairs or corrections to be made, by serving written notice on the owner, permittee or any person engaged in the doing or causing such work to be done, and such persons shall immediately stop such work until authorized by the County Official in writing to proceed.
(e) Notice of Violation. The County Official may issue and enforce Notices of Violation and Notices of Ineligibility For Land Development, pursuant to this Division.
(f) Site Restoration. The County Official may order the site of illegal grading or clearing to be restored, pursuant to Section 87.110 below.
(g) Administrative Remedies. The County Official may pursue the Administrative Remedies set forth at Division 8 of Title 1 of this Code, including the issuance of Administrative Citations pursuant to Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 18.101) of said Division 8.
(h) Arrests and Citations. The County Official shall have the power to make arrests for violations of this Division and State laws which he or she has a duty to enforce, and to issue citations for such violations. Any person so arrested who does not demand to be taken before a magistrate may instead be cited in the manner prescribed in Chapter 5C (commencing with Section 853.5) of Title 3, Part 2 of the Penal Code. The County Official may arrest an owner without warrant whenever they have reasonable cause to believe that the person arrested has committed a violation of this Division, provided that the officer or employee making the arrest shall have completed a course of training that meets the minimum standards prescribed by the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training as prescribed by Section 832(a) of the Penal Code. An officer or employee making an arrest under this Section shall follow the citation-release procedures prescribed by the Penal Code.
(i) Non-Liability. The County Official or any employee charged with the enforcement of this Division, acting in good faith and without malice for the County in the discharge of his duties, shall not thereby render himself or herself liable personally and he or she is hereby relieved from all personal liability for any damage that may accrue to persons or property as a result of any act required or by reason of any act or omission in the discharge of his duties. Any suit brought against the County Official or employee, because of such act or omission performed by him or her in the enforcement of any provisions of this Division, shall be defended by the legal department of the County until final termination of the proceedings.
(Added by Ord. No. 9547 (N.S.), effective 5-9-03; amended by Ord. No. 10224 (N.S.), effective 10-25-12)
(a) Any person violating any provision of this Division other than Sections 87.501 or 87.505 shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, unless, in the discretion of the prosecutor, it is charged as an infraction. A person convicted of a third or subsequent such violation within two years from the date of the first conviction shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor.
(c) Any person convicted of an infraction under this Division shall be punished by a fine not exceeding one hundred dollars for the first violation, two hundred dollars for the second violation within one year, and five hundred dollars for each subsequent violation within one year. Any person convicted of a misdemeanor under this Division shall be punished by imprisonment in the County jail for a term not exceeding six months, or by a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars, or both.
(d) Each day or any portion of a day that any person violates or continues to violate provisions of this Division constitutes a separate offense and may be charged and punished separately without awaiting conviction on any prior offense. The penalties imposed by this section are in addition to penalties imposed under other provisions of this Code and the Zoning Ordinance.
(e) Paying a fine or serving a jail sentence shall not relieve any owner or permittee from responsibility for correcting any condition which violates any provision of this Division.
(Added by Ord. No. 9547 (N.S.), effective 5-9-03)
In addition to any penalty prescribed for violation of this Code, any grading, clearing or other act done contrary to the provisions of this Division is unlawful and a public nuisance. Any grading or clearing done without a permit first having been obtained as required by this Division, regardless of whether such failure is due to neglect or refusal, shall be prima facie evidence that a public nuisance has been committed. A public nuisance may be abated in accordance with the Uniform Public Nuisance Abatement Procedure contained in Chapter 2, Division 6, Title 1 (commencing with Section 16.201) of this Code or, upon order of the Board of Supervisors, the County Counsel is authorized to commence necessary proceedings provided by law to abate, remove and/or enjoin such public nuisance.
(Added by Ord. No. 9547 (N.S.), effective 5-9-03)
Any grading or clearing which according to a field inspection of the property was done in violation of Sections 87.201, 87.501, 87.505, 87.602 or 87.603, or in violation of one or more conditions of a grading permit or a clearing permit, shall be grounds for denying for five years all applications for grading permits, administrative permits, site plans, use permits, major and minor subdivisions, rezones, specific plans, specific plan amendments, general plan amendments and other land development applications proposed for the property on which the violation occurred. The "property" shall be deemed to include the lot or parcel on which the violation occurred, together with all adjacent parcels owned by the same person or entity or which are part of a common plan of development. The five-year period shall commence from the date of the violation, if documented, or from the date of discovery of the violation. The Board of Supervisors may waive the penalty imposed by this subsection, for good cause. Any such waiver, if granted, shall in no way relieve the owner or applicant for any such subsequent land development application, of their duty to include the effects of the grading or clearing in any environmental analysis performed for the subsequent application, and to restore or rehabilitate the site, provide substitute or compensating resources, or perform other appropriate measures to mitigate the adverse effects of the illegal grading or clearing.
(Added by Ord. No. 9547 (N.S.), effective 5-9-03)
(a) As part of a civil action filed by the County to enforce provisions of this Division, a court may assess a maximum civil penalty of $2,500 per violation of this Division for each day during which any violation of any provision of this Division is committed, continued, permitted or maintained by such person(s).
(b) In determining the amount of any civil liability to be imposed pursuant to this division, the superior court shall take into consideration the nature, circumstances, extent, and gravity of the violation or violations, whether any discharge caused by the violation is susceptible to cleanup or abatement, and, with respect to the violator, the ability to pay, the effect on ability to continue in business, the extent of any advantage gained by an unfair business practice, any voluntary cleanup efforts undertaken, any prior history of violations, the degree of culpability, economic savings, if any, resulting from the violation, and such other matters as justice may require.
(Added by Ord. No. 9547 (N.S.), effective 5-9-03)
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