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(a) Enforcement. Biological Agent Detector Users who violate this Article or any regulations enacted under Section 3519 shall be liable for administrative or civil penalties. The Director may assess administrative penalties following an administrative hearing. Civil penalties may be assessed and recovered in a civil action brought in the name of the people of the City and County of San Francisco by the City Attorney in any court of competent jurisdiction.
(b) False Alarm Penalty. A Biological Agent Detector User shall pay penalties for each False Alarm as follows:
First False Alarm: Up to $5,000.
Second False Alarm: Up to $7,500.
Third And Each Subsequent False Alarm: Up to $10,000.
(c) Other Violations. Any Person who violates any other provision of this Article or any rule or regulation promulgated pursuant to this Article may be subject to an administrative or civil penalty of up to $500 per day of violation.
(d) Factors For Setting Penalty. In assessing the amount of the administrative or civil penalty, the Director or Court shall consider any one or more of the relevant circumstances presented by any of the parties to the case, including but not limited to the following: the nature and seriousness of the misconduct, the number of violations, the persistence of the misconduct, the length of time over which the misconduct occurred, the willfulness of the defendant's misconduct, and the defendant's assets, liabilities, and net worth.
(e) Presumption of Noncompliance in Civil Cases. In addition to any other penalties provided in this Article, any Person or entity served with a notice or order by the Director setting forth the nature of the violation of this Article, demanding correction of such violation, and specifying the time within which such violation must be corrected, shall be presumed, in civil proceedings, to have failed to comply with that notice or order at and after the time given in that notice or order for correction of such violation, after the time specified in the order has expired without correction of the violation.
(f) In any civil or administrative proceeding to collect penalties under this Article, the Court or Hearing Officer may award the City costs and fees, including but not limited to attorneys' fees.
(a) Any fee, penalty, or cost due to the Director not paid by the due date is delinquent.
(b) If a Certificate of Registration fee, penalty or cost due to the Director is not paid within 30 days after the same becomes due, the Director shall add 50 percent to the amount of the stated fee or penalty as a penalty for non-payment.
(c) The Director may refer Detector User accounts to the Bureau of Delinquent Revenue or to the Tax Collector to initiate collection.
(d) In addition to the penalties imposed in Subsection (b), any Detector User who fails to pay any fee, penalty or cost due the Director shall pay interest on the amount due, exclusive of late payment penalties, plus an additional collection charge for each delinquent account in an amount to be determined by rules and regulations of the Tax Collector. The Tax Collector shall establish collection charges sufficient to reimburse the costs incurred by the City for collecting delinquent fees or penalties. Interest shall be paid at a rate of one percent per month, or fraction thereof. Interest and collection charges shall accrue immediately after the original due date.
(e) If the Director determines that the Detector User has deliberately withheld the amount of the fee to be remitted or that a Detector User has failed to pay the amount of the fee for a period of one or more billing periods, or if the Director deems it in the best interest of the City and County, he or she may refer collection of fees due under this Article from certain Detector Users for specified billing periods to the Tax Collector. The Director shall notify the Detector User that the Director has referred collection of the fees due and payable for the stated periods and demand payment of such fees to the Tax Collector. The notice shall be served on the Detector User personally by handing it to him or her or by deposit of the notice in the United States mail, postage prepaid thereon, addressed to the Detector User at the address on the application or location where the detector(s) is located. If the Detector User fails to remit fees, penalties, or costs assessed to the Tax Collector the Detector User shall be subject to the interest and penalties provided in this Section.
In addition to the penalties described in Section 3513, the Director may suspend or revoke any Certificate of Registration if the Director finds:
(1) The Biological Agent Detector User has violated any of the provisions of this Article;
(2) The application contains a material false statement;
(3) The Biological Agent Detector for which a Certificate was issued does not comply with any of the provisions of this Article or rules and regulations promulgated hereunder;
(4) The Biological Agent Detector User has refused to permit any City inspector to inspect the premises or the Biological Agent Detector therein;
(5) The Biological Agent Detector User refuses to produce the Certificate of Registration upon request by a City inspector;
(6) The Biological Agent Detector User or his or her authorized employees or agents have failed to comply with the instructions of any City Director or cooperate in any investigation relating to the Certificate of Registration or the Biological Agent Detector for which a Certificate of Registration was issued;
(7) The Biological Agent Detector has more than two false alarms within a 12-month period; or,
(8) For good cause.
(a) If the Director revokes or suspends a Certificate of Registration, assesses a penalty, or denies the issuance, renewal or reinstatement of a Certificate of Registration, the Director shall send written notice of the action and a statement of the right to an appeal to either the affected applicant or Biological Agent Detector User.
(b) The applicant or Biological Agent Detector User may appeal the decision of the Director as follows:
(1) The applicant or Biological Agent Detector User may file a written request for a review by paying an appeal fee of $180 and setting forth the reasons for the appeal within 20 business days notice of the Director's decision. The Person filing the appeal must also deposit with the Tax Collector the full amount of any penalty imposed, plus any accrued interest and costs. Appeal fees, and any other amount deposited with the Tax Collector, will be returned to the appealing applicant or Biological Agent Detector User if the appeal is upheld.
(2) The Director may grant, but not deny, the appeal based upon an initial review of the appellant's written submission, as well as any other pertinent information.
(3) If, after his or her initial review, the Director does not grant the appeal or determines that a hearing is appropriate or necessary, the Director shall appoint a hearing officer to conduct a formal hearing within 30 days of the receipt of the request and consider the evidence submitted by any interested Person(s). The hearing officer shall not be an employee whose regular duties include administration or enforcement of this Article. The hearing officer shall make his or her decision affirming or reversing the decision of the Director on the basis of the preponderance of evidence presented at the hearing, and must render the decision within 30 days after the date of the hearing.
(c) Filing of a request for appeal shall stay the action by the Director revoking or suspending the Certificate of Registration or requiring payment of a penalty, until the appeal is complete. If a request for appeal is not made within the 20 business day period, the Director's decision is final.
A Person whose Certificate of Registration has been revoked or suspended may, at the
discretion of the Director, have the Certificate of Registration reinstated if the Person:
(1) In the case of revocation, submits a new application and pays a reinstatement fee equal to one-half of the certificate renewal fee;
(2) Pays, or otherwise resolves, all outstanding fees and penalties; and,
(3) Submits a certification from a Biological Agent Detector installation company, stating that the detector system has been inspected and repaired (if necessary) by the alarm installation company.
(Added by Ord. 211-11, File No. 110348, App. 11/3/2011, Eff. 12/3/2011)
(a) All final costs, fees, and administrative or civil penalties assessed against a Person for violations of this Article shall be an obligation owed to the City by the Person found to have violated this Article, and the owner of the property where the violation occurred, provided that both have been given adequate notice of the alleged violation(s). Such obligation may be collected by means of the imposition of a lien against the property of the owner of the property or the Person against whom the final administrative or civil penalty was assessed. The City shall mail to the owner of the property and to the Person against whom the final amount was assessed (if different from the owner of the property) a notice of the amounts due and a warning that lien proceedings will be initiated against the property if the amounts are not paid within 30 days after the notice is mailed.
(b) Liens shall be created and assessed in accordance with Article XX of Chapter 10 of the San Francisco Administrative Code (commencing with Section 10.230).
The Director, after a noticed public hearing, may adopt rules and regulations to carry out the provisions of this Article. Such rules and regulations shall take effect 15 days after the public hearing. Violation of any such rule or regulation may be grounds for administrative or civil action against the permittee pursuant to this Article.
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