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No person, firm or corporation shall scatter, daub or leave any paint, paste, glue, or other substance used for painting or affixing advertising matters upon any public street or sidewalks or scatter or throw or permit to be scattered or thrown any bills, waste matter, paper, cloth or materials of whatsoever kind removed from billboards on any public street or on private property.
(Added by Ord. 1.075, App. 10/11/38)
Title. This Section shall be known as the Foreclosure Responsibility and Accountability Ordinance.
(Former Sec. 94 added by Ord. 1.075, App. 10/11/38; repealed by Ord. 14-02, File No. 011845, App. 2/8/2002)
(a) San Francisco is still seeing a significant number of foreclosures. According to the San Francisco Assessor/Recorder's fiscal year 2010-2011 Annual Report, there were 2,277 notices of default recorded in residential, commercial and industrial properties. This statistic represents an average of 184 recorded notices of default per month, up 171% from five years ago.
(b) In addition, there were 927 actual foreclosures in the 2010-2011 fiscal year or an average of 83 per month. This figure represents a 3% increase from the previous fiscal year, and an 1128% increase from five years ago when foreclosures averaged 7 per month.
(c) The majority of foreclosures in San Francisco are non-judicial foreclosures. A non-judicial foreclosure allows a lender to sell a property to pay off an existing debt, assuming the lender is authorized to foreclose and that all the requisite procedures are followed. Often, by the time the foreclosure process has concluded, the foreclosed property is in a state of disrepair, often suffering from deferred maintenance and neglect and needing significant repairs.
(d) Once a foreclosure has concluded, properties can remain in a state of disrepair for months, even years. Often, a foreclosing owner, despite having the resources and ability to abate the conditions, chooses to leave the property in its current state subjecting tenants and the surrounding community and neighbors to the effects of this neglect: further deteriorating conditions such as mold, lack of heat and hot water, peeling paint, overgrown vegetation, vulnerability to squatters, blight, and other nuisance.
(e) The City recognizes the importance in a dense, urban environment of the need to ensure that properties are maintained in a healthy and safe condition, free of nuisances and blight and therefore it is the policy of the City that all Departments consider enforcement of this Ordinance a high priority. By holding owners of foreclosed properties responsible for maintaining their properties and increasing the potential consequences errant owners face for permitting nuisances to continue, the City can more effectively ensure that its neighborhoods are healthy and sate for those who choose to live, work or visit.
For the purposes of this Article, the following terms shall have the following meanings:
(a) "Foreclosed Property/ies" means a property where a Trustee Deed is issued evidencing the sale, recovery or transfer to a lender or a third party pursuant to any judicial or non-judicial process initiated as recourse for a borrower's default or alleged default on a loan secured by the property.
(b) "Public Nuisance" includes any condition that is defined as a public nuisance under California state law including California Civil Code Sections 3479 and 3480. "Public Nuisance" also includes any condition declared by the San Francisco Municipal Code to be a public nuisance.
(c) "Person" shall include, but is not limited to:
(1) individuals;
(2) corporations;
(3) not-for-profit organizations;
(4) partnerships;
(5) associations;
(6) other business entities; and
(7) groups of individuals or entities.
(a) It shall be unlawful to maintain a foreclosed property in a manner that constitutes a public nuisance.
(b) Maintaining a foreclosed property in a manner that constitutes a public nuisance shall be considered an aggravating factor in fashioning civil penalties and/or injunctive relief pursuant to state or local law, including California Civil Code Sections 3479-3480, California Code of Civil Procedure Section 731, Health and Safety Code Sections 11570 et seq. and 17910 et seq., and the San Francisco Municipal Code.
(c) Persons who own ten or more foreclosed properties shall be liable for an increased penalty of up to three times (treble) the amount of any civil penalty assessed by a court of competent jurisdiction for maintaining a foreclosed property in a manner that constitutes a public nuisance. In these circumstances, a court may treble any award of civil penalties authorized by applicable provisions of state and local law including but not limited to the following:
(1) San Francisco Administrative Code
(2) San Francisco Building Code
(3) San Francisco Electrical Code
(4) San Francisco Fire Code
(5) San Francisco Health Code
(6) San Francisco Housing Code
(7) San Francisco Mechanical Code
(8) San Francisco Planning Code
(9) San Francisco Plumbing Code
(10) San Francisco Public Works Code.
(d) Nothing in this Article shall be interpreted as restricting or otherwise limiting the enforcement authority that state law or the Charter or Municipal Code vests in the City, its agencies, officers or employees or any state agency.
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