(a) Enforcement Actions; Penalties. If any person has occupied a Shared Space in violation of any Permit conditions, operating requirements, or regulations applicable to the Shared Space, the Director of Public Works may take any action authorized by this Code that is considered necessary to abate or correct the violation. The Director is expressly authorized to:
(1) Modify the Shared Space Permit, withdraw the Director’s approval of the Permit, or request revocation of the Permit by the Core City Agencies pursuant to Section 94A.5(g) of the Administrative Code;
(2) Issue a criminal citation pursuant to the provisions of Section 792(e)(1)(A) of this Code that is applicable to Street Plazas;
(3) Issue an administrative citation and assess the administrative penalties authorized by Section 792(e)(1)(B) of this Code for Street Plazas.
(4) Call upon other City officials to assist in the enforcement of this Article 15, including but not limited to the Chief of Police and the City Attorney;
(5) Seize, remove, or demolish any structures or furniture placed in public sidewalk or roadway areas. The Director, in the Director’s discretion, also may issue a written determination that the structures or furniture are abandoned for purposes of the Department’s anticipated seizure, removal, or demolition. For purposes of this Subsection 793.4(a)(5), “abandoned” means that 30 business days after the date of Public Works issuance of a Notice of Violation, the permittee or party responsible for the structures or furniture has taken no affirmative step(s) to bring the structures or furniture into compliance with this1
Sections 793 et seq. Affirmative steps would include, but are not limited to, the following: (i) a written agreement with the Director that includes specific actions and timelines to bring the structures or furniture into compliance with Sections 793 et seq., (ii) the abatement of one or more violations identified in the Notice of Violation that demonstrate to the Director that the responsible party intends to bring the structures or furniture into compliance with Sections 793 et seq. or remove the structure and return the right-of-way to a condition acceptable to the Director, or (iii) other demonstrable actions that satisfy the Director that the responsible party will resolve the Notice of Violation.
(A) If a permit to place the structure or furniture has been rescinded or expired, before any such structure or furniture is seized, the Permittee shall be notified and given 10 business days to remove the structure or furniture. If the Permittee does not remedy the underlying violation leading to the rescission of the permit and/or apply for a Shared Space Permit within the time prescribed, the City may seize, remove, or demolish the structure or furniture.
(B) Seized furniture shall be retained by the City and may be recovered by the responsible party for a period of at least 30 business days following seizure. As a condition of recovering any furniture seized pursuant to this Section or receiving a subsequent Shared Spaces Permit, the Permittee shall pay an impound fee covering the actual cost to the City of transporting and storing such furniture, unless the seizure is deemed improper following a hearing under this subsection (a)(5).
(C) If the Director determines that it is practicable to do so, Public Works shall retain any seized structures. As a condition of recovering any structure seized pursuant to this Section or receiving a subsequent Shared Spaces Permit, the Permittee shall pay an impound fee covering the actual cost to the City of transporting and storing such structure, unless the seizure is deemed improper following a hearing under this subsection (a)(5).
(D) If the Director determines that it is not practicable to do so, Public Works may demolish any unpermitted structure placed in the right-of-way. Where a Permittee is responsible for an unpermitted structure that requires demolition, the Permittee shall not be eligible for a subsequent Shared Spaces Permit until the Permittee has paid the fee covering the actual costs to the City of demolishing and disposing of the structure(s). Such recoverable costs may include those incurred by Public Works and any other City department, including the City Attorney’s Office, for time and materials spent enforcing the requirements of the permit.
(E) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Section 793.4, if the Director determines that any structure or furniture is placed in public sidewalk or roadway areas in such a place or manner as to pose an immediate and serious danger to persons or property, the City may seize such structure and furniture without prior notice to the Permittee if it is impractical to remedy the danger by moving the structure or furniture to another point on the sidewalk or public right-of-way.
(F) Following any seizure, the Permittee shall be notified promptly of such seizure and shall have the right to request an informal hearing before a designated City official to determine whether the seizure was proper. The Permittee must request the hearing within 10 days of receiving notice of the seizure. Any furniture seized pursuant to this Section shall be retained by the City and may be recovered as provided herein.
Failure to provide any notice to a Permittee pursuant to this section shall not give rise to any claims or cause of action against the City; and
(6) Take any other enforcement action authorized by this Code that is applicable to occupancy of the public right-of-way. If there are outstanding Departmental costs after completion of the Department enforcement specified in Sections 793.4 et seq., the Director is authorized to work with the community facilities district or similar taxing entity whose jurisdictional boundaries include the location subject to the enforcement action to identify potential reimbursement sources for such costs.
(b) Rules and Regulations; Director’s Orders. The Director may adopt such orders, rules, policies, procedures, regulations, rules, or standards as the Director considers appropriate in order to:
(1) process, verify, and respond to complaints from the public concerning a Curbside or Sidewalk Shared Space that is routed from the 311 Customer Relationship Management System, as described in Administrative Code Section 94A.9(a);
(2) abate a violation of the terms and conditions of a Sidewalk or Curbside Shared Space Permit or other requirements of Administrative Code Chapter 94A that are within the jurisdiction of the Director; and
(3) identify specific violations that would be subject to the criminal citation penalty authorized in subsection (a)(2) above.
(c) Public Hearing. In taking any of the above actions, the Director of Public Works may hold a public hearing on the Permittee’s conduct. If a public hearing is held, the Director shall follow either the notice and hearing procedures for Street Encroachment Permits set forth in Section 786 et seq. of this Code or a codified notice and hearing procedure that is more applicable to a Shared Spaces Permit.
(Added as Sec. 793.5 by Ord. 224-16, File No. 160893, App. 11/22/2016, Eff. 12/22/2016; renumbered and amended by Ord. 99-21, File No. 210284, App. 7/28/2021, Eff. 8/28/2021; amended by Ord. 51-22, File No. 211301, App. 3/31/2022, Eff. 5/1/2022; Ord. 67-23, File No. 230124, App. 4/27/2023, Eff. 5/28/2023)
CODIFICATION NOTE