(a) All hearings conducted pursuant to this Article shall be held before the Director of Public Health. Testimony at the hearing may include the testimony on the condition of the vehicle or vehicle parts and the circumstances concerning their location on the said private property or Public Property. The Director of Public Health shall not be limited to the judicial rules of evidence. The property owner or the vehicle owner may appear in person at the hearing or present a sworn written statement in time for consideration at the hearing to deny responsibility for the presence of the vehicle on the property, and stating the reasons for such denial.
(b) The order resulting from a hearing before the Director of Public Health must include:
(1) a description of the vehicle or vehicle parts and any available identifying information for the vehicle or vehicle part;
(2) a finding of whether the property owner has given express or implied consent to the presence of the vehicle or vehicle parts on the property, or, in the alternative, whether the vehicle owner has abandoned the vehicle on the property in violation of Vehicle Code Section 22523.
(3) a finding identifying the prevailing party or parties for the purpose of assessing attorney's fees against the non-prevailing party or parties.
(4) The order may also:
(A) find that a vehicle or vehicle parts have been abandoned, wrecked, dismantled, or are inoperative on private property or Public Property and order the same removed from the property as a public nuisance;
(B) impose any conditions and take such other action as the Director of Public Health deems appropriate under the circumstances to carry out the purpose of this Article;
(C) Delay the time for removal of the vehicle or vehicle parts, if in the opinion of the Director of Public Health the circumstances justify it;
(D) assess an amount to be charged to for the cost of removal and disposal, not to exceed the cost of towing and seven days' of storage that may be assessed against the party found to be responsible for the nuisance in subsection 5.7(b)(ii) above, and any attorneys' fees to the prevailing party or parties;
(E) assess an administrative fee established annually by Director of Public Health in an amount reasonably calculated to recover the Department of Public Health's costs for administering this Article that may be assessed against the party found to be responsible for the nuisance in subsection 5.7(b)(ii) above.
(c) No administrative fee, attorneys' fees or costs for removal or disposal of a vehicle or vehicle parts may be assessed against the property owner under this article if it is determined at the hearing that the vehicle or vehicle parts were placed on the land without the consent of the property owner or that the property owner has not subsequently acquiesced to their presence.
(d) If the vehicle owner or property owner submits a sworn written statement denying responsibility for the presence of the vehicle or vehicle parts on the property but does not appear, or if an interested party makes a written presentation to the Director of Public Health but does not appear, the property owner shall be notified in writing of the decision.
(Amended by Ord. 287-08, File No. 081340, App. 12/5/2008)