(A) Notice of noncompliance. If any person fails or refuses to comply with this article, the Public Works Director, or his/her designee shall provide that person with written notice of the violation and an opportunity to correct the noncompliance when the notice specifies a time in which the violation can be corrected. The written notice shall:
(1) Be posted or presented at the site of the noncompliance;
(2) State the time, date, and place of violation;
(3) State a general description of the violation;
(4) State the means to correct the violation;
(5) State a date by which correction is required;
(6) State the possible consequences of failing to correct the violation; and
(7) Include appeal and hearing rights and procedures; and
(8) A copy of the written notice shall be mailed to the owner of the property.
(B) Compliance remedies. Failure to correct the notice of noncompliance violation within the time specified in the written notice will result in one or more of the following actions after providing appropriate due process, in addition to the other remedies set forth in this article.
(1) Any penalties, surcharges or increased charges incurred by the county for excessive use by customers shall be passed on to the customers causing the excessive use of water to the extent allowed by law.
(2) Impose an administrative citation per existing county ordinances.
(3) Place a flow restricting device on the meter. Payment of the county’s charges for installing and/or removing any flow restricting device and for disconnecting and/or reconnecting service per the county’s schedule of charges then in effect is the responsibility of the property’s owner.
(4) Abate the violation as a nuisance in accordance with this article, and/or any other provision of the San Benito County Code or state law.
(C) Appeals. All nuisance abatement proceedings related to this article, including any notice of non-compliance, invoice for costs, and disconnection decisions, may be appealed as set forth herein; except, notwithstanding the above, actions already proceeding in civil court are not appealable and appeals of administrative citations shall be exclusively handled through the administrative citation appeals process. Any person receiving a notice of noncompliance, an invoice for costs, or any person who is subject to any adverse determination made pursuant to this article (except those already proceeding in civil court and/or appeals of administrative citations), may appeal the matter by requesting an administrative hearing.
(D) Request for administrative hearing. Any person appealing nuisance abatement proceedings, a notice of noncompliance, or an invoice for costs), shall, within fifteen days of receipt thereof, file a written request for an administrative hearing, accompanied by an administrative hearing fee as established by separate resolution or ordinance, with the office of the Clerk of the Board, located at 481 Fourth St., 1st Floor, Hollister, CA 95023, except that appeals of Administrative Citations shall be pursuant to the procedures set forth in Chapter 1.04 of the San Benito County Code. Appeals of termination of water service and placement of flow restricting devices shall be made within three business days of receipt thereof. Even pending appeal, the county reserves its right to summarily abate any public nuisance. The failure to timely appeal a decision, in writing, shall bar and waive all further appeals and result in the decision or action in question becoming final and non-appealable.
(E) The appeal shall be on a form provided by the Clerk of the Board and shall set forth with particularity the specific grounds upon which the appeal is made. At minimum, the appeal shall include a description of the issues, evidence supporting the claim, and the resolution sought. Any grounds not set forth in the written appeal shall be deemed waived and the appellant shall thereafter be precluded from raising them. The Clerk of the Board has authority to reject any appeal which is incomplete. Thereafter, a hearing on the matter shall be held before the Board of Supervisors within fifteen business days of the date of filing of the written request, or at the next regularly scheduled Board of Supervisors meeting following that fifteen day period, unless, in the reasonable discretion of the Chair of the Board of Supervisors, and pursuant to a written request by the appealing party or the county, a continuance of the hearing is granted. However, appeals of termination of water service and placement of flow restricting devices shall be made within ten business days of receipt thereof, or at the next regularly scheduled Board of Supervisors meeting following that ten day period, and no continuances shall be granted unless mutually agreed to by the county and the appellant.
(F) Hearing proceedings. The Public Works Director or his/her designee, and/or employee issuing the notice of noncompliance, invoice for costs or adverse determination shall appear in support of the notice, invoice for costs, or determination, and the appealing party shall appear in support of dismissal of the notice, determination, and invoice for costs. Each party shall have the right to present testimony, present their own witnesses and other documentary evidence as necessary for explanation of their case. The hearing need not be conducted according to technical rules relating to evidence and witnesses. Any relevant evidence shall be admitted if it is the sort of evidence on which responsible persons are accustomed to rely in the conduct of serious affairs, regardless of the existence of any common law or statutory rule which might make improper admission of such evidence over an objection in civil actions. Hearsay evidence may be used for the purpose of supplementing or explaining any direct evidence but shall not be sufficient in itself to support a finding by the hearing officer, unless it would be admissible over an objection in civil actions. The rules of privilege shall be effective to the same extent they are now or hereafter may be recognized in civil actions, and irrelevant and unduly repetitious evidence shall be excluded. The appealing party shall notify the county 48 hours in advance of the hearing, if legal counsel will be present on their behalf.
(G) The County Administrative Officer has the authority to settle or resolve any appeal prior to the scheduled hearing.
(H) Final decision and appeal. The final decision of the hearing officer shall be issued within 30 days of the conclusion of the hearing and shall be delivered by first-class mail, postage prepaid, to the parties. The decision shall include notice that it is final and any legal challenge to the final decision shall be made pursuant to the provisions of Cal. Code of Civil Procedure §§ 1094.5 and 1094.6 and shall be commenced within 90 days following its issuance. The administrative hearing fee paid by a prevailing party in an appeal shall be refunded.
(Ord. 927, § 2 (part), 2014)