(A) A county hearing officer shall have those powers set forth in Cal. Gov’t Code §§ 27721 and 27722, including the power to conduct the hearing, the power to decide the matter under this section upon which a hearing has been held, the power to make findings of fact and conclusions of law required for the decision, the power to issue subpoenas at the request of a party of interest, the power to receive evidence, the power to administer oaths, the power to rule on questions of law and the admissibility of evidence, the power to continue the hearing from time to time, and the power to prepare a record of the proceedings.
(B) The county hearing officer is authorized to:
(1) Conduct hearings specified in § 1.07.040;
(2) Issue subpoenas; receive evidence; administer oaths; rule on questions of law and the admissibility of evidence;
(3) Grant continuances based on good cause shown by one of the parties to the hearing or upon his or her own independent determination that due process has not been adequately afforded to a party;
(4) Exercise continuing jurisdiction over the subject matter of an administrative enforcement hearing for the purposes of granting a continuance;
(5) Make findings of fact and legal conclusions;
(6) Rule upon the merits of an administrative enforcement hearing or an administrative appeal hearing upon consideration of the evidence submitted and prepare and issue a written recommended decision and order, including, but not limited to:
(a) Orders that are necessary to remedy any violations identified in a notice issued in accordance with this code including authorizing the enforcing official to summarily abate the violation and/or impose conditions for the continued use of the subject property or activity;
(b) Impose, modify, or deny administrative penalties. In those cases where the administrative penalty is not fixed, but is subject to a range as otherwise established by this code, the hearing officer may set, increase, or decrease, according to proof, the amount of administrative penalty or the daily rate of such administrative penalty;
(c) Determine the date upon which the accrual of administrative penalties shall begin; and, where the corrections are subsequently completed to the county's satisfaction, the date upon which the accrual of administrative penalties shall end. If the violations have not been so corrected, the daily accrual of the administrative penalties accrued shall continue until the violations are corrected or the legal maximum limit is reached;
(d) Determine amounts and order payment of abatement costs and/or administrative penalties;
(e) Imposition of a lien, special assessment, special collection, or other collection process against a responsible person and any affected property, as appropriate after hearing for objections to the filing of liens or special assessments on real property; and
(f) Deferral of the effective date of orders of abatement in cases of extreme hardship to owner-occupants or tenants of dwellings; and
(7) Prepare a record of the proceedings.
(Ord. 961, § 1, 2017)