A. Request for Hearing. Any responsible party desiring to challenge the issuance of an administrative citation shall, within fifteen calendar days from the date the administrative citation is issued, make a written request for a hearing with the city clerk setting forth the basis of the challenge. The responsible party shall cause to be deposited with the city’s finance department the entire administrative fine plus two hundred fifty dollars as an offset to one-half the fee associated with payment of an administrative hearing officer. Subject to subsection (E), both parties shall equally share the cost for the hearing officer.
B. Selection of Hearing Officer. The City Manager shall designate or appoint, in accordance with applicable law, a hearing officer. The employment, performance evaluation, compensation, and benefits of the hearing officer, if any, shall not be directly or indirectly conditioned upon the amount of the administrative citation fines upheld by the hearing officer. The list of hearing officers shall contain no fewer than three names and shall not include any person employed by the city.
C. Hearing Procedure. Administrative hearings are informal and rules of evidence and discovery do not apply. The city bears the burden of proof to establish a violation and responsibility thereof by a preponderance of evidence. The citation is prima facie evidence of the violation, however, the enforcement officer who issued the citation is not required to attend or participate at the hearing. The responsible party and enforcement officer, if present, shall have an opportunity to testify, present witnesses and evidence and to cross-examine witnesses presented by the city in support of the administrative citation. The hearing officer may question any person who presents evidence or who testifies at the hearing. The hearing officer shall only consider evidence that is relevant to whether the violation(s) occurred and whether the responsible party has caused or maintained the violation(s).
D. Hearing Decision. After considering all of the testimony and evidence submitted at the hearing, the hearing officer shall issue an administrative order at the conclusion of the hearing or within fifteen days to uphold or overturn the citation and shall state the reasons thereof. The responsible party shall be served by first class mail with a copy of the administrative order. The date the decision is deposited with the U.S. Postal Service shall constitute the date of its service. The failure of a responsible party to receive a properly addressed decision shall not invalidate the citation or any hearing, city action or proceeding conducted pursuant to this chapter.
E. Decision in Favor of the Responsible Party. If the administrative hearing officer concludes the responsible party did not, in fact, violate any provision of the Signal Hill Municipal Code and dismisses the citation, then the city shall reimburse the responsible party the entire administrative fine amount and two hundred fifty dollar fee paid pursuant to subsection (A). Dismissal of an administrative citation shall not preclude the city from the commencement of a criminal prosecution, or the imposition of any other legal remedy available to the city.
F. Waiver of Right to Hearing. The responsible party’s failure to appear at a scheduled hearing shall constitute a waiver of the right to a hearing as well as a waiver of a right to judicial review of the imposition of the administrative fine.
(Ord. 2023-11-1545 § 8 (part), 2023; Ord. 2001-10- 1296 § 2 (part))