Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, for any violation of this article, where there exists a State Code section which has the same elements as the City Code section for which a penalty is imposed, the penalty imposed by the City may be up to that penalty imposed by the State. (Ord. 310. Passed 7-16-07.)
(a) Any person, corporation, partnership, association or any other entity engaging or continuing to engage in business as a landlord without properly registering the business with the City Clerk as herein required may be assessed a civil penalty by the Clerk, which penalty shall not be more than one hundred dollars ($100.00) for each such violation. Each violation shall constitute a separate offense.
(b) A civil penalty shall be assessed by the Mayor only after the City Clerk shall have given at least ten days' notice to the affected landlord. Notice shall be in writing, shall state the reason for the proposed civil penalty and the amount thereof, and shall designate a time and place for the affected landlord to appear before the City Clerk and show cause why the civil penalty should not be imposed. Notice shall be sent by certified mail to the address under which the registration was made.
(c) Any person adversely affected by a decision of the Mayor imposing a civil penalty shall have the right of judicial review thereof by the Municipal Court of this Municipality. The affected business may, at the time designated for hearing by the Municipal Court, produce evidence in his or her behalf and be represented by counsel. Any person adversely affected by an order entered following such hearing shall have the right of judicial review thereof by the Circuit Court of Monongalia County, West Virginia.
(Passed 1-6-91.)