A. Any person, partnership, association, company, corporation or individual who violates, disobeys, omits, neglects or refuses to comply with the provisions of these regulations will be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor offense, and upon conviction thereof, will be punished by a fine of not less than one hundred dollars ($100.00) or more than five hundred dollars ($500.00) or by imprisonment in the county jail for not more than three (3) months or by both fine and imprisonment.
B. Any person, partnership, association, company, corporation or individual who violates, disobeys, omits, neglects or refuses to comply with the provisions of these regulations will be assessed a municipal infraction as prescribed by this code.
C. Every violation of these regulations will be a separate and distinct offense, and in the case of continuing violation, each day's continuance thereof may be deemed to be a separate and distinct offense. The existence of a criminal or other remedy, or the pendency of a criminal proceeding, under the provisions of these regulations, will not be construed to affect the right of the city to proceed with the enforcement of any and all of the provisions hereof by civil proceedings either at law or in equity in any court of competent jurisdiction.
D. A violation or a suspected violation may be brought to the attention of the planning director or designee by any individual who feels a violation has or may be occurring. The planning director or designee must then conduct an investigation into the alleged violation. Except as provided in subsections D1 and D2 of this section, if this investigation appears to uphold the allegation, the offending party must be notified first, who shall have a minimum of ten (10) days in which to correct the matter, or in which to come to an agreement on a time frame in which the violation may be abated. Such an agreement will be binding. In the event these efforts fail to result in an abatement of the violation, the planning director or designee must then either: 1) issue a municipal infraction pursuant to this code; or 2) file a complaint with the city attorney, and in which case the matter must come before a court of competent jurisdiction for resolution, either through a misdemeanor prosecution or a civil action, including one seeking equitable relief.
1. For the second and any subsequent violation of a similar section of these regulations, the ten (10) day notice requirement may be waived.
2. If the alleged violation consists of an activity which the planning director determines must be immediately abated in order to protect the public interest, health, comfort, convenience, safety or general welfare, the ten (10) day notice requirement may be waived, and the planning director may issue a stop work order.
E. Any person applying for land use approval under these regulations, or who is otherwise required to comply with these regulations, is responsible for becoming familiar with these regulations and for complying fully with such regulations. The failure of city officials to identify a violation of these regulations in an application or proposal, or the failure of city officials to notify a person submitting an application or proposal of a particular requirement or restriction contained in these regulations, does not excuse the applicant or the person making the proposal from the obligation to comply fully with such regulations, nor does it affect or waive any of the city's authority to enforce any of these regulations. Any approval issued in violation of these regulations, or which includes terms or omits terms in violation of these regulations, shall be deemed to be invalid. (Ord. 09-23, 11-16-2009; amd. Ord. 19-11, 6-3-2019)