§ 51.999 PENALTY.

   (A)   Any person violating any provisions of this chapter for which no other penalty is prescribed shall be subject to § 10.99.

   (B)   Whoever violates any provision of § 51.031 shall be guilty of a Class 3 misdemeanor, and shall be fined not more than $500, or imprisoned for not more than 30 days. Each day that this section is violated shall be a separate and distinct offense.

   (C)   (1)   Penalty.

         (a)   Violation of any provision of § 51.032 may subject the offender to a civil penalty to be recovered by the town in a civil action in the nature of debt if the offender does not pay the penalty within 30 days after the assessment has become final by exhaustion of the appeal process established by § 51.032, or by failure to appeal the assessment.

         (b)   The civil penalty for violation of any provision of § 51.032 shall not exceed $500 per day for each day of continuous violation, or a cumulative or single civil penalty of $10,000. The civil penalty for willful violation of any provision of § 51.032 shall not exceed $1,000 per day for each day of a continuous violation, or a cumulative or single civil penalty of $20,000.

      (2)   Assessment. Any civil penalty shall be assessed by the Town Manager, upon the recommendation of the person in responsible charge, and shall be based upon the reasonable estimated cost of correcting the cited violation, the magnitude of the potential risk posed to the public health, safety and welfare by the violation, and the cost of the public safety or other emergency response caused by the violation. The Town Manager shall serve written notice of the civil penalty assessment to the offender and set out with reasonable care the basis of the amount so assessed.

      (3)   Equitable relief. An appropriate equitable remedy, including a mandatory or prohibitory injunction, issued from a court of competent jurisdiction may endorse the provisions of § 51.032.

      (4)   Enforcement option. The penalties and enforcement provisions established by this division may be applied in addition to or instead of the penalties established by other sections of this code.

   (D)   The violation of §§ 51.020 through 51.031 and §§ 51.045 through 51.051 shall constitute a misdemeanor punishable upon conviction by a fine not exceeding $50 or by imprisonment not exceeding 30 days as provided in G.S. § 14-4.

(Prior Code, § 51.99) (Ord. passed - -; Ord. passed 9-30-2003; Ord. passed 10-26-2004)