O2286Council Meeting: April 7, 2009 Santa Monica, California
ORDINANCE NUMBER zzs6 (CCS)
(City Council Series)
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA
UPDATING CHAPTER 1.10 OF THE SANTA MONICA MUNICIPAL CODE TO
CLARIFY CODE ENFORCEMENT RIGHTS AND EFFORTS BY THE. CITY
WHEREAS, the City of Santa Monica is committed to protecting its residents',
businesses' and visitors' health, safety, welfare, and quality of life; and
WHEREAS, the City is also committed to preserving aesthetic qualities and
charm which enrich residents' lives and attract visitors; and
WHEREAS. effective code enforcement is vital to effectuation of these
commitments; and
WHEREAS, achieving effective code enforcement in Santa Monica is
complicated by various factors including the City's unusual "density (11,200 persons per
square mile), its age, its diversity of structures, and the variety of sometimes conflicting
activities and land uses occurring within the City's eight square miles; and
WHEREAS, the City has a broad array of regulations and permit requirements
governing the use of land in the City; and
WHEREAS, code enforcement is the method by which the City assures that the
use of land continues to comply with the laws and policies adopted by the City Council;
and
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WHEREAS, it is critical that the City have a full range of remedies available to
protect the community, ensure compliance with local law and, where necessary,
penalize violators for the failure to comply with these laws; and
WHEREAS, enforcement of this Code and conditions on entitlements are matters
of local concern and serve important public purposes; and
WHEREAS, recordation of uncorrected Code violations is an effective means of
providing notice to interested parties and to the public, and to ensure prompt
compliance with this Code; and
WHEREAS, the California State Attorney General has opined, in 63 Ops. Cal.
Atty. Gen. 905 (1980), that recordation of uncorrected Code violations is lawful and
consistent with State law; and
WHEREAS, enabling the City to seek administrative costs and penalties when
faced with unduly delayed compliance would encourage early correction of Code
violations and allow the City to recover costs it incurred to gain compliance; and
WHEREAS, criminal prosecution is an effective means of gaining prompt
compliance and is particularly appropriate for certain types of cases, such as cases
where time is of the essence or where the health and safety of the public is being
placed at significant and imminent risk by ongoing Code violations;
WHEREAS, criminal prosecution of responsible persons and/or parties who
refuse to comply with the administrative order of a Hearing Examiner is an important
and effective tool for gaining prompt compliance of uncorrected Code violations,
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WHEREAS, enabling the City to exercise prosecutorial discretion does not
lessen the City's commitment to enforce its Code, nor is it an invitation to violate or
ignore the law, but a means to effectively use the City's resources in a way that best
accomplishes the City's mission of administering and enforcing its Municipal Code.
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA
DOES HEREBY ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Section 1.10.030 of the Santa Monica Municipal Code is hereby
amended to read as follows:
1.10.030 Compliance order.
(a) Whenever the City Official determines that a violation of any provision of
this Code, or other provisions as set forth in Santa Monica Municipal Code Section
1.08.010(c), within the City Official's responsibility is occurring or exists, the City Official
may issue a written compliance order to any person responsible for the violation.
(b) A compliance order issued pursuant to this Chapter shall contain the
following information:
(1) The date, approximate time and location of the violation;
(2) The section of this Code violated and a description of the violation;
(3) The actions required to correct the violation;
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(4) The time period after which administrative penalties will begin to accrue if
compliance with the order has not been achieved. No administrative penalty shall be
imposed for violations of City building, plumbing, electrical or structural codes or
provisions of the City Zoning Ordinance unless the responsible party has been provided
a reasonable period of time to correct the violation before imposition of the penalty,
except in those cases in which there is an immediate danger to health or safety.
(5) Either a copy of this Chapter or an explanation of the consequences of
noncompliance with this Chapter and a description of the hearing procedure and appeal
process to the responsible party.
(c) If compliance with an issued compliance order is not achieved within the
time period prescribed by the order at issue, the City Official may file and record a
Notice of Compliance Order in the Office of the County Recorder to certify that: (i) the
subject property is being maintained in violation of the Municipal Code and/or applicable
statue, rule, code and regulation; (ii) penalties, including liens, special assessments,
and/or other penalties, may be imposed; and (iii) the property owner has been so
notified.
(d) Whenever the City Official determines that the Compliance Order has
been fully complied-with, including correction of all identified violations, payment of all
penalties, and satisfaction of all other requirements imposed by the Compliance Order,
and if a compliance order has been recorded pursuant to sub-section (c), the City
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Official shall cause the removal of the recordation of the applicable compliance order or
file and record a Notice of Satisfaction of Compliance Order certifying that the
violation(s) of the Municipal Code at the subject property which caused the issuance of
the compliance order has been corrected.
Section 2. Section 1.10.060 of the Santa Monica Municipal Code is hereby
amended to read as follows:
1.10.060 Hearing.
(a) If the City Official determines that all violations have been corrected
within the time specified in the compliance order, no further action shall be taken.
(b) If full compliance is not achieved within the time specified in the
compliance order, the City Official shall advise the City Attorney's Office which may,
consistent with well established principles of prosecutorial discretion, schedule a
hearing before the Hearing Examiner and/or pursue criminal prosecution of the
responsible persons and/or parties as authorized by Section 1.08.010.
(c) The City Attorney's Office shall cause a written notice of the hearing to be
served on the violator and, where real property is involved, a notice of hearing shall be
served on the property owner at the address as it appears on the last equalized County
assessment roll available on the date the notice is prepared.
(d) If full compliance is achieved after service of the written notice of the
hearing, the City Attorney's Office may, nonetheless, continue to proceed with the
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scheduled hearing before the Hearing Examiner in order to seek Administrative
Penalties as authorized by Section 1.10.110 and Administrative Costs as authorized
by Section 1.10.120.
Section 3. Section 1.10.130 of the Santa Monica Municipal Code is hereby
amended to read as follows:
1.10.130 Failure to comply with administrative compliance order
Failure to comply with the administrative order of the Hearing Examiner, including
failure to pay the assessed administrative penalties and administrative costs specified in
the administrative order may be enforced as:
(a) A personal obligation of the violator; and/or
(b) If the violation is in connection with real property, a lien or special
assessment upon the real property.. The lien br special assessment shall remain in
effect until all of the administrative penalties, interest and administrative costs are paid
in full; and/or
(c) An infraction which shall be punishable by a fine not exceeding two
hundred fifty dollars, or a misdemeanor, which shall be punishable by a fine not
exceeding one thousand dollars per violation, or by imprisonment in the County Jail for
a period not exceeding six months, or by both such fine and imprisonment, as
authorized by Section 1.08.010.
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Section 4. Section 1.10.150 of the Santa Monica Municipal Code is hereby
amended to read as follows:
1.10.150 Recovery of administrative civil penalties.
The City may collect the assessed administrative penalties and administrative
costs by use of all available legal means, including recordation of a lien pursuant to
Section 1.10.180 or imposition of a special assessment pursuant to the procedures
established in Section 8.96.190(1).
Section 5. Section 1.10.240 of the Santa Monica Municipal Code is hereby
repealed.
Section 6. Any provision of the Santa Monica Municipal Code or appendices
thereto inconsistent with the provisions of this Ordinance, to the extent of such
inconsistencies and no further, is hereby repealed or modified to that extent necessary
to effect the provisions of this Ordinance.
Section 7. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase of this
Ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by a decision of any
court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the
remaining portions of this Ordinance. The City Council hereby declares that it would
have passed this Ordinance and each and every section, subsection, sentence, clause,
or phrase not declared invalid or unconstitutional without regard to whether any portion
of the ordinance would be subsequently declared invalid or unconstitutional.
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Section 8. The Mayor shall sign and the City Clerk shall attest to the passage of
this Ordinance. The City Clerk shall cause the same to be published once in the official
newspaper within 15 days after its adoption. This Ordinance shall become effective 30
days from its adoption.
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
Approved and adopted this 7th day of April, 2009.
Ken Genser, ayor
State of California )
County of Los Angeles) ss.
City of Santa Monica )
I, Maria Stewart, City Clerk of the City of Santa Monica, do hereby certify that the
foregoing Ordinance No. 2286 (CCS) had its introduction on March 24th, 2009, and was
adopted at the Santa Monica City Council meeting held on April 7th, 2009, by the
following vote:
Ayes: Council members: Bloom, Davis, McKeown.,
Mayor Genser, Mayor Pro Tem O'Connor
Noes: Council members: None
Abstain: Council members: None
Absent:. Council members: Holbrook, Shriven
A summary of Ordinance No. 2286 (CCS) was duly published pursuant to California
Government Code Section 40806.
ATTEST:
A 1 w. ~ ~4-. ~. gyn.
Maria Stewart, City C rk