SR-512-002 (2)
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CA:~i:AKS:akss005a/hpadv
city Council Meeting 11-26-85
IIlV 2 6 1985
Santa Monica, California
STAFF REPORT
TO:
Ifayor and City Council
FRON: :
city Attorney
SUBJECT:
ordinance Adding Municipal Code Section 7913 to
ProvIde Additional Means of Enforcing Property Owners'
Duties Regarding Undergrounding of Utilities
At its meeting on September 10, 1985, the City Council
directed the City Attorney to prepare an ordinance to provide
additional
means
of
enforcement
of
the
City's
utility
undergrounding ordinance. Municipal Code SectIon 7908 requires
property owners in underground utility districts to remove
existing overhead lines and prepare their property to accept
underground cables.
Certain property owners have refused to
cooperate and existing Municipal Code sections provide inadequate
means of enforcement.
Pursuant to California Government Code Section 38793, the
Ci ty may enact an ordinance permitting the city to cause the
undergrounding \vork to be done and to assess the costs of the
work as a lien against the property. The accompanying ordinance
adds Municipal Code Section 7913 to provide the remedy of
assessment of costs of performing the \vork to the existing
remedies.
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RECOMMENDATION
It is respectfully recommended that the accompanying
ordinance be introduced for first reading.
PREPARED BY:
Robert M. Myers, city Attorney
Amelia K. Sherman, Deputy city Attorney
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CA:RMM:AKS:akss005b/hpadv
City Council Meeting 11-26-85
Santa Monica, California
ORDINANCE NUMBER
(City Council Series)
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE
CITY OF SANTA MONICA ADDING SECTION
7913 OF THE !~NICIPAL CODE TO PROVIDE
AN ADDITIONAL MEANS OF ENFORCING
UNDERGROUNDING OF UTILITIES
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA DOES ORDAIN AS
FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1.
Section 7913 is added to the Santa Monica
Municipal Code to read as follows:
SECTION 7913.
Enforcement of
Underqroundinq of utilities. Pursuant to
California Government Code Section 38793,
if any property owner, after 30 days
written notice by the Director of General
services, fails to effect the removal of
existing overhead utility lines and
prepare
the
property
to
accept
underground utility lines as required by
this Chapter, the City, at its election,
may cause such vyork to be done and the
costs thereof shall constitute a special
assessment against the property, and
shall become a lien on the property as
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provided in this Section. The procedures
for such special assessment and lien
shall be as follows:
(a) After completion of the work,
the Director of General Services shall
cause notice of the cost of the work done
to be given to the property owner, which
notice shall specify the day, hour, and
place when the City Council will hear and
pass upon a report by the Director of
General Services of the cost of the work,
together with any objections or protests,
if any, which may be raised by the
property owner liable to be assessed for
the costs of such work and any other
interested person.
(b) Prior to the hearing provided
for in subsection (a), the Director of
General Services shall prepare and file
with the city Council a report specifying
the work done, the costs of the work, a
description of the real property on which
the work was done, and the assessment
against the real property on which the
\vork v-las done.
(c) Cpon the day and hour fixed
for the hearing, the City council shall
hear and pass upon the report of the
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Director of General Services together
with any objections or protests which may
be raised by the property owner liable to
be assessed for the work and any other
interested person.
Thereupon the city
Council
may
make
such
revision,
correction,
or modifications
in
the
report as it may deem just, after which,
by resolution, the report as submitted,
revised, corrected, or modified, shall be
confirmed.
The City Council may adjourn
the hearings from time to time. The
decisions of the city Council on all
protests and objections which may be made
shall be final and conclusive.
(d) The cost of the vlOrk, if not
paid
vii thin
ten
days
after
its
confirmation by the City Council, shall
consti tute a special assessment against
the property, and shall be a lien on the
property for the amount thereof which
lien shall continue until the assessment
and all interest thereon is paid, or
until it is discharged of record.
(e) The City may file in the
office
of
the
county
recorder
a
certificate
substantially
in
the
following form:
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NOTICE OF LIEN
On the day of ,l9 the
undersigned caused the removal of
existing overhead utility lines and
preparation to accept underground utility
1 ines on the real property hereinafter
described; and the undersigned did on the
day of 19 assess the
cost of such work, and the assessment has
not been paid and the city of Santa
Monica does hereby claim a lien on the
real property for the net expense of
doing the work in the sum of $ and
the same shall be alien upon the real
property until the sum, with interest at
the legal rate, from the day of
19 (date of costs
incurred), has been paid in full and
discharged of record. The real property
hereinbefore mentioned, and upon which a
lien is claimed, is that certain piece or
parcel of land lying and being in the
City of Santa Monica, County of Los
Angeles, state of California, and
particularly described as follows:
(Description of Property)
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Dated:
( Signature)
(f) From and after the date of
recording of the notice of lien, all
persons shall be deemed to have had
notice of the contents thereof. If any
such lien lS not paid, the City may file
and maintain an action to foreclose such
lien in the manner provided for by law.
(g) After confirmation of the
report of the Director of General
Services, the City council may order that
the notice of lien shall be delivered to
the county auditor, who shall enter the
amount thereof on the county assessment
book opposite the description of the
particular property and the amount shall
be collected together with all other
taxes thereon against the property.
SECTION 2. Any provision of the Santa :Bonica Municipal
Code or appendices thereto inconsistent with the provisions of
this ordinance, to the extent of such inconsistencies and no
further, are hereby repealed or modified to the extent necessary
to effect the provisions of this ordinance.
SECTION 3. 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 any competent
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jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the
remaining portions of the 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.
SEC~ION 4. 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 after 30 days from its adoption.
APPROVED AS TO FORN:
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ROBERT M. MYERS
City Attorney
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