HomeMy WebLinkAbout39661
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Ordinance No. 3966
AN ORDINANCE AMENDING BUTTE COUNTY CODE SECTIONS 32A-5(a) AND 32A-7 OF
CHAPTER 32A IN ORDER TO RECOVER ATTORNEY'S FEES INCURRED BY THE COUNTY
THROUGH THE NUISANCE ABATEMENT PROGRAM
The Board of Supervisors of the County of Butte ordains as follows;
Section to Section 32A-5(a) of Chapter 32A of the Butte County Code is hereby amended to read as
follows:
32A-5 Procedure far abating public nuisances generally.
(a} Whenever the Director of Development Services determines that a public nuisance
exists he or she, or his or her designee, shall request in writing that the public nuisance
be abated within seventy-two (72} hours. If the conditions} continue beyond that
seventy-two (72) hazer period, the Director of Development Services, or his or her
designee, may set the matter for hearing. If the matter is set far hearing, the Director of
Development Services or his or her designee, shall post the property upon which the
public nuisance exists and shall mail, with a proof of service, notices to those persons
known to be in possession of the property, if any, and to persons shown on the latest
County tax roll to be the owners of the property at least ten (lf~) days prior to the
hearing, unless thirty (30} days ar other notice is required by Health and Safety Code
section 179$0 or other state law. Bath the mailed and posted notice shall be in
substantially the following form:
NOTICE OF NUISANCE A>3ATEM[ENT HEARING
The owner{s) and occupant(s) of real property described on the latest equalized Butte
County tax roll as A.P. No. and having a street address of
is (are} hereby notified to appear before a Hearing Officer of
the County of Butte at on , 24_, at the hour of
o'clock rn., to show cause, if any there be, why the use of said real property should
not be found to be a public nuisance and abated pursuant to the Butte County Codeo
The Department of Development Services has determined that conditions exist on the
above propertywhich constitute a public nuisance and violate Butte County Code
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sections} as follows: After hearing, if a
violation is found to exist, the cost of abating such violation, including, but not limited
to, the cost of the Hearing Officer, the cost of prior time and expenses associated with
bringing the matter to hearing, attorneys' fees, the cost associated with any appeals
from the decision ofthe I-Tearing Officer, the cost of judicially abating the violation, the
cost of labor and material necessary to physically abate the violation, and the cost of
securing expert and other witnesses may become a lien against the subject property and
may also be assessed against the property in the same manner as taxes. If arl abatement
lien is recorded, it will have the same force and effect as an abstract of judgment which
is recorded as a money judgment obtained in a court of law. If you fail to appear at the
hearing or if you fail to raise any defense or assert any relevant point at the time of
hearing, the County will assert, in later judicial proceedings to enforce an order of
abatement, that you have waived all rights to assert such defenses or such points.
In preparing for such hearing, you should be aware that if an initial showing is made
by the County, sufficient to persuade the Hearing Officer that a public nuisance exists
on your property, you will then have the burden of proving that no public nuisance
exists on your property. Therefore, you should be prepared to introduce oral and
documentary evidence proving why, in your opinion, your use of the property is not a
public nuisance as defined in the Butte County Code. A copy of the Butte County Code
Chapter relating to abatement hearings is enclosed to assist you in the preparation of
your presentation.
If an initial showing sufficient to persuade the Hearing Officer that a public nuisance
exists on your property is made by the Code Enforcement Officer, your failure to
sustain the burden of showing that no public nuisance exists on the property may result
in an administrative decision ordering the abatement of uses or conditions on your
property which are found to be a public nuisance and may also result in a later judicial
order to the same effect.
Further, if the Hearing Officer finds that a public nuisance exists on your property and
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you fail to abate the nuisance promptly, the County may abate the nuisance. If the County abates the
nuisance, you may be responsible far the actual casts of the abatement, including the costs to the
County of the administrative hearing and attorneys' fees, and such costs may be specially assessed
against your parcel by the Auditor-Controller's Office and added to the your tax bill as a special
assessment. Such special assessments have the same priority, for collection purposes, as other county
taxes and, if not paid, may result in a forced sale of your property. You are also hereby notified that
the County will seek recovery of attorneys' fees incurred in any abatement hearing and that attorneys'
fees may be recovered b~he prevailing tarty.
Finally, if the Hearing Officer finds that a public nuisance exists on your property, a
violation of the Butte County Code, the County will contend that you are bound by such
finding at any subsequent judicial action to enforce the Hearing Officer's order.
IMPORTANT: READ THIS NOTICE CAREFULLY. FAILURE TO
APPEAR AND RESPOND AT THE TIME SET FORTH IN THIS
NOTICE WILL LIKELY RESULT IN ADMINISTRATIVE AND/OR
JUDICIAL ABATEMENT AND TERMINATION OF USES OF OR
CONDITIONS ON YOUR PROPERTY WHICH THE DIRECTOR OF
DEVELOPMENT SERVICES CONTENDS ARE IN VIOLATION OF
THE BUTTE COUNTY CODE.
Dated:
BUTTE COUNTY DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT SERVICES
By:
Enclosure: Butte County Code Chapter 32A
~ Section 2. Section 32A-7 of Chapter 32A of the Butte County Cade is amended to read as follows:
32A-7 Abatement casts and Administrative Costs.
(a) The term "Abatement Casts" means any costs or expenses reasonably related to the
abatement of conditions which violate the Butte County Code, and shall include, but
not be limited to, enforcement, investigation, attorneys' fees, collection and
administrative costs, and the costs associated with the removal or correction of the
violation.
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{b} The term "Administrative Costs," shall include the cost of County staff time
reasonably related to enforcement, for items including, but not limited to, site
inspections, investigations, summaries, reports, notices, telephone contacts and
correspondence, as well as time expended by Development Services and Auditor
controller staff calculating the above costs and preparing itemized invoices showing
such costs. Costs for travel time for inspections shall not be included.
~c} In any action administrative proceeding or ~ecial proceeding to abate a nuisance
attorneys' fees may be recovered by the prevailingparty In no action administrative
proceeding or~ecial~roceeding shall an award of attorneys' fees to a prevailing party
exceed the amount of reasonable attorneys' fees incurred by the County in the action
or proceeding.
Section 3. Severability. If any provision of this Ordinance or the application thereof to any person
or circumstances is for any reason held to be invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, such
provision shall be deemed severable, and the invalidity thereof shall not affect the remaining provisions
or other applications of the Ordinance which can be given effect without the invalid provision or
application thereof.
Section 4. Effective Date and Publication. This Ordinance shall take effect thirty (30) days after
the date of its passage. The Clerk ofthe Board of Supervisors is authorized and directed to publish this
~' ordinance before the expiration of fifteen (15) days after its passage. This Ordinance shall be published
once, with the names of the members of the Board of Supervisors voting for and against it, in the
a newspaper of general circulation published in the County of Butte, State of
California.
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PASSED AND ADAPTED by the Board of Supervisors of the County of Butte, State of
California, on the 12th _ day of _June , 2007, by the following vote:
AYES: Supervisors Connelly, Kirk, Josiassen, Yamaguchi, and Chair Dolan
NC}ES: None
ABSENT:None
NOT VOTING: None
_,
_~~.._ _r
Jane Dolan, Chairman of the
` Butte County Board of Supervisors
ATTEST:
Paul McIntosh,
Chief Administr
and Clerk~o the
By ~`
~ G:WUISANCE ABATEMENT~4rdinance re Atty Fees.wpd
rye ~fficer
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