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Home My WebLink AboutORD 638ORDINANCE NO. 638 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PALM DESERT, CALIFORNIA, ADDING SECTIONS 8.20.125 AND 8.20.145 TO THE MUNICIPAL CODE AND AMENDING SECTIONS 8.20.020, 8.20.120, 8.20.140, 8.20.150, 8.20.170, 8.20.180, AND 8.20.190 OF THE MUNICIPAL CODE RELATING TO NUISANCE ABATEMENT WHEREAS, any violation of the Palm Desert Municipal Code should be a public nuisance; and WHEREAS, the City is entitled by Government Code Sections 33773-75 and Municipal Code Sections 8.20.050 and 8.20.120 to recover from a property owner all abatement and administrative costs that the City incurs abating a public nuisance on his or her property; and WHEREAS, the City's costs include but are not limited to specifications, contracts, labor and material, inspections, City staff time, attorneys' fees, and other expenses; and WHEREAS, such costs reasonably begin to accrue at the time the City first receives a complaint regarding a problem on the property; and WHEREAS, the City should recover its costs even if the nuisance is corrected prior to an appeal hearing; and WHEREAS, Government Code Section 38773.1 authorizes cities to establish procedures to collect abatement and related administrative costs by a nuisance abatement lien or by a special assessment. NOW, THEREFORE, the City Council of the City of Palm Desert, California, DOES ORDAIN as follows: SECTION 1: That subdivision "L" of Section 8.20.020 of the Municipal Code is hereby amended to read: "Any violation of the City zoning ordinance, the City sign ordinance, or any other provision of the Palm Desert Municipal Code, or any violation of the uniform codes adopted by the City including but not limited to the Uniform Building Code, Code for Abatement of Dangerous Buildings. Plumbing Code, Electrical Code, Mechanical Code, Swimming Pool Code, Fire Code, Health Code, or Uniform Housing Code, as the same currently exists or as they may be hereinafter enacted or amended;" ORDINANCE NO. 638 SECTION 2: That the last sentence of Municipal Code Section 8.20.120 is hereby amended to read: "A report of the proceedings and an accurate account of the cost of abating the nuisance, in accordance with Section 8.20.125, on each separate property shall be filed with the City Council. The City may also elect to enforce compliance with this Chapter by taking action in the name of the City in any court of competent jurisdiction." SECTION 3: That Section 8.20.125 is hereby added to the Municipal Code and will read as follows: "8.20.125 Costs Recoverable. Costs of nuisance abatement for which the City may be reimbursed begin to accrue at the time the City first receives a complaint regarding a problem on the property. These costs include, but are not limited to, the following: 1. Costs to the City for specifications, contracts, labor and materials, inspections; 2. Administrative costs determined pursuant to Section 8.20.050, including City staff time, attorneys' fees, and all other expenses related to enforcing the provisions of this Chapter; 3. Costs related to the nuisance abatement action for which the City may be liable under State law; 4. Costs to which the City may be entitled pursuant to Health and Safety Code Section 510 and other statutory entitlements. Such costs may be recovered by the City even if the nuisance is corrected prior to an appeal hearing. Costs shall be assessed at the conclusion of the abatement. However, in the case of an abatement by any method which takes more than six months, costs may be assessed at any time after six months, but in no event more than two times a year." SECTION 4: That Section 8.20.140 be amended as follows: a. That Section 8.20.140 be renamed "8.20.140 Resolution Assessing Costs." b. That the fourth sentence of Section 8.20.140 be deleted. 2 ORDINANCE NO. 638 c. That the fifth sentence of Section 8.20.140 be amended to read as follows: "The City Council shall adopt a resolution assessing the amount approved as either a special assessment or a nuisance abatement lien against the property and a personal obligation against the property owner." SECTION 5: That Section 8.20.145 is hereby added to the Municipal Code and will read as follows: 118.20.145 Nuisance Abatement Lien - Procedure. If the City Council makes the cost of abatement a lien against the property on which the nuisance is maintained and a personal obligation against the property owner, it shall observe the following procedure: 1. Notice. Prior to recordation of the lien, notice shall be served on the owner of record of the parcel of land on which the nuisance is maintained. Ownership shall be determined from the last equalized assessment roll or the supplemental roll, whichever is more current. Notice shall be served in the same manner as a summons in a civil action in accordance with Article 3 (commencing with Section 415.10) of Chapter 4 of Title 5 of Part 2 of the Code of Civil Procedure. If the owner of record, after diligent search cannot be found, the notice may be served by posting a copy thereof in a conspicuous place upon the property for a period of 10 days and publication thereof in a newspaper of general circulation published in the county in which the property is located pursuant to Section 6062. 2. Recordation. A nuisance abatement lien shall be recorded in the county recorder's office in the county in which the parcel of land is located and from the date of recording shall have the force, effect, and priority of a judgment lien. 3. Contents of the Lien. The lien shall specify all of the following information: a. The amount of the lien; b. The City of Palm Desert as the party on whose behalf the lien is imposed; 3 w ORDINANCE NO. 638 C. The date of the abatement order; d. The street address, legal description, and assessor's parcel number of the parcel on which the lien is imposed; and e. The name and address of the recorded owner of the parcel. 4. Discharge, Release, or Satisfaction. In the event that the lien is discharged, released, or satisfied, either through payment or foreclosure, notice of the discharge containing the information specified in Subsection ( 3 ) above shall be recorded by the City. A nuisance abatement 1 i en and the re 1 ease of the 1 i en sha 1 1 be indexed in the grantor -grantee index. 5. Foreclosure. A nuisance abatement lien may be foreclosed by an action brought by the City for a money judgment. 6. Costs of Lien. The City may recover from the property owner any costs incurred regarding the processing and recording of the lien and providing notice to the property owner as part of its foreclosure action to enforce the lien. Such costs shall be accounted and approved in the same manner as abatement costs." SECTION 6: That Municipal Code Section 8.20.150 be amended to read as follows: "8.20.150 Special Assessment - Procedure. If the City makes the cost of abatement a special assessment against the property, it shall observe the following procedure: 1. Filing of Resolution. The City Clerk shall prepare and file with the County Auditor a certified copy of the resolution of the City Council adopted pursuant to Section 8.20.140. 2. Collection; The County Auditor shall enter each assessment in the County tax roll opposite the parcel of land. The assessment may be collected at the same time and in the same manner as ordinary municipal taxes are collected and shall be subject to the same penalties and the same procedure and sale in case of delinquency as provided for ordinary municipal taxes. 4 ORDINANCE NO. 638 3. Applicable Laws. To the extent permitted by Government Code Section 38773.5, all laws applicable to the levy, collection, and enforcement of municipal taxes shall be applicable to the special assessment. 4. Notice. Notices or instruments relating to the special assessment shall be entitled to recordation." SECTION 7: That Municipal Code Section 8.20.170 be amended to read as follows: "8.20.170 Additional Procedures. The procedures contained in this Chapter for collection of abatement costs are derived from and subject to Title 4. Part 2. Division 3. Chapter 10, Article 6 of the Government Code relating to nuisances. Any additions or alterations to the procedures contained in that article are incorporated herein by this reference." SECTION 8: That the first sentence of Municipal Code Section 8.20.180 be amended to read as follows: "No provision of this Chapter shall be construed as limitinq the authority of the City Council and the City of Palm Desert to bring any cognizable legal action, in any court of competent jurisdiction, for the recovery of any funds expended by the City in order to abate any public nuisance as defined in this code." SECTION 9: That the following paragraph is added to the end of Municipal Code Section 8.20.190: "Upon entry of a second or subsequent civil or criminal judgment within a two-year period finding that an owner of property is responsible for conditions abated pursuant to this Chapter, except for conditions abated pursuant to Section 17980 of the Health and Safety Code, the court may order the owner to pay treble the costs of the abatement." 5 ORDINANCE NO. 638 SECTION 10: The City Clerk shall certify to the passage and adoption of this ordinance and shall cause the same to be published once in the Palm Desert Post, a newspaper of general circulation, printed, published, and circulated within the City of Palm Desert, and the same shall be in full force and effect thirty (30) days after its adoption. PASSED, APPROVED, and ADOPTED this 25th day of April, 1991, by the following vote, to wit: AYES: BENSON, KELLY, WILSON, SNYDER NOES: NONE ABSENT: CRITES ABSTAIN: NONE ATTEST: "� ill ';�v V SHEILA R. UILLIGAWCITY CLERK CITY OF PALM DESE , CALIFORNIA 2 WALTER H. SNYDER, MA OR