18.18.030 Civil Penalties and Fees.

City Code Section

(Replaced by Ordinance No. 175772; amended by Ordinance No. 189413, effective March 6, 2019.)  A violation of this Title may result in assessment of civil penalties or enforcement fees, as provided below:

A.  Civil penalties.

1.  For each separate violation, a civil penalty of up to $5,000 may be assessed.

2.  In determining the amount of any civil penalty to be assessed, the Director will consider the following:

a.  The nature and extent of the responsible party’s involvement in the violation;

b.  The benefits, economic, financial or otherwise, accruing or likely to accrue as a result of the violation;

c.  Whether the violation was isolated and temporary, or repeated and continuing;

d.  The magnitude and seriousness of the violation;

e.  The City’s cost of investigation and remedying the violation;

f.  Any other applicable facts bearing on the nature and seriousness of the violation.

B.  Administrative enforcement fees.

1.  The Director may charge a penalty in the form of a monthly enforcement fee for any violation that meets the following conditions:

a.  A citation, as described in Section 18.18.040, has been issued;

b.  A response period of at least 30 days has passed since the citation or stop work order became final; and

c.  The violation, as described in the initial citation of violation or any subsequent citation, has not been corrected, inspected and approved.

2.  If the responsible party does not have all violations corrected, inspected and approved within six months from the date of the initial citation, then monthly enforcement fees will double.

3.  Once the monthly enforcement fees begin, they will continue until all violations identified in the initial citation, or any subsequent citations, have been corrected, inspected and approved.

4.  The responsible party must notify the Director when the responsible party believes that all violations listed in the initial citation or any subsequent citations, have been corrected.  Upon confirmed receipt of such notice, the Director will promptly schedule an inspection of the violation and will notify the responsible party if any violations remain uncorrected.

5.  When a violation meets the conditions for charging an enforcement fee as described in this Section, the Director will file a statement with the Revenue Division that identifies the property, the amount of the monthly fee, and the date from which the charges are to begin.  The Revenue Division will then:

a.  Notify the responsible party of enforcement fees;

b.  Record a property lien in the Docket of City Liens;

c.  Bill the responsible party monthly for the full amount of the enforcement fee owing, plus additional charges to cover the administrative costs of the Revenue Division; and

d.  Maintain lien records until:

(1)  The lien and all associated interest, penalties and costs are paid in full; and

(2)  The Director certifies that all violations listed in the initial and any subsequent citations or stop work orders have been corrected, inspected and approved.