DATE: January 12, 2021
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBMITTED BY: Daniel C. Cederborg, County Counsel
SUBJECT: Amendment to the Ordinance Code to add Chapter 1.16 - Public Nuisance Administrative Abatement Procedure
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
TITLE
Conduct second hearing and adopt an Ordinance amending the Fresno County Ordinance Code, Title 1, to add Chapter 1.16 - Public Nuisance Administrative Abatement Procedure.
REPORT
Approval of the recommended action adds Chapter 1.16 - Public Nuisance Administrative Abatement Procedure (Chapter) to Title 1 - General Provisions to the Ordinance Code of Fresno County, establishes procedures to authorize the County to abate nuisance conditions and delegates your Board’s authority to abate nuisances to hearing officers. The purpose and intent of this Chapter is to provide an alternative enforcement tool that is anticipated to be more efficient and effective in abating blight and other physical conditions that threaten the health and safety of the public. Section 25845 of the California Government Code authorizes the legislative body of a county to adopt an ordinance to establish procedures for the abatement of a nuisance and delegate the authority to abate nuisances to a hearing officer. This item is countywide.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION(S):
Your Board could determine not to approve the recommended action and the County would continue to abate code enforcement violations through the existing options of administrative citations and fines, and court action to enjoin violations.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no increase in Net County Cost associated with the recommended action. The staff and hearing officer costs will not exceed $50,000. The County Administrative Officer (CAO) will be responsible for overseeing the staff to the Office of County Hearing Officer established pursuant to Chapter 2.81 of the Ordinance Code of Fresno County and will be responsible for managing the procedures outlined in the recommended ordinance. The staff support costs will be absorbed in the County Administrative Office’s Org 0120. Savings are anticipated from the decrease in civil litigation costs; however, at this time the savings are not measurable. Therefore, no savings are included as an offset to the estimated hearing officer costs that would be funded through the Interest and Miscellaneous Expenditures Org 2540. Sufficient appropriations and estimated revenues are included in the County Administrative Office Org 0120 and Interest and Miscellaneous Expenditures Org 2540. The County Administrative Office will work with departments responsible for implementation of the proposed ordinance and monitor to determine if added resources are necessary.
DISCUSSION:
On December 15, 2020, your Board conducted the first hearing to amend Ordinance Code, Title 1, to add Chapter 1.16 - Public Nuisance Administrative Abatement Procedure to establish procedures to authorize the County to abate nuisance conditions. The proposed procedures direct appeals and other hearings under the recommended ordinance be conducted by hearing officers established through the Office of County Hearing Officer found in Chapter 2.81 of the Ordinance Code of Fresno County.
The recommended ordinance provides certain due process protections for property owners and other responsible parties in advance of any abatement action. The proposed procedures allow the County to abate nuisances through an administrative process to include notices to property owners and other responsible parties regarding abatement proceedings and hearings to determine appropriate abatement action, along with procedures for the County to recover abatement costs from property owners and the property itself. In addition, this recommended ordinance codifies your Board’s authority to summarily abate a nuisance that constitute an immediate threat to public health and safety and the procedures for County staff before such immediate abatement action is taken. Thus, the Office of County Hearing Officer previously established, the procedures described in the recommended ordinance, and the delegation of authority to abate nuisances to a hearing officer satisfy the statutory requirements of section 25845 of the California Government Code.
The recommended ordinance and the procedures therein described may be employed by the Department of Public Works and Planning in code enforcement actions, the Department of Public Health to abate environmental hazards, the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office to address homeless encampments on private property and any other County department charged with and responsible for enforcement of the Ordinance Code of Fresno County.
The recommended ordinance includes the following:
• Defines “public nuisance” as the term is used in the Ordinance Code of Fresno County.
• Codifies your Board’s authority to summarily abate a nuisance that is an immediate threat to public health and safety and establishes procedures before such immediate abatement action is taken.
• Establishes the required notices to be issued to property owners, responsible parties, and mortgagees or holders of a recorded deed of trust to authorize the abatement of nuisances by the County.
• Establishes hearings for property owners and other responsible parties to appeal a finding of a nuisance and proposed abatement action to a hearing officer appointed pursuant to Chapter 2.81.
• Authorizes hearing officers to issue abatement orders to empower the County to take abatement action.
• Establishes a process for cost recovery for nuisance abatement through the issuance of a statement of expenses and to provide a hearing for property owners and other responsible parties to dispute the amount of abatement costs claimed by the County.
• Authorizes the CAO to issue abatement liens to be recorded by the county recorder and transmit notice to the county auditor to transfer the lien amount on the assessment rolls for the subject property as a special assessment.
• Provides that any proceedings, orders, and liens issued pursuant to this recommended ordinance are subject to judicial review.
With your Board’s approval, the recommended ordinance will take effect 30 days thereafter.
REFERENCE MATERIAL:
BAI #9, December 15, 2020
ATTACHMENTS INCLUDED AND/OR ON FILE:
Ordinance
CAO ANALYST:
Sonia M. De La Rosa