Sec. 1A-1. - Legislative findings and statement of purpose.

(a)

The board of supervisors hereby finds that there is a need for an alternative method of enforcement for violations of the Kings County Code of Ordinances and that an appropriate method of enforcement for violations is an administrative citation program as authorized by Government Code Section 53069.4.

(b)

The procedures established in this chapter shall be in addition to criminal, civil or any other legal or equitable remedy established by law which may be pursued to address violations of the Kings County Code of Ordinances.

(c)

The board of supervisors hereby finds and determines that enforcement of the Kings County Code of Ordinances and other ordinances adopted by the county, are matters of local concern and serve important public purposes. Pursuant to Government Code Section 53069.4, the County of Kings adopts this administrative citation program in order to achieve the following goals:

(1)

To protect the public health, safety and welfare of the residents of the County of Kings;

(2)

To gain compliance with the Kings County Code of Ordinances and regulations adopted pursuant thereto in a timely and efficient manner;

(3)

To provide for an administrative process to appeal the imposition of administrative citations and fines;

(4)

To provide a method to hold parties responsible when they fail or refuse to comply with the provisions of the Kings County Code of Ordinances;

(5)

To minimize the expense and delay where the alternative remedies are to pursue responsible parties in the costly and time-consuming civil or criminal justice system.

(d)

Use of this chapter for the enforcement of code provisions shall be at the sole discretion of the County of Kings, and its officers, agents and employees.

(Ord. No. 595, § 1, 3-7-01)

Sec. 1A-2. - Definitions.

(a)

Board shall mean the Kings County Board of Supervisors.

(b)

Code shall mean the Kings County Code of Ordinances.

(c)

Correction period shall mean the period of time designated in the notice of violation within which a responsible person may correct or abate the violation as described in subsection 1A-4(c) below.

(d)

Date of service shall mean the date upon which the notice of violation or the administrative citation (whichever is applicable), as described in subsections (b) (1), (2) or (3) of section 1A-5 below.

(e)

Department shall mean the county department which issues the administrative citation.

(f)

Enforcement officer shall mean any officer or employee authorized to enforce the Kings County Code of Ordinances, or his or her designee.

(g)

Responsible person shall mean any individual who is the owner or occupant of real property, owner or authorized agent of any business, company, or entity, or the parent or the legal guardian of any person under the age of 18 years, who causes or maintains a violation of the Kings County Code of Ordinances.

(Ord. No. 595, § 1, 3-7-01)

Sec. 1A-3. - Authority.

(a)

Any person violating any provision of the Code may be issued an administrative citation by an enforcement officer as provided in this chapter. A violation of this Code includes, but is not limited to, a violation of the Code, a violation of any of the Uniform Codes adopted by the board of supervisors, or failure to comply with any condition imposed by any entitlement, permit, license or environmental document issued or approved under the provisions of this Code.

(b)

Each and every day a violation of the Code exists constitutes a separate and distinct offense.

(c)

A civil fine shall be assessed by means of an administrative citation issued by the enforcement officer and shall be payable directly to the department which issued the administrative citation.

(d)

The amount of the fine for each violation shall be:

(1)

A fine not exceeding $100.00 for a first violation;

(2)

A fine not exceeding $200.00 for a second violation of the same Code provision or permit or entitlement provision within one year from the date of the first violation;

(3)

A fine not exceeding $500.00 for each additional violation of the same Code provision or permit or entitlement provision within one year from the date of the first violation.

(Ord. No. 595, § 1, 3-7-01)

Sec. 1A-4. - Notice of violation; service procedures.

(a)

Service. Upon determining that a violation exists with respect to any property within the unincorporated area of the county, the enforcement officer shall serve a notice of violation upon one or more of the responsible persons prior to issuing an administrative citation. Service shall be completed utilizing one of the methods of service identified in subsection (b) of section 1A-5 below.

(b)

Contents. The notice of violation shall include:

(1)

The date, approximate time and location of the violation;

(2)

The conditions constituting the violation;

(3)

The specific code and section violated;

(4)

A specified time period from the date of service of the notice of violation within which the violation must be corrected or abated;

(5)

A statement that in the event the violation is not corrected or abated by the expiration of the correction period, the responsible person shall be subject to an administrative fine under this chapter;

(6)

An approximate estimate of the fine which will be levied if the violation is not corrected, and;

(7)

A statement that the owner may submit in writing to the enforcement officer any information relating to a determination of the existence of a violation.

(c)

Correction period. The notice of violation shall provide a responsible person 30 days from its date of service to correct the violation, except that, if the violation creates an immediate danger to the health or safety of persons or property, the notice of violation may require that the violation be corrected immediately or within some time period less than 30 days. If the enforcement officer determines that a good faith effort is being made to correct or abate the violation, he or she may grant an additional period of time for complete correction. If the violation cannot be completely corrected, the violation must be abated in the manner described in the notice of violation.

(d)

Acknowledgement of correction. When the enforcement officer determines that the violation has been corrected or satisfactorily abated, the enforcement officer shall provide the responsible person with a letter acknowledging that the correction has occurred. If the violation is corrected or satisfactorily abated within the correction period, no administrative citation shall be issued.

(e)

Exception to notice of violation. This section shall not apply to mobile violations, violations requiring immediate correction which cannot be linked to real property, or violations which create an immediate danger to health or safety. When an enforcement officer determines that an exception to the notice of violation applies, the officer may immediately issue an administrative citation pursuant to section 1A-5.

(Ord. No. 595, § 1, 3-7-01; Ord. No. 595.2, § 1, 5-17-11)

Sec. 1A-5. - Administrative citation; issuance and service procedures.

(a)

If a notice of violation has been served upon a responsible party and the violation has not been corrected an abated within the correction period, or if section 1A-4(e) applies, an administrative citation may be issued to the responsible party by the enforcement officer for violations of this Code.

(b)

An administrative citation shall be served on the responsible person by an enforcement officer in one of the following ways:

(1)

Personal service. In any case where an administrative citation has been issued, the enforcement officer may personally serve the responsible person and obtain the signature of the responsible person on the administrative citation. If personal service is affected, but the responsible person served refuses or fails to sign the administrative citation, the failure or refusal to sign shall not affect the validity of the service of the administrative citation or of any of the subsequent proceedings. The enforcement officer shall note on the administrative citation the failure or refusal of the responsible person to sign the citation. The date of service under this subsection shall be the date of actual service.

(2)

Service of citation by mail. As an alternative to personal service, the enforcement officer may serve the administrative citation by mail as hereinafter set forth. The administrative citation shall be mailed to the responsible person by certified mail, postage prepaid with a return receipt requested. Simultaneously, the citation may be sent by first class mail. If the citation is sent by certified mail and returned unsigned, then service shall be deemed effective pursuant to first class mail, provided the citation sent by first class mail is not returned by the United States Postal Service undelivered. In the case of service by certified mail for which a signed receipt is returned, the date of service shall be the date of signing of the receipt. In the case of service by regular first class mail, the date of service shall be the date upon which such mail was deposited in the United State Mail with postage prepaid, plus three days.

(3)

Service of citation by posting notice. If the enforcement officer does not succeed in serving the responsible person by personal service or by mail as set forth above, the enforcement officer shall post the administrative citation on any real property within the county in which the county has knowledge that the responsible person has a legal interest, and such posting shall be deemed effective service. The date of service of a posted notice or citation shall be the date of actual posting, plus five days.

(c)

The form of the administrative citation shall be approved by the county counsel.

(Ord. No. 595, § 1, 3-7-01; Ord. No. 595.2, § 2, 5-17-11)

Sec. 1A-6. - Contents of citation.

Each administrative citation shall contain the following information:

(1)

Date, approximate time, and address or definite description of the location where the violation was observed;

(2)

The Code sections or provisions violated and a description of the violation;

(3)

The date the notice of violation was served on the responsible person and the time specified thereon to correct the violation;

(4)

A statement that the violation has not been corrected within the correction period;

(5)

The amount of the fine;

(6)

An explanation of how and where the fine may be paid and the time period within which it must be paid;

(7)

Identification of rights of appeal, including the time within which the citation may be contested and the place to obtain a notice of appeal form to contest the administrative citation; and

(8)

The name and signature of the enforcement officer and, if possible, the signature of the responsible person.

(Ord. No. 595, § 1, 3-7-01)

Sec. 1A-7. - Satisfaction of administrative citation.

Upon receipt of an administrative citation, the responsible person shall pay the amount of the fine to the county within 15 days of the date of service of the citation. All fines assessed shall be payable to the department which issued the citation. Payment of the fine shall not excuse or discharge the failure to correct the violation nor shall it bar further enforcement action by the county. If the responsible person fails to correct the violation, subsequent administrative citations may be issued for the same violation. The amount of the fine for subsequent violations shall increase at a rate specified in this chapter.

(Ord. No. 595, § 1, 3-7-01)

Sec. 1A-8. - Appeal of administrative citation.

Any recipient of an administrative citation may contest that there was a violation of the code or that he or she is the responsible person by completing a notice of appeal form and returning it to the county within 15 days from the date of service of the administrative citation, together with an advance deposit of the fine. Any administrative citation fine amount which has been deposited shall be refunded if it is determined, after a hearing, that the person charged in the administrative citation was not responsible for the violation or that there was no violation as charged in the administrative citation.

(Ord. No. 595, § 1, 3-7-01)

Sec. 1A-9. - Hearing officer.

The hearing officer shall be one of the members of the board of supervisors appointed by the chairperson of the board. The board member in whose district the violation has occurred shall not be appointed as the hearing officer.

(Ord. No. 595, § 1, 3-7-01)

Sec. 1A-10. - Hearing procedure.

(a)

When the notice of appeal form has been completed and submitted and the fine has been deposited, the community development agency shall request the chairperson of the board of supervisors to appoint a hearing officer and, when that has been done, shall set the matter for hearing.

(b)

A hearing before the hearing officer shall be set for a date that is not less than 15 and not more than 60 days from the date that the notice of appeal is filed in accordance with the provisions of this chapter. The person requesting the hearing shall be notified of the time and place set for the hearing at least ten days prior to the date of the hearing.

(c)

The hearing officer shall only consider evidence that is relevant to whether the violation occurred and whether the responsible person has caused or maintained the violation of the Code on the date specified in the administrative citation.

(d)

The responsible person contesting the administrative citation shall be given the opportunity to testify and present witnesses and evidence concerning the administrative citation, and to cross examine witnesses and question evidence.

(e)

The failure of any appellant of an administrative citation to appear at the scheduled hearing shall constitute a forfeiture of the fine and a failure to exhaust administrative remedies.

(f)

The notice of violation, the administrative citation and any additional documents submitted by the enforcement officer shall constitute prima facia evidence of the respective facts contained in those documents.

(g)

At least ten days prior to the hearing, the recipient of an administrative citation shall be provided with copies of the citations, reports and other documents submitted or relied upon by the enforcement officer. If the enforcement officer submits any additional written report or other documentary evidence concerning the administrative citation to the hearing officer for consideration at the hearing, then a copy of each such report or document shall also be served by mail on the person requesting the hearing at least five days prior to the date of the hearing. No other discovery is permitted. Formal rules of evidence shall not apply. Evidence shall be admitted in the hearing if it is the kind of evidence upon which a reasonable person would rely in the conduct of serious affairs.

(h)

The hearing officer may continue the hearing and request additional information from the enforcement officer or the recipient of the administrative citation prior to issuing a written decision.

(Ord. No. 595, § 1, 3-7-01; Ord. No. 595.1, § 1, 7-28-09)

Sec. 1A-11. - Hearing officer's decision.

(a)

After considering all of the testimony and evidence submitted at the hearing, the hearing officer shall issue a written decision within ten days of the hearing to uphold or deny the administrative citation and shall state in the decision the reasons for that decision.

(b)

If the hearing officer determines that the administrative citation should be upheld, then the fine amount on deposit with the county shall be retained by the county.

(c)

If the hearing officer determines that the administrative citation should not be upheld, then the county shall promptly refund the amount of the deposited fine.

(d)

The appellant shall be served with a copy of the hearing officer's written decision by the department by depositing a copy thereof in the United States Mail with postage prepaid.

(Ord. No. 595, § 1, 3-7-01)

Sec. 1A-12. - Failure to pay fines.

The failure of any person to pay the civil fines assessed by an administrative citation within the time specified on the citation may result in the filing of a claim with the small claims court. Alternatively, the county may pursue any other legal remedy to collect the civil fines. The county may also recover its collections costs according to proof.

(Ord. No. 595, § 1, 3-7-01)

Sec. 1A-13. - Appellate review by board of supervisors.

Within seven days of the date of mailing of the hearing officer's written decision, either the department which issued the administrative citation or the appellant may file a written request with the department for appellate review by the board of supervisors. The written request for review by the board shall include a short statement of the grounds for appeal and shall be accompanied by the appeal filing fee. The appeal filing fee shall be established by the board in an amount sufficient to cover the costs of processing the appeal. The board may, but is not required to, refund the filing fee if the board determines that the appeal has merit.

Review by the board of supervisors shall be heard by a three-member panel of the board members, who shall be appointed by the chairperson of the board. Neither the board member who has acted as the hearing officer nor the board member in whose district the violation occurred may be appointed as one of the members of the review panel.

The conduct of the review panel hearing of the matter shall be as set forth in sections 1A-10 and 1A-11 above. Review of the matter by the panel shall be de novo.

(Ord. No. 595, § 1, 3-7-01)

Sec. 1A-14. - Right to judicial review.

Any person aggrieved by an administrative decision of a hearing officer or by the decision of the review panel may obtain further review by filing a petition for review with the Kings County Superior Court in accordance with the timelines and provisions as set forth in California Government Code Section 53069.4.

(Ord. No. 595, § 1, 3-7-01)

Sec. 1A-15. - Notices.

(a)

The notice of violation, the administrative citation and all notices to be given by this chapter shall be served on the responsible person in accordance with the provisions of this chapter and of the Kings County Code of Ordinances, where applicable.

(b)

Failure to receive any notice specified in this chapter does not affect the validity of proceedings conducted hereunder.

(Ord. No. 595, § 1, 3-7-01)