HomeMy WebLinkAbout2002-04-08 Ordinance 4745ORDINANCE NO. 4745
ORDINANCE OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PALO
ALTO AMENDING THE PALO ALTO MUNICIPAL CODE TO
MAKE REPEALS AND AMENDMENTS TO OBSOLETE AND
OUTDATED PROVISIONS RELATING TO CODE ENFORCEMENT
AND MUNICIPAL PROSECUTION
The Council of the City of Palo Alto does ORDAIN as
follows:
SECTION 1. Legislative Findings.
declares as follows:
The Council finds and
A. The public interest requires that periodic
revision of the municipal code is necessary in order to repeal
sections that no longer serve a legitimate governmental
interest.
B. The public interest requires that periodic
revision of the municipal code is necessary in order to make
editorial changes for clarification and to make revisions that
are consistent with current practice and public policy.
SECTION 2. Section 1.08.010 of the Palo Alto Municipal
Code is hereby amended to read as follows:
1.08.010 Penalty for Violations.
It is unlawful for any person to violate any provision
or to fail to comply with any of the requirements of this code.
(a) Misdemeanor. Any person violating any of the
provisions or failing to comply with any mandatory requirements
of this code is guilty of a misdemeanor, except as otherwise
specified by state law or expressly provided by this code.
Unless a different penalty is expressly provided by this code,
any person convicted of a misdemeanor under the provisions of
this code shall be punished by a fine of not more than $1,000.00
or by imprisonment in the county jail for a period not exceeding
six months, or both fine and imprisonment.
(b) Infraction. Any person convicted of an infraction
for a violation of this code, as expressly provided herein or
specified by state law, shall be punished by a fine not
exceeding $250.00.
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(c) Multiple Violations. Any offense which would
otherwise be an infraction is a misdemeanor if a defendant has
been convicted of three or more violations of this code within
the twelve month period immediately preceding the commission of
the offense, or four or more violations of this code within the
twenty four month period immediately preceding the commission of
the offense, and such prior convictions are admi tted by the
defendant or alleged in the accusatory pleading. For purposes of
this section, a bail forfeiture shall be deemed to be a
conviction for the offense charged.
(d) Separate Offense. Each person is guilty of a
separate offense for each and every day during any portion of
which any violation of any provision of this code is committed,
continued or permitted by such person and shall be punished
accordingly.
(e) Reduction of Misdemeanors to Infractions.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this code, whenever
violation of any section of this code is punishable as a
misdemeanor, the city attorney may file a complaint or make a
motion to amend an accusatory pleading specifying that the
offense is an infraction.
(f) Public Nuisance. In addition to the penalties
hereinabove provided, any condition caused or permitted to exist
in violation of any of the provisions of this code is a public
nuisance and may be summarily abated as such by the city. Each
day that such condition continues shall be regarded as a new and
separate offense.
SECTION 3. Section 1.08.050 of the Palo Alto Municipal
Code is hereby amended to read as follows:
1.08.050 Place of Appearance.
The place specified in the notice to appear shall be
before a court designated for arraignment by the superior court
of the state of California in and for the county of Santa Clara,
or before an officer authorized by the superior court of the
state of California in and for the county of Santa Clara to
receive a deposit of bail.
SECTION 4. Section 1.12.030 of the Palo Alto Municipal
Code is hereby amended as follows:
020320 cl 0053598 2
1.12.030 Administrative Citation.
(a) Whenever a code enforcement officer charged with
the enforcement of any provision of this code to which this
chapter is applicable determines that a violation of such code
provision has occurred, the code enforcement officer shall have
the authority to issue an administrative citation to any person
responsible for the violation.
(b) Each administrative citation shall contain the
following information:
(1) The date of the violation:
(2) The address or a definite description of the
location where the violation occurred;
(3) The section or sections of this code
violated and an abbreviated description of the acts or omissions
constituting the violation:
(4) The amount of the penalty for the code
violation;
(5) A description of the penalty payment
process, including a description of the time wi thin which and
the place to which the penalty shall be paid;
(6) A description of the administrative citation
review process, including the time within which the
administrative citation may be contested and the place from
which a request for hearing form to contest the administrative
citation may be obtained: and
(7) The name and signature of the citing code
enforcement officer.
(c) Prior to the issuance of an administrative
ci tation for a violation which pertains to building, plumbing,
electrical, or similar structural or zoning matters that do not
create an immediate danger to health or safety, the code
enforcement officer shall provide a reasonable period of time
not less than five business days to correct or otherwise remedy
the violation.
(d) An administrative citation and all other notices
required by this chapter to be served subsequent to service of a
citation may be served either by personal delivery or by
certified mail, postage prepaid, return receipt requested,
addressed to a location reasonably calculated to give notice to
020320 cI 0053598 3
the responsible party, and shall be deemed effective on the date
of personal delivery or when the certified mail is either
delivered or delivery is attempted.
If the certified mail receipt is returned
unsigned, then service may instead be effected by regular first
class mail, postage prepaid, provided that the notice sent by
regular mail is not returned by the postal service as
undeli verable, and shall be deemed effective on the date three
days following deposit in the mail.
Where a violation of code provisions concerning
the condition of real property is involved, an administrative
citation or subsequent written notices authorized by this
chapter may be served by certified mail at the address as shown
on the last equalized county assessment roll.
Where a violation of code provisions concerning
the condition of real property is involved and personal delivery
or service by certified mail upon the property owner is
unsuccessful, service may be effected alternately or
addi tionally by posting a copy of the order at a conspicuous
loca tion on the property which is the subj ect of the order.
Where service of any notice required under this chapter is
effected in compliance with the requirements of this section and
wi th due process the asserted failure of any person to receive
the notice shall not affect the validity of any proceedings
taken under this chapter.
(e) If the director of administrative services
determines not to issue an advance deposit hardship waiver, the
person shall remit the deposit to the ci ty wi thin ten days of
the date of that decision in order to secure the hearing.
(f) The director of administrative services shall
issue a written determination listing the reasons for
determining to issue or not issue the advance deposit hardship
waiver. The written determination of the director of
administrative services shall be final, subject only to judicial
review as provided by law.
(g) The written determination of
administrative services shall be served upon
applied for the advance deposit hardship waiver.
the director
the person
of
who
SECTION 5. Section 1.16.040 of the Palo Alto Municipal
Code is hereby amended as follows:
020320 c\ 0053598 4
1.16.040 Method of Service.
(a) All compliance orders and notices required by
this chapter to be served may be served ei ther by personal
delivery or by certified mail, postage prepaid, return receipt
requested, and shall be deemed effective on the date when the
certified mail is either delivered or delivery is attempted. If
the certified mail receipt is returned unsigned, then service
may instead be effected by regular first class mail, postage
prepaid, provided that the notice sent by regular mail is not
returned by the postal service as undeliverable; service by
regular mail shall be deemed effective on the date three days
following deposit in the mail.
(b) Where a violation of code provisions respecting
the condition of real property is involved, service by certified
mail of a compliance order or subsequent written notices
authorized by this chapter may be effected at the address as
shown on the last equalized county assessment roll.
(c) Where a violation of code provisions respecting
the condition of real property is involved and personal delivery
or service by mail upon the property owner is unsuccessful,
service may be effected alternately or additionally by posting a
copy of the order at a conspicuous location on the property
which is the subject of the order.
(d) Where service of any notice required under this
chapter is effected in compliance with the requirements of this
section and with due process, the asserted failure of any person
to receive the notice shall not affect the validity of any
proceedings taken under this chapter.
SECTION 6. Section 1.16.080 of the Palo Alto Municipal
Code is hereby amended to read as follows:
1.16.080 Administrative Order.
(a) If the hearing officer determines that a
violation occurred which was not corrected within the time
period specified in the compliance order, the hearing officer
shall issue an administrative order which imposes any or all of
the following:
(1) An order to correct code
including a schedule for correction if appropriate;
violations,
(2) Administrative penalties as provided in this
chapter;
020320 cl 0053598 5
(3) Administrative costs as provided in this
chapter.
(b) The administrative order of the hearing officer
is final at the time it is made; however, the hearing officer
shall maintain continuing jurisdiction and shall have the power
to modify the administrative order, after providing the person
subject to the administrative order with notice and an
opportunity to be heard, until full compliance is achieved.
(c) The employment, performance evaluation,
compensation, and benefits of the hearing officer shall not be
directly or indirectly conditioned upon the amount of
administrative penalties upheld by the hearing officer.
SECTION 7. Section 8.04.020 of the Palo Al to Municipal
Code is hereby amended to read as follows:
8.04.020 Violations -Penalty -Enforoement.
(a) Unless authorized by permit, no person shall:
(I) Plant, remove, top, or in any way damage,
destroy, injure or mutilate a street tree.
(2) Fasten any sign, wire, or injurious material
to any street tree.
(3) Excavate any ditch or tunnel; or place
concrete or other pavement within a distance of ten feet of the
center of the trunk of any street tree.
(b) Violation of this section is a misdemeanor,
punishable as provided in this code. Each day of violation
constitutes a separate offense and may be separately punished.
(c) Persons employed in the following designated
employee positions are authorized to exercise the authority
provided in Penal Code Section 836.5 and are authorized to issue
ci tations for violations of this chapter: deputy director of
public works operations, managing arborist, planning arborist,
and code enforcement officer.
SECTION 8. Chapter 9.32 (Hypnotism and Fortunetelling)
of the Palo Alto Municipal Code is hereby repealed in its
entirety.
020320 cl 0053598 6
SECTION 9. Section 9.56.020 of the Palo Alto Municipal
Code is hereby amended to read as follows:
9.56.020 Enforcement Agency.
The fire department and the department of planning and
community environment shall have concurrent jurisdiction to
administer the provisions of this chapter.
SECTION 10. Section 9.56.030 of the Palo Alto Municipal
Code is hereby amended to read as follows:
9.56.030 Nuisances Described -Authority to Abate.
(a) Each of the following condi tions constitutes a
nuisance, and whenever an enforcement officer determines that
any of such conditions exist upon any premises, he may require
or provide for the abatement thereof pursuant to this chapter
and make the costs of abatement a lien upon the property:
(1 )
waste upon the
Section 5.20.180.
The existence of any accumulation of
premises so as to be a nuisance
solid
under
(2) The existence of weeds upon the premises, or
public sidewalks, or streets, or alleys be,tween said premises
and the centerline of any public street or alley, so as to be a
nuisance under Section 8.08.010.
(3) The existence of any dead, diseased,
infested, or dying tree in any street; or on any private
property so near to any street tree as to constitute a danger to
street trees, or streets, or portions thereof, so as to be a
nuisance under Section 8.04.050(a) (1).
( 4 ) The exi s tence 0 f any tree or shrub on any
private property or in any street, of a type or species apt to
destroy, impair or otherwise interfere with any street
improvements, sidewalks, curbs, approved street trees, gutters,
sewers, other public improvements, including utility mains or
services so as to be a nuisance under Section 8.04.050(a) (2).
(5) The existence within the thirty-five foot
triangle of property at the intersection of streets improved for
vehicular traffic, of any tree limb, shrub, hedge, or plant
exceeding three feet in height where either traffic signals,
stop signs, or yield signs are not installed, or at any
intersections which are determined by the chief transportation
official to contain tree limbs, shrubs, hedges, or plants that
obscure and impair the view of passing motorists or pedestrians
020320 cl 0053598 7
so as to create a safety hazard, so as to be a nuisance under
Section 8.04.050(a) (3).
(6) The existence of any vines or climbing
plants growing into or over any street tree or any public
hydrant, pole or electrolier contrary to the provisions of
Section 8.04.050(a} (4) or the existence of any shrub, vine or
plant growing on, around or in front of any hydrant, alarm box,
standpipe, sprinkler system connection or any other appliance or
facility provided for fire protection purposes, in such a way as
to obscure the view thereof or impair the access thereto by the
fire department.
(7) The existence of any tree within the city
limits that is infested, infected or in danger of becoming
infested or infected with obj ectionable insects, scale, fungus
or growth injurious to trees so as to be a nuisance under
Section 8.04.050(a) (5).
(8) The existence of any branches or foliage
which interfere with visibility on, or free use of, or access
to, or obstruct public vehicular or pedestrian travel on any
portion of any street improved for vehicular or pedestrian
travel so as to be a nuisance under Section 8.04.050(a) (6).
(9) The existence of hedges or dense thorny
shrubs and plants on any street or part thereof so as to be a
nuisance under Section 8.04.050(a) (7).
(10) The existence of shrubs and plants more than
two feet in height in any street, measured above top of curb
grade so as to be a nuisance under Section 8.04.050(a) (8).
(11) The existence of any open pi t in any closed
or abandoned trampoline center.
(12) The existence of any act or condition that
presents a fire, panic, or life safety hazard, or would
contribute to the rapid spread of fire or inhibit mitigation or
increase the chance of release of hazardous material, or would
interfere with, hinder or delay the egress of occupants or
response of emergency personnel, so as to be a nuisance under
Section 15.04.055.
(13) The existence upon the sidewalk in front of
any premises of anything which shall restrict the public use
thereof so as to be a nuisance under Section 9.48.020.
020320 cI 0053598 8
(14) The existence upon the sidewalk in front of
any premises of any dirt, debris or litter so as to be a
nuisance under Section 9.48.050.
(15) The existence of any sign erected,
constructed or maintained in violation of or which fails to
comply in any way with the provisions of Chapter 16.20 of this
code.
(16) The existence of a sidewalk or a portion of
a sidewalk adjacent to any premises which is out of repair or
pending reconstruction and in condition to endanger persons or
property or in condition to interfere with the public
convenience in the use of such sidewalk.
(17) The storage or keeping of any used or unused
building material in a location out of doors for more than
thirty days within a year; provided, that nothing in this
subsection shall:
(A) Make lawful any such storage when it is
prohibited by other ordinances or laws;
(B) Prohibit such storage upon the premises
of a bona fide lumberyard or other dealer in building materials
when the same is permitted under the Zoning Code and other
applicable laws;
(C) Prohibit such storage for ninety days
when done in conjunction with the construction project for which
a valid building permit is in effect if required and which is
being prosecuted diligently to completion; extensions for
additional periods of time may be granted by the building
official when additional storage time is necessary and upon
proof that such construction project will be diligently pursued.
"Building materials, II as used in this
subsection means and includes lumber, plumbing materials,
wallboard, sheet metal, plaster, brick, cement, concrete block,
roofing materials, cans of paint and similar materials.
(18) The storage or keeping in a location out of
doors of any unused and abandoned open pit or excavation,
building foundation, automobile, trailer, housetrailer, boat or
other vehicle or major parts thereof. Without limiting the
foregoing, any such thing stored or kept for a period in excess
of thirty days in a year shall be presumed to be unused and
abandoned for purposes of this provision.
020320 cl 0053598 9
(19) The existence of any fence or other
structure or thing on private property abutting or fronting upon
any public street, sidewalk or place, which is in a sagging,
leaning, fallen, decayed or other dilapidated or unsafe
condition.
(20) The existence of any driveway which is
determined to have been abandoned, pursuant to the provisions of
Section 12.08.090; provided, that no notice need be given to the
owner of the property wi th respect to the abatement of such
condition other than that provided in this chapter.
which is
safety.
in
(21) Any other condition on or use
fact a menace to the public peace,
of property
health, or
SECTION 11. Section 16.28.400 of the Palo Alto Municipal
Code is hereby added as follows:
16.28.400 Enforcement -Citation Authority.
The employee positions designated in this section may
enforce the provisions of this chapter by the issuance of
citations; persons employed in such positions are authorized to
exercise the authority provided in Penal Code Section 836.5 and
are authorized to issue citations for violations of this
chapter. The designated employee positions are: (1) chief
building official: (2) assistant building official; (3) building
inspection supervisor: code enforcement officer; (4) supervisor,
inspection and surveying; (5) industrial waste inspector; (6)
industrial waste investigator; (7) associate engineer: (8)
manager, environmental control programs; (9) supervisor,
industrial waste; and (10) manager, environmental compliance
division.
SECTION 12. Section 16.48.160 of the Palo Alto
Municipal Code is hereby added as follows:
16.48.160 Violations -Penalty -Enforcement.
(a) No person shall erect, construct, enlarge, alter,
repair, move, improve, remove, convert or demolish, equip, use,
occupy or maintain any building, structure, fence, wall, sign,
equipment, landscaping, or parking area which does not meet the
requirements of this section.
(b) Violation of any provision of this chapter is a
misdemeanor, punishable as provided in this code. Each day of
violation constitutes a separate offense and may be separately
punished.
020320 cI 0053598 10
(c) Persons employed in the following designated
employee positions are authorized to exercise the authority
provided in Penal Code Section 836.5 and are authorized to issue
citations for violations of this chapter: chief building
official, assistant building official, planning arborist, and
code enforcement officer.
SECTION 13. Section 22.04.035 of the Palo Alto Municipal
Code is hereby amended as follows:
22.040.035 Enforcement.
(a) Criminal Penalties. As provided in Chapter 1.08
of Title 1 of this code, violations of the provisions of this
chapter shall be subject to criminal penalties. The following
designated employee positions may enforce the provisions of this
chapter by the issuance of citations. Persons employed in such
positions are authorized to exercise the authority provided in
Penal Code Section 836.5 and are authorized to issue citations
for violations of this chapter. The designated employee
positions are: open space and sciences superintendent, park
ranger, senior ranger and seasonal ranger.
(b) Other Remedies. The method of enforcement of
this chapter set forth in subsection (a) of this section is not
exclusive and shall be in addition to any other method of
enforcement or remedy available to the city under this code or
state or federal law.
SECTION 14. The Council finds that this is not a project
under the California Environmental Quality Act and, therefore no
environment impact assessment is necessary.
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SECTION 15. This ordinance shall be effective on the
thirty-first day after the date of its adoption.
INTRODUCED: March 25, 2002
PASSED: April 8, 2002
AYES: BEECHAM, BURCH, FREEMAN, KISHIMOTO, KLEINBERG, LYTLE,
MORTON, MOSSAR, OJAKIAN
NOES:
ABSENT:
ABSTENTIONS:
THiS OOGUMEi\tt IS ceR11flEO TO Be AN
(lm)'N~\I'~Gt: DULY PASSED BVTHE COUNCIL
{:t Pi OF PALO JlLTO AND
rc~ POSTED ~ li; COUNCIL
ON .~-cl-D't;-_ (WITHIN to
ITS PP.f3SAGE)
~!"":!;;re) [:odor penalty
!.iF-. foregoing is true
020320 cl 0053598
(~f5 r ~
Mayor ~
Director
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