Chapter 1-32
GENERAL PENALTY
Sections:
1-32.010 Violation of municipal code—Misdemeanor.
1-32.040 Violations—Public nuisances.
1-32.050 Nuisances—Recovery of abatement expenses.
1-32.060 Administrative citations, fines and penalties.
1-32.010 Violation of municipal code—Misdemeanor.
It is unlawful for any person to violate any provision or to fail to comply with any of the requirements of this code or the provisions of any code adopted by reference by this code or any provision of any ordinance of the city not included within this code. Any person violating any such provisions or failing to comply with any of the mandatory requirements of such provisions shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, unless such violation is specifically designated as constituting an infraction. Each such person shall be guilty of a separate offense for each and every day during any portion of which any violation of any provision of this code, or any provision of any code adopted by reference by this code, or of any other city ordinance, is committed, continued, or permitted by such person, and may be punished accordingly. (Prior code § 1-01.140)
1-32.020 Aiding and abetting.
Whenever any act or omission is made unlawful by this code, it shall include causing, permitting, aiding, abetting, suffering, or concealing the fact of such act or omission. (Prior code § 1-01.150)
1-32.030 Punishments.
A. Any conviction of a misdemeanor under the provisions of this code shall be punishable in accordance with state law.
B. Any conviction of an infraction under the provisions of this code shall be punishable in accordance with state law.
C. Any provision or requirement of this code, or of any code adopted by reference by this code, or of any ordinance of the city not included within this code, the violation of which or the failure to comply with which is designated as an infraction, may, at the discretion of the prosecuting attorney, be prosecuted as a misdemeanor upon a third or subsequent violation of the same provision by the same individual within a period of one year.
D. Any provision or requirement of this code, or of any code adopted by reference by this code, or of any ordinance of the city not included within this code, the violation of which or the failure to comply with which is declared to be a misdemeanor, may, at the discretion of the prosecuting attorney, be prosecuted as an infraction.
(Prior code § 1-01.160)
1-32.040 Violations—Public nuisances.
In addition to other penalties provided by law, any condition caused or permitted to exist in violation of any provision of this code, or any code adopted by reference by this code, or any ordinance of the city not included within this code, or any such threatened violation, is deemed a public nuisance and may be summarily abated by the city or abated by the City Attorney in a civil action. (Prior code § 1-01.170)
1-32.050 Nuisances—Recovery of abatement expenses.
A. Whenever any person creating, causing, committing, or maintaining a public nuisance, as referred to in Section 1-32.040 of this chapter, or other public nuisance, as defined under state law or other applicable ordinances or regulations, has been given notice, by or on behalf of the City Attorney or by any other city officer, employee, or policing agent authorized to give such notice, to abate such nuisance or cease and desist from continuing such nuisance or violation of law, and such person fails, refuses, or neglects to comply with the notice within the time specified therein, or if such a time is not specified, then within a time reasonably sufficient to enable such compliance, such noncomplying person shall be liable to the city for any and all costs and expenses to the city involved in thereafter abating the nuisance and in obtaining compliance with or enforcing the law as referred to or encompassed within the notice.
B. Costs and expenses, as referred to in subsection A of this section, may include, but are not limited to, any and all direct costs and expenses related to such things as personnel salaries and benefits, operational overhead, rent, interest, fees for experts or consultants, legal costs and expenses, including attorneys’ fees, claims against the city arising as a consequence of the nuisance or violation, and procedures associated with collecting moneys due hereunder.
C. The liability of any person for the payment of the costs and expenses provided for in this section may be waived in whole or in part by the City Attorney in any case wherein he or she determines, in his or her sole discretion, that the failure or refusal of such persons to comply with the notice was based upon a good faith and bona fide issue of law or fact specifically involved in the circumstances of the case. Any determination or decision of the City Attorney in this regard shall be final and conclusive and shall not be subject to appeal.
D. Money due to the city pursuant to this section may be recovered in an appropriate civil action. Alternatively, such liability may be enforced by special assessment proceedings against the parcel of land upon which the nuisance existed, which proceedings may be conducted in a manner substantively similar to proceedings described in Sections 39574 et seq. of the California Government Code relating to weed abatement assessments.
E. Pursuant to Government Code Section 38773.5(b), the city may recover attorneys’ fees in any action, administrative proceeding, or special proceeding to abate a nuisance. The recovery of attorneys’ fees shall be by the prevailing party and shall be limited to those individual actions or proceedings in which the city elects, at the initiation of that individual action or proceeding, to seek recovery of its own attorneys’ fees. In no action, administrative proceeding, or special proceeding shall an award of attorneys’ fees to the prevailing party exceed the amount of reasonable attorneys’ fees expended by the city in the action or proceeding. Any reference made in this code to the authority of the city to recover attorneys’ fees in connection with a nuisance abatement action or proceeding shall be subject to the provisions of this section.
(Ord. 2015-1 § 1; prior code § 1-01.180)
1-32.060 Administrative citations, fines and penalties.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, any violation of any ordinance enacted by the City Council of the city of Laguna Hills is subject to an administrative fine or penalty in an amount established by resolution of the City Council in accordance with California Government Code Section 53069.4. (Ord. 2018-5 § 3)