HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021-10 - Amending Section 1.05.020, Section 1.05.060, and Section 1.12.020 of the Newport Beach Municipal Code to Increase Fines for Violations of the Municipal Code and Shorten the Administrative Citation Appeal PeriodORDINANCE NO. 2021-10
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF NEWPORT BEACH, CALIFORNIA, AMENDING
SECTION 1.05.020, SECTION 1.05.060, AND SECTION
1.12.020 OF THE NEWPORT BEACH MUNICIPAL CODE
TO INCREASE FINES FOR VIOLATIONS OF THE
MUNICIPAL CODE AND SHORTEN THE
ADMINISTRATIVE CITATION APPEAL PERIOD
WHEREAS, Section 200 of the Charter of the City of Newport Beach ("Charter")
vests the City Council with the authority to make and enforce all laws, rules and
regulations with respect to municipal affairs subject only to the restrictions and
limitations contained in the Charter and the State Constitutions, and the power to
exercise, or act pursuant to any and all rights, powers, and privileges, or procedures
granted or prescribed by any law of the State of California; and
WHEREAS, the City Council finds and declares that it is the intent of this
ordinance to protect the public health, safety, general welfare, and provide for the public
enjoyment of the City and that violations of the Newport Beach Municipal Code are a
public nuisance, a threat to the public health, safety and general welfare and prevent
the public from enjoying the City.
NOW THEREFORE, the City Council of the City of Newport Beach ordains as
follows:
Section 1: Section 1.05.020 (Authority and Administrative Citation Fines) of
Chapter 1.05 (Administrative Code Enforcement Program) of Title 1 (General
Provisions) of the Newport Beach Municipal Code is hereby amended to read as
follows:
1.05.020 Authority and Administrative Citation Fines.
A. Any responsible person violating any provision of this 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, all violations of the Newport
Beach Municipal Code, any codes adopted by the City Council (i.e., Building
Code, Fire Code, etc.), and the failure to comply with any condition imposed by
any entitlement, permit, agreement or environmental document issued or
approved pursuant to this Code or State law.
B. Each and every day a violation of this Code exists constitutes a separate
and distinct offense.
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C. An administrative fine shall be assessed by means of an administrative
citation issued by the Enforcement Officer and shall be payable directly to the
City.
D. Where the violation is designated an infraction, the administrative fine shall
be the same as set forth in Section 1.04.010(A). Where the violation is not
designated an infraction, and no administrative fine amount is specified,
established by resolution of the City Council, or established by any other
provision of this Code, administrative fines shall be assessed in the following
amounts:
1. A fine not exceeding two hundred dollars ($200.00) for a first violation;
2. A fine not exceeding three hundred dollars ($300.00) for a second
violation of the same ordinance or permit within one year from the date of
a prior violation;
3. A fine not exceeding six hundred dollars ($600.00) for a third violation,
or any subsequent violation, of the same ordinance or permit within one
year from the date of the prior violations.
E. In the case of administrative citations issued for violations in a Safety
Enhancement Zone established pursuant to Section 1.04.060 of this Code which
are designated an infraction, administrative fines shall be the same as set forth in
Section 1.04.010(B). In the case of administrative citations issued for violations in
a Safety Enhancement Zone established pursuant to Section 1.04.060 of this
Code which are not designated an infraction, administrative fines shall be
assessed in the following amounts:
1. A fine of four hundred dollars ($400.00) for a first violation;
2. A fine of seven hundred dollars ($700.00) for a second violation of the
same ordinance or permit within one year from the date of a prior violation;
3. A fine not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) for a third
violation, or any subsequent violation, of the same ordinance or permit
within one year from the date of the prior violations.
F. In the case of administrative citations issued for violations of
Chapter 5.28 [Live Entertainment Establishments]; Chapter 5.32 [Cafe Dances];
Chapter 5.95 [Short Term Lodging Permit]; Section 10.50.020(H) [violation of
terms or conditions of a use permit issued by the City];
Section 14.36.030 resulting in bay or beach closure [Illicit Connections and
Prohibited Discharges]; California Fire Code Section 107.5 (as adopted by Code
Section 9.04.010); California Fire Code Section 107.5.1 (as adopted by Code
Section 9.04.010); 17.45.030 [Waste and Refuse], or Chapter 17.10 [Marine
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Activities Permit], administrative fines shall be assessed in the following amounts
when authorized by the City Manager or his or her designee:
1. A fine not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) for a first
violation;
2. A fine not exceeding two thousand dollars ($2,000.00) for a second
violation of the same ordinance or permit within one year from the date of
the prior violation;
3. A fine not exceeding three thousand dollars ($3,000.00) for a third
violation, or any subsequent violation, within one year from the date of the
prior violations.
G. All fines imposed under this section shall be due and payable to the City's
Finance Department within thirty (30) days from the service of an administrative
citation.
H. The fines imposed under this section shall be in addition to any other fines,
penalties, and/or fees imposed for violations of this Code or local, State, and/or
Federal law.
Section 2: Section 1.05.060 (Appeal of Administrative Citation) of Chapter
1.05 (Administrative Code Enforcement Program) of Title 1 (General Provisions) of the
Newport Beach Municipal Code is hereby amended to read as follows:
1.05.060 Appeal of Administrative Citation.
A. 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
request for hearing form and returning it to the City's Finance Department within
twenty-one (21) calendar days from the date of service of the administration
citation, together with an advanced deposit of the fine or a notice that a request
for an advance deposit hardship waiver pursuant to subsection (B) of this section
has been filed. Any administrative citation fine 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(s) or that there was
no violation(s) as charged in the administrative citation.
B. Any responsible person who requests a hearing to contest that there was a
violation of the Code or that he or she is the responsible person for the violation
and who is financially unable to make the advance deposit of the fine as required
may file a request for an advance deposit hardship waiver within fifteen (15)
calendar days from the date of service of the citation. The failure of any person to
timely file a written request for an advance deposit hardship waiver with the City's
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Finance Director, or his or her designee, shall be deemed a failure to exhaust the
person's administrative remedies with regard to the advance deposit hardship
waiver.
1. The request for an advance deposit hardship waiver shall be in writing
and describe with particularity the responsible person's actual financial
inability demonstrating why all or a part of the fine cannot be paid. Further,
the written request for an advance deposit hardship waiver must be
accompanied by a sworn affidavit, together with any supporting
documents or materials, demonstrating to the satisfaction of the City's
Finance Director, or his or her designee, the responsible person's actual
financial inability that necessitates an advance deposit hardship waiver.
The City's Finance Director, or his or her designee, is entitled to request
additional documentation and information from the responsible person in
order to fully assess the waiver request. The failure of any responsible
person to timely submit all requested additional documentation and
information to the City's Finance Director, or his or her designee, as
requested shall be deemed a failure to exhaust the responsible person's
administrative remedies with regard to the advance deposit hardship
waiver.
2. Once a complete written request for an advance deposit hardship
waiver is filed with the City's Finance Director, or his or her designee, the
requirement of depositing the full amount of the fine shall be stayed until
the City's Finance Director, or his or her designee, determines whether to
grant, grant in part, or deny the request. The written determination of the
City's Finance Director, or his or her designee, shall be served on the
person requesting the advance deposit hardship waiver as provided for in
this Code. The written determination of the City's Finance Director, or his
or her designee, shall be final.
3. If the City's Finance Director, or his or her designee, grants the
advance deposit hardship waiver, the responsible person shall not be
required to deposit the fine in advance of the hearing.
4. If the City's Finance Director, or his or her designee, grants in part the
advance deposit hardship waiver, the responsible person shall remit that
amount of the fine as a deposit that the City's Finance Director, or his or
her designee, determines the responsible person has the ability to pay
within ten (10) calendar days of that decision or twenty-one calendar (2 1)
days from service of the administrative citation, whichever is later.
5. If the City's Finance Director, or his or her designee, denies the
request for an advance deposit hardship waiver, the responsible person
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shall remit the full amount of the fine as a deposit to the City within ten
(10) calendar days of that decision or twenty-one calendar (21) days from
service of the administrative citation, whichever is later.
6. The granting, or granting in part, of any request for an advance
deposit hardship waiver shall not excuse or discharge any continuation or
repeated occurrence of any violation of this Code, nor shall it bar further
enforcement action by the City.
7. The granting, or granting in part, of any request for an advance
deposit hardship waiver shall not excuse the responsible person from
paying the full amount of the fine if the administrative citation is upheld by
the hearing officer following an administrative hearing.
Section 3: Subsection (B) of Section 1.12.020 (NBMC Authority of Public
Officers or Employees to Issue Citations) of Chapter 1.12 (Citations and Warrants) of
Title 1 (General Provisions) of the Newport Beach Municipal Code is hereby amended
to read as follows:
B. The Fire Chief, Public Works Director and Harbormaster, and members of
the staff designated by the Fire Chief, Public Works Director and Harbormaster,
shall have the power to issue citations for any violation of Titles 5, 11 and 17,
Chapters 7.04, 7.16, 7.20, and 7.30, Sections 6.04.050, 6.04.190 and 10.06.010,
the Fish and Game Code of the State of California, Title 14 of the California Code
of Regulations, the provisions of the Health and Safety Code of the State of
California that pertain to animals and the provisions of Chapter 5 of Division 3 of
the Harbors and Navigation Code of the State of California.
Section 4: The recitals provided in this ordinance are true and correct and are
incorporated into the substantive portion of this ordinance.
Section 5: If any section, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase of this
ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional, such decision shall not
affect the validity or constitutionality of the remaining portions of this ordinance. The
City Council hereby declares that it would have passed this ordinance and each section,
subsection, sentence, clause or phrase hereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or
more sections, subsections, sentences, clauses or phrases be declared invalid or
unconstitutional.
Ordinance No. 2021-10
Page 6 of 7
Section 6: The City Council finds the introduction and adoption of this
ordinance is not subject to the California Environmental Quality Act ("CEQA") pursuant
to Sections 15060(c)(2) (the activity will not result in a direct or reasonably foreseeable
indirect physical change in the environment) and 15060(c)(3) (the activity is not a
project as defined in Section 15378) of the CEQA Guidelines, California Code of
Regulations, Title 14, Division 6, Chapter 3, because it has no potential for resulting in
physical change to the environment, directly or indirectly.
Section 7: Except as expressly modified in this ordinance, all other Sections,
Subsections, terms, clauses and phrases set forth in the Newport Beach Municipal
Code shall remain unchanged and shall be in full force and effect.
Ordinance No. 2021-10
Page 7 of 7
Section 8: The Mayor shall sign and the City Clerk shall attest to the passage
of this ordinance. The City Clerk shall cause the ordinance, or a summary thereof, to be
published pursuant to City Charter Section 414.
This ordinance was introduced at a regular meeting of the City Council of the City
of Newport Beach held on the 11th day of May, 2021, and adopted on the 25th day of
May, 2021, by the following vote, to -wit:
AYES: Mayor Avery, Mayor Pro Tem Muldoon Council Member Brenner Council
Member Dixon, Council Member Duffield
NAYS: Council Member Blom, Council Member O'Neill
ABSENT:
ATTEST:
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1AUSN"WIV
LEILA I I. BROWW, CI CLERK
APPROVED AS TO FORM: U
CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
AARON C. HARP, CITY ATTORNEY
STATE OF CALIFORNIA
COUNTY OF ORANGE ss.
CITY OF NEWPORT BEACH }
I, Leilani I. Brown, City Clerk of the City of Newport Beach, California, do hereby certify that the
whole number of members of the City Council is seven, that the foregoing ordinance, being Ordinance
No. 2021-10 was duly introduced on the 11th day of May, 2021, at a regular meeting, and adopted by the
City Council at a regular meeting duly held on the 251h day of May, 2021, and that the same was so
passed and adopted by the following vote, to wit:
AYES: Mayor Brad Avery, Mayor Pro Tem Kevin Muldoon, Council Member Joy Brenner,
Council Member Diane Dixon, Council Member Duffy Duffield
NAYS: Council Member Noah Blom, Council Member Will O'Neill
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto subscribed my name and affixed the official seal of
said City this 26th day of May, 2021.
/140
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Leilani I. Brown, MM
City Clerk
City of Newport Beach, California
CERTIFICATE OF PUBLICATION
STATE OF CALIFORNIA }
COUNTY OF ORANGE } ss.
CITY OF NEWPORT BEACH }
I, LEILANI I. BROWN, City Clerk of the City of Newport Beach, California, do hereby certify that
Ordinance No. 2021-10 has been duly and regularly published according to law and the order of the City
Council of said City and that same was so published in The Daily Pilot, a newspaper of general circulation
on the following dates:
Introduced Ordinance: May 15, 2021
Adopted Ordinance: May 29, 2021
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In witness whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name this day of June, 2021.
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Leilani I. Brown, MMC
City Clerk
City of Newport Beach, California