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HomeMy WebLinkAboutReso 006-87 BldgDeptCitationPolRESOLUTION NO. 6-87 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF DUBLIN APPROVING BUILDING INSPECTION DEPARTMENT POLICY AND PROCEDURE FOR CITATIONS WHEREAS, the City of Dublin has changed violations of Building and Zoning Regulations from misdemeanors to infractions; and WHEREAS, the Building Inspection Department has developed policy and procedures for issuing citations; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Dublin City Council does hereby approve said policy'and procedures for citations. 1987. PASSED, APPROVED AND ADOPTED this 26th day of January, AYES: Councilmembers Hegarty, Moffatt, Snyder Vonheeder and Mayor Jeffery NOES: None ABSENT: None BUILDlING INSPECTION DEPARTMENT POLICY AND PROCEDURES FOR CITATIONS Policy It is the overriding goal of the City to obtain compliance with lawful requirements, and not to punish violators. In general the violation of zoning and construction ordinances are amendable to reversible and corrective actions. It is the intent of the City to encourage corrective action. The citation procedure is to supplement and not to replace the normal enforcement ~process which involve verbal notification, written notice and pursuit of administrative remedies. Except for transient violations, and performing construction without permits, a citation (Notice to Appear) shall be issued only after reasonable means to gatn compliance have failed. A specific written "Warning Notice" will be given prior to the issuance of a citation unless the citation is issued for an imminent hazard, transient violation, or work in progress without a permit (a transient violation is a violation of limited duration and/or not occurring continuously at a fixed location). A citation shall only be issued where the violation of a specific section of an ordinance has been observed. Applicable provisions of the State Government Code and Penal Code shall be followed in all the instances. Procedure 1. Prior to writing a citation for work without a permit the inspector shall contact the office to determine whether a permit has been issued. In the case of traDsient violations the inspector shall check with the office where~practical. In the case of land use violations the circumstances shall be reviewed in the office prior to issuing a citation. 2. Fill out "Notice to Appear" completely. The date for court appearance (mandatory) should be no sooner than 20 days and no more than 30 days from the date of issuahce. Appearances should be scheduled in the Livermore-Pleasanton Municipal Court, Department 3, at ll:O0 a.m. Monday through Thursday. Request the violator to sign the citation. Explain that signing is simply a promise to appear in court and the signature is not an admission of guilt. The third page of the citation will be given to the violator. A record of-the date, time and circumstances of the citation are to be entsered on a Special Investigation Form. If the inspector ~s unable to obtain the signature of the violator, following reasonable attempts and"a complete explanation, the inspeptor shall contact the police and request assistance. The police. officer will explain the necessity for a - : , · . signature. I'f the violator still refuses to sign, the police officer will take the violator into custody for failure to sign the "Notice to Appear'" which is a misdemeanor 3. On the same day as issuance the first and second pages of the "Notice to Appear" along with the Special Investigatio~n Form, copy of Warning Notice, pertinant information, pictures, diagrams, etc. and historical file records are given to the Building Inspection clerk. a. The clerk will take the first page of the "Notice to Appear" along with copies of ordinance sections cited and personally deliver both documents to the Livermore Pleasanton Municipal Court, 39 South Livermore Avenue, no later than the next day. A docket number should be obtained and noted in t~e Building Department file. '~ b. The clerk will establish and maintain a Citati.on Notice File by address and date, with materials turned in' by =the inspector. The clerk will retrieve the file one day before t-he scheduled court date noted on the citation. The clerk will contact the Court Clerk and ascertain if the matter has been = continued prior to returning the file to the inspector. 4. The Inspector will appear in court at the date andtime of the scheduled hearing, and testify as required and note t~e disposition of the case. a. The file will be returned'to the clerk with a notation as to disposition (guilty; fined $ ; not guilty; dismissed; continued to ; violator tom"~'~l~e corrections.~y ; etc.) The clerk will take appropriate action relative to handling of the file in compliance with the court decision. b. The clerk will maintain a'log of all citations issued showing status and final disposition. In the event that a 2nd, 3rd, or 4th citation has been issued. for the same offense at a particular location, this information must be transmitted to the court with the "Notice to Appear". c. Where a violator has requested that the inspector inspect and sign off a corrected violation prior to the court date the inspector will, if appropriate sign the violator's copy of the citation and instruct him to take it to the Clerk of the Court. The inspector will inform the clerk of this action. d. If the violator applied for an administrative remedy designed to eliminate the violation (application for Building Permit; variance; Conditional Use Permit, etc.) the inspector will reference the citation number an~ docket number and make a written request to the court for cont'inuance outlining the reason for the continuance. CALIFORNIA GOVERNMENT CODF: L . .- CI-I~R 2. = ORDLt~iCI~S '~ T -. · ; , ~' ~ :.- ~ 36900. Violation;. offense; ~r6secuho~; '~;',~"~L' ':' ;--' .' -- (~) Viol~on of a d~ ordinance ~ a m~demeanor ~1~ by o~e it ~ made ~ Such a ~ola~on may be p~secuted by ci~ au~od~es ~ ~e n~e of ~e ~ple d ~e State of Califonia, or redressed by ci~l ac~on- . ~) Eve~ ~ola~on'de~ined ~ be an ~fnc~on ~ p~hable by (1) a free not ex~g one hundred dolla~ $1~ for a f~t ~ola~on; (2) a ~e not ex~g ~o hun~ dol~n ~iola~on ~ same o~inance ~in one yea~ (3) a ~e no~cee&ng five hun~ol~ '. ' ($500) for each additional viola~on of ~e same or~ ~ one ye~. - ,.' - ' (Amended b~ S~.1974, ~ 677, p. 1~3, '~ 1;' S~.1983, ~ 1~ p-'. . ,'~ 138,.~rge~,eff. Sep~ ~, 1933, opentire Jan. 1, 1984.) ~ ?': ." '-'~ ' :'" "~' ~' ":"- ' '/ ~ :' '~ .' ~ . :.. :, ~. ~ ~. - ::: - ~ t I 'l CALIFORNIA PENAL CODE: § 19. [Punishment for misdemeanor] Ex.cgt in cases where a different punishment is prescribed by any law of thzs t~att, ~' off~ d~ t~ ~ a ~~nor ~ p~bl~ ~ ~p~m~t in the ~unty ~1 not ~ing sh mon~ or ~ ~c not ~ing one tho~d dol~ ($1,~), or by ~t~ § 19c. [Punishment for lnfrsctions] ., An infraction is not punishable by imprisonment. A .person char&,ed with an infraction shall not be entitled to a trial by Jury. A person char~ed with an infraction shall not be entitled to have the public defender or other counsel apppoinled at public expense to represent him unless he is arrested and not .rel~._ted on his written promise to appear. his own rex:ognizancc, or a dcposit of bail. I Ig~!. [Same:. Applkmbtlity of misdemeanor provision. s] Except as ot~r~L~ provided by law, all provisions of law relating_to I misdemeanors shall apply to infractions, inc ucling but not limiXed='to · powers of peace ¢rfficers, jurisdiction of courts, periods for' caromcac- tus action and for bringing a case to trial and ~rden of prod. ' § ~53,5. [Relaas~ of .person arrested for infraction] · - Except as otherwise provided by law, in any care in which a penon is arrested for an offense declared to be an infraction, the pea'son my be released according to the procedures set forth by this chapter for 'the release of persons arrested for an offense declared to be a misde- meanor. In all cases, except as specified in Sections 40302, 40305, and 40305.5 of the Vehicle Code, in which a per~n is arrested for an infraction, a peace officer shall only require the arrestee to present his' drivels license or other satisfactory eviden~ of_his identity for examination and to sign a written promise w appear. Only if the arrestee refuses to present such identification or. refuses to sign such a written promise may the arreste~ be taken into custody.