HomeMy WebLinkAbout3019ORDINANCE NO. 3 019
AN ORDINANCE of the City of Port Angeles, Washington, providing for
the issuance of administrative search warrants for inspections on private
property, clarifying the nuisance ordinance's "repeat offender"
provisions, and amending Ordinances 1792 and 2469 as amended and
Chapters 1.20 and 8.04 of the Port Angeles Municipal Code.
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PORT ANGELES DOES HEREBY
ORDAIN as follows:
Section 1. Ordinance 1792 and Chapter 1.20 of the Port Angeles Municipal Code are
hereby amended by amending PAMC 1.20.010 to read as follows:
1.20.010 Requirements.
A. Right of Entry for Inspection. Whenever necessary to make an inspection to
enforce any , provision of this Code or whenever there is
reasonable cause to believe a Code violation exists in
any building or upon any premises within the jurisdiction of the City, any
authorized official of the City, may, upon presentation of proper credentials,
enter such building or premises at all reasonable times to inspect it or perform
any duty imposed upon him by ordinance; provided, that except in emergency
situations or when consent of the owner and/or occupant to the inspection has
been otherwise obtained, he gives the owner and/or occupant, if they can be
located after reasonable effort, twenty-four seventy -two hours' written notice of
the authorized official's intention to inspect. The notice transmitted to the owner
and/or occupant shall states that the property owner has the right to refuse entry
and that, in the event such entry is refused, inspection may be made only upon
issuance of a search warrant by a duly authorized magistrate. In the event the
owner and/or occupant refuses entry after such request has been made, the
official is empowered to seek assistance from any court of competent jurisdiction
in obtaining such entry. (Ord. 1792 §1, 5/25/73)
B. Warrants for Entry.
1. Whenever it is necessary to enter upon private property or the public
property of another governmental agency to carry out the lawful
directions of any provision of this Code or to carry out the lawful order,
ruling or holding of any court of competent jurisdiction. the City may
apply for a warrant authorizing the entry upon such property to carry out
the same, if permission to enter has been refused by the owner, or if the
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owner cannot be found or reasonably ascertained.
2. The application for a warrant shall be supported by an affidavit or the
testimony of the City officer or employee intending to enter upon the
property, stating his office, purpose and authority to so enter, the
owner's refusal to permit such entry or the owner's unavailability, the
work. action or other activity to be conducted upon the property, and by
whom and at what approximate time the activity will be conducted.
3. If the court finds just cause for the issuance of the warrant, it shall
subscribe the same with a return date of not more than ten days following
completion of the action or activity to be conducted upon the property.
4. Nothing in this section is intended to limit, restrict or otherwise affect the
right of the City's officers or employees from entering upon private or
public property for any lawful purpose.
Section 2. Ordinance 2469 as amended and Chapter 8.04 of the Port Angeles
Municipal Code are hereby amended by amending PAMC 8.04.020, 8.04.050, and 8.04.080 to read
as follows:
8.04.020 Definitions. The words and phrases used in this Chapter, unless the context
otherwise indicates, shall have the following meanings:
A. "Abate" means to repair, replace, remove, destroy or otherwise remedy the
condition in question by such means, in such a manner and to such an extent as the enforcement
officer, in his judgment, determines is necessary in the interest of the general health, safety and
welfare of the community.
B. "Disposable Package or Container" means all packages or containers defined
as such by rules and regulations adopted by the State of Washington Department of Ecology.
C. "Enforcement Officer" means the City Manager or any City official or
employee designated by him.
D. "Junk" includes the storage of all old appliances, equipment, or parts thereof,
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all old iron or other scrap metal, automobile tires, cardboard, old lumber, old wood and
mattresses, which items are not being used for their intended purpose, and does not include
orderly stacked firewood.
E. "Litter" means and includes all waste material, including but not limited to
disposable packages or containers thrown or deposited on public or private property, including
the depositing on public property or cars of handbills, but not including the waste of primary
process of mining, logging, saw milling, farming, or manufacturing.
F. "Premises" means any building, lot, parcel, real estate, land, or portion of land
whether improved or unimproved, including adjacent sidewalks and parking strips.
G. "Refuse" means vegetable offal, animal offal, discarded food, cans, bottles,
waste paper, large tree limbs and all other waste substances from private and public establishments
and from residences; but shall not include small amounts of weeds, twigs, grass, or other material
resulting from the normal tending of lawns and gardens.
H. "Responsible Person" means any agent, lessee, owner or other person
occupying or having charge or control of any premises.
I. "Repeat Offender" means any responsible person who has had an Abatement
Order issued in his or her name within the prior 36 months, regardless of the nuisance's location,
except that in the case of a landlord the prior Abatement Order must have been issued for the
same property.
J J. "Weed ", "vegetable growth" and "horticultural growth" mean and include but
are not limited to trees, plants, shrubs, bushes, flowers, garden vegetables and grasses and further
include all growths of every kind and character, whether domestic or wild, causing the obstruction
or interference or detriment prohibited by this Chapter.
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K. "Administrative Hearings Officer" means the City Manager or any City official
or employee designated by him other than the person designated as "Enforcement Officer" as in
C., above. (Ord. 2773 §1, 8/13/93; Ord. 2698 §1, 7/31/92; Ord. 2469 §1, 1/22/88)
8.04.050 Enforcement - Request - Hearing. The enforcement officer, having
knowledge of any public nuisance, shall cause the responsible person(s) to be notified of the
existence of a public nuisance on any premises and shall request such person(s) to abate the
condition within a designated reasonable period. The enforcement officer shall also include in the
written notice to said person(s) that an application for initiation of formal abatement proceedings
will be made to the Administrative Hearings Officer. The written notice shall establish the date
by which a final determination shall be made and give the responsible person(s) the option of
requesting a hearing before the Administrative Hearings Officer prior to the final determination
date. The responsible person(s) shall have five (5) days in which to request a hearing which, if
requested, shall be held within seven (7) days of the request. Upon determining that a public
nuisance exists which requires abatement, the Administrative Hearings Officer shall issue a
written report of findings and order requiring the responsible person(s) to abate such condition.
The written report of findings and order shall provide that in the event of the failure of such
person(s) to abate the public nuisance within the time frame listed in the written report of findings
and order, the same shall be abated by the City, and the costs to the City shall become a charge
collectible by any legally available means against the responsible person(s). If the responsible
person(s) do not give permission for the City to enter the property for such abatement action, the
City may obtain a court order or warrant to do so.
When an Abatement Order is
issued to a repeat offender, a $100 administrative fee shall be charged to the responsible-person(s)
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epeat offender to cover the City's costs in pursuing the abatement of the public nuisance. In the
case that the owner leases or rents the premises to another responsible person(s), such owner may
request, and the Administrative Hearings Officer may include in the written report of findings and
order, an extended abatement period for such owner to be effective if the tenant fails to
accomplish abatement within the prescribed time period, which extended abatement period shall
allow the owner to pursue unlawful detainer proceedings, and shall not exceed ninety (90) days.
The responsible person(s) may appeal the written report of findings and order of the
Administrative Hearings Officer to City Council by filing a Notice of Appeal with the City Clerk
within ten (10) days of the date of the written report of findings and order. Any appeal taken to
the City Council shall be heard at the next regularly scheduled meeting of City Council. Any
legal action challenging the Council's decision on appeal shall be brought in Clallam County
Superior Court within ten (10) days of the decision by Council. In the case that the responsible
person, or one of the responsible persons, is the owner, the charge shall be a lien against the
property, and perfected, processed and foreclosed as prescribed in the provisions covering
mechanic's liens in Chapter 60.04 RCW. (Ord. 3014 §1 (part), 3/26/99; Ord. 2959, 6/13/97;
Ord. 2777 §2, 9/17/93; Ord. 2773 §2, 8/13/93; Ord. 2698 §1, 7/31/92; Ord. 2469 §1, 1/22/88)
8.04.080 Penalties. In addition to the costs of abatement, any person violating any
portion(s) of this Chapter shall be deemed to have committed a civil infraction commencing upon
the date that the Administrative Hearings Officer or the City Council had specified for completion
of abatement, whichever date is later. The penalty for this infraction is $250 per violation, the
first $250 of which shall not be suspended or deferred. A separate offense shall be deemed
committed on each day during or on which a violation occurs or continues. The penalty for a
repeat offense offender shall be $500 per violation. (Ord. 3014 §1 (part), 3/26/99; Ord. 2773 §4,
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B/13/93; Ord. 2469 §1, 1/22/88)
Section 3 - Severability. If any provisions of this Ordinance or its applications to any
person or circumstances is held to be invalid, the remainder of the Ordinance or application of the
provisions of the Ordinance to other persons or circumstances is not affected.
Section 4 - Effective Date. This Ordinance shall take effect five days after the date of
publication.
PASSED by the City Council of the City of Port Angeles at a regular meeting of said
Council held on the 1st day of June , 1999.
ATTEST:
Becky J. U
--tom
.qty Cler
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
Craig D. Ian n, it Attorney
PUBLISHED: June 6, 1999
99.07
By Summary
A' O R
Summaries of Ordinances Adopted by the
Port Angeles City Council
on June 1, 1999
Ordinance No. 3019
This Ordinance of the City of Port Angeles provides for the issuance of
administrative search warrants for inspections on private property, clarifies the
nuisance ordinance's "repeat offender" provisions, and amends Ordinances 1792 and
2469, as amended, and Chapters 1.20 and 8.04 of the Port Angeles Municipal Code.
Ordinance No. 3020
This Ordinance of the City of Port Angeles converts Local Improvement District No.
215, created pursuant to Ordinance No. 2939 to finance sanitary sewer improvements
within the Upper Golf Course area of the City, to a utility local improvement district.
The full texts of the Ordinances are available at City Hall in the City Clerk's office or will be mailed
upon request. Office hours are Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. These
Ordinances shall take effect five days after the date of publication of these summaries.
Becky J. Upton
City Clerk
Publish: June 6, 1999