1.14.050 Imposition of penalties.
Any nuisance condition or violation of any provision of this code, including a failure to comply with a term or condition imposed by any agreement, entitlement, permit, license or environmental document issued or approved by or on behalf of the city or the Petaluma community development commission, or a failure to comply with any county, state or federal law, may subject the responsible party to a penalty imposed pursuant to the city’s general police powers, and/or Government Code Sections 36901 and 53069.4. Whether to impose a penalty shall be within the discretion of the enforcement officer.
A. The amount of any penalty that may be imposed for a violation that would otherwise be an infraction shall not exceed the amounts set forth in Government Code Section 36900(b), as amended from time to time. The amount of any penalty that may be imposed for all other violations (i.e., violations that would otherwise be misdemeanors) shall not exceed one thousand dollars per day. In determining the amount of a penalty, the following factors should be taken into consideration:
1. Duration of the violation.
2. Frequency, reoccurrence, or number of violations by the same person.
3. Seriousness of the violation and/or its impact on the community and/or the degree of culpability of the responsible party.
4. Justification, if any, for the existence, or continuance, of the violation.
5. Whether the violation is susceptible to restoration or other mitigation.
6. Good faith efforts to mitigate the violation or to come into compliance, pursuant to the terms of the NOV or abatement order.
7. Sensitivity of any affected resource.
8. Any profits or other economic benefit realized by the responsible party resulting, directly or indirectly, from the violation.
9. The city’s schedule of administrative penalties.
10. Such other factors as justice may require.
B. Each and every day during any portion of which a nuisance condition exists or continues may be deemed a separate and distinct violation for purposes of setting the amount of penalty to be imposed. Any penalty imposed will accrue on a daily basis from the date the penalty becomes effective until the violation is corrected.
C. Any penalty amount is a debt owed to the city. In addition to all other means of enforcement, a penalty may be enforced as a personal obligation of the responsible party. If the violation is in connection with real property, a penalty may also be enforced by imposition of a lien or special assessment upon the real property, as described in Section 1.14.140. Any lien or special assessment imposed upon real property shall remain in effect until the penalty is paid in full.
D. The hearing officer, in his/her discretion, may suspend the imposition of any applicable penalty for a period of time not to exceed sixty days during which the responsible party has demonstrated a willingness to correct the violations listed in the NOV or comply with an abatement order, or has applied for permits required to achieve compliance and such permit applications are actively pending before, or have already been issued by, the city, the state, or other appropriate governmental agency, or under any other circumstances that would justify a suspension of the penalty.
(Ord. 2385 NCS §1 (part), 2010; Ord. 2250 NCS §3 (part), 2006.)