A. Any penalty imposed for violations of this code, including any other codes or statutes that have been incorporated into this code, any administrative costs or other expenses of enforcement, and the cost or expenses associated with the abatement of a nuisance condition that are levied in accordance with Chapters 1.10 through 1.16, whether imposed or levied judicially or administratively, may be enforced by the recordation of a lien against the property of the owner of the real property where the nuisance condition existed. Any such lien shall be recorded in the office of the Sonoma County recorder, and from the date of recording shall have the force, effect, and priority of a judgment lien. A lien authorized by this subsection shall specify the amount of the lien, that the lien is being imposed on behalf of the city, the date of the NOV and abatement order, the street address, legal description and assessor’s parcel number of the parcel on which the lien is imposed, and the name and address of the record owner of the parcel.

B. Before recordation of a lien authorized by this section, a notice of lien shall be served on the responsible party and/or owner of record of the parcel of land on which the nuisance existed, based on the last equalized assessment roll or the supplemental roll, whichever is more current. The notice of lien shall be served in the same manner as a summons in a civil action. If the owner of record cannot be found, after a diligent search, the notice of lien may be served by posting a copy thereof in a conspicuous place upon the property for a period of ten days and publication thereof in a newspaper of general circulation published in Sonoma County.

C. Any fee imposed on the city by the county recorder for costs of processing and recording the lien as well as the cost of providing notice to the owner in the manner described herein may be recovered from the owner in any foreclosure action to enforce the lien following recordation.

D. As an alternative to the lien procedure described above, any penalty imposed for violations of this code, including any other codes or statutes that have been incorporated into this code, and any costs of enforcement or administration or expenses associated with the abatement of any nuisance levied in accordance with Chapters 1.10 through 1.16, whether imposed or levied judicially or administratively, may become a special assessment against the real property where the nuisance condition(s) existed. Any special assessment imposed on real property pursuant to this section may be collected at the same time and in the same manner as ordinary municipal taxes are collected, and shall be subject to the same penalties and the same procedure and sale in case of delinquency as are provided for ordinary municipal taxes. Notice of any special assessment that is levied on real property pursuant to this section shall be given to the owner by certified mail, and shall contain the information set forth in Government Code Section 38773.5(c). All laws applicable to the levy, collection, and enforcement of municipal taxes, including those described in Government Code Section 38773.5(c), shall be applicable to such special assessment.