§ 1.05.060. Appeal of notice of fine.

Any individual or entity upon which a fine is imposed by a notice of fine may contest that there was a violation, or that he or she is the responsible person, by completing a request for hearing form and submitting it to the administrating department within twenty days from the date the notice of fine was served, together with an advanced deposit of the fine. If said form and deposit are not received by the department within said time periods, the notice of fine shall become a final order.

(1)

Hearing Administrator. A hearing administrator shall be appointed by the director of planning and building for an administrative review hearing of the fine(s) imposed by the notice of fine hearing. The hearing administrator shall be chosen on a rotating or random basis from a pool of senior department staff who have training and/or experience in conducting hearings.

(2)

Hearing Procedure.

a.

No hearing to contest a notice of fine before a hearing administrator shall be held unless and until a request for hearing form has been completed and submitted and the fine has been deposited in advance.

b.

A hearing before the hearing administrator shall be set for a date that is not less than fifteen and not more than one hundred twenty days from the date that the request for hearing is filed in accordance with the provisions of this chapter. The person requesting the hearing shall be notified of the time and place set for the hearing at least fifteen days prior to the date of the hearing.

c.

The responsible person contesting the notice of fine shall be given the opportunity to testify and present witnesses and evidence concerning the administrative fine.

d.

The failure of any appealing recipient of a notice of fine to appear at the hearing shall constitute a waiver of the administrative appeal, a forfeiture of the deposited fine and a failure to exhaust their administrative remedies. In such event, the notice of fine shall become a final order.

e.

If the code enforcement officer submits any written reports concerning the notice of fine to the hearing administrator for consideration prior to the hearing, then a copy of said report also shall be concurrently served by mail on the person requesting the hearing.

f.

Up to ten days prior to the hearing, the recipient of a notice of fine may request in writing that it be provided copies of any documents which the code enforcement officer intends to present as evidence at the hearing. Within five days of receipt of such a request, the code enforcement officer shall serve copies of such documents submitted or relied upon by the code enforcement officer.

g.

Formal rules of evidence shall not apply at the hearing.

h.

The hearing administrator may continue the hearing and request additional information from the code enforcement officer or the recipient of the notice of fine prior to issuing a written decision.

(3)

Hearing Administrator's Decision.

a.

After considering all relevant testimony and evidence submitted at the hearing, the hearing administrator shall issue a written decision within ten days of the hearing to uphold or deny the notice of fine. The decision of the hearing administrator shall be final.

b.

If the hearing administrator determines that the notice of fine should be upheld, the fine amount on deposit with the department shall be retained by the department.

c.

If the hearing administrator determines that the notice of fine should be reduced or canceled, and the fine was deposited with the department, then the department shall promptly refund the corresponding amount of the deposited fine.

d.

The recipient of the notice of fine shall be served with a copy of the hearing administrator's written decision by first class mail.

(4)

Right to Judicial Review. Any person aggrieved by an administrative decision of a hearing administrator on a notice of fine may obtain judicial review of the administrative decision by filing a petition for review with the San Luis Obispo County Superior Court in accordance with the time lines and provisions as set forth in California Government Code Section 53069.4.

(Ord. 2906 § 1 (part), 2000)