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Ordinance No. 503-08 '-' ~ \., ORDINANCE NO. 503-08 AN ORDINANCE OF THE SOUTH TAHOE PUBLIC UTILITY DISTRICT ADDING ADMINISTRATIVE CODE SECTIONS 6.5.5 AND 6.5.6 PROVIDING ADDITIONAL FINING AUTHORITY PURSUANT TO GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 53069.4 BE IT ENACTED by the Board of Directors of the South Tahoe Public Utility District, County ofEl Dorado, State of California, as follows: SECTION I - POLICY AND PURPOSE The purpose of this Ordinance is to adopt certain amendments and additions to the Administrative Code regarding the District's authority to levy fines in the case of a violation of the District's Ordinances, rules, or regulations regarding either water or sewer work or connection(s). SECTION II - DEFINITIONS For the purpose ofthis Ordinance, the terms used herein are defined as follows: A. The District - The South Tahoe Public Utility District. B. The Board - The Board of Directors of the South Tahoe Public Utility District. C. Administrative Code - The compilation and codification of all of the Administrative, Water, Sewer, Street Lighting and Groundwater Management Plan Ordinances of the District, which establish the authority and the principles for decisions of the District, and provide the public with guidelines applicable to District operations. SECTION III - FINDINGS The Board of Directors of the South Tahoe Public Utility District, County of El Dorado, State of California, make the following findings: 1. In cases of violations of the District's Ordinances, rules, or regulations regarding either water or sewer work or connection(s), the District's Administrative Code provides for the issuance of correction notices as to such violations, and the disconnection of service, in the case of noncompliance with such correction notices; and, 2. Government Code section 53069.4 provides that the legislative body of a local agency, such as the Board, may by ordinance make any violation of any ordinance enacted by the local agency subject to an administrative fine or penalty; and, \., -. ~ 3. Government Code section 53069.4 provides that local agencies shall establish the administrative procedures governing the imposition, enforcement, collection, and administrative review by the local agency of those administrative fines or penalties; and 4. The District's Administrative Code provides the District the ability to impose such fines in the case of violations of the District's Groundwater Management Plan, and establishes administrative procedures governing the imposition, enforcement, collection, and administrative review of those administrative fines or penalties; and 5. Providing the District the ability to impose such administrative fines or penalties for violation of the District's Ordinances, rules, or regulations regarding either water or sewer work or connection(s) will provide the District an alternative mechanism through which to protect the public safety; and 6. The Board of Directors has determined that it is in the best interest of the District to adopt this Ordinance with respect to the establishment of the authority to impose fines for the violation of the District's Ordinances, rules, or regulations regarding either water or sewer work or connection(s). SECTION IV - AMENDMENTS TO ADMINISTRATIVE CODE The following sections of the Administrative Code shall be amended to read: 6.5.2. Correction Ae:reement. The District Inspector or other authorized representative of the District may enter into a correction agreement on behalf of the District permitting and providing for the correction of the violation prior to any notice provided in Section 6.5.5.(3) or Section 6.6.1(a). The agreement shall be on the terms, as determined in the District inspectors' or representative's sole discretions, but shall not exceed a period of the longer of six (6) months or that period of time until one month into the next building season. A) Stay of Administrative Fines and Penalties and Disconnection. The District shall not impose any administrative fines and penalties or engage in any disconnection activities during the term of any such correction agreement, provided the terms of the correction agreement are not violated and no further provision of the Ordinances, rules or regulations of the District is violated. B) Violation of Correction Agreement Terms. If there is a violation of any material term ofthe correction agreement, as reasonably determined by the District, the District may immediately initiate or resume any and all enforcement activities, including the imposition of administrative fines and penalties as provided in Section 6.5.5 or disconnection procedures as provided in Section 6.6, without notification. The following sections of the Administrative Code shall be added to read: 6.5.5 Administrative Fines and Penalties. Any Person who violates any of the District's Ordinances, rules, or regulations regarding either water or sewer work or connection(s) shall be subject to administrative fines and penalties pursuant to Government Code section Ordinance No. 503-08 Fining Authority Page 2 \., ~ ~ 53069.4. Each day's continuance of a violation of an ordinance shall constitute a separate and additional violation. (1) Amount. The District may impose a fine or penalty not to exceed $100 for a first violation, $200 for a second violation of the same District Ordinance, rule, or regulation regarding either water or sewer work or connection(s) within one year, and $500 for each additional violation ofthe same District Ordinance, rule, or regulation regarding either water or sewer work or connection(s) within one year. (2) Continuing Violations. In the case of a continuing violation of the District's Ordinances, rules or regulations regarding water or sewer work or connection (s) that does not create an immediate danger to health or safety, the District shall first issue the party responsible for a continuing violation of the District's Ordinances, rules, or regulations regarding either water or sewer work or connection(s) a correction notice, pursuant to Section 6.5.1, providing a reasonable period of time, such period not to be less than 14 days, in which the responsible party may correct or otherwise remedy the continuing violation prior to the imposition of administrative fines or penalties. (3) Notice. The District shall notify the party responsible for a violation of the District's Ordinances, rules, or regulations regarding either water or sewer work or connection(s) (Responsible Party) that administrative fines and penalties are due. Such notice shall be in writing, and shall be delivered by first-class mail addressed to the Responsible Party at the Responsible Party's last known address, and posted on the property where the violation occurred. Notice of an administrative fine or penalty shall contain the following information: (a) The date of the violation; (b) The address or a definite description of the location where the violation occurred; ( c) The District Ordinance, rule, or regulation regarding either water or sewer work or connection(s) violated and a description ofthe violation; (d) The amount of the fine for the violation; (e) A description of the fine or penalty payment process, including a description of the time within which and the place to which the fine or penalty shall be paid; Ordinance No. 503-08 Fining Authority Page 3 \., ~ \., (f) An order prohibiting the continuation or repeated occurrence of the violation described in the notice; and (g) A description ofthe administrative review process, including the time within which the administrative fine or penalty may be contested and the place from which a request for hearing form to contest the administrative fine or penalty may be obtained. (4) Payment. The fine or penalty shall be paid to the District within thirty (30) days after posting of the notice of violation. Any fine or penalty paid shall be refunded ifit is determined, after a hearing, that the Person charged was not responsible for the violation or that there was no violation as charged. (5) Collection. Remedies for collecting and enforcing fines and penalties for violation of the District's Ordinances, rules, or regulations regarding either water or sewer work or connection(s) are cumulative and any and all may be used alternatively, and none of the remedies are exclusive. At its discretion, the District may employ the following mechanisms for the collection of fines and penalties: (a) Fines and penalties imposed for violation ofthe District's Ordinances, rules, or regulations regarding either water or sewer work or connection(s) may be added to and become part of the annual assessment levied upon the land where the violation occurred if the Real Property is owned, controlled, or in the possession of the same Person who owned, controlled, or was in possession of it during the time the violation occurred, in accordance with California Public Utilities Code Section 16469. Fines and penalties added to an assessment are a lien on the land, in accordance with Public Utilities Code Section 16470. (b) Fines and penalties imposed for violation of the District's Ordinances, rules, or regulations regarding either water or sewer work or connection(s) may become a lien on the land where the violation occurred if the District records a certificate of the amount of fines and penalties due, pursuant to California Public Utilities Code Section 16472.1. Ordinance No. 503-08 Fining Authority Page 4 \., 4.., ~ (c) Fines and penalties may be collected in the same manner, by the same Persons, and at the same time together with the general taxes levied for the District, pursuant to California Public Utilities Code Section 16641 et seq. (d) Fines and penalties may be collected by an action in any court of competent jurisdiction against a Person or Persons who owned the Real Property where the violation occurred for the collection of all fines and penalties, pursuant to the provisions of the Public Utilities Code Section 16647. 6.5.6 Judicial Review. Any Person aggrieved by the District's final administrative decision to impose fines and penalties for violation of the District's Ordinances, rules, or regulations regarding either water or sewer work or connection(s) may obtain review of the administrative decision by filing an appeal to be heard by the appropriate court in El Dorado County in accordance with the timelines and provisions stated in California Government Code section 53069.4. Any Person aggrieved by the District's final administrative decision to issue fines and penalties may obtain review of the administrative decision by filing a petition for writ of mandate in the court in accordance with Government Code section 11523 and Code of Civil Procedure section 1094.5, et seq. SECTION VI - SEVERABILITY If any section, subsection, subdivision, paragraph, sentence, clause or phrase of this Ordinance and its implementing rules and regulations is for any reason held to be unconstitutional or invalid, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this Ordinance or the Administrative Code. The Board of Directors declares and determines that it would have passed section, subsection, subdivision, paragraph, sentence, clause or phrase thereof of this Ordinance and its implementing rules and regulations and the Administrative Code irrespective of the fact that anyone or more sections, subsections, subdivisions, paragraphs, sentences, clauses or phrases may be determined to be unconstitutional or invalid. SECTION VII - EFFECTIVE DATE This Ordinance amending Section 6.5.2 and adding Sections 6.5.5 and 6.5.6 to the Administrative Code shall take effect thirty (30) days after its passage. Ordinance No. 503-08 Fining Authority Page 5 '-' '" \., PASSED AND ADOPTED by the Board of Directors of the South Tahoe Public Utility District at its duly held regular meeting on the 21 st day of February 2008 by the following vote: AYES: Directors Mosbacher, Rise, Claudio, Schafer NOES: None ABSENT: Director Jones ATTEST: Ordinance No. 501-08 Fining Authority Page 6 \ t.//:' Mar~ ou osbacher, President Sout Tahoe Public Utility District