HomeMy WebLinkAboutAGENDA REPORT 2014 0416 CCSA REG ITEM 09A ITEM 9.A.
CITY OF MOORPARK,CALIFORNIA
City Council Meeting
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BY:
MOORPARK CITY COUNCIL
AGENDA REPORT
TO: Honorable City Council
FROM: David A. Bobardt, Community Development Director
DATE: April 3, 2014 (CC Meeting of 4/16/2014)
SUBJECT: Consider an Ordinance Adding Subsection F. to Section 1.12.180,
Liability to City for its Costs to Chapter 1.12, Nuisances of Title 1,
General Provisions of the Moorpark Municipal Code to allow for
Recovery of Attorney's Fees from Abatement of a Public Nuisance
BACKGROUND/DISCUSSION
Civil litigation to abate a nuisance condition on property and City initiated and conducted
nuisance abatement proceedings are two of the code compliance tools available to the
City for abating public nuisances. These are rarely used, but available when other
methods of code compliance have not resulted in nuisance abatement. The present
code provides for recovery of costs and expenses. The City must elect in writing to
seek recovery of city attorney's fees at the initiation of its civil action. The attached
ordinance will give the City Manager or City Attorney the discretion to seek recovery of
attorney's fees at the initiation of an administrative, civil, or equitable judicial action to
abate a public nuisance. Should the City prevail, it would be entitled to recover
attorney's fees. Should the other party prevail, the City would be responsible to pay
reasonable attorney's fees. This ordinance has been reviewed and approved as to form
by the City Attorney.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION
Introduce Ordinance No. for first reading, waive full reading, and place this
ordinance on the agenda for May 7, 2014, for purposes of providing second reading and
adoption of the ordinance.
ATTACHMENT: Ordinance No.
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ORDINANCE NO.
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF MOORPARK,
CALIFORNIA, ADDING SUBSECTION F. TO SECTION
1.12.180, LIABILITY TO CITY FOR ITS COSTS TO CHAPTER
1.12, NUISANCES OF TITLE 1, GENERAL PROVISIONS OF
THE MOORPARK MUNICIPAL CODE TO ALLOW FOR
RECOVERY OF ATTORNEY'S FEES FROM ABATEMENT OF
A PUBLIC NUISANCE
WHEREAS, Section 1.12.180, Liability to city for its costs of Chapter 1.12,
Nuisances of Title 1, General Provisions of the Moorpark Municipal Code addresses the
ability of the City to recover costs in abating a public nuisance on a private property; and
WHEREAS, the City Council wishes to add Subsection F. to allow for the
recovery of attorney's fees from the abatement of a public nuisance; and
WHEREAS, the Community Development Director has reviewed this ordinance
and determined that it is not a project subject to review under the California
Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) in that the adoption of provisions for the recovery of
attorney's fees from civil litigation and City -initiated and conducted nuisance abatement
proceedings does not have the potential for resulting in a direct physical change in the
environment, or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment.
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF MOORPARK
DOES ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. ENVIRONMENTAL DOCUMENTATION: The City Council,
through its own independent analysis and judgment, concurs with the Community
Development Director's finding that this ordinance is not a project subject to review
under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) in that the adoption of provisions
for the recovery of attorney's fees from civil litigation and City -initiated and conducted
nuisance abatement proceedings does not have the potential for resulting in a direct
physical change in the environment, or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical
change in the environment.
SECTION 2. Subsection F. is added to Section 1.12.180, Liability to city for its
costs of Chapter 1.12, Nuisances of Title 1, General Provisions of the Moorpark
Municipal Code as shown in Exhibit A, attached hereto and incorporated herein.
SECTION 3. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, part or portion
of this ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by any court of
competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions
of this ordinance. The City Council declares that it would have adopted this ordinance and
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Ordinance No.
Page 2
each section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, part or portion thereof, irrespective of
the fact that any one or more section, subsections, sentences, clauses, phrases, parts or
portions be declared invalid or unconstitutional.
SECTION 4. This ordinance shall become effective thirty (30) days after its
passage and adoption.
SECTION 5. The City Clerk shall certify to the passage and adoption of this
ordinance; shall enter the same in the book of original ordinances of said City; shall make
a minute of the passage and adoption thereof in the records of the proceedings of the City
Council at which the same is passed and adopted; and shall publish notice of adoption in
the manner required by law.
PASSED AND ADOPTED this day of 32014.
Janice S. Parvin, Mayor
ATTEST:
Maureen Benson, City Clerk
Exhibit A: Subsection F. of Section 1.12.180
M
Ordinance No.
Page 3
EXHIBIT A
SUBSECTION F. OF SECTION 1.12.180, LIABILITY TO CITY FOR ITS COSTS
F. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this section, a prevailing party in any
administrative, civil or equitable judicial action to abate or cause the abatement of a public
nuisance, or in any appeal or other judicial action arising therefrom, may recover
reasonable attorney's fees in accordance with the following subsections:
1. Attorney's fees are not recoverable by any person as a prevailing party unless the
City Manager, or a designee thereof, or an attorney for, and on behalf of, the city, elects in
writing to seek recovery of the city's attorney's fees at the initiation of that individual action
or proceeding. Failure to make such an election precludes any entitlement to, or award of,
attorney's fees in favor of any person or the city.
2. The city is the prevailing party when an administrative or judicial determination is
made or affirmed by which a person is found to be responsible for one or more conditions
or activities that constitute a public nuisance. A person is the prevailing party only when a
final administrative or judicial determination completely absolves that person of
responsibility for all conditions or activities that were alleged, in that action or proceeding,
to constitute a public nuisance. An administrative or judicial determination that results in
findings of responsibility and non -responsibility on the part of a person for conditions or
activities that were alleged in that action or proceeding to constitute a public nuisance,
shall nevertheless result in the city being the prevailing party.
3. Provided that the city has made an election to seek attorney's fees, an award of
attorney's fees to a person shall not exceed the amount of reasonable attorney's fees
incurred by the city in that action or proceeding.
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