City Council Agenda Report
Meeting Date: September 2, 2025
From: Daniel S. Wall, P.E., Director of Public Works
Department: Public Works
Submitted by: Daniel S. Wall, P.E., Director of Public Works Subject
Code Enforcement Update
Recommendation
A. Find that the proposed action is not a project within the meaning of Section 15378 of the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) Guidelines because it has no potential for resulting in physical change in the environment, either directly or ultimately. In the event that the proposed Ordinance is found to be a project under CEQA, it is subject to the CEQA exemption contained in CEQA Guidelines Section 15061(b)(3) because it can be seen with certainty to have no possibility of a significant effect on the environment; B. Introduce, read by title only, and waive further reading of Ordinance No. 1308 Amending Certain Sections of Chapters 1.08 (Administrative Citations), 8.20 (Nuisances), and 10.16 (Parking Regulations) of the Vernon Municipal Code regarding Public Nuisances, Administrative Citations, and Enforcement of Code Violations;
C. Direct staff to schedule the adoption for the September 16, 2025, Regular City Council Meeting; and
D. Adopt Resolution No. 2025-021 adopting amended Administrative Citation and Civil Penalties Fee Schedules pursuant to the Vernon Municipal Code and repealing Resolution No. 2011-195.
Background
The Vernon Municipal Code (VMC) dictates the general laws of the City as enacted by ordinances of the City Council. The VMC contains regulations related to many areas including, but not limited to, building and safety, zoning, nuisances, and parking. The goal of code enforcement is compliance with the VMC. In most instances, compliance is achieved through outreach and education. Generally, property owners and tenants are willing to remedy any noncompliance after a few interactions with City staff. However, in some instances, additional tools are required to obtain compliance. Having reviewed the existing enforcement provisions of the VMC, and in discussions with the Public Works Department, Police Department and code enforcement personnel, the City Attorney’s office drafted the proposed ordinance to better enable the City to preserve the Vernon community.
The four primary enforcement tools include:
1. Administrative citations and civil penalties—issued by City Code Enforcement Officers, these are essentially “tickets” that include fines. An administrative appeal is available to challenge these citations and civil penalties.
2. Criminal prosecution—this includes criminal cases filed as infractions (potential fines) or misdemeanors (potential fines and jail).
3. Nuisance Abatement—a civil lawsuit or proceeding, brought to achieve compliance with the code where there is the potential for recovery of the City’s costs and attorney’s fees through liens or court orders.
4. Administrative Abatement – an administrative proceeding to declare a property or condition of a property a public nuisance. If a hearing officer or local appeals board determines that a public nuisance exists, the owner is required to abate the nuisance. In the event the owner does not comply, the City may obtain a warrant from the superior court, perform the abatement itself, and recover its costs.
The proposed ordinance revises the City’s Municipal Code and includes the following revisions and additions:
1. Amendments to Chapter 1.08 to achieve the following:
A. Update the fine amounts as allowed by State law for violations of local building and safety codes;
B. Clarify code enforcement personnel’s authority to issue criminal citations for Municipal Code violations and the City Attorney’s authority to prosecute Municipal Code violations or file civil actions to abate public nuisance conditions; C. Strengthen the definition of public nuisance to include any code violation or violation of a City-issued land use permit, approval, or license, and clarify that property owners are responsible for Municipal Code violations committed and public nuisance conditions created by their tenants;
D. Authorize the recovery of attorney’s fees by the prevailing party in nuisance abatement actions and administrative proceedings. State law authorizes cities to adopt ordinances providing for the recovery of attorneys’ fees by the prevailing party in public nuisance actions. The Municipal Code does not currently allow for the recovery of attorneys’ fees.
Violators, therefore, are not required to reimburse the City for legal costs that it incurs when bringing a property into compliance. The proposed ordinance brings the Municipal Code in line with state law and allows the prevailing party in any administrative or judicial action to abate a nuisance to recover its fees. The recovery of such fees is critical; not only does fee recovery deter violations in the first instance, but it also deters violators from engaging in unnecessary litigation tactics. Please note that fee recovery under this proposed ordinance will only be available if the City elects at the outset of the action to recover its fees and the amount to be recovered cannot exceed the amount of reasonable attorneys' fees incurred by the City in the action or proceeding; E. Update applicable definitions to be consistent with the proposed amendments and state law and make grammatical and capitalization revisions where appropriate; F. Create a Local Appeals Board for administrative appeals related to building code violations. Under California Building Code section 1.8.8.1, there must be a Local Appeals Board to hear appeals related to the violation of any of the uniform building codes that the City adopts and incorporates every three years. In the absence of an appointed Local Appeals Board, the City Council would serve as the Local Appeals Board; and
G. Add Section 1.08.090 regarding payment plans for administrative citations and civil penalties. A payment plan would be available for those responsible parties that abated the nuisance for which they were cited or have submitted an acceptable plan for abatement of the nuisance. Payment plans would be subject to approval by the Public Works Director.
2. Amendments to Chapter 8.20 to achieve the following:
A. Revisions to administrative appeal procedures to include references to the Local Appeals Board where appropriate;
B. Updates to the provisions regarding administrative abatement and cost recovery to ensure consistency with the overall code update, including authority and procedures to recover attorney’s fees as appropriate;
C. Revise the provisions relating to the procedures for imposing special assessments and liens for the recovery of administrative abatement costs to ensure consistency with state nuisance abatement law, as set forth in Government Code sections 38773.1 and 38773.5; and
D. Update the City’s procedures for those rare instances in which City personnel must act immediately to abate a public nuisance that poses an immediate threat to public health and safety. These updates are necessary to ensure that any emergency abatement action will comply with a responsible party’s due process rights and preserve the City’s ability to recover its abatement costs.
3. Amendments to Chapter 10.16.060 to authorize the application of the Vehicle Code to Furlong Place and to authorize parking enforcement by City personnel on this City-owned, private residential street. This would allow the ability to issue citations as a means of parking enforcement instead of towing vehicles as is currently the only option.
Resolution No. 2025-021 amends the fees for administrative citations and civil penalties as updated by Ordinance No. 1308. As such, Resolution No. 2025-021 would become effective upon the effective date of Ordinance No. 1308.
Fiscal Impact
There is no fiscal impact associated with this report.
Attachments
1. Ordinance No. 1308
2. Resolution No. 2025-021
3. Notice to Furlong Place Tenants (English)
4. Notice to Furlong Place Tenants (Spanish)