Report to Mayor and City Council
Tuesday, July 20, 2021
Discussion
SUBJECT:
Title
CONSIDER INTRODUCTION OF ORDINANCE NO. 21-2117, ADDING SECTIONS 1203.14 ("CIVIL ACTIONS") AND 1203.15 ("RECOVERY OF ATTORNEYS' FEES") TO CHAPTER 2.5 ("ADMINISTRATIVE CITATIONS") OF ARTICLE I ("GENERAL PROVISIONS") OF THE CARSON MUNICIPAL CODE PERTAINING TO CIVIL AND ADMINISTRATIVE ENFORCEMENT OF THE CARSON MUNICIPAL CODE, INCLUDING WITH RESPECT TO RECOVERY OF ATTORNEYS' FEES AND COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH PUBLIC NUISANCE ABATEMENT, AND RENAMING SAID CHAPTER 2.5 (CITY COUNCIL)
Body
I. SUMMARY
The Carson Municipal Code (CMC) delineates various procedures whereby the City can effectuate the administrative abatement of public nuisances, including those found in Chapters 3 (Litter and Weed Control) and 7 (Property Maintenance) of Article V (Sanitation and Health) of the CMC. When the City abates a public nuisance pursuant to said administrative procedures, the current CMC provides for the City to recover its costs of abatement via City Council approval of an abatement cost report that may then be recorded as a nuisance abatement lien or made a special assessment against the subject property (see, e.g., CMC 5329-5331, 5712-5714). However, there is no express provision in the CMC for recovery of City's attorneys' fees incurred in public nuisance abatement proceedings. Attorneys' fees frequently must be incurred to successfully complete such proceedings, as the City may be required to obtain abatement warrants, participate in administrative appeal hearings, or complete other actions or tasks requiring legal expertise when a property owner refuses to voluntarily abate a public nuisance.
Government Code (GC) Section 38773.5(b) authorizes a city to establish, by ordinance, a procedure for the recovery of prevailing party attorneys' fees and costs in any action, administrative proceeding, or special proceeding to abate a nuisance. The primary purpose of the proposed ordinance is to exercise ...
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