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11 ORDINANCE NO.
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2j AN ORDINANCE OF THE .CITY OF SAN BERNARDINO AMENDING
ORDINANCE NO. 229.1 ENTITLED IN PART "AN ORDINANCE DECLAR-
3; ING BUILDINGS WHICH ARE STRUCTURALLY UNSAFE TO BE PUBLIC
~ NUISANCES ."; FURTHER DEFINING UNSAFE BUILDINGS; PROVIDING
4i FOR FIRST NOTICE TO THE OWNER; PROVIDING THAT TITLE SEARCH,
INSPECTION AND ADMINISTRATIVE .COSTS OF ABATEMENT OF UNSAFE BUILD-
5 INGS MAY BE MADE LIENS ON THE REAL PROPERTY; PROVIDING FOR PRO-
CEDURES TO ABATE OTHER PUBLIC NUISANCES AND TO SECURE DANGEROUS
6 BUILDINGS FROM ENTRY; AND REPEALING ORDINANCE N05.1957,AND 618.
7~ THE MAYOR AND COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAN BERNARDINO
DO ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
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SECTION 1. Ordinance No. 2291 Section One is hereby
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i amended to read as follows.: ~
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"Section One: All buildings or structures which are
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structurally unsafe or not provided with adequate egress, or
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which constitute a fire hazard or are otherwise dangerous to
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human life or which in relation to existing use 'constitute a
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hazard to safety or health, or public welfare, by reason of in-
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adequate. maintenance, dilapidation, obsolescence, fire hazard,
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or abandonment as specified in the latest editions of the
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Uniform Building Code and the Uniform Housing Code adopted by
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the City of San Bernardino or any other effective ordinance,
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~ or which are defined as 'substandard buildings' in said Uniform
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Housing Code are hereby declared to be unsafe buildings and
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public nuisances and such nuisances may be abated by repair,
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rehabilitation, demolition or removal of such unsafe buildings
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in accordance with the proper procedures."
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i SECTION 2.. Ordinance No. 2291 Section Two is hereby
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amended to' read as follows:
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~ "Section Two: The Building Official of the City of
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San Bernardino shall examine or cause to be examined every build-
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ing or structure or portion thereof reported as dangerous or
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damaged, and if such is found to be an unsafe building, the
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Building Official shall give to the owners of record as appear
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on the latest tax assessment rolls written notice stating the
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1 defects thereof. This notice shall require the owner to commence
2 either the required repairs or improvements or demolition and
3 removal of the. building or structure or portions thereof within
4 ten (10 )' days 'and to complete such work within sixty (60) days
5 from the date of notice, unless otherwise stipulated by the Build-
6 ing Official. If necessary, such notice shall also require the
7 building or structure, or portion thereof, to be vacated forthwith
8 and not reoccupied until the required repairs and improvements.
gj are completed, inspected, and approved by the Building Official.
10~~ The notice shall be served upon all persons entitled
111 thereto., either personally or by certified mail. Service by certi-
12~ fied mail shall be effective on the. date of mailing if a certi-
13 fied letter containing a copy of such notice is duly mailed,
14 postage prepaid, return receipt requested, to each such person
15 at the address of such person as it appears on~the last equalized
16 assessment roll of the County or as known to the Building Official.
17I If no such address so appears, or is known to the Building Official
18 then a copy shall be addressed to such person at the address of
19l the building or structure involved in the proceedings. The failure
20 of any owner or other person in interest to receive such notice
21 shall not affect in any manner the validity of any proceedings
22 taken hereunder. The Building Official shall also post conspicu-
23 ously at least one copy of a notice (bearing title letters one
24 inch high: 'NOTICE TO ABATE NUISANCE') on the building or structur
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25 alleged to be unsafe."
26 SECTION 3: Ordinance No. 2291 Section Three is hereby
27 amended to read as follows.:
28j "Section Three: If the owner of the building or structure
29i does not comply with said notice by commencing the required work
30~ within the time allowed or make such .other arrangements as may
31 be satisfactory to the Building Official, the Building Official
32'~ shall thereupon serve personally or by certified mail as provided
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1 above the following form of notice to the owner and a copy to any
2i lien, mortgage or trust deed holder or lessee as may appear from
3 a title search obtained from a title company, the cost of said
4 title search to be charged to the owner in the same manner and i
5i using the same procedure as all other costs. incurred by the City i
61 which are to be charged to the owner as -set forth in Section
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7 Seven of this ordinance.
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8 NOTICE OF HEARING BEFORE THE BOARD OF BUILDING
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9 COMMISSIONERS OF THE CITY OF SAN BERNARDINO.
10~ The owner of the. building situated. at
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11 is hereby notified to ap-
12 pear before the Board of Building Commissioners
13! of the. City of San Bernardino at its meeting to
be held on ~ at
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15 the. Council Chambers, Garner Building, 352 Court
16~ Street, San Bernardino, California, at :the hour
171 of or as soon thereafter as
he may be heard, and show :cause, if any he has,
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19 why said building shriuld not be condemned as a
20, public nuisance .and said nuisance be abated by
21 the City of San Bernardino by razing, demolishing,
22 and removing same and charging the costs thereof
23 to the owner as provided in Ordinance No. 229'1.
The sum of costs incurred to date and the
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25 alleged defects of the building are set forth in
26 Exh'ibit'"A" attached hereto. and incorporated
27 herein by reference.
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29 Clerk of the Boar of Building
Commissioners, City of San Ber-
30 nardino"
31~ SECTION 4. Ordinance No. 229.1 Section Four is hereby
3211 amended to read as follows.:
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1 "Section Four: At the time fixed in the. Notice or at
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2 the time of the .continued hearing, the Board of Building Com-
3 missioners of the City of San Bernardino shall proceed to hear
4 the. testimony and consider the evidence of the Building Official
5 and his representatives and assistants and of the owner and his
6 representatives and of other. competent persons who may be present
7~ and desire to' testify respecting the. condition of the. building,
$ the estimated cost of its'. reconstruction, repair, or removal,
9 and any other matter which the Board of Building Commissioners
10 may deem pertinent thereto. Upon the conclusion of the hearing,
11~~ the Board of Building Commissioners may continue 'the. proceedings
12 or may by resolution declare .its findings and conclusions and,
131 in the event it so concludes, it may declare said building to be
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14I a public nuisance and may direct the owner to commence abatement
15i of the same within ten (1.0)' days after the date of posting on
~ 16 the. premises. a Notice 'of the passage of the resolution and to
17 complete said abatement within sixty (60)' days thereafter by
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18 having the same properly reconstructed or repaired or by having
19 it razed or removed and may notify the owner that if the nuisance
20i is not .abated, the building will be razed, demolished, and removed
21~ by the City of San Bernardino or by person or persons 'authorized
22 by the Building Official and the expexise thereof made a lien on
23 the lot or parcel of land upon which the building is located. The .
24 Board may further declare that the owner, occupant, lessee, or
25 other person in poss'e'ss'i'on must. vacate. said building or structure,
26 or that he may remain in possession while repairs are being made.
27 Within ten (IO)' days after the premises are posted, the
28 Clerk of the Board of Building Commissioners shall mail. copies. of
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29' the resolution to th.e owner and other persons in interest to
30 their addresses as 'shown on the latest equalized assessment rolls
31~ or as known by the Building Official. Two copies of the resolutio
321 shall also be forwarded to the City Clerk for transmitting to the
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1 Mayor and Common Council. Failure to mail or forward said copies
2 shall not affect the validity of the proceedings.
3 In the event the public nuisance is abated by the owner
4 within the time prescribed by the Board of Building Commissioners
5 or prior to its- hearing but subsequent to the time limits allowed
6 by the Building Official in his Notice as provided in Section
7 Two hereof and the incurring of expenses by the Building Official
8 including the costs of the title search, and administrative, over-
9i head and incidental expenses, the Board of Building Commissioners
'~ 10 may proceed with the noticed hearing to: consider whether, or may
11I further declare by resolution that, as the case may be, such ex-
12' penses and other relevant. costs shall be made a lien on the lot
13 or land upon which the. building was located and become a debt
14~ owed to the City by the owner. After the making of such declara-
15, tion, the Building Official shall submit an itemized statement
16 of such costs- and expenses to the. City Clerk who shall follow
17 the procedures 'set forth in Section Six hereof relating to
18 notice and a hearing. The hearing and subsequent proceedings and
19 procedures shall be governed by the provisions of Section Seven
20 hereof."
21 SECTION 5. Ordinance No. 2291 Section Six is hereby
22 amended to read as follows:
23 "Section Six: In the event the nuisance is not abated by
24 the owner within the time prescribed, the Street Superintendent
25 is authorized to raze, demolish, and remove the building or to
26 designate an independent. .contractor to raze, demolish, and remove
27 such building. The. Street Superintendent shall keep an itemized
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28istatement of the expenses involved in the razing, demolishing and
29I'removing of such building and relevant administrative, incidental
30,and overhead expenses of the City including but not .limited to the
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3licosts of inspections of the property, a preliminary title search
32~,~of the property and items 9f expense required to prepare the
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1 matter for hearing, whether or not such hearing is held. The
2 Street Superintendent shall submit this itemized statement to the
3 City Clerk, who shall seta date for hearing on the statement by
4 the Council and shall mail a copy of the statement to the person
5. owning the land, and to any mortgagee or lien holder, along with
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6 a notice of the time and place the statement shall be submitted
7' to the Common Council. The City Clerk shall post a copy of the.
8 statement on or near the door of the Council Chambers, Garner
9' Building, 392 Court Street, San Bernardino, at .least five (5)
10 days prior to such submission.
11 If the order of the Board to' reconstruct, repair, raze,
12 or demolish has not been. complied with within the time set by
13i the Board, the materials of any such building or structure may be
14i sold after notice in any manner which 'the Street Superintendent
15I may determine to be reasonable; provided that any such sale shall
16 be made upon condition that the wreckage and debris shall be
17 removed and the lot cleaned. Any monies or proceeds from the
18 sale of such building or structure 'and its materials shall first
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19 be used to reduce the. costs incurred by the City, including but
20i not limited to the. costs of demolition, cleaning the site, search-
21 ing the title, and inspections and thereafter any surplus monies
22 shall be distributed to the parties. lawfully entitled thereto."
23 SECTION 6. Ordinance No. 22.91 is hereby amended by
24~; renumbering Section Nos. Eight, Nine and Ten to Section Nos. Nine,
25 Ten and Eleven respectively, the provisions of each of said Sec-
26 tions being adopted and reenacted in the same form and substance.
27~ SECTION 7. Ordinance No. 2291 is hereby amended by
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28 adding thereto Section Eight to read as follows:
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29~ "Section Eight: (a) In addition to the procedures pro-
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30; vided for abatement of nuisances caused by dangerous and hazardous
31 structures as -set forth in this ordinance, the Building Official
32 or his representative is hereby given summary power to secure
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1 from entry any structure which in his discretion he determines to
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2' be immediate:Ty dangerous or hazardous, or in any other manner `
3 injurious to public health or safety. Such structures may be
4I secured by the. Building Official by nailing boards over the doors
5' and windows of such structures; however, he shall not be limited
6i to only this method and may use other methods at his discretion
7i to accomplish the same purpose which may be more appropriate under
8~ the. circumstances. The Building Official shall also post a sign
9 stating in effect 'DANGER, DO NOT ENTER' upon the structure in at
10I least one conspicuous place, with the wording `DANGER' in letters
11~~ at least one inch in height. The Building Official shall im-
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12 mediately after such .action mail notice to the. owners of the real
13` property upon which the. structure is located to the address on the
14~ latest :equalized assessment .rolls, or, if no address is so shown,
15 to the address of the property or as may be known by the Building
16 Official. Such notice 'shall contain the following information:
17 (1) that he has seoured the structure; (2) the cost incurred by
18I the. City thereby;'(3.)' that he has posted signs as provided by this
19 section; (4.) the. reasons why he has taken the action; (5.) that an
20 appeal may be made within ten (I0) days to' the. Common Council,
21 as provided by this section; (5) that if his action is not annulled
22 by the Common Council, the cost of securing the property shall
23 become a lien upon the real property, unless the cost is paid to
24i the City within thirty (30) days of the mailing of the notice. If
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25 any owner of property, or any person having any interest in propert ,
26 affected by the action of the Building Official in securing a j
27 structure as permitted by this section, is aggrieved by the action
28i of the Building Official in securing the. structure, such person or
29'persons may appeal th:e action of the Building Official by filing a
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30 written notice of appeal with the City Clerk ten (1.0)' days-after
'~ 31 '. the mailing of notice of the action by the Building. Official. The.
'~ 324 notice of appeal must be verified under oath or under penalty of
perjury and must state. the grounds upon which the action of the
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11 Building Official is appealed. The. Common Council shall, upon
2 receiving such. notice of appeal, hear any evidence or other relevan
3 matters presented by the appellant or the. Building Official at
4 its next xegular meeting after the filing of the: notice of appeal,
5 provided, however, if the notice of appeal is filed on the day
6 of a regular meeting of the Common Council, the hearing shall not
ry be held at the meeting he Id that day, but at the next .regular
g meeting. After hearing all evidence and other relevant matters
g presented at said hearing, or without hearing if no appeal is
10 made upon the .report of the Building Official, the Common Council
lli may then confirm, amend, or annul the action of the Building
12 Official. If the action of the. Building Official is annulled, the
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13~ City, at its own expense shall remove any and all instruments used
14~ to secure said structure, and shall remove any and all signs stat-
1511 ing that the building is unsafe to enter. If, however, the Common
16i Council confirms the action of the Building Official in securing
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17j the. structure at the: hearing of appeal, or if no appeal is -taken
lg at any other regular meeting or adjourned meeting, then the cost
].gi incurred by the City in securing the .structure shall become a
20~ lien against the property and a resolution of the Common Council
21 confirming the action of the Buildin Official includin the
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22 imposition of a lien. upon the property upon which the structure is
23 located to pay for the cost of securing it, may be adopted upon
24i receipt of a report from the. Building Official. Such resolution
25 may be filed with the San Bernardino County Tax Assessor, and the
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26 lien imposed thereby shall be collected for the City by him, along
27 with the next annual tax levy and assessment on-said property.
281 (b) The same procedure 'as provided for in Section Eight
29i Subsection (a) of this ordinance for abating nuisances through
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301 securing from entry any structure which is determined by the
3111 Building Official to be 'immediately dangerous 'or hazardous may
321; also be used by the. Building Official in connection wiah the
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l~summary abatement of all other nuisances upon private property
2, which the Building Official determines at his discretion to
31 constitute. an immediately dangerous or hazardous condition. The
4 Building Official or his representative may then summarily abate
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5'i such nuisance at his discretion in the most appropriate manner
6' under the circumstances., which may include, but shall not be
7' limited to the following methods; Fencing, draining water from
8 swimming pools 'and filling with appropriate ballast, removing
9 fire hazards, filling or covering open holes• and grading or
10 strengthening land fills or excavations. Although the manner
111 and method used by the Building Official shall be at his discretion
12i he shall, in making his determinations, seek the most economical
131 method and endeavor not to place an undue economical hardship
14 upon the owner of the. property, and only use those measures which
15 will eliminate the dangerous and hazardous features. Notice of
16 the action shall be sent to the record owner of the property
17 affected, as shown on the last equalized assessment rolls, and
lg~ procedures for appeal, hearing, establishing of lien, collecting
19; of the lien by the assessor, and other actions by the Common
20i Council shall be the same as that provided in Section Eight
21j Subsection (a) of this ordinance.
221 (c) In the event the Building Official shall cause summary
23 abatement of any condition herein provided and as an alternate
24~ method to insure that payment is made to the City for the costs
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2g of such abatement in cases involving abandoned structures, the
26 Building Official is authorized to direct .all utility companies
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27 to discontinue .any utility services or connection to the property ~
2gI~lI upon which the structure is located; and the utility companies
2911 shall not reconnect until full payment of such cost is made to
gpj the City as determined by the Building Official."
gll SECTION 8. Ordinance No. 1957 and 618 are hereby repealed.
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34 I HEREBY CERTIFY that the foregoing ordinance was duly
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l~adopted by the. Mayor and Common Council of the City of San Ber- ~,
2 nardino at a meeting thereof,
3 held on the ay o 197Q by the following vote,
4 to wit:
5 AYES : Councilmen fo.~~!® ~
'~//,. ,G.. l
7 NOES : ~~~j/
8 ABSENT: ~ta~n~~~~i~i' ~i~i~.r~~17if//i-~~~'~F /_~r2/A../
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to ~
`~erc
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12' The foregoing ordinance is hereby approved this ]'~ da~~
13 ~ of ,- 1974.. ~"~~`~CCC
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15
i Mayor o the City o Sa Bernardino
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17 Approved as 'to form:
19i City At rney
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~.uctc~t oo~oRT~, as c~
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