HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021-09-21; City Council; CS-402; AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CARLSBAD, CALIFORNIA, AMENDING TITLE 6, CHAPTER 6.16 OF THE CARLSBAD MUNICIPAL CODE CONCERNING PUBLIC NUISANCESSept 21, 2021 Item #6 Page 3 of 5
ORDINANCE NO. CS-402
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CARLSBAD,
CALIFORNIA, AMENDING TITLE 6, CHAPTER 6.16 OF THE CARLSBAD
MUNICIPAL CODE CONCERNING PUBLIC NUISANCES
WHEREAS, on October 26, 2020, the City Council adopted Ordinance CS-385 amending
Carlsbad Municipal Code Chapter 6.16 regarding public nuisances and property maintenance in its
entirety; and
WHEREAS, the purpose of Chapter 6.16 of the code is to provide comprehensive and
transparent procedures to identify public nuisances within the City of Carlsbad, encourage
compliance where a public nuisance violation exists, and establish the authority to abate and
recover costs of abatement when the responsible party and/or property owner fails to comply; and
WHEREAS, California Government Code Section 38773.5, subdivision (b), authorizes a city to
adopt an ordinance to "provide for the recovery of attorneys' fees in any action, administrative
pro~eeding, or special proceeding to abate a nuisance;" and
WHEREAS, attorneys' fees can be a significant portion of the costs associated with nuisance
abatement actions and Chapter 6.16 does not currently allow for their recovery; and
WHEREAS, adding a provision for the recovery of attorneys' fees to Chapter 6.16 of the Code
would allow for a greater recovery of the city's costs of nuisance abatement in any action in which the
city prevails; and
WHEREAS, a provision for the recovery of attorneys' fees in a nuisance abatement action is
reasonably necessary for the protection of the health, safety, morals and well-being of the
community. Nuisance conditions by their very nature threaten the health, safety, morals and well-
being of the community, yet bringing a successful nuisance abatement action can be complex and
incur costly attorney expenses. The attorneys_' fees recovery provision will minimize this financial
barrier and enable the city to swiftly and competently bring forward a nuisance abatement action
to protect the community.
NOW, THEREFORE, the City Council of the City of Carlsbad, California, ordains as follows:
1. The above recitations are true and correct.
2. Carlsbad Municipal Code, Title 6, Chapter 6.16, Section 6.16.120 is amended to read as
follows:
Sept 21, 2021 Item #6 Page 4 of 5
6.16.120 Account of cost of abatement to be kept.
A. The city manager or designee shall keep an _account of the cost of abatement and of
rehabilitating, demolishing, or repairing any premises, buildings, or structures, including
any related salvage value and administrative costs. Upon completion of this work, the city
manager or designee shall authorize a written abatement cost report stating these costs.
8. For purposes of this chapter, "administrative costs" includes, without limitation, the actual
expenses and costs of the city in preparing, printing, and mailing notices, specifications
and contracts and in inspecting the work, and may include attorneys' fees.
3. Carlsbad Municipal Code, Title 6, Chapter 6.16, is amended by the addition of Section
6.16.205 to read as follows:
6.16.205 . Attorneys' fees.
In any judicial action, administrative proceeding or special proceeding to abate a nuisance, the
prevailing party shall recover the incurred attorneys' fees as follows:
A. The recovery of attorneys' fees by the prevailing party is limited to those individual actions
or proceedings iri which the city elects, at the initiation of the action or proceeding, to seek
recovery of its own attorneys' fees.
B. In no action, administrative proceeding, or special proceeding shall an award of attorneys'
fees to a prevailing party exceed the amount of reasonable attorneys' fees incurred by the
city in the action or proceeding.
EFFECTIVE DATE: This ordinance shall be effective thirty days after its adoption, provided that
the ordinance is intended to apply to those code enforcement proceedings commenced or continuing
2 years before or any time after the effective date; and the City Clerk's Office shall certify the adoption
of this ordinance and cause the full text of the ordinance or a summary of the ordinance prepared by
the City Attorney to be published at least once in a newspaper of general circulation in the City of
Carlsbad within fifteen days after its adoption.
Sept 21, 2021 Item #6 Page 5 of 5
INTRODUCED AND FIRST READ at a Regular Meeting of the Carlsbad City Council on the 14th
day of September 2021, and thereafter
PASSED, APPROVED AND ADOPTED at a Regular Meeting of the City Council of the City of
Carlsbad on the 21st day of September 2021, by the following vote, to wit:
AYES: Hall, Blackburn, Bhat-Patel, Acosta, Norby
NAYS: None.
ABSENT: None.
APPROVED AS TO FORM AND LEGALITY:
CELIA A. BREWER, City Attorney
(SEAL)