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Planning and Building Department, Code Enforcement Division, recommending the Board Approve the Final Passage (Second Reading) of Ordinance 5174 to amend Chapter 9.02., of the El Dorado County Code of Ordinances, related to Code Enforcement activities.
FUNDING: N/A
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DISCUSSION / BACKGROUND
On February 21, 2023 the Board Approved the Introduction (First Reading) of Ordinance 5174 to amend Chapter 9.02., of the El Dorado County Code of Ordinances, related to Code Enforcement activities and Continued the matter to March 21, 2023 for Final Passage (Second Reading).
On October 11, 2022, Code Enforcement and County Counsel staff discussed ordinance amendments to Chapter 9.02 with the Board of Supervisors to better enable Code Enforcement Officers to carry out their duties enforcing building, zoning, and health and safety-related rules and regulations. In addition to discussion of those amendments, staff briefed the Board on the need to streamline the notification and order process.
Staff have reviewed procedures from other jurisdictions and have noted that El Dorado County’s process is longer and more complex. Current procedure is as follows: A Notice of Violation is sent to a property owner which commences a process whereby the property owner may appeal to a hearing before a neutral administrative hearing officer. This hearing can be held up to 20 days out from the request for appeal. If they lose at the administrative hearing, the owner may then appeal the Notice to Correct to the Superior Court. This greatly lengthens the time it takes to mitigate and resolve code cases. The current Notice to Correct allows for an appeal prior to the levy of any fine or issuance of a Citation. An appeal of the Notice to Correct can delay the issuance of any Citation by several months. Once all appeals on the Notice are resolved, the County may then issue a fine and Citation. The owner then has the opportunity to go through another two (2) appeals regarding the C...
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