§ 13.12.115. Summary abatement and responsibility for expense of abatement.

A.

Summary abatement. As an alternative to the removal provisions set forth in Section 13.12.110, the director of the department of public works or his or her designee or any additional department head as authorized by the board of supervisors, may summarily abate any nuisance resulting from the defacement of the property of another by graffiti or any other inscribed material at the expense of the minor or other person creating, causing, or committing the nuisance and make the expense of abatement of the nuisance a lien against the property of the minor or other person and a personal obligation against the minor or other person.

B.

Joint and several liability of parent or guardian. The parent or guardian having custody and control of a minor committing a nuisance described in subsection A, shall be jointly and severally liable with the minor for the expense of abatement. The unpaid expense of abatement of any nuisance resulting from the defacement of the property of another by graffiti or any other inscribed material shall become a lien against the property of a parent or guardian having custody and control of the minor, and a personal obligation against the parent or guardian having custody and control of the minor.

C.

The county probation officer shall report the names and addresses of the parent or guardian having custody and control of a minor committing a nuisance described in subsection A, if known, to the county recorder and to the department of public works.

D.

Definitions. For the purpose of this section, the following terms have the following meanings:

1.

"Expense of abatement" includes, but is not limited to, court costs, attorney's fees, costs of removal of the graffiti or other inscribed material, costs of repair and replacement of defaced property, and the law enforcement costs incurred by the county in identifying and apprehending the minor or other person.

2.

"Graffiti or other inscribed material" means any unauthorized inscription, word, figure, mark, or design that is written, marked, etched, scratched, drawn, or painted on any real or personal property.

3.

"Minor" or "other person" means a minor or other person who has confessed to, admitted to, or pled guilty or nolo contendere to a violation of section 594, 594.3, 640.5, 640.6, or 640.7 of the Penal Code; or a minor convicted by final judgment of a violation of section 594, 594.3, 640.5, 640.6, or 640.7 of the Penal Code; or a minor declared a ward of the juvenile court pursuant to section 602 of the Welfare and Institutions Code by reason of the commission of an act prohibited by section 594, 594.3, 640.5, 640.6, or 640.7 of the Penal Code.

E.

Collection of expenses of abatement.

1.

Abatement expense statement. Upon the determination of the expense of abatement, the sheriff, the director of the department of public works, the county ombudsman, or his or her designee, or any additional department head as authorized by the board of supervisors, shall send an abatement expense statement to the responsible person(s) pursuant to subsection A, and if applicable, subsection B, above. Payment shall be due fifteen (15) days from the service of the abatement expense statement. Failure to pay the full amount specified in the abatement expense statement within the required time period shall constitute an additional violation of this chapter, and administrative fines and/or noncompliance fees pursuant to Chapter 1.25 may be assessed in addition to any other fine, penalty, fee, charge, notice of violation, or other remedy that may be imposed.

2.

Hearing; Notice.

a.

Within ten (10) days of the mailing of the abatement expense statement, any person served with an abatement expense statement may file with the county representative who issued the statement, a written request for a hearing on the correctness, reasonableness, or both of such claim of abatement costs. The sheriff, the director of the department of public works or his or her designee, or any additional county department head, as authorized by the board of supervisors, shall then cause notice of the time and place of the hearing before the sheriff or the director of the applicable department or his or her designee to be given to the person requesting the same by the United States mail, postage prepaid, addressed to the person at his/her last known address at least five days in advance of the hearing.

b.

At the hearing, the sheriff or director of the applicable department or his or her designee shall receive all evidence presented by the responsible person and by the county. Thereupon, the sheriff or director of the applicable department or his or her designee shall make such revision, correction, and modification to the statement as deemed warranted, after which the statement as submitted, or as revised, corrected, or modified, shall be confirmed. The decision of the sheriff or the director of the applicable department or his or her designee shall be final.

c.

Suspension of abatement costs. The obligation to pay the expenses of abatement otherwise required under subsection E.1 of this section shall be suspended during the pendency of any hearing provided for under subsection E.2, above. Upon the sheriff or the director of the applicable department or his or her designee rendering his or her decision following a hearing, payment of the confirmed or otherwise revised, corrected, or modified abatement expense statement shall be made within ten (10) days following service of the sheriff or the director of the applicable department's decision upon the responsible person.

3.

Lien against real property for unpaid expenses.

a.

The county may make the unpaid expenses of abatement a lien against the property of the person committing a nuisance described in subsection A, above, and, where such person is a minor, against the property of the parent or guardian having custody and control of such minor.

b.

Notice. Notice shall be given to the minor or other person and to the parent or guardian having custody and control of the minor prior to the recordation of a lien on the parcel of land owned by the minor or other person, or owned by the parent or guardian having custody and control of the minor.

c.

Service of notice. Notice shall be served in the same manner as a summons in a civil action pursuant to Article 3 (commencing with section 415.10) of Chapter 4 of Title 5 of Part 2 of the Code of Civil Procedure. If the minor or other person, and/or the parent or guardian having custody and control of the minor, after diligent search, cannot be found, the notice may be served by posting a copy of the notice upon the property owned by the minor or other person, and/or the parent or guardian having custody and control of the minor, in a conspicuous place, for a period of ten (10) days. The notice shall also be published pursuant to Government Code section 6062 in a newspaper of general circulation that is published in the county in which the property is located.

d.

A graffiti nuisance abatement lien shall be recorded in the county recorder's office in the county in which the parcel of land is located. From the date of recording, the lien shall have the force, effect, and priority of a judgment lien.

e.

A graffiti nuisance abatement lien authorized by this section shall specify the amount of the lien; the name of the agency on whose behalf the lien is imposed; the date of the abatement order; the street address, legal description, and assessor's parcel number of the parcel on which the lien is imposed; and the name and address of the recorded owner of the parcel.

f.

If the lien is discharged, released, or satisfied, either through payment or foreclosure, notice of the discharge containing the information specified in subsection e, above, shall be recorded by the county. A graffiti nuisance abatement lien and the release of the lien shall be indexed in the grantor-grantee index.

g.

A graffiti nuisance abatement lien may be satisfied through foreclosure in an action brought by the county.

h.

As provided in California Government Code section 38773.2, the county recorder may impose a fee on the county to reimburse the costs of processing and recording the lien and providing notice to the property owner. The county may recover from the property owner any costs incurred regarding the processing and recording of the lien and providing notice to the property owner as part of its foreclosure action to enforce the lien.

4.

Assessment of Costs Against Property For Unpaid Expenses. The unpaid expenses for abating a graffiti nuisance, as confirmed by the board of supervisors, shall constitute a special assessment against the lot or parcel of property owned by the person committing a nuisance described in subsection A, above, and, where such person is a minor, against the lot or parcel of property owned by the parent or guardian having custody and control of such minor, and upon recordation in the Office of the Los Angeles County Recorder of a notice of lien, as so made and confirmed, shall constitute a lien on the property for the amount of such assessment.

a.

After such confirmation and recordation, a copy shall be filed with the Auditor-Controller of Los Angeles County in order that said officials may add the amounts of the respective assessments to the next regular tax bills levied against the respective lots and parcels of land, and thereafter said amounts shall be collected at the same time and in the same manner as ordinary municipal taxes are collected, and shall be subject to the same procedure under foreclosure and sale in case of delinquency as provided for ordinary municipal taxes; or

b.

After such recordation, such lien may be foreclosed by judicial or other sale in the manner and means provided by law.

F.

Upon the entry of a second or subsequent civil or criminal judgment within a two-year period finding that an owner of property or a minor or other person as defined in this section is responsible for a condition that may be abated in accordance with this provision, except for conditions abated pursuant to section 17980 of the Health and Safety Code, the court may order that person to pay treble the costs of the abatement.

(Ord. 2009-0007 § 2, 2009; Ord. 2008-0044 § 8, 2008.)