GOALS OF CODE COMPLIANCE

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  PROCEDURES AND TOOLS USED BY CITY TO ACHIEVE COMPLIANCE:
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  Receive, process, investigate and track reported violations of the City Municipal Code.

  Conduct investigations.
• Issue administrative notices, citations, etc.
• Issue orders to stop work for construction/installations without building permits.
• Conduct City abatement.
• Obtain and implement inspection warrants when necessary.
• Apply civil penalties, permit revocation, criminal prosecution and/or civil injunction. 

WHEN CODE COMPLIANCE APPLIES:

  For conditions such as, but not limited to:

• Overgrown, and/or accumulations of vegetation
• Accumulations of trash, junk, debris, brush, lumber, furniture, tools, etcetera
• Discarded appliances
• Abandoned and/or broken equipment
• Graffiti 
• Vehicles, RVs, and campers used for human habitation
• Violation of City zoning ordinances 
• Unauthorized and unpermitted signage
• Substandard housing 
• Unauthorized, unsafe and/or improper occupancy of buildings or property
• Construction and/or installations without a building permit 
• Deteriorated, dangerous and unsafe buildings
• Occupancy of substandard structures 
• Encroachments within a public right of way 
• Hazardous and/or unsanitary environmental conditions
  

WHAT TO KNOW BEFORE FILING AND INVESTIGATION REQUEST/ COMPLAINT:

• The Community Development Department will only respond to Code Compliance investigation requests pertaining to conditions which are addressed in the City Municipal Code, or as otherwise mandated by State of California.
  All Code Compliance investigation requests are treated as confidential.
  The City will not process or respond to anonymous investigation requests.
  
• Investigation Requests will be directed to the City Department or Agency directly responsible for enforcing the specific regulation.  For example, the Community Development Department will respond only to issues such as substandard housing, illegal construction and zoning violations.  All other issues will be referred to and addressed by the appropriate City Departments or Agencies. 
• Not all issues of concern to the public may be of a nature which can or will be addressed by the City. This will be determined at the time a request/complaint is filed or during the investigation process.
• The City will not participate in issues and/or disputes which are of a private civil matter.
• If, while conducting onsite investigations, entry or access is denied or is otherwise not possible, no further action will be taken, and the case will be closed. The exception will be that if there is sufficient reason to believe that a life threatening or hazardous situation or other obvious violation exists. In such cases, the City will pursue the issue(s) as aggressively as is deemed appropriate. 
  
  
  HOW THE PUBLIC CAN HELP REDUCE THE NEED FOR CITY CODE COMPLIANCE:
  
  Please accomplish the following prior to contacting City Code Compliance:
  
• Communicate (in writing) any and all concerns to the owner and/or occupant of the property, or any other party who may be responsible for, or who may be able to bring about a resolution to an issue. 
• Allow adequate time and opportunities for the responsible parties to respond and correct an issue.
• Do everything possible to bring about a resolution to an issue prior to contacting the CIty for assistance.
• If the subject of concern is something that you may have caused and may be responsible for resolving, e.g. removal of garbage, debris and other discarded items, damage to property, etc., please do your part to resolve the matter.
• Conflicts between you and an offending party is a private civil matter, and will not involve City intervention.
• If considering changes regarding land use or construction, become familiar with and voluntarily comply with and all applicable local, state, and federal regulations that may apply to your situation.
• Contact the City to obtain information regarding regulations related to zoning, land use, construction, encroachment in public right of ways, etcetera. Solutions and increased public understanding and awareness are often achieved by a phone call.
• Maintain all buildings and other structures in a safe, sanitary and structurally sound condition.
• Maintain all properties in a safe, sanitary and well kept condition.
• Store all trash, junk, debris and recyclables in proper containers.  Keep the containers out of public view from any street so as not to be offensive to neighbors or the general public.
  Dispose of all trahs, junk and debris on a weekly basis.
  If you have determined that resolving an issue is not your responsibility or is beyond your control, we are available to assist you.
  
  LIMITATIONS OF CITY CODE COMPLIANCE
  

 City Code Compliance will assist in any way possible, however, we cannot respond to the following:
                                                                                                                                            Conditions which are not specifically addressed in the City Municipal Code, or are otherwise mandated by the State of California.

 Issues of a private civil and/or otherwise personal nature.
 Violations of or situations involving covenants, conditions and restrictions (CC&Rs). 

HOW TO OBTAIN CODE COMPLIANCE ASSISTANCE:

The City requires that all Investigation Requests are submitted by way of the City's Investigation Request form.

Obtain and submit an Investigation Request form at City Hall. The form can be mailed upon request.

Download the Code Compliance Investigation Request form from the City's website. The form will download, and should open in Adobe Acrobat Reader (PDF). (Download Acrobat Reader free of charge). Fill out the form right on your screen then print, or, print a blank form and complete by hand and submit to the Community Development Department.

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