ORD 562U ORDINANCE NO. 562U
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF RANCHO PALOS VERDES REGARDING
PROLONGED CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS THAT ARE ADVERSELY AFFECTING
NEIGHBORING PROPERTIES, REPEALING ORDINANCE NO. 548U AND
ORDINANCE NO. 549, AMENDING THE RANCHO PALOS VERDES MUNICIPAL
CODE, AND DECLARING THE URGENCY THEREOF.
RECITALS
1. When permitted construction projects are commenced by property owners, they typically
are completed within the periods of time specified in the Municipal Code. It is not
unusual, however, for a substantial construction project to require the issuance of a
permit extension and the issuance of a subsequent building permit and extension, which
means that a project can be under construction for more than two years.
2. There is at least one project in the City that has been ongoing for more than four years,
with permits for the same work having been extended and reissued on several
occasions. The property owners continue to apply for more permits from the City and
still have not completed work that had already commenced. This project has been
ongoing for more than four years and has been disrupting the neighbors' ability to enjoy
their properties for that time and has become a nuisance.
3. The City Council previously adopted an ordinance to address this situation, but the
construction on that project still has not been completed, even though an additional year
has passed.
4. It is necessary to adopt another urgency ordinance that will amend the Municipal Code
to address these unusual circumstances to impose financial penalties, to require the
payment of a deposit to cover the penalties and to impose a hiatus on issuance of
subsequent permits at the property so the neighbors' ability to enjoy their properties will
not continue to be adversely affected and their ability to enjoy their properties will be
restored;
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF RANCHO PALOS
VERDES DOES ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Title 15 of the Rancho Palos Verdes Municipal Code is hereby amended by
adding new chapter 15.46 thereto to read as follows:
Chapter 15.46
TIME LIMITS FOR COMPLETION OF CONSTRUCTION*
Sections:
15.46.010 Short title.
15.46.020 Purpose.
15.46.030 Application.
15.46.040 Construction completion.
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15.46.050 Time limits for construction completion.
15.46.060 Other time limits.
15.46.070 Effect of failure to comply with time limits for construction completion.
15.46.080 Construction completion deposit.
15.46.090 Appeals.
15.46.100 Administration and enforcement.
15.46.010 Short title.
This chapter shall be known as the "Construction Completion Chapter."
15.46.020 Purpose.
It is the intent of this chapter to provide a mechanism to require property owners seeking
to improve their properties to complete said construction in a reasonable amount of time as
provided in the code. The goal is to ensure neighbors and neighborhoods quality of life is
maintained and activities associated with construction such as increased noise, traffic and
associated impacts are managed in a way to ensure construction is completed in a timely way.
15.46.030 Application.
This chapter shall apply to construction projects, including all additions, alterations,
remodels, modifications, repairs, and improvements, performed pursuant to one or more
unexpired building permits for a period of at least four years that are adversely affecting
adjacent properties or the owners or occupants thereof, as documented in written complaints
submitted to the building official or director of community development, referred to as
"applicable work." The obligations imposed by this chapter to timely complete construction and
pay all penalties for construction not timely completed shall run with the land and apply not only
to the original building permit property owner but to all subsequent owners of the subject
property until all obligations imposed by this chapter are fully satisfied.
15.46.040 Construction completion.
For the purposes of this chapter, construction shall be deemed complete upon the
satisfactory performance of all construction work, including but limited to compliance with all
conditions of application approval and the clearing and cleaning of all construction-related
materials and debris from the site, and the final inspection and written approval of the applicable
work by the City building official.
15.46.050 Time limits for construction completion.
The maximum time for completion of construction shall not exceed the time periods for
the expiration of permits that are set forth in Section 15.18.050 of this Code
15.46.060 Other time limits.
(a) No building permit shall be issued for any project that is subject to the provisions
of this chapter within eighteen months of final inspection or expiration of an antecedent building
permit unless the building official determines that the earlier issuance of a building permit will
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not cause significant harm or adverse effects on the surrounding neighborhood. This section
shall not apply to:
(1) Emergency work;
2)Work that is necessary to preserve the integrity of the structure or the
property; or
(3)Work that, in the opinion of the building official, will mitigate impacts upon an
adjacent property.
(b) In making a determination pursuant to this section, the building official shall
consider traffic, parking, noise and other environmental impacts on the neighborhood from
waiving the eighteen month waiting period and the visual, drainage, safety and other
environmental impacts of any uncompleted construction.
(c) The building official also shall consider whether the property owner's inability to
timely complete the project was completely beyond the control of the property owner and his/her
representatives.
(1) Such reasons shall include, but are not limited to: labor stoppages; acts of
war or terrorism; natural disasters; fire; presence of endangered species, and
unforeseen discovery of archaeological remains on the building site.
(2) Such reasons shall not include: delays caused by the winter-rainy
season; the use of custom and/or imported materials; the use of highly specialized
subcontractors; significant, numerous, or late design changes; access difficulties
associated with the site; failure of materials suppliers to provide such materials in a
timely manner; or delays associated with project financing.
(d) A decision of the building official made pursuant to this section may be appealed
to the City Council by any interested party.
15.46.070 Effect of failure to comply with time limits for construction completion.
(a) Upon failure of a property owner to complete construction of a project that is subject
to the provisions of this chapter, as set forth in Section 15.46.030, by the permit expiration dates
established in Section 15.18.050, the following penalties shall apply:
(1) For the first thirty days that the project remains incomplete the City shall not
impose a penalty.
(2) For the thirty-first through sixtieth days that the project remains incomplete,
the City shall impose a penalty of two hundred fifty dollars ($250) per day.
(3) For the sixty-first through the one hundred twentieth days that the project
remains incomplete, the City shall impose a penalty of five hundred dollars ($500) per
day.
(4) For the one hundred twenty-first day, and any additional days thereafter that
the project remains incomplete, the City shall impose a penalty of two thousand dollars
($2,000) per day.
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(b) Penalties, fees, and costs due to the City pursuant to this chapter shall accrue for
each day the project exceeds the construction completion deadline.
(c) Upon failure of a property owner to complete construction by the time limits
established by this chapter, the building permit shall expire and the building official shall cause
all work at the site for such construction to cease. Before a new permit is issued, the building
official shall require the submission of an additional construction completion deposit in excess of
the amount provided by Section 15.46.080 to ensure that all penalties related to the late
construction are fully paid to the City. The amount of the additional deposit shall be computed
by the building official's estimate of the amount of time that will be required to complete the
construction and the amount of the penalties that will accrue during this time period. The
building official may impose additional conditions on the building permit to mitigate any adverse
impacts on the surrounding area due to the continued construction. Upon the submission of the
additional deposit and new permit fees, the building official may reissue the building permit, and
the property owner may recommence work under the permit in accordance with its terms.
(d) The building official may declare construction abandoned after the building permit
expires and construction activities on the subject property cease for a period of more than 180
days. At that time, the building official may impose conditions requiring remedial measures to be
implemented by the property owner that clean-up the site, remove any hazardous or unsightly
conditions, and restore the property and all improvements on the property to an attractive
condition. The building official shall send written notice to the property owner that abandonment
has been declared. This notice also shall state the penalties incurred to the date of the notice.
Penalties will continue to accrue when construction has been abandoned until all remedial
measures required by the building official have been completed to the satisfaction of the
building official.
(e) It is declared that any violation of the provisions of this chapter shall, in addition to
any other remedy, constitute a public nuisance, and such nuisance may be abated as provided
by law.
15.46.080 Construction completion deposit.
(a) Before a new building permit may be issued, the property owner shall deliver to the
building department a refundable deposit based on the estimated square footage of the work as
determined by the building official. The deposit shall be as follows: 1) for projects with an
estimated square footage of up to 5000 square feet, the deposit shall be ten thousand dollars
($10,000); 2)for projects with an estimated square footage between 5,000 to 10,000 square
feet, the deposit shall be twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000); and for projects with an
estimated square footage above 10,000 square feet, the deposit shall be fifty thousand dollars
($50,000).
(b) When construction is completed within the time limits provided herein, the
construction completion deposit shall be refunded to the property owner.
(c) Upon failure of a property owner to complete construction by the time limits
established in this chapter, the deposit shall be incrementally forfeited to the City for the period
of time that construction was not timely completed. The Director of Community Development
may waive the imposition of penalties if he or she determines that all construction activities were
timely completed but the final inspections by City staff were delayed for reasons not due to the
fault of the property owner.
15.46.090 Appeals.
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(a) A penalty imposed pursuant to this chapter may be appealed by the owner of the
property where the construction is occurring, and a decision of the building official made
pursuant to section 15.46.060 may be appealed to the City Council by any interested party. An
appeal of any penalty that is imposed must be based on the grounds that the property owners
were unable to comply with the construction time limit for reasons beyond the control of
themselves and their representatives.
(1) For purposes of this section, the grounds for appeal shall include, but are not
limited to: labor stoppages; acts of war or terrorism; natural disasters; fire; presence of
endangered species, and unforeseen discovery of archaeological remains on the
building site.
(2) For purposes of this section, the grounds for appeal shall not include: delays
caused by the winter-rainy season; the use of custom and/or imported materials; the use
of highly specialized subcontractors; significant, numerous, or late design changes;
access difficulties associated with the site; failure of materials suppliers to provide such
materials in a timely manner; or delays associated with project financing.
(b)An appeal made pursuant to this section shall be filed in writing with the city clerk
within ten calendar days from the date of construction completion, the date that a notice of
abandonment is sent to the property owner pursuant to Section 15.46.070(c), or the date that
the building official determines that the required remedial measures have been completed
satisfactorily, along with payment of an appeal fee as established by a resolution adopted by the
City Council. The City Council will hold a hearing on the appeal and shall affirm or modify the
decision of the building official made pursuant to section 15.46.060 or shall affirm, modify, or
cancel any penalty that has been imposed.
(c) When filing an appeal pursuant to this chapter, the property owner shall submit
documentary and other evidence sufficient to establish that design decisions, construction
drawings and documents, bids and construction contracts, permit applications, and compliance
with all required permit conditions were undertaken in a diligent and timely manner. Required
documentary and other evidence shall demonstrate to the satisfaction of the City Council that
construction delays resulted from circumstances fully out of his or her control and despite
diligent and clearly documented efforts to achieve construction completion within the time limits
established in this chapter.
15.46.100 Administration and enforcement.
(a) The full amount of construction completion penalties due the City under Section
15.46.070 shall be due immediately upon the completion of the construction project or upon
completion of the required remedial measures when abandonment has been declared and the
City's subsequent determination of the penalty amount. The City shall notify the property owner
by mail of the number of days the project remained unfinished beyond the time limit for
completion of construction established by Section 15.46.050 and the resulting penalty amount
awed to the City. Any penalty amount in excess of the construction completion deposit shall be
paid within 30 days of the date of mailing the letter by first class mail to the property owner and
shall occur prior to the approval of the work by the building official. Any penalty amount not paid
within 30 days shall be subject to an additional 10% (ten percent) penalty.
(b) Any amount in excess of the sum deposited with the City as a construction
completion deposit and due to the City by property owner(s) as a result of violation of the
provisions of this chapter, including all penalties and interest as provided in subsection (b)
above, is not only a personal debt owed to the City by the owner(s) of the subject property but
also is an obligation that runs with the land and all subsequent owners of the property pursuant
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to Section 15.46.030. In addition to all other means of enforcement and collection, any unpaid
penalties and interest may be collected through the placement of a lien against the subject real
property in the manner provided by law for the collection of costs related to the abatement of a
nuisance.
(c) The provisions of this chapter shall not be the exclusive remedy for addressing
delayed completion of construction. In addition to the remedies provided by this chapter, the
City may pursue any other actions and remedies provided by law including but not limited to
nuisance abatement proceedings.
Section 2. Ordinance No. 548U and Ordinance No. 549 are hereby repealed.
Accordingly, Section 15.18.050 of Chapter 15.18 of Title 15 of the Rancho Palos Verdes
Municipal Code is hereby amended to delete the last paragraph thereof to read as follows:
15.18.050 -Administrative Code amended Expiration of permits.
Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 15.18.010 of this chapter, Sections 105.3.2
and 105.5 are amended to read:
105.3.2 Time limitation of application. An application for a permit for any proposed work
shall be deemed to have been abandoned 180 days after the date of filing, unless such
application has been pursued in good faith or a permit has been issued; except that the building
official is authorized to grant up to two extensions of time for additional periods not exceeding
not exceeding 90 days each. The extension shall be requested in writing and justifiable cause
demonstrated.
Plan checks for development projects where permits have expired for a period of less
than one year shall be assessed a fee equal to '/z of the amount of the applicable plan check
fee, as set forth in the resolution establishing said fee, if the plans that are being resubmitted
are identical to the prior plans. Said fee shall be paid when the plans are re-submitted for review
by the building official.
105.5 Expiration. Every permit issued by the building official under the provisions of the
technical codes shall expire by limitation and become null and void, if the building or work
authorized by such permit is not completed through final inspection within the allowed time from
the date of issuance of such permit, which time shall be as follows: up to 5,000 square feet, 18
months; 5,000 to 10,000 square feet, 24 months; over 10,000 square feet, 30 months. For good
cause, upon initial application for a permit, the building official may establish a different
expiration date when it is anticipated such date will be necessary to complete construction due
to extenuating circumstances or when the construction is required to be completed within the
time period of previously issued unexpired permits. Upon expiration, before work under the
permit can be recommenced, a new permit shall be obtained. Such new permit shall be valid for
24 months, and the fee therefor shall be one-half the amount required for a new permit for such
work, if no changes have been made or will be made in the original plans and specifications for
the work and not more than one year has passed since the expiration of the permit; otherwise,
such new permit shall be subject to all terms and conditions applicable to new permits.
Any permittee holding an unexpired permit may apply for an extension of the time within
which the permittee may complete work under that permit when the permittee is unable to
complete the work within the time required by this section although proceeding with due
diligence. An application for extension shall be filed on forms prescribed by the building official
and be accompanied by payment of the fee as established by resolution. The building official
may extend the time for completion of work under the permit by the permittee for a period of
time not exceeding 180 days upon finding the permittee has been proceeding with due diligence
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and that circumstances beyond the control of the permittee have prevented action from being
completed. No permit shall be so extended more than once.
Section 3. There is at least one construction project in the City that has been
ongoing for more than four years, with permits for the same work having been extended and
reissued on several occasions. The property owners continue to apply for more permits from
the City and still have not completed work that they already had commenced. This project has
been ongoing for more than four years and has been disrupting the neighbors' ability to enjoy
their properties during that time and has become a nuisance. After this issue was brought to the
City Council's attention, the City Council adopted an ordinance to address this situation, but the
construction on that project still has not been completed, although an additional year has
passed. Thus, it is necessary to adopt an urgency ordinance that will amend the Municipal
Code immediately to address these unusual circumstances so that financial penalties will be
imposed; to require the payment of a deposit to cover the penalties, and to impose a hiatus on
issuance of subsequent permits at the property, so the neighbors' ability to enjoy their properties
will not continue to be adversely affected and their ability to enjoy their properties will be
restored. Therefore, this ordinance is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public
peace, health, safety and welfare and shall take effect immediately upon adoption as an
urgency ordinance.
Section 4. The City Clerk shall cause this Ordinance to be posted in three (3) public
places in the City within fifteen (15) days after its passage, in accordance with the provisions of
Section 36933 of the Government Code. The City Clerk shall further certify to the adoption and
posting of this Ordinance, and shall cause this Ordinance and its certification, together with
proof of posting, to be entered in the Book of Ordinances of the Council of this City.
PASSED, APPROVED and ADOPTED this 18th day of November 2014.
I
0 Mayor
ATTEST.
4a_, (4,, /,
City Clerk
STATE OF CALIFORNIA )
COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES )ss
CITY OF RANCHO PALOS VERDES)
I, Carla Morreale, City Clerk of the City of Rancho Palos Verdes, do hereby certify that
the whole numbers of the City Council of said City is five; that the foregoing Ordinance No.
562U was duly and regularly adopted by the City Council of said City at a regular meeting
thereof held on November 18, 2014, and that the same was passed and adopted by the
following vote:
AYES: Brooks, Campbell, Knight, Misetich and Duhovic
NOES: None
ABSENT: None
ABSTAINED: None
f „eilY_,d- Q-----
City Clerk
Ordinance No. 562U
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111
RANCHO PALOS VERDES
STATE OF CALIFORNIA )
COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES ) SS AFFIDAVIT OF POSTING
CITY OF RANCHO PALOS VERDES)
The undersigned, being first duly sworn, deposes and says:
That at all times herein mentioned, she was and now is the appointed City Clerk
of the City of Rancho Palos Verdes;
That on November 18, 2014, she caused to be posted the following
document entitled: ORDINANCE NO. 562U, AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF
RANCHO PALOS VERDES, REGARDING PROLONGED CONSTRUCTION
PROJECTS THAT ARE ADVERSELY AFFECTING NEIGHBORING
PROPERTIES, REPEALING ORDINANCE NO. 548U AND ORDINANCE NO.
549, AMENDING THE RANCHO PALOS VERDES MUNICIPAL CODE, AND
DECLARING THE URGENCY THEREOF, a copy of which is attached hereto, in
the following locations:
City Hall Ladera Linda Community Center
30940 Hawthorne Blvd. 32201 Forrestal Drive
Rancho Palos Verdes Rancho Palos Verdes
Hesse Park
29301 Hawthorne Blvd.
Rancho Palos Verdes
I certify under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is a true and correct affidavit of
posting.
Ciiiieuzife_
City Clerk
W:\FORMS\Form 150 Archived Affidavits(old)\Form 150-Affidavit of Posting Ordinance No.562U.dcc