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CC SR 20240702 05 - Building Code Amendment 15.18.040 CITY COUNCIL MEETING DATE: 07/02/2024 AGENDA REPORT AGENDA HEADING: Regular Business AGENDA DESCRIPTION: Consideration and possible action to amend Section 15.18.040 (Administrative code amended – Violations and penalties) of Chapter 15.18 (Administrative Code) of Title 15 (Buildings and Construction) of the Rancho Palos Verdes Municipal Code (RPVMC) to establish a penalty fee waivers (Case No. PLCA2024-0002). RECOMMENDED COUNCIL ACTION: 1) Introduce Ordinance No.___, AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF RANCHO PALOS VERDES AMENDING SECTIONS 15.18.040 (ADMINISTRATIVE CODE AMENDED – VIOLATIONS AND PENALTIES) OF CHAPTER 15.18 (ADMINISTRATIVE CODE), OF TITLE 15 (BUILDINGS AND CONSTRUCTION) OF THE RANCHO PALOS VERDES MUNICIPAL CODE TO ESTABLISH A PENALTY FEE WAIVER FOR BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION VIOLATIONS PERFORMED BY PRIOR PROPERTY OWNERS. FISCAL IMPACT: The City currently collects triple penalty fees for building permits related to violations when work requiring a permit has been started, continued, or finished prior to obtaining a building permit. These penalty fees are variable and are dependent on the various permit types and their associated costs. The proposed code amendment would establish a fee waiver for certain cases when a previous owner conducted the unpermitted work and the current owner seeks to remedy the after-the-fact work. Amount Budgeted: N/A Additional Appropriation: N/A Account Number(s): N/A ORIGINATED BY: Jeffrey Kim, Assistant Planner REVIEWED BY: Brandy Forbes, AICP, Director of Community Development APPROVED BY: Ara Mihranian, AICP, City Manager ATTACHED SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS: A. Ordinance No. ___(page A-1) B. Draft Redlined Code Amendment (page B-1) 1 BACKGROUND: The City’s Code Enforcement Division works with residents and local businesses to gain voluntary compliance to address code violations that result from, but are not limited to, unpermitted construction, property maintenance and abandoned vehicles. To address code violations related to unpermitted construction, an applicant is responsible for preparing and submitting development plans to the City’s Community Develo pment Department. Generally, all development proposals, including code enforcement violations, are first reviewed by the City’s Planning Division for compliance with zoning regulations and then by the City’s Building & Safety Division for conformance with State and local building codes. As part of this process, an applicant is also responsible for paying application and permit fees, as well as any penalty fees associated with correcting a code violation. For Planning Division applications, the penalty fee charged is double the application permit fee as annually established by City Council resolution. Whereas Planning permit fees are fixed at a higher cost, building permit fees tend to be variable depending on the scale and square footage of the work. Therefore, penalty fees are triple the permit fee for all building permit types as set forth by the RPVMC. For example, in Planning related after-the-fact cases where a director-level review of a Major Grading Permit would be required to address unpermitted grading, an applicant would have to pay the $2,884 permit fee, plus the double penalty of $2,884, for a total of $5,768. The Community Development Department has experienced instances in which new property owners are required to pay hefty penalty fees in order to remedy code violations that had unknowingly occurred on a property prior to them taking ownership. These types of code violations often include unpermitted window change-outs, interior and exterior remodeling, as well as grading and retaining wall projects, to name a few examples. To provide relief for property owners in such circumstances, §17.86.080 (Penalty Fees) in Title 17 (Zoning) of the Rancho Palos Verdes Municipal Code (RPVMC) currently provides a mechanism to waive penalty fees for Planning Division applications to remedy violations. This fee waiver code provision is limited to Title 17 (Zoning) of the RPMVC and therefore only provides ways to seek relief from double penalty fees associated with Planning Division applications when current property owners can provide evidence that they are facing undue hardship due to previous property owners not disclosing unpermitted work on the property. Therefore, despite the proof of hardships, a new property owner who is required to remedy a code violation that occurred prior to their ownership would still be required to pay triple penalty fees with the Building & Safety Division for the issuance of construction permits because the fee waiver provision does not exist in Title 15 (Building and Construction) of the RPVMC. Thus, the City Council is being asked to consider amending the Building Code to provide a means to waive the Building Permit penalty fee for certain hardships. 2 DISCUSSION: This code amendment proposes to establish the same penalty fee waiver provision that exists in Title 17 (Zoning) of the RPVMC into Title 15 (Building & Construction) of the RPVMC. More specifically, the code amendment would modify Chapter 15.18 (Administrative Code) to include the penalty fee waiver. Chapter 15.18 (Administrative Code) of the RPVMC establishes policies, regulations, and procedures necessary for the violations and penalties associated with the provisions provided in the RPVMC and the California Residential Building Code. The proposed amendment to this chapter is summarized below with deleted text in strikethrough and new text in bold/underline. 15.18.040 – Administrative code amended – Violations and penalties Notwithstanding the provisions of section 15.18.010 of this chapter, sections 114.1 and 114.2 are amended to read and section 114.3 is added to read: 114.1 Violations. No person shall erect, construct, enlarge, alter, repair, move, improve remove, convert, demolish, equip, use, occupy or maintain any building, structure or building service equipment or perform any grading in the city or cause or permit the same to be done contrary to, or in violation of, any of the provisions of this code or any of the technical codes the most current version of the California Residential Building Code. 114.2 Penalties. Any person who violates any provision of this code or any of the technical codes the most current version of the California Residential Building Code shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be deemed guilty of a separate offense for each and every day or portion thereof during which any violation continued or was permitted, and upon conviction is punishable as set forth in section 1.08.010 of the Rancho Palos Verdes Municipal Code. 114.3 Penalty fees. The permit fees and charges made pursuant to title 15 of the Rancho Palos Verdes Municipal Code shall be tripled, (not including fees for nonstructural fixture) when work requiring a permit has been started or continued or finished prior to obtaining permit. The triple fee shall be based on the structural permit fee, or square footage of remodel area, or a minimum fee as established pursuant to city council resolution. The Director of Community Development may waive the penalty fees if the property owner can demonstrate to the director’s satisfaction that any violation of any provisions of this code or the most current version of the California Residential Building Code occurred prior to their acquiring the property, was not disclosed by the prior owner, and could not have been discovered through the ordinary course of due diligence when the property was acquired. The proposed code amendment modifies the penalty fees section of the chapter to authorize the Director of Community Development to waive the penalty fees associated with violation of any provisions of Chapter 15.18 or the California Residential Building 3 Code if the current property owner can demonstrate to the satisfaction of the Director that said violations occurred prior to the current property owner taking title to the property and was not disclosed by the previous property owners. Proof of such circumstances would include realtor information misrepresenting improvements as permitted such as falsified property documents. The City’s Community Development Department is proposing the adoption of this proposed code amendment language to establish consistency among the fee waiver provisions in both Zoning (Title 17) and Building and Safety Code (Title 15) of the RPVMC, and to encourage new property owners to obtain approvals for unpermitted. Following the review and approval of any project fee waivers, Staff will monitor and inspect the approved projects for compliance against the RPVMC and ultimately work towards a resolution of the code violation. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Public Notification On May 8, 2024, courtesy notice was provided in the Community Development ’s section of the City Manager’s Weekly Administrative Report indicating that the City Council would be considering tonight’s code amendment. Next Steps If the City Council accepts Staff’s recommendation, the proposed code amendments will be presented to the City Council on July 16, 2024, as a consent calendar item, for second reading and adoption consideration. Public Correspondence No public correspondence was received. In the event Staff receives public comments after the transmittal of this report, all correspondence will be forwarded to the City Council as late correspondence. Environmental Assessment The proposed code amendments to Title 15 (Buildings and Construction) of the RPVMC are exempt from the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) because: (1) it does not constitute a “project” under CEQA Guidelines Section 15378(b)(2), in that it constitutes general policy and procedure making; (2) it does not constitute a “project” under CEQA Guidelines Section 15378(b)(5) in that it has no potential for resulting in a physical change to the environment, either directly or indirectly; and (3) in the alternative, it is exempt from CEQA pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15060(c)(2), since the activity will not result in direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment, and Section 15061(b)(3) since it can be seen with 4 certainty that there is no possibility that this ordinance will have a significant effect on the environment. CONCLUSION: Staff recommends the City Council introduce the attached ordinance to establish a penalty fee waiver for building and construction violations that unknowingly occurred prior to new property ownership. ALTERNATIVES: In addition to the Staff recommendation, the following alternative actions are available for the City Council’s consideration: 1) Identify text modifications to the proposed ordinance language and d irect Staff to return at the next available meeting to incorporate comments made to develop and refine the proposed code amendment. 2) Do not approve the proposed code amendment. 3) Take no action. 5 Ordinance No. ___ Page 1 of 6 ORDINANCE NO. ___ AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF RANCHO PALOS VERDES AMENDING SECTIONS 15.18.040 (ADMINISTRATIVE CODE AMENDED – VIOLATIONS AND PENALTIES) OF CHAPTER 15.18 (ADMINISTRATIVE CODE) OF TITLE 15 (BUILDINGS AND CONSTRUCTION) OF THE RANCHO PALOS VERDES MUNICIPAL CODE, TO ESTABLISH A PENALTY FEE WAIVER FOR BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION VIOLATIONS PERFORMED BY PRIOR PROPERTY OWNERS. WHEREAS, in order to address Code Enforcement violations related to unpermitted construction, the applicant/property owner are responsible for paying applicable application fees at triple the amount of fees for all building permit types to address the violations; and WHEREAS, the Community Development Department has experienced instances of new property owners being required to pay hefty penalty fees to remedy code violations that unknowingly occurred prior to them taking ownership; and WHEREAS, the RPVMC currently authorizes the Director of Community Development the ability to waive penalty fees for Planning Division related applications to remedy violations; and WHEREAS, in order to better assist residents, developers, and the business community in addressing building code violations of RPVMC regulations and to establish consistency across Zoning and Building code sections, an update of the affected code sections to provide the same fee waiver options is required. NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF RANCHO PALOS VERDES DOES ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. The facts set forth in the Recitals are true and correct and are incorporated herein by reference. Section 2. The City Council finds that this Ordinance is exempt from the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) because: (1) it does not constitute a “project” under CEQA Guidelines Section 15378(b)(2), in that it constitutes general policy and procedure making; (2) it does not constitute a “project” under CEQA Guidelines Section 15378(b)(5) in that it has no potential for resulting in physical change to the environment, either directly or indirectly; and (3) in the alternative, it is exempt from CEQA pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15060(c)(2), since the activity will not result in direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment, and Section 15061(b)(3), since it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that this Ordinance will have a significant effect on the environment. A-1 Ordinance No. ___ Page 2 of 6 Section 3. Section 15.18.040 (Administrative code amended – Violations and penalties) of Chapter 15.18 (Administrative Code) of Title 15 (Building and Construction) is amended to read as follows (Note: Deleted text is noted in strikethrough and new text is noted in bold/underline): 15.18.040 - Administrative Code amended – Violations and penalties Notwithstanding the provisions of section 15.18.010 of this chapter, sections 114.1 and 114.2 are amended to read and section 114.3 is added to read: 114.1 Violations. No person shall erect, construct, enlarge, alter, repair, move, improve remove, convert, demolish, equip, use, occupy or maintain any building, structure or building service equipment or perform any grading in the city or cause or permit the same to be done contrary to, or in violation of, any of the provisions of this code or any of the technical codes the most current version of the California Residential Building Code. 114.2 Penalties. Any person who violates any provision of this code or any of the technical codes the most current version of the California Residential Building Code shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be deemed guilty of a separate offense for each and every day or portion thereof during which any violation continued or was permitted, and upon conviction is punishable as set forth in section 1.08.010 of the Rancho Palos Verdes Municipal Code. 114.3 Penalty fees. The permit fees and charges made pursuant to title 15 of the Rancho Palos Verdes Municipal Code shall be tripled, (not including fees for nonstructural fixture) when work requiring a permit has been started or continued or finished prior to obtaining permit. The triple fee shall be based on the structural permit fee, or square footage of remodel area, or a minimum fee as established pursuant to city council resolution. The Director of Community Development may waive the penalty fees if the property owner can demonstrate to the director’s satisfaction that any violation of any provisions of this code or the most current version of the California Residential Building Code occurred prior to their acquiring the property, was not disclosed by the prior owner, and could not have been discovered through the ordinary course of due diligence when the property was acquired. Section 4. Severability. If any section, subsection, subdivision, paragraph, sentence, clause or phrase of this ordinance or its application to any person or circumstance, is for any reason held to be invalid or unenforceable by a court of competent jurisdiction, such invalidity or unenforceability shall not affect the validity or enforceability of the remaining sections, subsections, subdivisions, paragraphs, sentences, clauses or phrases of this Ordinance, or its application to any other person or circumstance. The City Council declares that it would have adopted each section, A-2 Ordinance No. ___ Page 3 of 6 subsection, subdivision, paragraph, sentence, clause, phrase hereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more sections, subsections, subdivisions, paragraphs, sentences, clauses or phrases hereof be declared invalid or unenforceable. Section 5. Certification and Posting. 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 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. Section 6. Effective Date. This Ordinance shall go into effect at 12:01 AM on the 31st day after its passage. PASSED, APPROVED and ADOPTED this 16th day of July, 2024. ______________________________ John Cruikshank, Mayor ATTEST: _______________________ Teresa Takaoka, City Clerk STATE OF CALIFORNIA COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES CITY OF RANCHO PALOS VERDES I, TERESA TAKAOKA, City Clerk of the City of Rancho Palos Verdes, do hereby certify that the whole number of members of the City Council of said City is five; and that the foregoing Ordinance No. ___ was introduced by the City Council of said City at a regular meeting thereof held on July 2, 2024, was duly and regularly adopted by the City Council of said City at a regular meeting thereof held on July 16, 2024, and that the same was passed and adopted by the following roll call vote: AYES: NOES: ABSENT: ABSTAIN: _______________________ City Clerk A-3 Section 1. Section 15.18.040 (Administrative code amended – Violations and penalties) of Chapter 15.18 (Administrative Code) of Title 15 (Building and Construction) is amended to read: 15.18.040 – Administrative code amended – Violations and penalties Notwithstanding the provisions of section 15.18.010 of this chapter, sections 114.1 and 114.2 are amended to read and section 114.3 is added to read: 114.1 Violations. No person shall erect, construct, enlarge, alter, repair, move, improve remove, convert, demolish, equip, use, occupy or maintain any building, structure or building service equipment or perform any grading in the city or cause or permit the same to be done contrary to, or in violation of, any of the provisions of this code or any of the technical codes the most current version of the California Residential Building Code. 114.2 Penalties. Any person who violates any provision of this code or any of the technical codes the most current version of the California Residential Building Code shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be deemed guilty of a separate offense for each and every day or portion thereof during which any violation continued or was permitted, and upon conviction is punishable as set forth in section 1.08.010 of the Rancho Palos Verdes Municipal Code. 114.3 Penalty fees. The permit fees and charges made pursuant to title 15 of the Rancho Palos Verdes Municipal Code shall be tripled, (not including fees for nonstructural fixture) when work requiring a permit has been started or continued or finished prior to obtaining permit. The triple fee shall be based on the structural permit fee, or square footage of remodel area, or a minimum fee as established pursuant to city council resolution. The Director of Community Development may waive the penalty fees if the property owner can demonstrate to the director’s satisfaction that any violation of any provisions of this code or the most current version of the California Residential Building Code occurred prior to their acquiring the property, was not disclosed by the prior owner, and could not have been discovered through the ordinary course of due diligence when the property was acquired. B-1