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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1707ORDINANCE NO. 1707 AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 3: ADMINISTRATIVE CODE, ARTICLE V — ADMINISTRATIVE OFFENSES OF THE CITY CODE OF 2005 The City of Columbia Heights does ordain: Section 1 § 3.504 ADMINISTRATIVE HEARING. (1) Request for Hearing. Anyone in violation of any section of the City Code may either pay the Administrative Penalty, as defined by Section 3.505, or petition the City for an Administrative Hearing pursuant to Section 3.504(5). Electronic communication should be considered and encouraged whenever possible to ensure timely coordination and communications unless there are specific sections that require mailings. (2) Hearing Examiner. The position of Hearing Examiner is hereby created. a. The City Manager, or their designee, may, at their discretion, contract with third parties for the furnishing of all services of the Hearing Examiner as contained in this chapter and set the rate of compensation therefor. b. The City Council will periodically approve a list of qualified individuals, from which the City Clerk will select a Hearing Examiner best suited to hear and determine a matter for which a hearing is requested. c. The Hearing Examiner must not be a city employee and the City Clerk must establish a procedure for evaluating the competency of the Hearing Examiner, including comments from accused violators and city staff. These reports must be provided to the City Council. d. Removal of the Hearing Examiner. No later than five days before the date of the hearing, the violator may make a written request during business hours that the assigned hearing examiner be removed from the case. The City Clerk will automatically grant one request for removal. A subsequent request must be directed to the assigned hearing examiner who will decide whether they can fairly and objectively review the case. If the Hearing Examiner determines they cannot fairly and objectively review the case, the Hearing Examiner shall notify the city clerk in writing at least one business day before the scheduled hearing date. The City Clerk will then assign another Hearing Examiner. (3) Qualifications. The Hearing Examiner shall be an individual trained in law; however, it shall not be required that the Hearing Examiner be currently licensed to practice law in the State of Minnesota. (4) Duties. The Hearing Examiner shall have the following duties: a. Set dates and hear all contested cases; b. Take testimony from all interested parties; c. Examine all facts, evidence and testimony presented; d. Make a complete record of all proceedings including findings of fact and conclusions of law; and Ordinance No.1707 City of Columbia Heights — Ordinance No. 1707 e. Affirm, dismiss, or modify the Administrative Citation and/or the Administrative Penalty. Page 2 (5) Hearing Procedure. Any person issued an Administrative Citation within the City of Columbia Heights may petition the City, in writing and during business hours, for an Administrative hearing before a Hearing Examiner. All Administrative Hearings will take place at the Columbia Heights City Council Chambers within City Hall or other administrative room within the building if Chambers are not available (3989 Central Avenue NE, Columbia Heights, MN 55421) between business hours as needed Monday through Friday; the hearings may be in -person or virtual. The Hearing Examiner may schedule an alternative date and time upon the written consent of all parties subject to the administrative hearing. All such petitions shall identify with specificity the basis for the objection to the Administrative Citation and the interpretation of the City Code, as well as summarizing any evidence the petitioner intends to present. Such requests shall be filed in writing to the City Manager, or their designee, within 14 business days after the ordinance violation citation is issued. b. The City will confirm request of an Administrative Hearing and include information on the Administrative Citation Hearing Fee as outlined in this ordinance. This fee will be refunded if the Administrative Citation is dismissed, but not if affirmed or modified. The City Clerk or their designee will schedule the hearing and will notify the violator and involved city staff, of the date, time and location of the hearing. Parties are expected to be available at the hearing for a minimum of two hours. Notice of the hearing must be mailed to the violator and the Hearing Examiner at least ten days in advance of the scheduled hearing, unless a shorter time is accepted by all parties. The notice must contain the name of the parties, the identity of the Hearing Examiner, the location of the alleged violation and the type of violation alleged. c. Continuance. A request for a continuance must be made to the City Clerk during business hours at least five days prior to the scheduled hearing date. The City Clerk may grant a continuance at the request of the violator or the city staff member only for good cause shown and for no more than ten days from the original assigned date. File transmittal. Upon receipt of any request for a hearing, the City Clerk's office will compile a summary report detailing the facts in support of any determination that the offense constitutes a violation. The summary report must be ready for the hearing officer to pick up on the business day preceding the scheduled hearing and shall include the following information: i. Copy of the citation issued; ii. Copy of the administrative notice, which preceded the citation; iii. Copy of any case history in the issuing employee's department; iv. Photographs and/or videotape of property where available; Proof of mailing and/or posting of notice on the property if the citation was not personally served on the violator. City of Columbia Heights — Ordinance No. 1707 Page 3 e. Presentation of case. At the hearing, the parties will have the opportunity to present testimony and question any witnesses, but strict rules of evidence will not apply and the Hearing Examiner will determine the admissibility of any evidence and/or testimony. All Administrative Hearings will be recorded with an audio recording device. A transcript of the Administrative Hearing will be transcribed and retained pursuant to the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act. The Hearing Examiner will take testimony from the petitioner and any corroborating witnesses who wish to testify. The Hearing Examiner will then take testimony from the City. Both the petitioner and the City may appear with legal counsel. f. Decision. The Hearing Examiner must issue a written decision containing findings of fact, conclusions of law and an order. The decision will be mailed to the parties within ten days after the hearing. The Hearing Examiner has the authority to determine that a violation occurred, to dismiss a citation, to impose the scheduled fine, and to reduce, stay, or waive a scheduled fine either unconditionally or upon compliance with appropriate conditions. When imposing a penalty for a violation, the Hearing Examiner may consider any or all of the following factors: 1. Duration of the violation; 2. Frequency of reoccurrence of the violation; 3. Seriousness of the violation; 4. History of the violation; 5. Violator's conduct after issuance of the administrative notice and citation; 6. Violator's conduct after issuance of the notice of hearing; 7. Good faith effort by the violator to comply; 8. Impact of the violation upon the community; 9. Prior record of city code violations; and 10. Any other factors appropriate to a just result. The Hearing Examiner may not impose a fine greater than the established fine, except that the Hearing Examiner may impose a fine for each week that the violation continues if: 1. The violation caused or is causing a serious threat of harm to the public health, safety, or welfare; or 2. The violator intentionally and unreasonably refused or refuses to comply with the code requirement. Right of appeal. Except as provided in subsections (i) and (j) of this section, the decision of the Hearing Examiner is final without any further right of appeal. Failure to appear. The failure to attend the hearing constitutes a waiver of the violator's rights to an administrative hearing and an admission of the violation. A Hearing Examiner may waive this result upon good cause shown. Examples of "good cause" are: death in the immediate family or documented incapacitating illness of the violator; a court order requiring the violator to appear for another hearing at the same time; and lack of proper service of the citation or notice of the hearing. "Good cause" does not include: forgetfulness; lack of transportation or City of Columbia Heights — Ordinance No. 1707 child care; and intentional delay. Page 4 Judicial review. An aggrieved party may obtain judicial review of the decision of the Hearing Examiner or the City Council as provided in state law. j. Administrative review. i. Appeal. A violator may appeal the Hearing Examiner's decision in any of the following matters to the City Council for administrative review: 1. An alleged failure to obtain a permit, license or other approval from the City council as required by this Code, county ordinance or state law; 2. An alleged violation of a permit, license, other approval, or the conditions attached to the permit, license, or approval that was granted by the City Council; or 3. An alleged violation of regulations governing a person or entity who has received a license granted by the City Council. ii. Notice. The appeal under this section will be heard by the City council. Notice of the hearing must be delivered to the alleged violator or property owner and involved city staff, in person or by mail at least ten days in advance of the hearing. The parties to the hearing will have an opportunity to present oral or written arguments regarding the Hearing Examiner's decision. iii. Decisions. The City Council must consider the record, the Hearing Examiner's decision, and any additional arguments before making a determination. The City Council is not bound by the Hearing examiner's decision, but may adopt all or part of the Examiner's decision. The Council's decision must be in writing. iv. Suspension or revocation. In addition to imposing a civil penalty, the Council may suspend or revoke a city -issued license, permit, or other approval associated with the violation. § 3.505 HEARING EXAMINER EVALUATION PROCEDURE By implementing a structured approach, the City of Columbia Heights can establish an effective and equitable process for approving and evaluating hearing examiners, ultimately enhancing community trust and ensuring fair treatment for all residents. When evaluating and approving an individual to serve as a Hearing Examiner for the City of Columbia Heights, there shall be specific requirements such as that the individual shall not be a city employee and have no connection to the City beyond serving as a Hearing Examiner. The individual shall be trained in law or at least have a familiar understanding of legal proceedings, but it is not required that they be currently licensed to practice law in the State of Minnesota. City of Columbia Heights — Ordinance No, 1707 Page 5 The City Council receive a report for evaluation purposes to include comments from accused violators and city staff as well as the following criteria that should be considered prior to approving an individual to serve as Hearing Examiner in accordance with the provisions of this section: (1) Qualifications may include but are not limited to: a. Experience in legal settings, code enforcement, and understanding of municipal laws; b. Familiarity and comfort engaging and communicating with diverse communities as well as an understanding of language access issues; c. The ability to communicate in multiple languages should be considered a desired qualification. (2) Evaluation and approval of Hearing Examiner applicants for new and continued service shall include the following processes and procedures: a. A standardized application that includes questions on experience, qualifications, and approaches to working with diverse populations as well as establishing whether the applicant has a connection to Columbia Heights; A review committee composed of the City Council and the Multi -Cultural Advisory Committee shall review applications and evaluate the qualifications of the applicants before selecting individuals to move forward with an official interview. c. City Council shall conduct interviews to assess candidates' abilities to handle sensitive situations and their understanding of cultural nuances. d. The City Manager and City Clerk shall periodically provide the City Council with a list of individuals given positive recommendations to approve. e. The performance of these Hearing Examiners shall be evaluated by the City Manager and City Attorney using developed metrics to assess performance and ensure that an effective and equitable process is established to provide fair and equal treatment to residents: i. Legal accuracy and adherence to procedures. ii. Ability to engage with diverse community members and staff. iii. Fairness and impartiality in decision -making. iv. Consideration of feedback from community members, especially those who have participated in hearings, as well as incorporating self -assessments. § 3.50&6 PAYMENT. City of Columbia Heights — Ordinance No. 1707 Page 6 Once such notice is given, the person responsible for the violation shall, within 14 business days of the time of issuance of the notice, pay full satisfaction of the stated violation scheduled to the City Finance Department. The penalty may be paid in person or by mail and payment shall be admission of the violation. § 3.507 FAILURE TO PAY AND RECOVERY OF CIVIL PENALTIES. If a violator fails to pay the penalty imposed by this article, the matter may be processed as a code violation through the Anoka County Court System or in accordance with the provisions of this section. (1) Nonpayment. If a civil penalty is not paid within the time specified: a. It may constitute a lien on the real property upon which the violation occurred if the property or improvements on the property was the subject of the violation and the property owner was found responsible for that violation; or b. It will be a personal obligation of the violator in all situations. (2) Lien. A lien may be assessed against the property and collected in the same manner as real taxes as authorized by state law. (3) Personal obligation. A personal obligation may be collected by appropriate legal means. (4) Late fees/charges. a. If after 30 days the fine has not been paid or a hearing requested, a late fee will be applied, the total bill will be assessed to the property taxes and all city licenses will be revoked. Fees are established by the city's fee schedule. For continued violations, the city will correct or abate the violation and assess the charges for doing so onto the property taxes and/or file criminal charges. b. If the same property and property owner are charged with a subsequent violation(s) within a 12-month period for the same, or substantially similar offense, the offense will be considered a repeat violation and fined accordingly, per the city's fee schedule. (5) License revocation or suspension. Failure to pay a fine or any associated late fees are grounds for suspending or revoking a license related to the violation. (6) Criminal penalties. a. The following are misdemeanors, punishable in accordance with state law: I. Failure, without good cause, to pay a fine or request a hearing within 30 days after issuance of an administrative citation; ii. Failure, without good cause, to appear at a hearing that was scheduled under 3.504 of this section; City of Columbia Heights — Ordinance No. 1707 Page 7 M. Failure to pay a fine imposed by a Hearing Examiner within 30 days after it was imposed, or such other time as may be established by the Hearing Examiner. If the final adjudication in the administrative penalty procedure is a finding of no violation, then the City may not prosecute a criminal violation in district court based on the same set of facts. This does not preclude the city from pursuing a criminal conviction for a violation of the same provisions based on a different set of facts. A different date of violation will constitute a different set of facts. (7) Abatement a. The City may pursue abatement in accordance with Chapter 8.206 and the established noticing procedure. Whenever the officer charged with enforcement determines that a public nuisance is present, the officer shall provide notice thereof, and that such nuisance be terminated or abated. The notice of violation shall specific corrective actions to abate the nuisance and the deadline for compliance. If the notice of violation is not complied within the time specified, the enforcing officer shall report that fact to the City Council. Thereafter, the City Council may, after notice as provided herein, and an opportunity to be heard, determine that the condition identified in the notice of violation is a nuisance and further order the nuisance be abated within the provisions identified in emergency or immediate abatement. § 3.508 DISPOSTION OF PENALTIES. All penalties collected shall be paid over to the City finance Department. The Finance Director or his designee may receive negotiable instruments in payment of penalties as a conditional payment and shall not be held accountable therefor. Receipt shall be issued for cash payment. § 3.509 POWERS AND DUTIES OF FINANCE DIRECTOR. in addition to all other duties set forth in the code, the Finance Director may delegate and supervise the work of city employees implementing and administering this article. The Finance Director shall make and have custody of all records necessary and shall keep proper accounts of the proceeds received. § 3.5010 SCHEDULED PENALTIES. Penalties shall be imposed for violation of the scheduled administrative offenses according to a schedule duly established and adopted from time to time by resolution of the City Council. Any person violating a section of this code shall be subject to the scheduled penalty. City of Columbia Heights — Ordinance No. 1707 Section 2 This Ordinance shall be in full force and effect from and after 30 days after its passage. First Reading: November 12, 2024 Offered by: Spriggs Seconded by: James Roll Call: All Ayes; Buesgens and Jacobs absent Second Reading: November 25, 2024 Offered by: Spriggs Seconded by: James Roll Call: All Ayes, Buesgens Absent Date of Passage: November 25, 2024 Attest: ra Ion, City Clerk/Council Secretary Page 8 SUMMARY OF ORDINANCE NO. 1707 BEING AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 3: ADMINISTRATIVE CODE OF THE CITY CODE OF 2005 TO AMEND ARTICLE V — ADMINISTRATIVE OFFENSES. The City Council for the City of Columbia Heights, Minnesota adopted Ordinance No. 1707 on November 25, 2024. The purpose of this ordinance is to update, upon passage, Chapter 3 Administrative Code of Columbia Heights City Code — Article V: Administrative Offenses. These updates include the introduction of a process to evaluate and approve Hearing Examiners and include specific requirements that the individuals are not city employees or have any connection to the City beyond serving as a Hearing Examiner. These individuals shall be trained in law or at least have familiar understanding of legal proceedings, but it is not required that they be currently licensed to practice law in the State of Minnesota. These individuals shall have experience in legal settings, code enforcement, and understanding of municipal laws; familiarity and comfort engaging and communicating with diverse communities as well as an understanding of language access issues and an ability to communicate in multiple languages. This is a summary of Ordinance No. 1707. A copy of the entire text of the Ordinance is available for public inspection during regular office hours at City Hall, by standard or electronic mail, or at www.columbiaheiiahtsmn. Mad Attest: Sara ors; ity Clerk/Council Secretary Ordinance No.1707