Agenda Item Wording:
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Ordinance Update - Conduct a Public Hearing and consider a first reading of Ordinance No. 2025-12, a request by the City of Visalia to revise Visalia Municipal Code Chapter 8.40.060.C.1 and 2 “Declaration of Public Nuisance; Issuance of Administrative Enforcement Order”. (Ordinance No. 2025-12 required).
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Prepared by:
Jesse Villegas, Code Enforcement Officer, jesse.villegas@visalia.city, (559) 713-4191,
Tracy Robertshaw, Neighborhood Preservation Manager, tracy.robertshaw@visalia.city, (559) 713-4187,
Paul Bernal, Planning and Community Preservation Director, paul.bernal@visalia.city, (559) 713-4025
Department Recommendation:
Staff recommends that the Visalia City Council hold a public hearing, receive a presentation and staff report, and introduce the first reading of Ordinance No. 2025-12, amending Visalia Municipal Code Section 8.40.060 (C).
Summary:
The proposed ordinance update is to bring the City of Visalia into compliance with Assembly Bill (AB) 1418, which prohibits a local agency from authorizing or returning the imposition of a penalty against a resident, owner, tenant, landlord, or another person as a consequence of contact with a law enforcement or emergency assistance being summoned by certain individuals, including a victim of abuse or crime. This ordinance update, if approved, will bring the City of Visalia into compliance with this State statute.
Background Discussion:
On October 8, 2023, the California Governor signed into law Assembly Bill 1418, which took effect on January 1, 2024. Assembly Bill (AB) 1418 added Government Code section 53165.1, which prohibits a local agency from authorizing or returning the imposition of a penalty against a resident, owner, tenant, landlord, or another person as a consequence of contact with a law enforcement or emergency assistance being summoned by certain individuals, including a victim of abuse or crime.
Visalia Municipal Code Chapter 8.40 Nuisances, Section 8.40.060 (C) is currently not in compliance with AB 1418, as it currently states that properties can be designated as a nuisance property by the number of police and/or fire calls generated in a calendar year. As currently stated in Sections 8.40.060.C.1, and 2, for an individual residential unit, more than six phone calls over a one year period can result in the property being declared a public nuisance, whereas a large muti-family residential development requires “more than a monthly average of 0.20 police and/or fire calls per unit over a six month period” for to this type of property to be declared a public nuisance. Please note that for commercial properties, Section 8.40.030.I.1, and 2 are used for declaration of a public nuisance and staff is not recommending any changes to this section of Chapter 8.40.
The municipal code currently exempts calls for medical services, and was intended to allow for a public nuisance declaration when a property owner is failing to adequately manage their property, which often can be seen when non-emergency calls for police or fire services, such as calls regarding excessive noise from the property are made to the police or calls to the fire department about weeds or trash on the property are made, but the statutory language is broader and forbids penalties in general, which would include a declaration of public nuisance, based on calls for police or fire services.
State law does not prevent properties from being declared a public nuisance due to failures of a property owner to adequately manage their property but does forbid calls for fire or police services from being used as the basis for imposing such penalties. City staff modified their procedures internally to comply with the state law change and is now seeking to modify the ordinance. In order to make the municipal code compliant with state law, this proposed modification will remove the language stating that the number of police or fire calls generated in a calendar year can be used to support a property being declared a public nuisance.
In order to continue enforcement of property management standards the code section is being proposed to be modified to state that if a property has been found to be in violation of a Visalia Municipal Code matter that would be considered a public nuisance more than six times in a calendar year, then it may be designated a public nuisance based on the property owner’s failure to properly manage their property, using the record of public nuisance violations as the basis for the determination that the property is not being properly managed.
It should be noted that with this revision the property owner would have to be issued six or more administrative code violations for matters constituting a public nuisance. Prior to being issued an investigation would have to be conducted and a determination made by the city staff person that a violation existed. Municipal code violations can be appealed. In addition, the administrative order declaring the property a public nuisance based on prior violations would also be an action that could be appealed by the property owner before it would go into effect.
Based on the provisions of AB 1418, staff is seeking the following revisions to Section 8.04.060.C.1 and 2 as specified by underline & italics for additions and strikeout for deletions.
Proposed Revisions to Section 8.40.060.C.1 and 2:
C. Management quality standards. The following items shall constitute reasonable basis for the enforcement officer to believe that a property is not being properly managed or maintained. The existence of any of these circumstances shall justify an inspection of the property by the enforcement officer. In addition, violation of these standards may be used as evidence that a public nuisance exists.
1. For an individual residential unit, whether the unit is a standalone residence or part of a multi- family complex, more than six police and/or fire calls Visalia Municipal Code violations have been issued over a one year period involving matters that would constitute a nuisance pursuant to Part 3 (commencing with Section 3479) of Division 4 of the Civil Code (other than a medical emergency).
2. For a complex or building containing multiple residential units, more than a monthly average of .20 police and/or fire calls Visalia Municipal Code violations per unit over a six-month period involving matters that would constitute a nuisance pursuant to Part 3 (commencing with Section 3479) of Division 4 of the Civil Code (other than a medical emergency);
Analysis:
The proposed changes to Section 8.40.060.C.1 and 2 are necessary to ensure consistency and compliance with AB 1418. Failure to comply with this State statute could result in legal challenges if the City were to enforce the ordinance as it is currently written. The proposed ordinance amendment will still provide the City the ability to declare property a nuisance if the property accrues more than six Visalia Municipal Code violations in a one-year time period.
As an example, a vacant home that is constantly broken into because the vacant home is unsecured and in an uninhabitable state will result in the property owner being sent a certified mailed notice from Code Enforcement that their property is not secure. If the owner neglects to secure their property resulting in more than six calls for the property being unsecured, which is verified by Code Enforcement, this property will then be eligible to be designated a Public Nuisance because it has been in violation of the revised Visalia Municipal Code 8.40.060 (C) more than six times in a one-year period.
Another example would be city staff responding to a complaint about a property playing excessively loud music, which is affecting neighboring properties. City staff conducts a site inspection and verifies there is excessively loud music coming from the property, which is in violation of Visalia Municipal Code, then staff would issue to the property owner a notice of the excessive noise violation (verbal, warning citation, notice of violation). If over the year the same property generates six more complaints of excessively loud music coming from the property that is affecting neighboring properties, and those complaints are verified by city staff to be in violation of Visalia Municipal Code, the property would be declared a public nuisance and citation for the violation of municipal code provisions would be assessed and issued against the property for the repeated violation. However, if a property were to generate medical calls and/or fire related calls, those calls are not considered violations of Visalia Municipal Code.
Fiscal Impact:
None at this time
Prior Council Action: N/A
Other: N/A
Alternatives:
The City Council may, in lieu of the recommended motion, direct staff to not process any amendments to Visalia Municipal Code Section 8.40.060 (C) “Declaration of Public Nuisance; Issuance of Administrative Enforcement Order”. However, this would result in the City’s Municipal Code to be in noncompliance with AB 1418. Failure to comply with this State statute could result in legal challenges if the City were to enforce the ordinance as it is currently written.
Recommended Motion (and Alternative Motions if expected):
recommendation
I move to introduce the first reading of Ordinance No. 2025-12 amending Visalia Municipal Code Section 8.40.060.C.1 and 2.
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Environmental Assessment Status:
The requested action is not subject to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15060(c)(3) since the activity in question is not a “project” as defined in CEQA Guidelines Section 15378. Furthermore, this action is exempt from CEQA pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15061(b)(3) since there is no reasonable possibility that it would have a significant effect on the environment.
CEQA Review:
A Notice of Exemption has been prepared for the project because Section 15061(b)(3) states that projects are exempted from CEQA if the activity is covered by the commonsense exemption, which explains that CEQA applies only to projects that have the potential for causing a significant effect on the environment. Where it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment, the activity is not subject to CEQA.
Deadline for Action: 10/6/2025
Attachments:
1. Ordinance No. 2025-12
2. Assembly Bill 1418
3. PowerPoint Presentation