St. Louis City Ordinance 66857

INTRODUCED BY ALDERMAN JAMES F. SHREWSBURY, DONNA BARINGER, FREEMAN BOSLEY, SR., PHYLLIS YOUNG, JOSEPH VOLLMER, CRAIG N. SCHMID, ALFRED WESSELS, JR., JENNIFER FLORIDA, TERRY KENNEDY, , JEFFREY BOYD

An ordinance pertaining to enforcement of code violations relating to buildings, structures and premises in the City of St. Louis; establishing an administrative procedure under the provisions of Section 479.011 RSMO. to enforce compliance with the provisions of the regulatory codes relating to buildings, structures and premises; containing a penalty clause and an effective date.

BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY OF ST. LOUIS, AS FOLLOWS:

SECTION ONE. It shall be unlawful for any person, firm or corporation to be in conflict with or in violation of any of the provisions of any regulatory code relating to buildings, structures and premises in the City of St. Louis as such codes exist at the time of the effective date of this ordinance and as such codes may be amended in the future.

SECTION TWO. Whenever the code official determines that there has been a violation of any regulatory code relating to buildings, structures or premises or has grounds to believe that a violation has occurred, notice shall be given to the owner or the person or persons responsible therefore in the following manner;

Such notice shall:

1. Be in writing;

2. Include a description of the real estate sufficient for identification;

3. Include a statement of the violation or violations and why the notice is being issued;

4. Include a correction order allowing a reasonable time to make the repairs and improvements required to bring the dwelling unit or structure into compliance with the provisions of applicable code; and

5. Inform the property owner of the right to appeal.

The notice shall be directed to the owner or owners of such building, structure or premise as recorded most recently in the City of Saint Louis Assessor’s Office. The notice shall be served in one of the following ways:

1. Delivered personally to owner or owners; or

2. By mailing a copy of said notice by regular mail, postage prepaid, direct to the owner or owner’s place of business or the address currently recorded in the Assessor’s Office of the City of Saint Louis; or

3. If the notice is returned showing that the letter was not delivered, a copy thereof shall be posted in a conspicuous place in or about the building, structure or premise affected by such notice;

SECTION THREE. A. If the notice of violation is not complied with, the code official shall have the authority to issue an administrative citation to any person responsible for the violation.

B. Each administrative citation shall contain the following information:

1. The date of the violation or, if the date of the violation is unknown, then the date the violation is identified;

2. The address or a definite description of the location where the violation occurred;

3. The section of the applicable code violated and a description of the violation;

4. The amount of the fine for the code violation;

5. A description of the fine payment process, including a description of the time within which and the place to which the fine shall be paid;

6. An order prohibiting the continuation or repeated occurrence of the code violation described in the administrative citation;

7. A description of the administrative citation review process, including the time within which the administrative citation may be contested and the place from which a request for hearing form to contest the administrative citation may be obtained; and

8. The name and signature of the citing code official.

SECTION FOUR A. The administrative citation fine amount for a first violation under the provisions of this ordinance shall be Twenty-Five ($25.00).

B. The administrative citation fine for repeat violations of the same code provision by the same person at the same property within twelve months from the date of the first administrative citation shall be Fifty Dollars ($50).

C. Any administrative citation fine which is not paid on or before its due date shall accrue a penalty in an amount equal to the original administrative citation fine. Said penalty shall be collected in the same manner as the underlying fine.

SECTION FIVE A. The fine shall be paid to the city within thirty days from the date of the administrative citation.

B. Any administrative citation fine paid pursuant to subsection A. shall be refunded if it is determined, after a hearing, that the person charged in the administrative citation was not responsible for the violation or that there was no violation as charged in the administrative citation.

C. Payment of a fine under this ordinance shall not excuse or discharge any continuation or repeated occurrence of the code violation that is the subject of the administrative citation.

SECTION SIX. A. Any recipient of an administrative citation may contest that there was a violation of the code or that he or she is the responsible party by completing a Request for Administrative Hearing petition and returning it to the Office of the Building Commissioner, along with a non-refundable filing fee of $20.00, within thirty days from the date of the administrative citation.

B. A Request for Administrative Hearing petition may be obtained from the Office of the Building Commissioner.

C. The person requesting the hearing shall be notified of the time and place set for the hearing at least ten days prior to the date of the hearing.

D. If the code official submits an additional written report concerning the administrative citation to the hearing officer for consideration at the hearing, then a copy of this report also shall be served on the person requesting the hearing at least five days prior to the date of the hearing.

SECTION SEVEN. The Public Safety Director shall designate the hearing officer for the administrative hearing.

SECTION EIGHT A. A hearing before the hearing officer shall be set for a date that is not less than fifteen (15) days and not more than ninety (90) days from the date that the request for hearing is filed in accordance with the provisions of this ordinance.

B. At the hearing, the party contesting the administrative citation shall be given the opportunity to testify and to present evidence concerning the administrative citation.

C. The failure of any recipient of an administrative citation to appear at the administrative citation hearing shall constitute a failure to exhaust their administrative remedies.

E. The code violation notice, property record, and related documentation in the proper form, or a copy thereof, shall be prima facie evidence of the municipal code violation. The code official who issued the notice of violation need not be present.

F. The hearing officer may continue the hearing and request additional information from the code official or the recipient of the administrative citation prior to issuing a written decision.

SECTION NINE. A. After considering all of the testimony and evidence submitted at the hearing, the hearing officer shall issue a written decision to uphold or cancel the administrative citation and shall list in the decision the reasons for that decision. The decision of the hearing officer shall be final.

B. If the hearing officer determines that the administrative citation should be upheld the hearing officer shall set forth in the decision a payment schedule for the fine.

C. If the hearing officer determines that the administrative citation should be canceled and the fine was deposited with the city, then the city shall promptly refund the amount of the deposited fine, together with interest at the average rate earned on the city's portfolio for the period of time that the fine amount was held by the city.

D. The recipient of the administrative citation shall be served with a copy of the hearing officer's written decision.

SECTION TEN. Any person who fails to pay to the city any fine imposed pursuant to the provisions of this ordinance on or before the date that fine is due also shall be liable for the payment of any applicable late payment charges set forth in the schedule of fines.

SECTION ELEVEN. A. The hearing officer may not impose incarceration or any fine in excess of the amount allowed by the schedule of fines. Any sanction, fine or costs, or part of any fine, other sanction, or costs, remaining unpaid after the exhaustion of, or the failure to exhaust, judicial review procedures under chapter 536, RSMo, shall be a debt due and owing the city, and may be collected in accordance with applicable law.

B. Any final decision or disposition of a code violation by a hearing officer shall constitute a final determination for purposes of judicial review, subject to review under chapter 536, RSMo. After expiration of the judicial review period under chapter 536, RSMo, unless stayed by a court of competent jurisdiction, the administrative tribunal's decisions, findings, rules, and orders may be enforced in the same manner as a judgment entered by a court of competent jurisdiction. Upon being recorded in the manner required by state law or the Uniform Commercial Code, a lien may be imposed on the real or personal property of any defendant entering a plea of nolo contendere, pleading guilty to, or found guilty of a municipal code violation in the amount of any debt due the city under this section and enforced in the same manner as a judgment lien under a judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction.

SECTION TWELVE. Effective date.

The provisions of this ordinance shall become effective One Hundred and Eighty (180) days after its passage and approval by the mayor.

EXHIBIT A
SCHEDULE OF ADMINISTRATIVE FINES

SECTION 1. STANDARD FINE:

Except as otherwise specifically set forth in Section 2 below, the administrative citation fine amount for a first violation of the City of St. Louis Property Maintenance Code shall be Twenty-Five and no/100 Dollars ($25.00).

SECTION 2. NONSTANDARD FINES:

The administrative citation fine amounts set forth below are hereby established for violation(s) of the City of St. Louis Property Maintenance Code sections listed below:

SECTION THREE.    REPEAT VIOLATIONS.

The Administrative Citation fine for repeat violations of the same code provision by the same person at the same property within twelve months from the date of the first administrative citation shall be Fifty and no/100 Dollars ($50).

SECTION FOUR. LATE PENALTY

Any Administrative Citation fine which is not paid on or before its due date shall accrue a penalty in an amount equal to the original Administrative Citation fine. Said penalty shall be collected in the same manner as the underlying fine.

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