14.142.130 Compliance provisions | Lakewood Municipal Code

14.142.130 Compliance provisions.

1. The Department shall have authority to enforce this title, any rule or regulation adopted, and any permit, order or approval issued pursuant to this title, against any violation or threatened violation thereof. The Department is authorized to issue civil infraction citations and administrative orders, levy fines, and/or institute legal actions in court including prosecution of misdemeanor violations. Recourse to any single remedy shall not preclude recourse to any of the other remedies. Each violation of this title, or any rule or regulation adopted, or any permit, permit condition, approval or order issued pursuant to this title, shall be a separate offense, and, in the case of a continuing violation, each day’s continuance shall be deemed to be a separate and distinct offense. An application for a required permit, when pursued in good faith, shall stay the accumulation of violations. All costs, fees, and expenses in connection with enforcement actions may be recovered as damages against the violator.

2. The Department is authorized to make site inspections and take such actions as necessary to enforce this title. A Department representative may enter private property with the consent of the owner or occupant or pursuant to a warrant.

3. The Department shall have the authority to order restoration, rehabilitation or replacement measures to compensate for the destruction or degradation of critical areas or natural resource lands at the owner’s expense.

4. The Department may bring appropriate actions at law or equity, including actions for injunctive relief, to ensure that no uses are made of critical areas or buffers which are inconsistent with this title. Enforcement actions shall include civil infractions, administrative orders, prosecution of misdemeanors, and actions for damages and restoration.

5. Aiding or Abetting. Any person who, through an act of commission or omission procures, aids or abets in the violation shall be considered to have committed a violation of this title.

6. Any person found to have violated any provision of this title or who knowingly makes a false statement, representation or certification in any application, record or other document filed or required to be maintained under this title or who falsifies, tampers with, or knowingly renders inaccurate any monitoring device, record or methodology required to be maintained pursuant to this title shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by up to 90 days in jail and/or a fine of up to $1,000.

7. Orders and penalties issued pursuant to this section may be appealed as provided for by this title.

1. The Department may serve an administrative order when any person makes or partakes in any use of land, development or any activity on regulated critical areas and/or buffers in violation of this title. The order shall include the following:

a. A description of the specific nature, location, extent and time of violation. The order may include the damage or potential damage resulting from the violation.

b. A notice that the violation or the potential violation cease and desist or, in appropriate cases, the specific corrective action to be taken within a given time. A civil penalty may be issued with the order.

c. Effective Date. The cease and desist order issued under this section shall become effective immediately upon receipt by the person to whom the order is directed.

d. Compliance. Failure to comply with the terms of an administrative order can result in enforcement actions including, but not limited to, the issuance of a civil penalty.

e. The order may include specific corrective measures to be taken to mitigate environmental damage.

f. The order shall state that a hearing may be requested by an affected party by sending a written request for a hearing to the Hearing Examiner within 10 days of the receipt of said order and upon payment of the applicable appeal fee.

g. Failure to comply with the terms and provisions of an administrative order issued under this title shall constitute public nuisance and may be abated and prosecuted according to applicable law including Chapter 8.16 LMC and Chapters 7.48 and 9.66 RCW.

h. Administrative orders pursuant to this title shall be served upon the property owner or person or party occupying the property by personal service or by mailing a copy of the order by certified mail, postage prepaid, return receipt requested, to the property owner at the property address or to the mailing address listed upon public records regarding the property. In the event that personal service or certified mail service cannot be completed, or the property owner cannot be identified or located, service of the order may be achieved by posting the administrative order in a conspicuous location upon the property.

2. Any person who undertakes any activity within a regulated critical area or buffer without first obtaining an approval required by this title, or who violates one or more conditions of any approval required by this title, shall be subject to a Class 2 civil infraction citation with a mandatory $250.00 fine. Any person who violates one or more conditions of administrative order issued under this title may be subject to prosecution for a misdemeanor, and a maximum penalty of 90 days in jail and/or a $1,000 fine may be imposed. Each violation and, in the case of a continuing violation, each violation and each day of activity without a required approval shall be a separate and distinct violation. An application for a required permit, when pursued in good faith, shall stay the accumulation of violations. The penalty provided shall be appealable as provided by law.

C. Penalties and Enforcement. Any person, party, firm, corporation or other legal entity convicted of violating any of the provisions of this title, shall be guilty of a civil infraction or misdemeanor. Each day or portion of a day during which a violation of this title is continued, committed, or permitted shall constitute a separate offense. Any development carried out contrary to the provisions of this title shall constitute a public nuisance and may be enjoined as provided by the statutes of the state of Washington.

D. Suspension and Revocation. In addition to other penalties provided for elsewhere, the Department may suspend or revoke any project permit approval if it finds that the applicant has not complied with any or all of the conditions or limitations set forth in the approval, has exceeded the scope of work set forth in the approval, or has failed to undertake the project in the manner set forth in the approved application. [Ord. 362 § 3, 2004.]