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. (a) The board of supervisors, by ordinance, may establish a
procedure for the abatement of a nuisance. The ordinance shall, at a
minimum, provide that the owner of the parcel, and anyone known to
the board of supervisors to be in possession of the parcel, be given
notice of the abatement proceeding and an opportunity to appear
before the board of supervisors and be heard prior to the abatement
of the nuisance by the county. However, nothing in this section
prohibits the summary abatement of a nuisance upon order of the board
of supervisors, or upon order of any other county officer authorized
by law to summarily abate nuisances, if the board or officer
determines that the nuisance constitutes an immediate threat to
public health or safety.
(b) In any action to abate a nuisance, whether by administrative
proceedings, judicial proceedings, or summary abatement, the owner of
the parcel upon which the nuisance is found to exist shall be liable
for all costs of abatement incurred by the county, including, but
not limited to, administrative costs, and any and all costs incurred
in the physical abatement of the nuisance. Recovery of costs pursuant
to this section shall be in addition to and shall not limit any
prevailing party's right to recover costs pursuant to Sections 1032
and 1033.5 of the Code of Civil Procedure or any other provision of
law.
(c) A county may, by ordinance, provide for the recovery of
attorneys' fees in any action, administrative proceeding, or special
proceeding to abate a nuisance. If the ordinance provides for the
recovery of attorneys' fees, it shall provide for recovery of
attorneys' fees by the prevailing party, rather than limiting
recovery of attorneys' fees to the county if it prevails. The
ordinance may limit recovery of attorneys' fees by the prevailing
party to those individual actions or proceedings in which the county
elects, at the initiation of that individual action or proceeding, to
seek recovery of its own attorneys' fees. In no action,
administrative proceeding, or special proceeding shall an award of
attorneys' fees to a prevailing party exceed the amount of reasonable
attorneys' fees incurred by the county in the action or proceeding.
(d) If the owner fails to pay the costs of the abatement upon
demand by the county, the board of supervisors may order the cost of
the abatement to be specially assessed against the parcel. The
assessment may be collected at the same time and in the same manner
as ordinary county taxes are collected, and shall be subject to the
same penalties and the same procedure and sale in case of delinquency
as are provided for ordinary county taxes. All laws applicable to
the levy, collection, and enforcement of county taxes are applicable
to the special assessment.
(e) If the board of supervisors specially assesses the cost of the
abatement against the parcel, the board also may cause a notice of
abatement lien to be recorded. The notice shall, at a minimum,
identify the record owner or possessor of property, set forth the
last known address of the record owner or possessor, set forth the
date upon which abatement of the nuisance was ordered by the board of
supervisors and the date the abatement was complete, and include a
description of the real property subject to the lien and the amount
of the abatement cost.
(f) However, if the board of supervisors does not cause the
recordation of a notice of abatement lien pursuant to subdivision
(e), and any real property to which the costs of abatement relates
has been transferred or conveyed to a bona fide purchaser for value,
or a lien on a bona fide encumbrancer for value has been created and
attaches to that property, prior to the date on which the first
installment of county taxes would become delinquent, then the cost of
abatement shall not result in a lien against that real property but
shall be transferred to the unsecured roll for collection.
(g) Recordation of a notice of abatement lien pursuant to
subdivision (e) has the same effect as recordation of an abstract of
a money judgment recorded pursuant to Article 2 (commencing with
Section 697.310) of Chapter 2 of Division 2 of Title 9 of Part 2 of
the Code of Civil Procedure. The lien created has the same priority
as a judgment lien on real property and continues in effect until
released. Upon order of the board of supervisors, or any county
officer authorized by the board of supervisors to act on its behalf,
an abatement lien created under this section may be released or
subordinated in the same manner as a judgment lien on real property
may be released or subordinated.
(h) The board of supervisors may delegate the hearing required by
subdivision (a), prior to abatement of a public nuisance, to a
hearing board designated by the board of supervisors. The hearing
board shall make a written recommendation to the board of
supervisors. The board of supervisors may adopt the recommendation
without further notice of hearing, or may set the matter for a de
novo hearing before the board of supervisors.
(i) The board of supervisors may, by ordinance, delegate to a
hearing officer appointed pursuant to Section 27720 the powers and
duties specified by this section.