Administrative Citations
The Administrative Citation Ordinance was established to address code violations that are not voluntarily corrected by residents and other responsible parties. The Administrative Citation process establishes a procedure that provides an additional civil legal remedy that allows for Turlock Municipal Code (TMC) violations to be processed in a civil manner, thereby avoiding the necessity of a criminal prosecution.The primary goal of the City is to have residents voluntarily comply with Code requirements. The Administrative Citation process is a tool available if voluntary compliance is not possible.
The Administrative Citation process allows for the issuance of warning notices and subsequent citations with increasing fines for each offense. When an Enforcement Officer determines that there has been a violation of the TMC, by witnessing the violation or after conducting an investigation due to a third party complaint, the enforcement officer may issue an Administrative Warning Notice. The Warning Notice will act to alert the responsible party to the fact that a violation of the Code has been committed and give that person an opportunity to remedy the situation within a specified number of days indicated on the Warning Notice. The chart below illustrates the Administrative Citation process.
Violation Reported or Witnessed | ||
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| (Optional) Warning Notice Issued Specified time given to resolve issue | ||
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Violation not resolved 1st Offense Citation issued |  | Request a Hearing Filed within 30 days of the Citation issuance date. Violation fines paid as deposit or Hardship Waiver approved |
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Violation not resolved 2nd Offense Citation issued | Hearing held Decision Rendered Appeal to Superior Court within 20 days | |
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Violation not resolved 3rd Offense Citation issued | ||
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Violation not resolved Other enforcement actions | ||
Fine Schedules
Administrative Fine Schedule| $100.00 | For a 1st offense |
| $200.00 | For a 2nd offense of the same Code section that is committed within 12 months of the 1st offense. |
| $500.00 | For a 3rd offense of the same Code section that is committed within 12 months of the 1st offense. |
Building & Safety Code Fines | |
| $100.00 | For a 1st offense. |
| $500.00 | For a 2nd offense of the same Code section that is committed within 12 months of the 1st offense. |
| $1,000.00 | For a 3rd offense of the same Code section that is committed within 12 months of the 1st offense. |
Each day that a prohibited condition, use or activity under the code is committed and/or allowed to continue, shall constitute a separate violation for which a citation may be issued.
A Citation may be served either by personal delivery to the responsible party or by first class mail through the U.S. Postal Service.
Payment of a fine does not excuse a cited person from correcting the violation for which they were cited.
Should the fines be delinquent after 90 days, the City may begin proceedings to collect any past due fines and/or late payment charges by use of all available legal means.