§ 26.20.120. Civil penalties—Notice, right to appeal and final penalty assessment.
A.
The director shall serve the notice of civil penalty upon the person to whom it is directed, either personally or by mailing a registered or certified copy of the notice of civil penalty to such person at their last known address. If the person to whom it is directed cannot after due diligence be personally served within Thurston County and if an address for mailed service cannot after due diligence be ascertained, notice shall be served by posting a copy of the notice of civil penalty conspicuously on the affected property or structure. Proof of service shall be made by a written declaration under penalty of perjury executed by the person affecting the service, declaring the time and date of service, the manner which the service was made, and if by posting the facts showing that due diligence was used in attempting to serve the person or by mail.
B.
A person to whom a notice of civil penalty has been issued may appeal the notice of civil penalty to the hearing examiner. Appeal procedures shall be in accordance with Section 20.60.060 TCC and as described above in Section 26.05.080 TCC. Notice of right to appeal shall be indicated in the notice of civil penalty. For daily or accruing civil penalties, notice of right to appeal for each day that a civil penalty shall accrue should be conspicuously included in the notice of civil penalty.
C.
With the exceptions as listed in Table 26-1, civil penalties for all violations of the Thurston County Codes as listed in Section 26.05.010 TCC, are Class 2 penalties. Applicable fines for Class 1 and Class 2 penalties shall be the same as that set for an equivalent Civil Infraction under state law. Except that, civil penalty may be doubled for subsequent violations within any five year period.
D.
At the request of the penalized individual(s) or entity, the director may reduce any penalty amount prior to collection for good cause shown.
E.
A final determination of assessment of civil penalties shall be made by the county hearing examiner for any penalty in excess of two days. Notice of hearing for final assessment shall be sent to the person upon whom the final assessment would be directed. Notice and right to appeal shall be served as described above in this provision. At the hearing for final assessment, the hearing examiner shall take into consideration the following factors:
1.
The person's efforts to correct the violation and whether corrective action has been completed;
2.
Whether the person failed to appear at the hearing;
3.
Whether the violation was a complete violation;
4.
Whether the person showed due diligence and/or substantial progress in correcting the violation;
5.
The amount of time and resources expended to abate the violation;
6.
Whether a genuine code interpretation issue exists; and
7.
Any other relevant factors.
F.
Upon considering the factors above, the hearing examiner shall make a final assessment constituting the total civil penalties to be imposed. Upon issuing a final order of civil penalty, the Thurston County prosecuting attorney shall seek to obtain judgment on the amount assessed unless the final order is appealed to the superior court under the provisions described in Section 20.60.060 TCC.
Table 26-1
Class 1 Civil Infractions
and Class 1 Civil PenaltiesCode Violation Description
1. Building primary structure without required permit 2. Change of occupancy 3. Failure to abate dangerous building 4. Grading or unlawful fill more than 500 cubic yards without permit 5. Unauthorized alteration of critical area or removal of each protected tree 6. Failure to comply with stop work notice or restoration requirement 7. Failure to comply with the energy conservation code 8. Any Class 2 civil infraction or civil penalty violation may be re-classified to a Class 1 if such violation is repetitive, is unduly detrimental in nature, or is committed by a repeat violator, as determined by the director
(Ord. No. 15274, § 1(Att. A), 2-23-2016; Ord. No. 15628 , § 1(Att. A), 6-5-2018)