Editor's Note: Prior history: Prior code §§ 8300-8312 and Ord. Nos. 1278CCS, 1854CCS and 1880CCS.
(a) 
The intent of this Chapter is to provide a comprehensive mechanism for the identification and abatement of public nuisances within the City.
(b) 
The remedies provided for in this Chapter are supplemental and complementary to all of the provisions of this Code, State law, and any law cognizable at common law or in equity; and nothing herein shall be read, interpreted or construed in any manner to limit any existing right or power of the City to abate any and all public nuisances.
(c) 
The procedures for abatement of substandard buildings contained in this Chapter are deemed equivalent for the purpose intended under Article 6, Actions and Proceedings of the California Code of Regulations, Title 25, Division 1, Chapter 1, Sub-Chapter 1.
(Added by Ord. No. 1945CCS § 24, adopted 6/8/99; amended by Ord. No. 2538CCS § 1, adopted 3/28/17; Ord. No. 2758CCS, 9/26/2023)
The provisions of this Chapter shall apply to all property throughout the City wherein any of the conditions hereinafter specified are found to exist; provided, however, that any condition which would constitute a violation of this Chapter, but which is duly authorized under any other City, State or Federal law, shall not constitute a violation.
(Added by Ord. No. 1945CCS § 24, adopted 6/8/99; amended by Ord. No. 2538CCS § 1, adopted 3/28/17; Ord. No. 2758CCS, 9/26/2023)
"Cost of abatement"
means the total cost incurred by the City in connection with abating a public nuisance, including, but not limited to:
(1) 
Any cost incurred in removing or remedying a public nuisance; and
(2) 
A service fee for services rendered by the City in connection with inspection, notification, prosecution, and abatement procedures authorized by this Chapter, which fee will be calculated based on all services rendered by the City from initial inspection of the property for the purpose of documenting a violation of this Chapter until the violation is corrected; and
(3) 
Any expense incurred by the City in collecting the costs enumerated in this subsection.
"Director"
means the Director of Community Development, or designee.
"Graffiti"
means any writing, printing, symbol, figure, design, painting, marking, inscription, or other defacement that is written, sprayed, painted, scratched, etched, engraved, drawn, marked, or otherwise applied to any exterior surface of a building, wall, window, fence, tree, sidewalk, curb, or other structure without the prior consent of the owner or person in possession.
"Minor automotive repair and service"
includes replacement of wiper blades, fuses, radiator caps, lamps, and other minor accessories, changing oil and transmission fluid, patching or mounting of tires and similar repairs and services.
"Owner"
means the owner of record of real property.
"Person"
means any natural person, firm, association, club, organization, corporation, partnership, business trust, company or any other entity which is recognized by law as having rights and duties.
"Premises"
means any real property or improvements thereon.
"Public nuisance"
means any nuisance designated in Section 13.06.050 of this Chapter.
"Responsible party"
means an individual or entity who is responsible for causing or maintaining a violation of this Chapter. The term "responsible party" includes, but is not limited to, a property owner, tenant, occupant, person with a legal interest in real property or person in possession of real property, the president or other head of a corporation, or a business owner, or manager of a business.
(Added by Ord. No. 1945CCS § 24, adopted 6/8/99; amended by Ord. No. 2538CCS § 1, adopted 3/28/17; Ord. No. 2758CCS, 9/26/2023; Ord. No. 2810CCS, 4/22/2025)
(a) 
Every responsible party owning, possessing, managing, or having charge or control of any real property within the City is required to maintain such property so as not to violate the provisions of this Chapter. The owner of the property shall remain liable for violations hereof regardless of any contract or agreement with any third party regarding such property or the occupation of the property by any third party.
(b) 
It shall be unlawful for any owner, occupant, lessee, or holder of any possessor interest of real property within the City to create or maintain a public nuisance on such property.
(Added by Ord. No. 1945CCS § 24, adopted 6/8/99; amended by Ord. No. 2538CCS § 1, adopted 3/28/17; Ord. No. 2758CCS, 9/26/2023; Ord. No. 2810CCS, 4/22/2025)
It is hereby declared a public nuisance and a violation of this Chapter for a responsible party owning, possessing, managing, or having charge or control of any real property in the City to permit any of the following activities to occur on the real property of the owner, or for a responsible party to commit any of the following activities. A violation of any of the following subsections may be cited as a separate offense:
(a) 
Any building, place, or business which has been operated or maintained in a manner that has resulted in repeated disruptive activities, including, but not limited to, assaults; batteries; curfew, loitering, or vagrancy violations; disorderly conduct; disturbances of the peace; driving under the influence; drunkenness; harassment of passersby; illegal parking; liquor law violations; loud noises (particularly in late night or early morning hours); peeping; public urination; sale of stolen goods; trespass; and/or vandalism.
(b) 
Animal disturbances or violations, including, but not limited to, any condition in violation of Chapter 4.04 (Animals) or Section 4.12.090 (Noisy animals) of this Code.
(c) 
Every building or place used for the purpose of, and every business selling, serving, storing, keeping, manufacturing or giving away any controlled substance (as defined in Division 10 of the California Health and Safety Code) and every building or place wherein or upon which those acts take place.
(d) 
Every building or place used for the purpose of, and every business engaged in, unlawfully selling, serving, or giving away alcoholic beverages and every building or place in or upon which alcoholic beverages are unlawfully sold, served, or given away.
(e) 
Every building or place used for the purpose of illegal gambling as defined by State or local law, lewdness or prostitution, and every building or place in or upon which such activities are held or occur.
(f) 
Reserved.
(g) 
Parking of vehicles, vessels, or similar mobile equipment on the grass, dirt, or other landscaped areas surrounding a residential property.
(h) 
Repair and/or disassembling any vehicle or vessel in a residential zone and on residential property, where such activity is visible from the public right-of-way except:
(1) 
Minor automotive repair and service, performed on motor vehicles owned by and registered to the occupants of the dwelling, performed on a driveway, in a carport, or other legally paved surface on private property;
(2) 
The work does not involve repetitive testing of an engine;
(3) 
No more than one motor vehicle, as viewed from the public right-of-way, is being worked on at any point in time; and
(4) 
The work complies with the City's Noise Ordinance.
(i) 
Any violation of Chapters 13.02 and 13.04 of this Code that poses an immediate threat to public health or safety, or one that is maintained for more than forty-eight hours after notification to the property owner or other responsible party by a city enforcement officer.
(j) 
Any public nuisance as defined in Civil Code Sections 3479 and 3480 and Penal Code Sections 370 and 371, or otherwise recognized in law or in equity as constituting a public nuisance, and any condition identified as a public nuisance in any other provision of this Code.
(k) 
Five or more violations in any rolling one-year period of any combination of Chapter 4.27 (Tenant Protection), Chapter 4.28 (Housing Anti-Discrimination Code), Chapter 4.36 (Tenant Relocation Association), Chapter 4.56 (Tenant Harassment), Chapter 8.92 (Housing Code), Chapter 13.02 (Property Maintenance), Chapter 13.04 (Vacant Properties), or any City, County, or State law related to building construction or fire prevention.
(l) 
The illegal subdividing or renting of dwelling units in violation of building codes and occupancy standards.
(m) 
Employing harassing or unsafe tactics in the course of conducting business operations that endangers the health or safety of a considerable number of persons, including, but not limited to:
(1) 
Intentionally or recklessly making physical contact with or touching another person without consent;
(2) 
Intentionally or recklessly blocking or impeding the free passage or use of a public right-of-way;
(3) 
Engaging in speech or conduct in a manner intended or likely to cause a reasonable person to: (i) fear imminent bodily harm or the commission of a criminal act upon property in the person's possession; (ii) intimidate a person being solicited into responding affirmatively to the solicitation; or (iii) intimidate another person or business into altering their business operations.
(n) 
Any violation of Chapters 8.58 (Mandatory Seismic Retrofit Administrative Requirements), 8.60 (Mandatory Seismic Retrofit Requirements for Unreinforced Masonry Bearing Wall Buildings), 8.64 (Mandatory Seismic Retrofit Requirements for Existing Concrete and Reinforced Masonry Wall Buildings with Flexible Diaphragms), 8.72 (Mandatory Seismic Retrofit Requirements for Soft Weak or Open Front Walls in in Light, Wood-Framed Buildings), 8.76 (Mandatory Seismic Retrofit Requirements for Existing Welded Steel Moment Frame Structures), or 8.80 (Mandatory Seismic Retrofit Requirements for Existing Non-Ductile Concrete Buildings).
(o) 
Any combination of three or more violations in a rolling one-year time period for engaging in construction or demolition work without first obtaining all required permits and approvals in violation of Section 8.08.050 of this Code, or for violating a stop work order. The issuance of a Notice of Violation, stop work order, or administrative citation for violation of Section 8.08.050 is sufficient to prove the existence of a qualifying violation, except that a stop work order or an administrative citation that is in the process of being appealed, or which has been appealed and overturned, shall not establish a qualifying violation.
(Added by Ord. No. 1945CCS § 24, adopted 6/8/99; amended by Ord. No. 2538CCS § 1, adopted 3/28/17; Ord. No. 2758CCS, 9/26/2023; Ord. No. 2810CCS, 4/22/2025)
(a) 
The Director or the City Attorney or designee, shall, within a reasonable period of time from the date of the occurrence of any activity listed in Section 13.06.050, notify the known responsible parties of the nuisance activity. The notice shall include:
(1) 
The location of the property;
(2) 
The name of the person(s) conducting the nuisance activity (if known and appropriate);
(3) 
The description of the nuisance activity; and
(4) 
Suggested remedies to abate the nuisance activity.
(b) 
The notice provided for by this Section may constitute a compliance order for the purposes of Chapter 1.10 of this Code. A notice pursuant to this Section is not required to be given prior to the issuance of an administrative citation for violation of this Chapter pursuant to Chapter 1.09 of this Code, or the imposition of any other penalty or remedy permitted by law.
(c) 
The notice provided for by this section shall not require or encourage the owner of real property actually used for residential rental purposes to do any of the following, nor shall it impose or threaten to impose any penalty on the owner of real property actually used for residential rental purposes for failing to take any of the following actions:
(1) 
Evict or penalize a tenant because of the tenant's association with another tenant or household member who has had contact with a law enforcement agency or has a criminal conviction;
(2) 
Evict or penalize a tenant because of the tenant's alleged unlawful conduct or arrest;
(3) 
Include a provision in a lease or rental agreement that provides a ground for eviction not provided by, or that is in conflict with, State or Federal law;
(4) 
Perform a criminal background check of a tenant or a prospective tenant.
(d) 
The notice described in this Section shall be delivered to the responsible party by personal delivery or regular mail, in a sealed envelope postage prepared, addressed to the person to be notified at his or her last known business or residence address. Service by mail is deemed to have been completed at the time of deposit in the post office.
(e) 
Where real property is involved, the notice shall be served on the owner of the property, either by personal delivery or via regular mail, at the address listed on the latest equalized County assessment. Within five days of the date of mailing the notice, the owner shall provide a copy of the notice to all other responsible parties.
(Ord. No. 2810CCS, 4/22/2025)
(a) 
Notwithstanding any other provision of this Chapter, whenever the condition giving rise to the public nuisance is an imminent threat to life, property, health, or public safety requiring immediate action, the City shall have immediate jurisdiction to abate the public nuisance and may order or take such action as is necessary to immediately abate the public nuisance.
(b) 
The City shall only pursue such remedial actions as are reasonably necessary to eliminate the immediacy of the hazard. The costs of such abatement, to the extent that they are not part of any regularly provided City service, shall be recoverable against the property owner and/or responsible persons through the steps outlined in this Chapter or any other methods authorized by law.
(Added by Ord. No. 1945CCS § 24, adopted 6/8/99; amended by Ord. No. 2538CCS § 1, adopted 3/28/17; Ord. No. 2758CCS, 9/26/2023)
(a) 
The City Council finds that proliferation of graffiti presents an imminent danger to the public safety and welfare. Law enforcement officials and other experts agree that immediate removal of gang-related graffiti is necessary to reduce the risk of violent and other criminal activities associated with gangs and gang territories. The presence of graffiti which is not abated immediately encourages the creation of additional graffiti, resulting in neighborhood blight and increased costs of abatement.
(b) 
The City is authorized to summarily abate graffiti. The abatement may be undertaken by City staff or by outside contractors.
(c) 
The City shall provide the owner of the property subject to abatement action under this Section with written notice specifying the date that the City will abate the graffiti. This notice shall be mailed to the owner by certified mail, return receipt requested, at least five days prior to the scheduled City abatement. It shall inform the owner that the City will not undertake the abatement if the owner notifies the City in writing that the owner will abate the graffiti by a date specific acceptable to the City. The cost of abatement performed by the City shall be recovered in accordance with Section 13.06.080 except the accounting requirements of Section 13.06.080(b) may be undertaken by the Director of Public Works.
(Added by Ord. No. 1945CCS § 24, adopted 6/8/99; amended by Ord. No. 2538CCS § 1, adopted 3/28/17; Ord. No. 2758CCS, 9/26/2023)
(a) 
The cost of abating a public nuisance shall either be a lien on the property, a special assessment against the property, or the personal obligation of owner and/or the person responsible for creating, causing, committing, or maintaining the public nuisance.
(b) 
The Director shall keep an itemized account of the expenses incurred by the City in abating nuisances under the provisions of this Chapter, including all administrative costs. Upon the completion of the work of abatement, the Building Official, shall prepare and file with the City Council a report specifying the abatement measures undertaken, the itemized and total cost of the abatement, a description of the real property on which the abatement was done, and the names and addresses of the persons entitled to notice pursuant to subsection (c) Service of order to abate public nuisance. This report shall be verified by the City official in charge of the abatement work.
(c) 
The City shall cause notice of the cost of abatement to be given in the same manner as a summons in a civil action in accordance with Code of Civil Procedure Section 415.10 et seq. If the owner of record after diligent search cannot be found, the notice may be served by posting a copy thereof in a conspicuous place upon the property for a period of ten days and publication thereof in a newspaper of general circulation published in Los Angeles County pursuant to Government Code Section 6062. The City shall also cause notice of the hearing to be served by certified mail, postage prepaid, addressed to the persons entitled. Such notices shall be given at least ten days prior to the date set for hearing and shall specify the day, hour, and place when the City Council will hear and pass upon the report of the Building Official. The notice shall specify that the property may be sold after three years by the tax collector for unpaid delinquent assessments.
(d) 
At the time fixed for the hearing, the City Council shall hear and pass upon the report, together with any objections or protests which may be raised by any property owner liable to be assessed for the abatement work. The protests heard by the City Council pursuant to this subsection shall relate only to the charge to be made for abatement. No protest shall be heard concerning the underlying enforcement action in ordering the abatement of the nuisance, unless such abatement order was issued as a result of an emergency. Written protests may also be filed with the City Clerk at any time prior to the time set for the hearing on the report. Each written protest or objection must contain the property address and the grounds for such protest or objection. After hearing all oral protests and reviewing all written protests, the City Council may make such revisions, corrections, or modifications to the report as it may deem just, after which, by resolution, the report, as submitted, revised, corrected, or modified, shall be confirmed. The City Council may adjourn the hearings from time to time. The decisions of the City Council on all protests and objections which may be made shall be final and conclusive.
(e) 
Pursuant to Government Code Section 38773.1, the cost of abatement of a public nuisance under this Chapter can be a lien on the property or against the owner of the property as provided in subsection (g) of this Section.
(f) 
Alternatively, pursuant to Government Code Section 38773.5, the cost of abatement of a public nuisance under this Chapter can be a special assessment against the property as provided in subsection (i) of this Section.
(g) 
If the cost of abatement is not paid within ten days after its confirmation by the City Council, the City may file in the office of the County Recorder a certificate in substantially the following form:
NOTICE OF LIEN
On the _____ day of _____, 20_____, the City of Santa Monica caused a public nuisance to be abated on the real property hereinafter described pursuant to an abatement order dated _____, 20_____.
The City of Santa Monica did on the _____ day of _____, 20_____, by action duly recorded in its official minutes, assess the cost of such abatement and related administrative costs, and determined that the same have not been paid. The City of Santa Monica hereby claims a lien on said real property for the net expense of the doing of said work plus related administrative costs in the sum of $_____, and the same shall be a lien on said property until said sum, with interest at the rate of seven percent per annum, from the _____ day of __________, _________ 20_____ (date of confirmation of statement), has been paid in full and discharged of record. The real property hereinbefore mentioned, and upon which a lien is claimed, is that certain piece or parcel of land lying and being in the City of Santa Monica, County of Los Angeles, State of California, and particularly described as follows:
________________________________________________
(Description of Property)
________________________________________________
Street Address
________________________________________________
Legal Description
________________________________________________
Parcel Numbers
________________________________________________
(Name of owner and address)
Dated: _________________________________________
________________________________________________
Building Official
(h) 
From and after the date of recording the notice of lien, all persons shall be deemed to have had notice of the contents thereof. If any such lien is not paid, the City may file and maintain an action to foreclose such lien or take any other action as provided by law.
(i) 
As an alternative to the procedure authorized in subsection (d) of this Section and pursuant to Government Code Section 38773.5, the cost of abatement, if not paid within ten days after its confirmation by the City Council, may constitute a special assessment against that parcel of property which shall be recorded as follows:
(1) 
After the City Council determines that the charge will be assessed against the property, the City shall record a notice describing the abatement action and the total costs with the County Recorder.
(2) 
After confirmation of the report prepared pursuant to subsection (b) of this Section and recordation of the notice, certified copies of the report and the City Council resolution shall be given to the County Auditor or Assessor who shall add the amount of the assessment to the next regular tax bill levied against the parcel in the same manner as ordinary municipal taxes.
(3) 
The amount of the assessment shall be collected at the same time and in the same manner as ordinary municipal taxes and shall be subject to the same penalties and procedure and sale in case of delinquency as provided for ordinary municipal taxes. All laws applicable to the levy, collection and enforcement of property taxes shall be applicable to such assessment.
(4) 
The assessment liens shall be subordinate to all existing special assessment liens previously imposed upon the same property and paramount to all other liens except State, County, and municipal taxes with which it shall be on parity. The lien shall continue until the assessment and all interest due and payable thereon has been paid.
(j) 
The City Council may also order that the cost for the abatement be made a personal obligation of the property owner and/or the person responsible for causing, committing, or maintaining the public nuisance. The City Council shall then direct the City Attorney and the Finance Department to collect the cost of abatement.
(k) 
The City Council may direct the City Attorney to institute a lawsuit to collect any amounts due by reason of the abatement of a nuisance by the City and to foreclose any existing liens for such amounts. Notwithstanding the provisions of this Chapter, the City Attorney may bring any appropriate civil and criminal action for abatement of any nuisance within the City pursuant to any other provision of the law. Upon entry of a second or subsequent civil or criminal judgment within a two-year period, finding that the owner or possessor of a property, place or area is responsible for a condition that may be abated in accordance with this Chapter, except for conditions abated pursuant to Section 17980 of the Health and Safety Code, the court may order the owner or possessor to pay treble the costs of the abatement to the City.
(l) 
All monies recovered by payment of the charge, obligation, assessment, or lien shall be paid to the City Treasurer who shall credit the same to the nuisance abatement fund.
(Added by Ord. No. 1945CCS § 24, adopted 6/8/99; amended by Ord. No. 2538CCS § 1, adopted 3/28/17; Ord. No. 2758CCS, 9/26/2023)
(a) 
Any person violating any provision of this Chapter shall be guilty of an infraction, which shall be punishable by a fine not exceeding two hundred fifty dollars, or a misdemeanor, which shall be punishable by a fine not exceeding five hundred dollars, or by imprisonment in the County Jail for a period not exceeding six months or by both such fine and imprisonment.
(b) 
Any person found to be in violation of this Chapter in a civil case brought by a law enforcement agency shall be ordered to reimburse, as restitution, the City and other participating law enforcement agencies their full investigative costs and costs of abatement.
(c) 
Any person who violates any provision of this Chapter shall be subject to administrative fines and administrative penalties pursuant to Chapter 1.09 and Chapter 1.10 of this Code.
(d) 
Any interested person may seek an injunction or other relief to prevent or remedy violations of this Chapter.
(e) 
The remedies provided in this Section are not exclusive, and nothing in this Section shall preclude the use or application of any other remedies, penalties or procedures established by law.
(Added by Ord. No. 1945CCS § 24, adopted 6/8/99; amended by Ord. No. 2538CCS § 1, adopted 3/28/17; Ord. No. 2758CCS, 9/26/2023)
The Director shall have the primary responsibility to administer and enforce the provisions of this Chapter. The Director shall have the authority to designate employees as enforcement officers to assist in the enforcement responsibilities, including the issuance of administrative citations pursuant to Chapter 1.09 of this Code. This provision shall in no way be construed as limiting the authority of the City Attorney to investigate, prosecute, enjoin, or use any other remedy to enforce this Chapter.
(Ord. No. 2810CCS, 4/22/2025)
The Finance Director is authorized to establish a revolving fund to be known as the nuisance abatement fund which shall be used to defray costs of administrative and judicial abatement of public nuisances. The fund shall be reimbursed by collection from the property or property owner, or any responsible person, as specified in this Chapter and by the courts. This fund may be operated and used in conjunction with procedures ordered or authorized under this or any other abatement provision of this Code.
(Added by Ord. No. 1945CCS § 24, adopted 6/8/99; amended by Ord. No. 2538CCS § 1, adopted 3/28/17; Ord. No. 2758CCS, 9/26/2023)
If any section, sentence, clause, or phrase of this chapter is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by a decision of any court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portion of this chapter. The Council hereby declares that it would have passed the ordinance codified in this section and adopted this section and each section, sentence, clause, or phrase thereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more sections, subsections, sentences, clauses, or phrases be declared invalid or unconstitutional.
(Ord. No. 2810CCS, 4/22/2025)