18.70.190 Enforcement and appeals | North Bend City Code

18.70.190 Enforcement and appeals.

The planning director or, in the absence of a planning director, the city administrator shall have the power and duty to enforce the provisions of this chapter; and an appeal from a ruling by the planning director or city administrator shall be made to the planning commission, except as otherwise provided for in this section.

(a) Any sign installed or placed in the public right-of-way or on city-owned real property, except in conformance with the requirements of this chapter, may be removed by the planning director as follows:

(i) Immediate confiscation without prior notice to the owner of the sign.

(A) Prior to confiscation, the location of the sign shall be documented by photograph.

(ii) The city shall store any sign ordered to be removed by the planning director for a period of 30 days from the time the person responsible therefor is notified as provided in this section.

(A) The city shall continue to store such sign for any additional period during which an appeal is under review.

(iii) If a telephone number or address of the owner of the sign, person responsible therefor, or person or business that is the subject of the communication on the sign is on the text of a sign, the city shall contact said person or business by telephone or by mail (based on the manner of contact stated on the sign) and advise that the sign was found in a location that the city believes to be a public right-of-way or city-owned real property and that no permit was issued for the placement of the sign in said location, and that the sign is not otherwise lawfully permitted to be in said location.

(A) The communication shall advise said person or business that the city has confiscated the sign and shall destroy the sign after 30 days from the time the person responsible therefor is notified, unless either the sign is claimed or an appeal is submitted by the reputed sign owner to the planning director.

(B) If no telephone number or mailing address, or other form of contact, is stated for the owner of the sign on the sign, the city shall retain the sign for a period of 10 days to permit the sign owner to ascertain that the sign has been removed and to file an appeal.

(b) Notice of appeal must be filed with the planning department within 10 calendar days of the date that the planning director provides the notice of violation or, if the owner of the sign cannot be ascertained, the date when the sign is removed.

(i) Upon receipt of a timely filed appeal and payment of the applicable filing fee, a hearing shall be held within seven business days before a hearings officer appointed by the city administrator. The planning director shall provide the reputed sign owner and the appropriate city staff at least three days’ notice of the date, time, and place of the hearing.

(ii) The hearing shall be conducted by the designated hearings officer. Except for notice procedures which shall be as set forth in subsection (1)(b)(i) of this section, the procedures for the hearing shall be substantially the same as those provided in Chapter 18.60 NBCC and sufficient to provide the parties not less than the minimum due process required under state and federal law.

(i) The sign was located in a public right-of-way or on city-owned real property.

(ii) The sign owner is not a public entity or other public entity authorized under this chapter to install and maintain public signs within the public right-of-way.

(d) The sign owner may rebut the prima facie showing of violation upon a showing that the sign was lawfully permitted within the public right-of-way or on city-owned real property, or that the law does not require the sign owner to obtain a permit under this chapter to place a sign within the public right-of-way or on city-owned real property.

(e) The hearings officer shall issue a written decision within 10 days following the close of the hearing. The decision shall be based upon substantial evidence in the record. A copy of the decision shall be mailed to the reputed sign owner at such address as provided on the appeal form. The decision of the hearings officer shall be the final decision of the city.

(i) If the hearings officer determines that the sign was not lawfully placed upon the public right-of-way or city-owned real property, then, following any applicable appeal or review period, if the person responsible for the sign has not reclaimed the sign as provided herein, the planning director may destroy the sign or dispose of it in any manner deemed appropriate, in addition to other remedies imposed in this chapter.

(ii) If the hearings officer determines that the sign was lawfully placed upon the public right-of-way or city-owned real property, then the city shall reinstall the sign upon the same place that it was removed from within three business days of the issuance of the decision and the fee for appeal shall be refunded to the payor of the fee.

(a) The planning director may order the removal of any sign erected or maintained on private property or on non-city-owned public property, other than on public right-of-way, in violation of the provisions of this chapter.

(b) An order to bring a sign into compliance or to remove a sign shall be in writing and mailed or delivered to the owner of the sign, if known, and the owner of the building, structure, or premises on which the sign is located, if the owner of the sign is not known.

(i) Photographic evidence depicting the sign that is the subject of the order.

(ii) A statement that the sign violates the regulations in this chapter.

(iii) The reasons why it has been concluded that the sign violates the regulations in this chapter.

(iv) A statement that the sign must be brought into compliance or be removed within 30 days of the date of the order.

(v) Information about the right to submit an appeal to determine whether or not the sign is in violation of this chapter.

(d) An appeal shall be filed by the reputed owner of the sign, or owner of the building, structure, or premises on which the sign is located, within 10 days following that date of the notice of violation. Appeals shall be filed with the planning department.

(e) Upon receipt of an appeal, the planning director shall proceed in the manner specified in subsection (1)(b)(i) of this section, and a hearing shall be held in the manner specified in subsection (1)(b)(ii) of this section and a decision issued pursuant to subsection (1)(e) of this section.

(f) A prima facie violation of this chapter shall be met if it is shown that either of the following is true:

(i) The sign does not conform to the requirements of this chapter.

(ii) The sign was placed by a person not authorized to place the sign in the specific location.

(g) The prima facie showing of a violation may be rebutted upon a showing that the sign was lawfully permitted or authorized under this chapter, or is otherwise required to be installed and maintained by state or federal law.

(h) If the hearings officer determines that the sign is not permitted or authorized by this chapter, or by other applicable state or federal law, then within l0 days following any applicable appeal period, the owner of the sign, or owner of the building, structure, or premises on which the sign is located shall cause the sign to be removed, or altered in such a manner as to be made to conform to the requirements of this chapter. A sign which is not removed or altered in such a manner as to be made to conform to the requirements of this chapter is deemed a public nuisance and may be abated by the city of North Bend following the procedures in NBCC 8.12.030.

(a) If the building official finds that any sign regulated herein is unsafe or insecure as to constitute a real and present danger to the public, a written notice shall be mailed to the last known address of the sign owner and the property owner. If said sign is not removed, altered, or repaired so as to comply with the standards herein set forth within 30 days after such notice, the building official may cause said sign to be removed or altered to comply at the expense of the sign owner or property owner of the property on which it is located. The building official may cause any sign that is determined to be an immediate peril to persons or property to be removed summarily and without notice at the expense of the sign or property owner.

(b) An order for the removal of unsafe signs shall be in the same manner as provided in subsection (2) of this section, and the procedures for requesting a hearing, and the decision issued, shall be as set forth therein.

(a) An owner of a sign shall remove the sign when it is abandoned.

(b) Abandonment of a sign shall be determined when it is shown that:

(i) The sign is no longer used by the person who constructed the sign or the property where the sign is located is no longer used.

(A) The sign owner may rebut the prima facie showing of this ground of abandonment upon a showing that a reasonable effort is underway to continue the use of the property or sign.

(ii) The sign has been damaged, and repairs and restoration are not started within 90 days of the date the sign was damaged, or are not diligently pursued, once started.

(c) The planning director may order the removal of abandoned signs in the same manner as provided in subsection (2) of this section, and the procedures for requesting a hearing, and the decision issued, shall be as set forth therein. (Ord. 2061 § 1, 2022)