Each year, the City notifies land owners of vacant properties that they must maintain their properties to minimize fire risk. If the properties are not properly abated by the land owners, the City has the right, under California Government Code Section 39501, California Government Code section 39560 et seq., Rocklin Municipal Code section 8.12.010 to abate the properties and seek reimbursements for these costs.
On April 9, 2019, Council adopted Resolution 2019-70, which identified parcels requiring abatement, ordered that such abatement be completed by June 1, 2019, and set a public hearing for April 23, 2019, to hear any protests. This Resolution also indicated the City may perform abatement on properties that were not properly abated by the owners and indicated that City would bill the responsible land owner for any costs incurred by the City. Land owners of affected parcels were notified by mail of the public hearing and abatement requirements.
On April 23, 2019, Council held a public hearing and ordered the nuisance be abated. During the summer of 2019, Scott and Sons Weed Control performed abatement on properties that had not been abated by the owners and billed the City for its costs. The City then billed the property owners for fees associated with abating their land and the City sent second notices on those properties that did not respond to the first invoice.
On May 26, 2020, Council approved resolution 2020-93 accepting a report on the costs of abatement attributed to each delinquent parcel and set a public hearing on June 23, 2020, so that Council could consider placing special assessments for reimbursement of delinquent weed abatement charges on the 2020-2021 tax roll. Notice of the public meeting was sent to all owners of record, was posted on the City’s web page, posted near the Council Chambers at least three (3) days prior to the hearing, and was published once in the Placer Herald.
If the City wants to obtain reimbursement of weed abatement cost from land owners through special assessments, the City Council would need to approve the two attached resolutions.
The first resolution would authorize the imposition of special assessments on parcels that have delinquent weed abatement fees, and request the County collect such assessments. The second resolution is required by Placer County for all direct charges the County collected on the City’s behalf. It serves to indemnify the County for any errors in those tax rolls submitted by the City.