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A. Any violation of or failure to do or perform any act required by this Article constitutes a civil offense, unless otherwise provided.

B. Customers of property in violation of this Article may be held individually and jointly responsible for the violation, the prescribed civil penalties and for abating the violation.

C. Notice of Violation.

1. The Town may seek voluntary compliance with the provisions of this section before issuing a civil citation or criminal complaint, as applicable. This may include a written notice of violation given to the responsible party for the property.

2. A Notice of violation may be issued by the Town Manager or authorized designee.

3. The Notice of violation shall set forth the nature of the violation, the action required to come into compliance with this Article, the time period provided to come into compliance, and the person at the Town to contact for further information.

4. The Town shall use reasonable efforts to ensure that Notices of violation are received by the responsible party; provided, however, failure of the responsible party to receive a Notice of violation shall not preclude the subsequent issuance of a civil citation or criminal complaint, as applicable.

5. Nothing in this Section shall prevent the Town from taking immediate action to protect the public from an imminent hazard to health or safety as otherwise provided by law.

D. Civil Citations.

1. Unless otherwise designated as a criminal offense in this Section, if a violation continues past the compliance time set forth in the Notice of violation, a civil citation may be issued to the Person responsible for the violation.

2. A civil citation may be issued by the Town Manager or authorized designee.

3. The citation shall include the date of the violation, the location of the property and a reference to the section(s) violated.

4. The citation shall direct the defendant to pay the fine imposed pursuant to subsection (E) of this section or appear in the Fountain Hills Municipal Court on the date noted on the citation, which date shall not be less than ten (10) days after citation issuance.

5. The citation shall provide notice that if the defendant fails to pay the fine or appear in the Fountain Hills Municipal Court as directed, a default judgment will be entered in the amount of the fine designated on the citation for the violation. In addition, a default fee may be imposed for failure to appear.

6. Service of the citation may be accomplished and will be deemed proper and complete by any of the following methods:

a. Hand delivering the citation to the defendant.

b. Mailing a copy of the citation by certified or registered mail, return receipt requested, to the defendant’s last known address.

c. Any means allowed by the Arizona Rules of Civil Procedure for the Superior Court.

E. Civil Penalties.

1. A person issued a citation based upon violations of this Article, other than Section 10-1-6, 10-1-7 or 10-1-11, shall be punishable pursuant to Section 1-8-3.

2. Any defendant that fails to pay the fine or appear in the Fountain Hills Municipal Court as directed by a citation issued pursuant to this Section, or who fails to appear at the time and place set for trial of a matter arising under this Section, shall be subject to an additional default fee in an amount established by the Fountain Hills Municipal Court.

3. Any judgments issued by the Fountain Hills Municipal Court shall be subject to all surcharges and fees imposed by State law in addition to the base civil fines required by this Section.

4. Judgments shall be collected in the same manner as any other civil judgment as provided by law.

F. The penalties set forth in this section shall be in addition to any penalty that may be assessed pursuant to state law or the Maricopa County Environmental Health Code. (2021-29, Amended, 09/21/2021; 21-14, Amended, 09/21/2021; 10-08, Added, 11/04/2010)