Santee, CA Property Maintenance: Property Blight (2026)
Key Facts
- Adopted code
- 1997 Uniform Code for Abatement of Dangerous Buildings
- Adoption citation
- Santee Municipal Code § 11.44.010
- Violation
- Misdemeanor under § 11.44.020
- Penalty basis
- Fine/imprisonment set by Penal Code § 19
- Enforcing agency
- Building Official; Board of Appeals hears contests
Summary
In the City of Santee, the Building Official abates unsafe structures under the 1997 Uniform Code for the Abatement of Dangerous Buildings, adopted wholesale at Santee Municipal Code Section 11.44.010. Anyone who ignores a final abatement order from the Building Official or the Board of Appeals, issued under Chapter 6 of that adopted code, commits a misdemeanor under Section 11.44.020, punishable by a fine or imprisonment set by Section 1.04.060 and tied to Penal Code Section 19.
§ 1.04.060. Fine and punishment—Misdemeanor. Except in cases where a different punishment is prescribed by this code or any ordinance of the City of Santee, any person convicted of a misdemeanor for violating any provision of this code is punishable by a fine or imprisonment or both in the amounts established by Penal Code Section 19 or such other provision of State law, as they currently exist or may hereafter be amended. ... § 11.44.010. Uniform Code for the Abatement of Dangerous Buildings adoption by reference. The City adopts as its dangerous building code the 1997 Edition of the Uniform Code for the Abatement of Dangerous Buildings as published by the International Conference of Building Officials. ... § 11.44.020. Penalties. Any person who violates or fails to comply with Chapter 6 of the Uniform Code for the Abatement of Dangerous Buildings or any final order of the Building Official or the Board of Appeals made pursuant to this chapter is guilty of a misdemeanor and may be punished by a fine or imprisonment as set forth in Title 1 of this code.
Full Breakdown
Santee never wrote its own dangerous-building rules from scratch. Chapter 11.44 of the Santee Municipal Code adopts the International Conference of Building Officials' 1997 Edition of the Uniform Code for the Abatement of Dangerous Buildings as the City's dangerous building code, per Section 11.44.010. That adopted code supplies the definitions of a dangerous building, the notice-and-hearing steps the Building Official must follow, and the Board of Appeals process an owner can use to contest an abatement order. Development Services' Building Division administers the program day to day; the Board of Appeals hears contested orders.
Section 11.44.020 backs the adopted code with a criminal penalty: violating Chapter 6 of the Uniform Code for the Abatement of Dangerous Buildings, or defying a final order of the Building Official or the Board of Appeals, is a misdemeanor. Because Section 11.44.020 sends punishment to Title 1 of the Santee Municipal Code, the operative fine and jail exposure comes from Section 1.04.060, which caps a misdemeanor conviction under the Santee Municipal Code at whatever fine or imprisonment, or both, California Penal Code Section 19 currently allows, unless a different punishment is written into the specific chapter. Because Chapter 11.44 sets no separate number, the Penal Code Section 19 ceiling controls every dangerous-building prosecution the City Attorney files.
Owners facing an order should expect the Building Official to identify the hazardous condition, serve a written abatement order citing the Uniform Code, and set a compliance deadline before referring an unresolved case to the Board of Appeals or the City Attorney for misdemeanor prosecution.
Violations & Fines
Ignoring a final abatement order from the Building Official, or a Board of Appeals decision upholding one, is a misdemeanor under Santee Municipal Code Section 11.44.020 for violating Chapter 6 of the adopted 1997 Uniform Code for the Abatement of Dangerous Buildings. Section 1.04.060 sends punishment to whatever fine or imprisonment California Penal Code Section 19 currently sets, since Chapter 11.44 names no separate dollar figure of its own. The City Attorney's office prosecutes.
Frequently Asked Questions
What building code does Santee use to declare a building dangerous?
What happens if I ignore an abatement order in Santee?
Can I appeal a dangerous-building order in Santee?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Santee
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