04. Administrative Citation Code Revisions1
Staff Report
Date of Meeting: June 4, 2025
To: Mayor and City Council
From: Kyle Morell, City Administrator
Re: Administrative Citation Changes
______________________________________________________________________________
Staff has worked with City Attorney Amanda Johnson on amendments to City Code Chapter 32,
Administrative Code Enforcement. After working with the language adopted in 2023, staff
recognized that changes were necessary. The City Attorney reviewed Chapter 32 and also
recommended changes to parts of Chapter 10, Chapter 98, and the City’s Fee Schedule, all of
which support the language in Chapter 32. All presented changes in the attached ordinance are a
repeal and a replacement.
The City Attorney will attend the Works Session, either in person or over Zoom, to walk the
Council through the changes. A public hearing has been scheduled for the June 17 Regular
Meeting.
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CITY OF SCANDIA
ORDINANCE NO. 2025-07
AN ORDINANCE REPEALING AND REPLACING SCANDIA CITY CODE CHAPTER
10, SECTION 10.20, REPEALING SCANDIA CITY CODE CHAPTER 10, SECTION
10.98, AND 10.99 AND REPLACING THE SCANDIA CITY CODE, CHAPTER 32-
ADMINISTRATIVE CITATIONS AND PENALTIES, REPEALING AND REPLACING
SCANDIA CITY CODE CHAPTER 91, SECTION 91.08 AND 91.09; RELOCATING
SCANDIA CITY CODE CHAPTER 32, SECTION 32.07; AND AMENDING SCANDIA
CITY CODE CHAPTER 31, SECTION 31.04
The City Council of the City of Scandia, Washington County, Minnesota hereby ordains:
Section 1: Repeal and Replace. The City of Scandia, Chapter 10 – Section 10.20 Enforcement,
shall be repealed and replaced as follows:
§ 10.20 ENFORCEMENT.
A. Enforcement.
1. Any licensed peace officer of the City’s Police Department, or the County Sheriff,
or any Deputy Sheriff, shall have the authority to enforce any provision of this code.
2. The following individuals designated in this section, or their designee, shall have
the authority to administer and enforce the provisions of this code:
a) Building Official;
b) City Administrator;
c) City Clerk;
d) Fire Chief, Fire Inspector, Fire Marshal; and
e) Public Works Director.
For the purposes of clarity, the individuals identified above shall hereafter be
referred to as “Enforcement Officer.”
B. Inspection of buildings and premises.
1. General rule. For the purpose of safeguarding the health and safety of the general
public and the occupants of any building, or to determine compliance with the code,
an order, permit, or license, it is the duty of any Enforcement Officer to conduct
inspections to determine and document the condition of the buildings and premises
located within the City. For the purpose of making the inspection, the Enforcement
Officer is authorized to enter, examine and survey the building or premises at all
reasonable times.
2. Notice. Prior to making the inspection, the Enforcement Officer will inform the
occupants of the building or premises to be inspected of the date and time of the
inspection by personal service or regular mail postmarked not less than 72 hours
prior to the time the inspection is made.
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3. Access. After the written notice has been given, the owner, occupant or operator of
the building must give the Enforcement Officer free access to the building and its
premises, for the purpose of inspection, examination or survey, provided that the
inspection, examination or survey must not have for its purpose the harassment of
the owner or occupant and the inspection, examination or survey is made so as to
cause the least amount of inconvenience to the owner or occupant.
4. Emergency Access. The Enforcement Officer shall be allowed immediate entry:
a) At any time when in the opinion of the Enforcement Officer an actual
emergency tending to create an immediate danger to public health and
safety exists; or
b) At any time when the owner or occupant requests an inspection.
C. Application for search warrant. Upon a refusal of any owner or occupant to permit the
Enforcement Officer access to a dwelling, dwelling unit or premises to make an inspection,
and upon a belief of probable cause that the dwelling, dwelling unit or premises does not
conform to the requirements of this code, the Enforcement Officer may make application
to the appropriate court for an order or warrant directing the inspection and search of the
dwelling, dwelling unit or premises for its conformity to this code.
D. Interference with official duties. It is unlawful for any person to prevent, delay or interfere
with representatives of the City while they are engaged in the performance of their duties.
E. Reinspection Fees. The City may charge a reinspection fee for violations of any ordinance
related to buildings and premises. Failure to pay the reinspection fee may result in the fees
being assessed against the property as provided in Minn. Stat. Chapter 429, as it may be
amended from time to time.
Section 2: Repeal. The City of Scandia, Chapter 10 – Section 10.98 Supplemental
Administrative Penalties is hereby repealed.
Section 3: Repeal and Replace. The City of Scandia, Chapter 10 – Section 10.99 General
Penalties and Enforcement, shall be repealed and replaced as follows:
§ 10.99 GENERAL PENALTIES AND ENFORCEMENT. The City may elect to undertake
any of the following enforcement actions individually or collectively and in any order and the
City’s enforcement action under one of the following cannot and does not preclude the City from
undertaking any of the other enforcement actions under City code or otherwise as authorized by
law.
A. Criminal Penalties. Any person, entity, or organization who violates any city ordinance,
including any code established by ordinance and including state statutes specifically
adopted by reference, shall, upon conviction, be guilty of a misdemeanor, unless another
penalty is specifically provided. The penalty that may be imposed for an offense that is a
misdemeanor shall be a sentence of not more than 90 days or a fine of not more than $1,000,
or both.
a. Criminal Penalties, Costs. The costs of prosecution shall be paid by the convicted
offender. A separate offense shall be deemed committed upon each day during
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which a violation occurs or continues, unless otherwise agreed to by the city in
writing.
B. Corrective Action. The city may seek a court order permitting the city enter a person’s
property and take corrective action to bring the property into code compliance and in
addition seek the right to impose an assessment on the property for all of the City’s
corrective costs as well as city attorneys’ fees and costs.
C. Abatement. The city may undertake the abatement procedures described in City Code §§
91.08 and 91.09.
D. Administrative Citations. The city may issue administrative citations as described in City
Code Chapter 32.
E. Unpaid Fines and Costs. If an administrative citation, abatement costs, civil penalties,
and/or all related city costs and expenses, including all necessary and reasonable attorney’s
fees, are not paid within the time specified, they shall be assessed against the related
property and collected with the property taxes pursuant with Minn. Stat. Ch. 429, as
amended from time to time.
F. Late fee. A late payment fee to 10% of the fine shall be assessed for each 30-day period,
or part thereof, that the fine remains unpaid after the due date.
G. Suspension and revocation. Failure to pay a fine is grounds for suspending or revoking a
license or permit or other city approvals associated with the violation
H. The failure of any officer or employee of the city to perform any official duty imposed by
city ordinances, including any code established by ordinance, shall not subject the officer
or employee to the penalty imposed for a violation.
Section 4: Repeal and Replace. The City of Scandia, Chapter 32 – Administrative Citations
and Penalties, shall be repealed and replaced as follows:
CHAPTER 32: ADMINISTRATIVE CODE ENFORCEMENT, CITATIONS AND CIVIL
PENALTIES
Section
32.01 Application
32.02 Purpose, Intent and Authority
32.03 Compliance Letter
32.04 Administrative Citation
32.05 Contesting the Administrative Citation
32.06 Schedule of Administrative Civil Penalties
32.07 Incorporated Policies and Standards
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§ 32.01 APPLICATION.
This chapter shall govern administrative code enforcement, administrative citations, and civil
penalties for violations of the city’s ordinances.
§ 32.02 PURPOSE, INTENT AND AUTHORITY
A. Purpose. The Scandia City Council seeks to offer an alternative method of enforcement
for code violations rather than relying on the criminal court system. The formal criminal
prosecution process does not provide an environment to adequately address the unique and
sensitive issues that are involved in many code violations, including, but not limited to,
neighborhood concerns, livability issues, economic impact, physical limitations of the
offenders and the stigma and unintended consequences of being charged with or convicted
of a misdemeanor offense.
In addition, the court system is a slow and overburdened process that is not conducive to
dealing with the violations in a prompt and timely manner. Finally, the penalties afforded
the criminal court system are restricted to fines or physical confinement, which are not
always the most effective or appropriate solutions to address code violations.
B. Intent. A violation of the code is a misdemeanor pursuant to City Code § 10.99(A);
however, this chapter seeks to gain compliance with the code through administrative
citations, as an alternative to the commencement of any formal civil or criminal court
action. These administrative civil penalties are in addition to any other legal or equitable
remedy available to the city for City Code violations. The city may, in its discretion, choose
not to issue an administrative citation and may instead initiate criminal charges, abatement,
or civil proceedings.
C. Authority. Pursuant to the authority provided in Minn. Stat. §§ 412.221, subd. 23, 24, 26
and 32, the City Council finds that an alternative enforcement process is necessary to
protect the health, safety, order, convenience and general welfare of the citizens of the city.
It is the City Council's intent to create a process for the use and imposition of administrative
civil penalties that will provide the public and the city with a more effective alternative
method for addressing City Code violations. Any employee or Enforcement Officer
enumerated in code § 10.20 or any duly authorized representative thereof is authorized to
issue compliance letters and administrative citations for violations of the code.
§ 32.03 COMPLIANCE LETTER.
A. Notice or Order to Correct (Compliance letter).
1. Contents of compliance letter. If an Enforcement Officer determines that a code
violation has occurred, the City shall issue a compliance letter. The compliance
letter shall contain the following information:
a) A legal description or address of the property on which the code violation
has occurred;
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b) The nature of the violation, including a reference to the appropriate code
section;
c) A compliance deadline, providing a reasonable time for compliance based
on the nature of the violation; and
d) A statement that failure to correct the violation may result in the imposition
of an administrative citation, including a civil penalty and stating the amount
of the penalty as provided in the fee schedule.
2. Service of compliance letter. The compliance letter may be served on the offender
by certified mail, regular mail sent to the last known legal address, by personal
service or by posting a copy in a conspicuous place in or about the building or
property affected by the letter.
3. Reasonable extensions. Following service of the compliance letter, the city shall
attempt to work to resolve the violation, including, but not limited to, offering
reasonable extensions for compliance, if needed necessary in the city’s sole
discretion.
4. Exceptions to issuance of a compliance letter. For violations of any of the following
sections, the city shall not be required to issue a compliance letter and may proceed
directly to issuance of an administrative citation as provided in code § 32.04.
a) Repeat offender. If the same offender commits a subsequent violation
within 12 months after a compliance letter has been issued for a same or
similar offense.
b) License violations. For any license violations, including, but not limited to,
not having a license.
c) Fire protection and prevention violations.
d) Animal related violations under Chapter 72 of the code.
e) Traffic or parking violations under Chapter 90 of the code.
f) Noise violations under code § 91.01 through 91.08.
g) Failure to follow a stop work order issued by the City Building Official.
h) Emergency situations. When a condition exists that requires immediate
action to protect the public health, safety and welfare.
§ 32.04 ADMINISTRATIVE CITATION.
A. Generally. Upon the failure to correct the violation specified in the compliance letter within
the time frame established in the compliance letter or any extension thereof granted by the
city, or for any offense for which a compliance letter is not required, the city may issue an
administrative citation. The administrative citation shall be served by certified mail, regular
mail or by personal service and shall contain the following information:
1. A legal description or address of the property on which the code violation has
occurred;
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2. Reference to the code that is alleged to be violated;
3. The amount of the administrative civil penalty for the specific code violation, which
shall be due and payable to the city within 30 calendar days of the date the citation
is mailed or personally served;
4. A statement that the violation must be corrected or a subsequent administrative or
a criminal citation may be issued;
5. A statement that the code violation and the amount of the administrative civil
penalty may be contested to be heard before an independent hearing officer by
notifying the City Clerk in writing within 10 calendar days after the citation was
mailed or personally served; and
6. A statement that failure to pay the administrative civil penalty may result in it being
assessed against the property as provided in Minnesota Statute Chapter 429, as it
may be amended from time to time.
B. Payment of penalty and correction of violation. If the offender pays the administrative civil
penalty and corrects the code violation, no further action will be taken for that same
violation.
C. Payment of penalty without correction of violation. If the offender pays the administrative
civil penalty but fails to correct the code violation, the city may issue a subsequent
administrative citation, initiate criminal proceedings or initiate any other proceedings or
remedies available in order to enforce correction of the city code violation.
D. No payment of penalty and no correction of violation. If the offender fails to pay the
administrative civil penalty and fails to correct the Code violation, the City may do any of
the following, or any combination thereof:
1. Assess the administrative civil penalty against the property pursuant to Minnesota
Statute Chapter 429, as it may be amended from time to time;
2. Issue a subsequent administrative citation, thereby commencing a new
administrative penalty process;
3. Initiate criminal proceedings; and/or
4. Initiate other enforcement action authorized by law.
E. Failure to pay an administrative citation for which the costs cannot be assessed shall be a
misdemeanor.
§ 32.05. CONTESTING THE ADMINISTRATIVE CITATION
A. Contesting the administrative citation. An offender receiving an administrative citation
may contest the alleged code violation and the amount of the administrative civil penalty.
In order to contest any part of the administrative citation, the offender must notify the City
Clerk in writing within 10 calendar days from the date the citation is mailed or personally
served, stating that the offender contests the alleged violation, the amount of the penalty or
both and pay a non-refundable filing fee as established by the city’s fee schedule.
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1. Administrative citation hearing.
a) Scheduling the hearing. After receiving the written notice to contest the
citation as provided above, the City Clerk shall schedule a hearing before
an independent hearing officer, which will be held within 60 calendar days,
unless otherwise agreed to in writing by the parties. The City Clerk shall
notify the owner of the date, time and location of the hearing.
b) Independent hearing officer. The independent hearing officer will be a
lawyer who has had a minimum of 3 years of legal work experience. The
City Council will periodically approve a list of lawyers and authorize the
City Administrator to enter into a contract with the lawyer at pre-approved
rates. The City Administrator will select a independent hearing officer from
the approved list to hear and determine a matter for which a hearing is
requested. The hearing officer shall not be a current or former employee of
the city, nor an elected or appointed official for the city. If the selected
lawyer believes there is a conflict of interest or otherwise believes that the
lawyer should not or cannot hear the matter, then the selected lawyer should
so inform the City Administrator or the City Clerk as soon as practical, and
the City Administrator shall proceed to select a different hearing officer
from the approved list
c) Conduct of the administrative citation hearing.
1. At the hearing, both parties may be represented by counsel, shall
have the opportunity to present testimony, shall be able to call and
question witnesses and introduce exhibits; however, strict rules of
evidence shall not apply.
2. The hearing officer shall receive and give weight to the evidence,
including hearsay evidence.
3. The hearing shall be recorded and the City shall maintain a full
record of the proceedings according to its data retention schedule.
4. Authority of hearing officer. The independent hearing officer has
the authority to do any of the following, or a combination thereof:
(a) Make a finding that a violation has occurred;
(b) Reduce, stay or waive a scheduled administrative civil penalty
either unconditionally or upon compliance with reasonable
conditions;
(c) Require compliance with the City Code within a specified time
frame; and/or
(d) Make a finding that no violation has occurred and dismiss the
administrative citation.
d) Decision and order.
i. The hearing officer may announce a decision at the conclusion of
the hearing or may take the matter under advisement.
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ii. The hearing officer shall issue a decision in the form of an order and
shall serve a written copy of the order upon the parties no later than
30 calendar days after the hearing.
iii. Any administrative civil penalty that the independent hearing officer
imposes must be paid to the City within the time frame established
in the order. If no date is specified, it must be paid within 30 days of
the hearing officer's order.
iv. If the hearing officer determines that no violation occurred, then the
City may not proceed with criminal prosecution for the same act or
conduct.
e) Hearing costs. The cost of the hearing shall be borne solely by the non-
prevailing party. The City Council has the authority to reduce the non-
prevailing party’s costs where that party can demonstrate indigency by clear
and convincing evidence.
f) Failure to appear. Failure to appear at the hearing shall result in a default
judgment against the party who fails to appear. If the offender fails to
appear, the administrative citation shall be sustained and the fee for the cost
of the hearing shall be imposed. If the City fails to appear, the administrative
citation shall be dismissed and the City shall refund the filing fee.
g) Assessment of unpaid costs. If the administrative civil penalty and/or
hearing costs are not paid within 30 days after written notice from the city,
the city may assess the unpaid costs against the owner's property pursuant
to Minnesota Statute Chapter 429, as it may be amended from time to time.
2. Appeal. The hearing officer's decision is final and may only be appealed to the
Minnesota Court of Appeals.
§ 32.06 SCHEDULE OF ADMINISTRATIVE CIVIL PENALITIES.
A. The city shall adopt a fee schedule of administrative civil penalties for city code violations
by resolution.
B. The maximum amount of any single administrative civil penalty may not exceed $2,000.
C. Every administrative citation issued for a same or similar code violation within one year of
the previous violation, shall be issued for double the amount of the previous citation, not
to exceed $2,000 for any single administrative civil penalty.
Section 5: Repeal and Replace. The City of Scandia, Chapter 91 – Section 91.08 and 91.09
regarding Abatement, shall be repealed and replaced as follows:
§ 91.08 ABATEMENT
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A. Emergency Abatement. Whenever the city is made aware of the existence of a public
nuisance, the city will inspect the property on which it is alleged that such a public
nuisance exists. Should the Enforcement Officer determine that a public nuisance exists
and that the public health, safety or welfare may be in immediate danger, then the city
will implement emergency abatement procedures and the city may cause the nuisance to
be removed or abated. When an Enforcement Officer authorizes emergency abatement,
notice to the owner, agent or occupant of the property is not required. Following
emergency abatement, the city will post a notice on the property describing the action
taken to abate the nuisance.
B. Abatement Notice. If, after inspecting and documenting the property, the Enforcement
Officer declares the existence of a public nuisance, but the nature of the nuisance is not
such as to require emergency abatement of the nuisance, then the general abatement
procedures will be followed.
C. General abatement procedures.
1. In cases where emergency abatement of a public nuisance is not required, the
Enforcement Officer will serve a notice on the owner or responsible party, by regular
mail, or by personal service, ordering the owner or responsible party to remove the
public nuisance. The notice will contain the following information:
a) Address of the property where the nuisance is located;
b) The nature of the nuisance to be abated;
c) A statement that in the event the owner or responsible party does not
comply with the notice, the city or a contractor selected by the city may
perform necessary work;
d) A statement that if the owner or responsible party does not pay for the
expense, the cost of the work will be assessed against the property; and
e) A compliance deadline.
2. If the owner of the property or responsible party cannot be found, the notice will be
posted on the property for a period of 48 hours, after which period the city may
perform any necessary work to abate the nuisance. Notice by regular mail and notice
by posting may be done simultaneously.
D. Authority to abate.
1. The Enforcement Officer is authorized to enter in or upon the premises or structure
for the purpose of enforcing and ensuring compliance with the provisions of this
section.
2. If the public nuisance has not been removed or resolved by the compliance deadline,
the city has the authority to enter upon the property and abate the public nuisance. In
abating the nuisance, the city may go to whatever extent necessary to complete the
abatement of the public nuisance, including obtaining a court order. The city may call
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upon any of the city departments or divisions for whatever assistance is deemed
necessary or may by private contract cause the abatement of the public nuisance.
3. If any material derived from the abatement is salvageable, and the city does not
receive a notice of appeal pursuant to division (G) below, the city may sell or
otherwise dispose of the salvaged material with the proceeds from the sale going to
the city's general fund.
E. Abatement Invoice. If the city performs the abatement work, the city will maintain a
record showing the cost of the work attributable to each separate lot and parcel.
Abatement costs shall include, but are not limited to, the cost of the abatement, the cost
of investigation, such as title searches, inspection and testing, the cost of notification,
filing costs and administrative costs, including an overhead charge of 25% for
administrative costs.
F. Appeals. An owner or responsible party may appeal a compliance letter for an abatement
action by following the procedures to appeal an administrative citation set forth in Code §
32.05. Any personal property of value or salvageable property coming into possession of
the city during the course of the abatement will be stored by the city pending the outcome
of the appeal.
G. Assessment. In the event a property owner fails to pay the abatement invoice as described
above, the outstanding charges shall be assessed against the property in accordance with
applicable state laws.
Section 6: Relocate and Replace. The City of Scandia, Chapter 32 – Section 32.07
Incorporated Policies and Standards, shall be relocated to Section 31.05 and replaced as follows:
§ 31.05 INCORPORATED POLICIES AND STANDARDS.
The following policies and standards are incorporated into the City Code as if fully set forth
herein:
A. The Unified Development Code, adopted September 20, 2022, as amended;
B. Engineering Standards and Detail Specifications, adopted April 16, 2019, as amended;
C. Snow Plowing and Ice Control Policy, adopted February 15, 2011, as amended; and
D. Road Right-of-Way Maintenance Policy, adopted November 15, 2016, as amended.
Section 7: Amendment. The City of Scandia, Chapter 31 – Section 31.04 Fee Schedule, shall
be amended to include the following fees:
Administration and Finance Fees Escrow and Other
Administrative Citation $200*
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Administrative Citation
Appeal filing fee
$200 $600
*See Code Section 32.06 regarding increased fee for multiple citations for the same violation.
Section 8: Summary Publication. Pursuant to Minnesota Statutes § 412.191, in the case of a
lengthy ordinance, a summary may be published. While a copy of the entire ordinance is available
without cost at the office of the City Clerk, the following summary is approved by the City Council
and shall be published in lieu of publishing the entire ordinance:
These ordinances include several repeals and replacements of the City’s existing
administrative citation, abatement, fees and related code enforcement ordinances. The
purpose of these ordinances is to create a more cohesive code enforcement framework.
Section 9: Effective Date. This ordinance shall be in full force and effect upon its adoption.
Passed and adopted by the City Council of the City of Scandia this ___ day of _______________,
2025.
____________________________
Steve Kronmiller, Mayor
ATTEST:
____________________________
Kyle Morrell, City Administrator