Oxnard attorneys describe litigation caseload, eviction hearing outcome and use of GVROs

Deputy City Attorney Andrew Gonzalez walked the council through the City Attorney's role in administrative hearings, code enforcement and public-safety litigation. He said the office assisted with 33 administrative citation hearings in fiscal year 202425 and provided a concrete example of a just-cause eviction administrative hearing from July 2025.

Gonzalez described the eviction case facts: the city red-tagged a property after an electrical fire and hoarding conditions, the property owner appealed city citations, and a hearing officer upheld the violations, found a no-fault termination and ordered $5,000 in relocation assistance to be paid to tenants. "The hearing officer upheld all of the violations...determined the displacement an individual qualified for no fault termination and ruled that the tenants are to $5,000 relocation assistance," he said.

Gonzalez also explained the office's use of gun violence restraining orders (GVROs) in partnership with the Oxnard Police Department. He said GVROs require clear and convincing evidence and can run from one to five years; the office filed 23 GVROs in FY24-25. In an October 20, 2025 example, Gonzalez said a judge granted a five-year GVRO after officers responding to a 911 call found no armed intruder but observed signs the respondent was under the influence and discovered suspected drug residue in a safe; the order expires on 10/20/2030. "The judge then granted my 5 year gun violence restraining order, that expires on 10/20/2030," Gonzalez said.

On quality-of-life enforcement, Gonzalez said the office filed six new cases in FY24-25, resolved four judicial diversion cases, has 14 pending prior quality-of-life cases, and filed four inspection warrants and one abatement warrant (plus one inspection warrant in December). He said bimonthly coordination with Oxnard Police Department and service providers aims to get chronic offenders services before escalating to misdemeanor filings and noted judicial diversion as a service-oriented option when judges order compliance with services as an alternative to punishment.

No council action was taken during the briefing; Gonzalez framed these items as examples of casework and interagency coordination rather than proposed policy changes.