Yuba County confirms enforcement costs, reduces daily penalties and records abatement liens after Frenchtown cost hearings

The Yuba County Board of Supervisors on Aug. 25 confirmed enforcement costs for two vacant Frenchtown Road parcels where county staff documented hundreds of marijuana plants and ordered those costs to be recorded as abatement liens while stopping daily administrative penalties as of Sept. 16, 2024.

Harrison Bierstekker, administrative analyst for code enforcement, told the board his office found 758 plants on one parcel and 971 on an adjacent parcel. He presented cost-accounting sheets asking the board to confirm totals of $29,869 for the first parcel and $78,472.20 for the second and to direct staff to place the smaller certified sums as special tax assessments while recording the larger figures as abatement liens with the county recorder.

Defense attorney Sarah Powell said the property owner had been working with officers and that there was confusion because multiple officers handled related parcels. "He was specifically told that if he communicated and helps take care of this and was timely and communicative, they would not be an issue for him," Powell said, urging the board to limit accrued administrative penalties.

County attorneys and code-enforcement staff described standard practice in marijuana-abatement cases: penalties continue until full compliance is verified and staff apply the ordinance's fee and day-counting rules when computing charges. Jeremy Strang (county counsel) explained the county's evaluation: "The reasonableness test comes from, did we apply the maximum amount? Did we apply the maximum number of days?" He stressed staff can exercise discretion but must follow the ordinance's framework.

After extended questioning about timelines and communications, the board voted to adopt staff's findings and orders as amended: for the first parcel the board ordered $5,869 placed as a special tax assessment and the full $29,869 recorded as an abatement lien; for the second parcel it ordered $6,472.20 placed as a special tax assessment and the full $78,472.20 recorded as an abatement lien. In both orders the board amended staff's penalty calculation to stop the administrative daily penalty accrual on Sept. 16, 2024.

The roll-call votes on the motions were recorded with Supervisors Feuer, Bradford and Messick voting yes and Supervisors Vasquez and House absent (board vote 3-0). County staff and counsel said the amended actions permit the county to recover enforcement costs while responding to defense claims about late communication and officer reassignment.

The hearing record and staff reports will be attached to the clerk's record and the county will proceed with placing assessments on tax rolls and recording abatement liens as directed by the board.