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Aberdeen strengthens enforcement: penalties can be assessed with first notice, matrix sets fines up to $3,000
Summary
The Town of Aberdeen adopted TA-24-07 on Jan. 27, giving staff authority to assess civil penalties at the time of initial notice and establishing a penalty matrix with amounts from $100 to $3,000 (higher for immediate threats); the change follows a large unauthorized clearing of 21.85 acres.
The Aberdeen Town Board on Jan. 27 approved an amendment to the Unified Development Ordinance that expands the town’s enforcement tools for land-disturbing activities, allowing civil penalties to be assessed with an initial notice of violation and establishing a matrix to guide penalty amounts.
Planning Director Pam Graham said staff discovered limits in the existing code while responding to a recent unauthorized clearing. “When the recent violation came to our attention... it became evident that no civil penalties could be assessed until after a notice of violation had been sent, and the most we could assess following the notice of violation was $50,” Graham said, describing an area of approximately 21.85 acres of disturbance on Roseland Road.
Under the adopted amendment (TA-24-07), staff may impose an initial civil penalty and will use a new matrix that pairs the extent of deviation (minor, moderate, major) with potential for harm (minor, moderate, major) to set penalty amounts. Table ranges discussed in the ordinance run from $100 for minor/minor single events to $3,000 for major/major single events; the ordinance allows higher penalties where violations create immediate threats to public health or private property. The ordinance also lists nine factors staff must consider when determining penalty amounts, including duration and gravity of the violation, cost to remedy, whether the act was willful, prior compliance history and enforcement costs to the Town.
Graham said the Planning Board unanimously recommended approval and that the change is consistent with the Town’s Comprehensive Land Development Plan goals to protect environmental quality and manage stormwater and floodplains. The Board voted 5-0 to adopt TA-24-07; the ordinance allows civil penalties to accumulate daily for continuing violations, subject to the matrix and the listed factors.
Town officials noted additional enforcement tools may include liens and withholding permits until fines are paid; Manager Paul Sabiston said the inability to obtain permits while a lien is outstanding “also helps bring the issue to a head.” The Town’s action intends to provide greater deterrence against large-scale unauthorized land disturbance while preserving an appeal right to the Board of Adjustment.
