General Penalties. Any person, firm or corporation violating any of the provisions of this title, or violating or failing to comply therewith, or violating or failing to comply with any order made or issued pursuant thereto (unless otherwise stated) shall for each and every violation and noncompliance, respectively, be guilty of a misdemeanor. Any person so convicted shall be punished for each offense by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars or by imprisonment for not more than ninety days, or by both such fine and imprisonment. Each day a violation continues shall constitute a separate violation.

Minimum Penalty. Any person who continues to use or occupy land or structures with knowledge that a permit or approval has been revoked under this title shall, upon conviction thereof, be punished for each offense, in addition to the general penalty outlined above, by a minimum fine of two hundred fifty dollars which shall not be suspended or deferred.

Abatement. Persons convicted for violations of this title may be ordered by the court to abate any use or structure in violation of the provisions of this title and shall be charged with the cost of abatement in the manner provided by law. Abatement shall be in addition to the general and/or minimum penalty outlined herein.

Each seven-day period that any violation continues after the effective date for correction as set forth in the notice of noncompliance provided in Section 17.25.060 shall constitute a separate criminal offense unless time for correction is otherwise expressly extended in writing by the building and enforcement official or unless otherwise stayed as authorized under this title; provided, that where the building and enforcement official has ordered any work stopped or occupancies vacated, or where any certificate or permit of approval has been revoked or suspended, each and every day that such work or occupancy continues or is permitted to continue shall constitute a separate criminal offense.

Any person, firm, or corporation who violates the provisions of this title shall incur a cumulative civil penalty as set forth in Section 17.25.030 in the amount of fifty dollars per day from the date set for correction pursuant to said provisions until the violation is corrected.

In addition to any criminal or civil proceedings authorized under this chapter to enforce this title and in addition to any fine, imprisonment, or penalty provided for therein, continuing violations of this title may be enjoined or ordered abated in civil proceedings for injunction or abatement or other equitable relief. For purposes of such actions, violations of this title are declared to be public nuisances.

The city attorney on behalf of the city and the public may pursue civil remedies to enforce compliance with the provisions of this title. A private person directly affected by a violation of this title may pursue civil remedies as provided herein or as otherwise provided by law to enforce compliance with, or recover damages for, a violation of this title; provided, that a private person may not pursue to enforce the civil penalty as set forth in subsection B of this section and in Section 17.25.030.

Any person, firm, or corporation violating any of the provisions of this title shall be liable in any private or public action brought to enforce the provisions of this title for all costs of proceedings, expenses of abatement, and for reasonable attorney's fees and costs. The remedies provided for in this chapter are accumulative and in addition to any other remedy available to law or equity.

General. The building and enforcement official is hereby authorized and directed to enforce the provisions of this title. The building and enforcement official may employ, appoint and designate such employees, representatives or officers to act on his behalf in the enforcement of this title under such control and supervision as the building and enforcement official may specify. Any reference herein to the building and enforcement official shall also refer to his duly authorized representatives. The building and enforcement official or his authorized representatives shall, either upon complaint or upon his own initiative, investigate potential violations of this title. It shall be the duty of all the city officers to assist the building and enforcement official in the performance of this duty. It shall be the duty of all officers charged with the enforcement of the law to assist in the enforcement of this title and its provisions.

Entrance Onto Private Property. When necessary to perform any of his duties under this title or to investigate upon reasonable cause or complaint the existence or occurrence of a violation of this title, the building and enforcement official may enter onto property to inspect the same or to perform any duty imposed or authorized by this title; provided, that if such building or premises be occupied and not a public place, he shall first present proper credentials and request entry; and if such building or premises be unoccupied, he shall first make a reasonable effort to locate the owners or other persons having charge or control of the building or premises and request entry. If such entry is refused, the building official or his authorized representative shall have recourse to every remedy provided by law to secure entry. The right of entry authorized by this section extends to any employee, officer, or person that accompanies the building and enforcement official or his authorized representatives.

All permits and approvals issued under the provisions of this title are hereby conditioned on free access by the building and enforcement official to the property, premises and/or structures involved during any period of construction, improvement, or change for inspection to assure compliance with this title and any conditions of approval for such permit or approval. The building and enforcement official may enter onto private property, premises and/or structures during any such period of construction, improvement, or change being done pursuant to a permit or approval for such purposes; provided, that if the property, premises, or structures are occupied, he shall first notify the occupant prior to entry.

Notice of Noncompliance. If the building and enforcement official determines that any activity, condition, structure, or use exists that does not conform to the provisions of this title, he may issue a notice of noncompliance directed to the record owner of the property and/or to such other persons as are causing or contributing to such noncompliance.

A notice of noncompliance shall contain:

Stop Orders. If the building and enforcement official determines that any activity is being established or any improvement is being erected or altered that does not conform to this title, he may issue an order to stop the activity. The building and enforcement official shall prominently post this order on the subject property and shall make reasonable attempts to forward a copy of the order to the owner of the property, the person in charge of the property or occupant thereof, or the person causing the activity to be established or conducted or the improvement to be erected or altered. When any order to stop activity has been posted on the subject property it is unlawful for any person with active or constructive knowledge of the order to conduct the activity or do the work covered by the order until the building and enforcement official has removed the posted copy of the order and issued a written authorization for the activity or work to be continued. Violation of an order to stop activity constitutes a separate offense under the provisions of Section 17.25.020.

Citations. Whenever the building and enforcement official determines that administrative effort to correct violations of this title would be, or has been, useless or ineffective, he may cause to be initiated criminal proceedings for such violations. In addition to any other means authorized by law for initiation of criminal complaints, the building and enforcement official has the authority to issue and serve a citation when the violation is committed in his presence or to directly file a citation in court if a person refuses to sign a promise to appear or if upon investigation he has reasonable cause to believe that a person or persons has committed a violation of this title. Such citations shall be on forms prescribed or approved by the administrator for the courts of the state of Washington. The building and enforcement official is hereby granted the authority to and shall directly file such citations with the Wapato municipal court which filing shall constitute a lawful complaint for initiating criminal charge for violation of this title. The court shall issue process for the adherence of the person charged as otherwise allowed or prescribed by law or court rule. It shall be the responsibility of the prosecuting authority of the city to prosecute such cases in the name of the city.