13.30.030 Civil penalties.
(1) An administrative order may include an order to pay civil penalties assessed as a result of the violation and, if applicable, the conditions on which assessment of such civil penalty are contingent.
(2) Amount of Civil Penalty.
(a) The amount of civil penalty is $100.00 per day per violation unless otherwise provided.
(b) For a civil violation related to critical areas, as defined in the Stanwood Municipal Code, the director may impose an additional civil penalty up to:
(i) An amount, not to exceed $25,000, that is reasonable based upon the nature and extent of the violation and the costs to the city of enforcing this chapter against the responsible party; or
(ii) An amount equal to twice the economic benefit that the responsible party derived from the violation as measured by the greater of:
(A) The resulting increase in the market value of the property or the value received by the responsible party; or
(B) The savings of construction costs realized by the responsible party derived from the act that constituted the violation.
(c) A person found in violation of a new and separate violation within one year of the resolution of a prior related violation may be subject to double the civil penalties normally imposed for such a violation.
(d) The director may reduce the civil penalty based on one or more of the following mitigating factors:
(i) The responsible party showed good faith or substantial progress, or both, in correcting the violation; or
(ii) The responsible party was not the primary cause of the violation.
(3) Collection of Civil Penalties.
(a) An order to pay civil penalties is valid for the penalties accrued as of the date of the order, and for future penalties that accrue until a specified event.
(b) The director may issue a supplemental order for additional civil penalties. That order is appealable only for the additional civil penalties imposed by the supplemental order.
(c) Per RCW 19.16.500, the director may refer orders to pay civil penalties to collection agencies 30 days after service, and may add a reasonable fee to cover the costs of collection.
(4) Payment of a civil penalty pursuant to this chapter does not relieve the responsible party of the duty to correct the violation. (Ord. 1517 § 1 (Exh. A), 2023).