SEAL BEACH

Councilman Shawn Boyd wants the city to develop a better system of code enforcement and increase penalties on people who build without getting a permit first. Boyd said that currently, the city relies only on the threat of litigation to enforce building and other codes. Instead, he would like some city employees to be able to write tickets with civil fines attached in order to reduce legal costs. He also wants people who file for permits after building their structures to pay four to five times more for their permits. They currently pay only a slightly increased fee. The council agreed with his request to ask city staff to study those two initiatives.