Alameda Municipal Code § 1-5 Penalty Provisions; Enforcement

a. Whenever in this Code or in any other ordinance of the City or in any order, rule or regulation issued or promulgated by any duly authorized officer or agent of the City, any act is prohibited or is made or declared to be unlawful or an offense, or the failure to do any act is declared to be unlawful or an offense, the violation of any such provision of the code or any other ordinance of the City or any such order, rule or regulation shall be a misdemeanor or infraction.

b. Whenever in this Code or in any other ordinance of the City or in any order, rule or regulation issued or promulgated by any duly authorized officer or agent of the City, any act is prohibited or is made or declared to be a misdemeanor, where no specific penalty is provided therefor, the violation of any such provision shall be punishable by a fine not to exceed one thousand ($1,000.00) dollars or imprisonment for a term not exceeding six (6) months, or by both such fine and imprisonment.

c. Whenever in this Code or in any other ordinance of the City or in any order, rule or regulation issued or promulgated by any duly authorized officer or agent of the City, any act is prohibited or is made or declared to be an infraction, where no specific penalty is provided therefor, the violation thereof shall be punished by a fine as set forth in California Government Code Section 36900, as amended.

d. Any offense which would otherwise be an infraction is a misdemeanor if a defendant has previously been convicted thereof three (3) times or more, and such prior convictions are admitted by the defendant or alleged in the accusatory pleading. For this purpose, a bail forfeiture shall be deemed to be a conviction of the offense charged.

e. Every day any violation of this Code or any other ordinance of the City or any such order, rule or regulation continues to occur shall constitute a separate offense, except as otherwise provided.

f. Notwithstanding the maximum penalty prescribed by subsection 1-5.1b, for any violation of the Alameda Housing Code (Section 13-7 et seq.) of the Alameda Municipal Code, the following mandatory minimum penalty shall be imposed:

1. Upon conviction for a first violation, a fine of no less than three hundred fifty ($350.00) dollars shall be imposed for each count;

2. Upon conviction for a second violation within five (5) years of the first conviction, a fine of no less than six hundred ($600.00) dollars shall be imposed for each count;

3. Upon conviction of a third violation or any subsequent violation within five (5) years of the prior conviction, a fine of no less than eight hundred and fifty ($850.00) dollars shall be imposed for each count.

g. A fine not exceeding two thousand five hundred ($2,500.00) dollars for each additional violation of the same ordinance within two (2) years of the first violation if the property is a commercial property that has an existing building at the time of the violation and the violation is due to failure by the owner to remove visible refuse or failure to prohibit unauthorized use of the property.

h. All fines levied for infractions pursuant to California Government Code Section 36900 (as amended) shall be permitted to apply for a hardship waiver to reduce the fine under the same process that governs administrative citations, as set forth below in Section 1-7.7 of this chapter (as amended).

(Ord. No. 2782 N.S. § 2; Ord. No. 2875 N.S. § 1)

(Ord. No. 3240 N.S., § 5, 5-7-2019)

a. The following classification of City employees and agents shall have the authority under Penal Code Section 836.5 to issue citations for violations of the Alameda Municipal Code:

1. Fire/Building Code Compliance Officer;

2. Planning and Building Director;

3. Public Works Director;

4. Public Works Maintenance Superintendent;

5. City Engineer;

6. Building Official;

7. Combination Building Inspector;

8. Supervising Building Inspector;

9. Environmental Service Manager;

10. Environmental Services Program Specialist I and II;

11. Fire Inspector, Assistant Fire Marshal, Fire Marshal;

12. Any other position designated by the City Manager.

b. Any person wilfully violating his written promise to appear in court is guilty of a misdemeanor, regardless of the disposition of the charge upon which he or she was originally arrested.

(Ord. No. 2782 N.S. § 2)

(Ord. No. 3240 N.S., § 5, 5-7-2019)

a. In addition to the penalties provided for in this chapter, any violation of this code or City ordinance may be redressed by civil action. Any condition existing in violation of this code or a City ordinance or any order, rule or regulation issued or promulgated by any duly authorized officer or agent of the City, is deemed to be a public nuisance.

b. The City attorney may bring civil suit or other action to enforce any ordinance or section of this Code, to enjoin or prevent any violation of any ordinance, or to abate any public nuisance as defined or declared by this Code.

c. The remedy by civil action to enforce any ordinance or section of this Code is in addition to any other remedies available under ordinance, City code or statute and does not replace or support any other remedy but is cumulative thereto.

(Ord. No. 2782 N.S. § 2)

Any person or entity against whom such civil action is filed shall be liable to the City for the costs thereof, including but not limited to costs of investigation, costs of monitoring compliance and court costs. In any civil action, administrative proceeding or special proceeding to abate a nuisance, the prevailing party may recover attorneys' fees. Recovery of attorneys' fees is limited to those individual actions or proceedings in which the City elects, at the initiation of that individual action or proceeding, to seek recovery of its own attorneys' fees. In no action, administrative proceeding or special proceeding shall an award of attorneys' fees to a prevailing party exceed the amount of reasonable attorneys' fees incurred by the City in the action or proceeding.

(Ord. No. 2782 N.S. § 2)

(Ord. No. 3059, § 1, 11-7-2012)

If any person causes, suffers or permits a public nuisance to continue after written notice is given to such person by the City, directing such person to cease the nuisance, and such continuation goes beyond the time set for abatement in the notice, then such person shall be liable to the City for the expenses incurred in detecting, investigating and abating the violations, including attorney fees and the costs of monitoring compliance. The City may recover such costs by civil action or by billing said person.

(Ord. No. 2782 N.S. § 2)

a. The following classification of City employees and agents shall have the authority under Penal Code Section 836.5 to issue citations for violations of the Alameda Municipal Code:

1. Fire/Building Code Compliance Officer;

2. Planning and Building Director;

3. Public Works Director;

4. Public Works Maintenance Superintendent;

5. City Engineer;

6. Building Official;

7. Combination Building Inspector;

8. Supervising Building Inspector;

9. Environmental Service Manager;

10. Environmental Services Program Specialist I and II;

11. Any other position designated by the City Manager.

b. The authorization herein does not include the use of any weapon or physical force or restraint in the issuance of a citation.

(Ord. No. 2782 N.S. § 2; Ord. No. 2977 N.S. § 2)

Notwithstanding the statutory authorization to issue citations for violations of Alameda Municipal Code violations, prior to issuing citations each authorized City employee is required to successfully complete a standard forty (40) hour training course in arrest, search and seizure procedures pursuant to Section 832 of the Penal Code.

(Ord. No. 2782 N.S. § 2)

The provisions of Section 1094.6 of the California Code of Civil Procedure are applicable to the City.

(Ord. No. 2782 N.S. § 2)