Chapter 2 — PENALTY PROVISIONS

Section

1-2.01 General penalty

1-2.02 Prohibited acts

1-2.03 Recovery of attorneys' fees

1-2.04 Civil penalty for code violations

1-2.05 Additional remedies and liability for costs of city

1-2.06 Fees, charges, and taxes made a civil debt

1-2.07 Authority

Cross-reference:

Administrative fines and penalties, see §§ 1-5.01 et seq.

(A) It shall be unlawful for any person to violate any provision or fail to comply with any requirement of this code or any provision of any code adopted by reference by this code. Except as otherwise provided in division (B) of this section, pursuant to Cal. Gov’t Code § 36900, every act prohibited or declared unlawful and every failure to perform any act required by this code shall be a misdemeanor.

(B) The City Attorney shall have sole discretion to reduce any violation of the provisions of this code to an infraction.

(C) Conviction of a misdemeanor shall be punished in accordance with the provisions of Cal. Penal Code § 19 and conviction of an infraction shall be punished in accordance with the provisions of Cal. Penal Code § 19.6.

(D) In addition to any penalties or remedies provided herein, any activity, omission or condition caused, maintained or permitted to exist in violation of any provision of this code is hereby declared to be unlawful and a public nuisance.

(E) Any person maintaining, suffering, causing, allowing or permitting a violation of this code shall be regarded as committing a separate offense on each day, or any portion thereof, that the violation occurs or continues.

(F) Violations of this code may be prosecuted by city authorities in the name of the People of the State of California and redressed by criminal and/or civil action, including enforcement by injunction issued by the Superior Court upon the suit of the city against the owner, and/or occupant, and/or any person exercising dominion and control of any real property affected by such violation or prospective violation, or against any person maintaining, permitting, causing or suffering any public nuisance or violation of this code.

('66 Code, § 1-2.01) (Ord. 466-C-S, passed 9-25-80; Am. Ord. 1082-C-S, passed 11-28-06)

Whenever in this code any act or omission is made unlawful, it shall include causing, permitting, aiding, abetting, suffering, or concealing the fact of such act or omission.

('66 Code, § 1-2.02)

(A) In any legal action, administrative proceeding, or special proceeding instituted by the city to abate a nuisance, the prevailing party may recover its reasonable attorneys' fees pursuant to Cal. Gov’t Code § 38773.5. Recovery of attorneys' fees shall be 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. An award of attorneys' fees to a prevailing party shall not exceed the amount of reasonable attorneys' fees incurred by the city in any legal action, administrative proceeding or special proceeding.

(B) If any person causes, suffers, maintains or permits a public nuisance to continue after written notice is given to such person by the city, directing such person to abate the nuisance, and such continuation goes beyond the time set for such abatement in the written notice, then such person shall be liable to the city for the expenses incurred in detecting, investigating, and abating the violation, including attorneys' fees and the costs of monitoring compliance. The city may recover such costs by civil action or by billing such person. The city may also recover such fees and costs by special assessment lien if the violation relates to real property.

('66 Code, § 1-2.03) (Ord. 1082-C-S, passed 11-28-06)

(A) In addition to all other remedies and penalties available under this chapter, under other sections of this code or under other laws, in any legal action for injunctive relief, civil penalties may also be sought by the city, as specified in division (B) of this section.

(B) Any person who violates or fails to comply with any provision of this code or any ordinance of the city is liable for a civil penalty not to exceed $1,000 for each day, or portion thereof, such violation or failure to comply occurs.

(C) The City Attorney is authorized, as part of any civil action seeking injunctive relief, to also seek recovery of the civil penalties authorized by this section.

('66 Code, § 1-2.04) (Ord. 1082-C-S, passed 11-28-06)

In addition to all other remedies and penalties available under this chapter or other sections of this code, the city may issue Administrative Citations for violations of any provision of this code, pursuant to Chapter 5 of Title 1.

('66 Code, § 1-2.05) (Ord. 1082-C-S, passed 11-28-06)

The amount of any fee, service charge, utility charge, license, or tax of any nature whatsoever imposed by any provision of this code shall be deemed a civil debt owing to the city. An action may be commenced in the name of the city in any court of competent jurisdiction for the collection of the amount of any such delinquent or unpaid fee, service charge, utility charge, license, or tax, together with any penalties applicable thereto as prescribed by this code. The remedy prescribed by this section shall be accumulative, and the use of an action to collect such an amount as a debt by civil action shall not bar the use of any other remedy provided by this code or by law for the purpose of enforcing the provisions thereof.

('66 Code, § 1-2.06)

(A) The City Manager, or his or her designee, shall have the authority to enforce any and all provisions of this code. Wherever the City Manager or any city official is designated in this code as the person authorized to enforce that provision of this code, that designation shall include their designee.

(B) Code Enforcement and Community Service Officers shall have all the powers designated by Cal. Penal Code § 836.5 after successfully completing the training required by § 832 of the Cal. Penal Code.

(C) Community Service Officers shall also have the following powers:

(1) Authority to enforce Cal. Veh. Code §§ 22500, 22500.1, 22502, 22507.8, 22523, 5200, 5204, 4000(a), and 4000(a)(1);

(2) Authority to verify proof of correction for citations for mechanical and/or registration violations.

('66 Code, § 1-2.07) (Ord. 598-C-S, passed 12-13-84; Am. Ord. 1082-C-S, passed 11-28-06)