Chino Hills Municipal Code Ch. 1.04 General Provisions

The City Council finds that it is desirable and in the public interest to establish a municipal code in order to provide a scheme of organization for the classification and grouping of ordinances which the Council may adopt. The Council intends on adopting ordinances of a general and permanent nature to provide for their placement in accordance with the scheme of the code. This will provide the user with a convenient and logical compilation of the ordinances of the city.

(Ord. 91-05 § 1.01.001)

This code shall be known as the "Chino Hills Municipal Code." It shall be sufficient to refer to this code as the Chino Hills Municipal Code in any prosecution for the violation of any provision of this code. It shall also be sufficient to designate any ordinance adding to, amending, or repealing provisions of this code as an addition or amendment to, or a repeal of the Chino Hills Municipal Code, or any portion of such code.

(Ord. 91.05 § 1.01.002)

The Chino Hills Municipal Code shall consist of all ordinances adopted by the City Council which are of a general and permanent nature. An ordinance relating to any of the following subject matters is not considered an ordinance of general and permanent nature and need not be included within the municipal code:

A. The naming of streets or roads;

B. Granting, altering, or withdrawing franchises;

C. Levying real property taxes;

D. Calling an election;

E. Annexation proceedings;

F. Interim zoning measures;

G. Zoning or rezoning a particular parcel of property;

H. Such other ordinances of a special or particular subject matter which the Council considers inappropriate to a compilation of laws of a general and permanent nature.

(Ord. 91-05 § 1.01.003)

The ordinances of the city which are of a general and permanent nature shall be organized and grouped according to subject matter.

(Ord. 91-05 § 1.01.004)

A. At least three copies of this code, duly certified by the City Clerk, shall be maintained on file in the office of the City Clerk as official copies of this code. Additional copies of this code shall be distributed to the departments of the city as prescribed by the City Manager.

B. Duly certified copies of each ordinance making a change in this code shall be filed in the office of the City Clerk in books for such purpose, duly indexed for ready reference.

C. At least semiannually the City Clerk shall cause the loose leaf pages of this code in which changes have been made to be reproduced, including a notation as to the ordinance number and the date on which such change was adopted. Such reprinted pages shall be distributed in order that the loose leaf copies of this code, prepared for the use and convenience of the officers and employees of the city and the general public, may be brought up to date.

(Ord. 91-05 § 1.01.005)

A. The provisions of this code and all proceedings under it are to be construed to effect its purposes and to promote justice.

B. All the provisions of this code and all other city ordinances shall be interpreted to refer to the appropriate or designated officer or office of the city, and whether an ordinance, uniform code, statute, or other matter which is adopted by reference refers to any department, officer, employee, inspection, police, or other functions, unless the context requires otherwise, all references shall be to the appropriate or designated office, officer, department, agency, employee, or function of the city, or to the person or agency performing the function for the city.

(Ord. 91-05 § 1.01.010)

Neither the adoption of this code or any portion of it, nor the repeal by this code of any ordinance previously in effect in the city or within the territory currently comprising the city, shall in any manner affect the prosecution for the violation of any ordinance, which violation was committed prior to the effective date of this code, nor be construed as a waiver of any license fee or penalty due and unpaid under such ordinances on such effective date, nor be construed as affecting any of the provisions of such ordinances relating to the collection of any such license fee or penalty or the penal provisions applicable to any violation of such ordinances, nor to affect the validity of any bond or cash deposit required to be posted, filed, or deposited pursuant to any ordinances, and all vested rights and obligations pertaining to such ordinances shall continue in full force and effect.

(Ord. 91-05 § 1.01.020)

If any chapter, section, sentence, clause, or portion of this code is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by any court of competent jurisdiction, such portion shall be deemed a separate, distinct, and independent provision and such holding shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions thereof.

(Ord. 91-05 § 1.01.030)

This code shall refer only to the omission or commission of acts within the territorial limits of the city of Chino Hills and that territory outside of the city over which the city has jurisdiction or control by virtue of the Constitution, or any law, or by reason of ownership or control of property.

(Ord. 91-05 § 1.01.040)

All references in this code to places, acts, persons, or things and all else in relation to this code shall be construed to mean that the same are applicable to this city, whether the city is mentioned in each particular section or not.

(Ord. 91-05 § 1.01.050)

Unless the provisions of this code otherwise specifically provide, or the context of this code indicates to the contrary, the general provisions, rules of construction, and definitions set forth in the following sections of this chapter shall govern the construction of this code.

(Ord. 91-05 § 1.01.100)

The title, chapter, article, and section headings contained in this code shall not be deemed to govern, limit, modify, or in any manner affect the scope, meaning, or intent of the provisions of any title, chapter, article, or section of this code.

(Ord. 91-05 § 1.01.110)

"Section" shall mean a section of this code, unless some other source is specifically set forth. "Subsection" shall mean a subsection of the section in which the term occurs, unless some other section is expressly set forth.

(Ord. 91-05 § 1.01.120)

Whenever a power is granted to, or a duty is imposed upon, a public officer or employee, the power may be exercised or the duty may be performed by a deputy of such officer or employee or by a person otherwise duly authorized pursuant to law or ordinance, unless this code expressly provides otherwise.

(Ord. 91-05 § 1.01.130)

"Writing" includes any form of recorded message capable of comprehension by ordinary visual means. Whenever any notice, report, statement, or record is required or authorized by this code, such notice, report, statement, or record shall be made in writing in the English language, unless this code expressly provides otherwise.

(Ord. 91-05 § 1.01.140)

Whenever any reference in this code is made to an ordinance, the reference shall apply to such ordinance of the city, unless this code expressly provides otherwise. Whenever any reference is made to any portion of this code or to any ordinances of this city, the reference shall apply to all amendments and additions to this code.

(Ord. 91-05 § 1.01.150)

When a limitation or period of time prescribed in any existing ordinance or statute for acquiring a right or barring a remedy, or for any other purpose, has begun to run before this code goes into effect, the time which has already run shall be deemed a part of the time prescribed as such limitation.

(Ord. 91-05 § 1.01.160)

As used in this code, the following words have the following meanings unless a different meaning is apparent from the context or is specified elsewhere in the code:

"Calendar year" means from January 1st through December 31st of any given year.

"City" means the city of Chino Hills.

"City Manager" means the appointed official of the city who occupies the position of chief administrative officer of the city.

"Council" mean the City Council of the city of Chino Hills.

"Councilmember" means a person duly elected to the Council.

"County" means the county of San Bernardino.

"Day" means a calendar day, unless otherwise specifically expressed.

"Fiscal year" means from July 1st of any given year through June 30th of the following year.

Gender. The masculine gender shall include the feminine and neuter genders.

"Goods" means and includes wares and merchandise.

"May" shall be permissive.

"Month" means a calendar month, unless otherwise specially expressed.

Number. The singular number shall include the plural, and the plural number shall include the singular, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

"Oath" shall include affirmation.

Official Time Standard. Wherever certain hours are named in this code, they shall mean Standard Time or Daylight Saving Time as may be in current use in the city.

"Operate" means and includes carrying on, keeping, conducting, or maintaining.

"Owner," applied to a building or land, means and includes any part owner, joint owner, tenant, tenant-in-common, or joint tenant of the whole or a part of such building or land.

"Person" means and includes any person, firm, company, corporation, partnership, association, public corporation, city (except the city of Chino Hills), the county of San Bernardino, any district in the county of San Bernardino, the state of California, or the United States of America, or any department, agency, or political subdivision of the above, unless this code expressly provides otherwise.

"Personal property" means and includes money, goods, chattels, things in action, and evidences of debts.

"Police" means the agency which performs the appropriate law enforcement function for the city. "Police Chief," "Chief of Police," or "Chief of Police Services," means the head of the agency or division which at the time involved has responsibility for performing the police function for, or within, the city.

"Property" means and includes real and personal property.

"Quarterly," where used to designate a period of time, means the first three calendar months of any given year or succeeding period of three calendar months.

"Real property" means and includes land, tenements, and hereditaments.

"Sale" means and includes any sale, exchange, barter, or offer for sale.

"Shall" shall be mandatory.

"State" means the state of California.

"Street" means and includes all streets, highways, avenues, boulevards, alleys, courts, places, squares, or other public ways in the city which have been or may hereafter be dedicated and open to public use, or such other public property so designated in any law of the state.

"Tenant" or "occupant," applied to a building or land, means and includes any person who occupies the whole or a part of such building or land, whether alone or with others.

Tense. The present tense shall include the past and future tense, and the future tense shall include the present tense.

Words and phrases not defined in this code shall be construed according to the approved usage of the language, or, when appropriate, by reference to definitions contained in state or federal law.

(Ord. 209 § 2, 2008; Ord. 91-05 § 1.01.170)

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

(Ord. 91-05 § 1.01.210)

The violation of, or the failure or omission to perform in accordance with, any administrative provision of this code by any officer or employee of the city shall generally not be considered a criminal act, but may be deemed a failure to perform the duties or to observe the rules or regulations of the department, office, commission, or board within the meaning of the civil service ordinances and rules and regulations of the city, if applicable.

(Ord. 91-05 § 1.01.260)

A. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained within California Government Code Section 6700, the public offices of the city, excluding those offices which must remain open for the continuation of essential public services such as police and fire protection, shall be closed on Saturdays, Sundays, and on the following holidays:

1. New Year's Day (January 1)

2. Martin Luther King Jr. Day (Third Monday in January)

3. Presidents Day (Third Monday in February)

4. Memorial Day (Last Monday in May)

5. Independence Day (July 4)

6. Labor Day (First Monday in September)

7. Veterans Day (November 11)

8. Thanksgiving Day (Fourth Thursday in November)

9. Friday following Thanksgiving Day

10. Christmas Eve Day (December 24)

11. Christmas Day (December 25)

12. New Year's Eve Day (December 31)

B. Holidays falling on Sunday will be observed on the following Monday. Holidays falling on Saturday shall be observed on the preceding Friday.

C. Other holidays may be designated by resolution or ordinance of the City Council.

D. Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this section, the City Manager shall be authorized, by administrative regulation or otherwise, to direct that all or a portion of the public offices of the city shall remain open for business, on a full or reduced staff basis, on any of the days or holidays prescribed in this section, when it is determined to be necessary for the public interest to do so.

(Ord. 91-05 § 2.55.010)

(Ord. No. 397, § 2, 7-11-2023)