Coachella Municipal Code Ch. 1.04 General Provisions

The ordinances embraced in the following chapters and sections shall constitute and be designated as the "Coachella Municipal Code," and may be so cited.

(Prior code § 1-1)

In the construction of this code, and of all ordinances, the following rules shall be observed, unless such construction would be inconsistent with the manifest intent of the city council:

"City, in the city" means mean the city of Coachella, California. The words "in the city" means and includes all territory over which the city now has or shall hereafter acquire jurisdiction for the exercise of its police powers or other regulatory powers.

"Computation of time" means, unless otherwise specifically provided, the time within which an act is required to be done shall be computed by excluding the first day and including the last; except that the last day shall be excluded if it is Sunday or a holiday.

"Council" means the city council of the city of Coachella, California.

"County" means the county of Riverside, in the state of California.

"Day" means the period of time between any midnight and the midnight following.

"Daytime, nighttime." "Daytime" is the period of time between sunrise and sunset. "Nighttime" is the period of time between sunset and sunrise.

"Delegation of authority" means whenever a provision appears requiring the head of a department or other officer of the city to do some act or perform some duty, or granting some right to him or her as such official, it shall be construed to authorize such department head or officer to designate, delegate and authorize subordinates to do the required act or perform the required duty, or it shall grant to them such right, unless the terms of the provisions designate otherwise.

"Gender" means a word importing the masculine gender only shall extend and be implied to females and to firms, partnerships and corporations as well as to males.

"Interpretation" means, in the interpretation and application of any provision of this code, it shall be held to be the minimum requirement adopted for the promotion of the public health, safety, comfort, convenience and general welfare. Where any provision of this code imposes greater restrictions upon the subject matter than any general provisions imposed by this code, the provisions imposing the greater restriction or regulation shall be applicable.

"Joint authority" means whenever a joint authority is given to three or more persons or officers, it shall be construed as giving such authority to a majority of them.

"Month" means a calendar month.

"Number" means the singular number includes the plural and the plural number includes the singular.

"Oath" includes an affirmation in all cases in which, by law, an affirmation may be substituted for an oath, and in such cases the words "swear" and "sworn" shall be equivalent to the words "affirm" and "affirmed."

"Official time" means Pacific standard time or Pacific day-light-saving time, as may be in current use in the city.

"Officials, officers, departments, etc." means whenever references are made to officials, board, commissions, departments or other municipal agents by title only, such reference shall be read as though followed by the words "of the city of Coachella, California."

"Or, and." "Or" may be read "and" and "and" may be read "or" if the sense requires it.

"Owner" when applied to real estate, includes any part owner, joint owner, tenant in common, tenant in partnership, joint interest or other fee interest in the whole or a part of such real estate.

"Person" includes any person, firm partnership, association, organization, business trust, corporation or company.

"Personal property" includes every species of property, except real property, as defined in this section.

"Preceding, following" means next before and next after, respectively.

"Process" includes a writ or summons issued in the course of judicial proceedings of either a civil or criminal nature.

"Property" includes real property and personal property.

"Real property" includes land, tenements and hereditaments.

"Shall, may." "Shall" is mandatory and "may" is permissive.

"Signature" or "subscription; mark" includes a mark when the signer or subscriber cannot write, such signer's or subscriber's name being written near the mark by a witness who writes his or her own name near the signer's or subscriber's name; but, a signature or subscription by mark can be acknowledged or can serve as a signature or subscription to a sworn statement only when two witnesses so sign their own names thereto.

"State" means the state of California.

"Street" includes streets, avenues, boulevards, roads, alleys, lanes, viaducts and all other public ways in the city and shall include all parts thereof constituting the designated right-of-way.

"Tenant" or "occupant," applied to a building or land, includes any person holding a written or an oral lease of, or who occupies the whole or a part of, such building or land, either alone or with others.

"Tenses" includes the past and future tenses, and the future includes the present.

"Week" consists of seven consecutive days.

"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, it shall be made in writing in the English language, unless expressly provided otherwise.

"Year" means a calendar year unless otherwise provided.

(Prior code § 1-2)

The provisions appearing in this code, so far as they are the same as those of ordinances existing at the time of the effective date of this code, shall be considered as continuations thereof insofar as they apply to conditions existing prior to the effective date of this code.

(Prior code § 1-3)

The catchlines of several sections of this code printed in boldface type are intended as mere catchwords to indicate the contents of the section and shall not be deemed or taken to be titles of such sections, nor as any part of the section, unless otherwise expressly provided, nor, unless expressly so provided, shall they be so deemed when any of such sections, including the catchlines, are amended or reenacted.

(Prior code § 1-4)

The repeal of an ordinance shall not revive any ordinances in force before or at the time the ordinance repealed took effect.

The repeal of an ordinance shall not affect any punishment or penalty incurred before the repeal took effect, nor any suit, prosecution or proceeding for violation of such ordinance pending at the time of the repeal.

(Prior code § 1-5)

It is declared to be the intention of the city council that the sections, paragraphs, sentences, clauses and phrases of this code are severable, and if any phrase, clause, sentence, paragraph or section of this code shall be declared unconstitutional, invalid or unenforceable by the valid judgment or decree of a court of competent jurisdiction, such unconstitutionality, invalidity or unenforceability shall not affect any of the remaining phrases, clauses, sentences, paragraphs and sections of this code.

(Prior code § 1-6)

All ordinances passed subsequent to this municipal code which amend, repeal or in any way affect this code, may be numbered in accordance with the numbering system of this code and printed for inclusion herein. When subsequent ordinances repeal any chapter, section or subsection or any portion thereof, such repealed portions may be excluded from such code by omission from reprinted pages. The subsequent ordinances as numbered and printed, or omitted in the case of repeal, shall be prima facie evidence of such subsequent ordinances until such time that this code and subsequent ordinances numbered or omitted are readopted as a new code by the city council.

Amendments to any of the provisions of this code may be made by amending such provisions by specific reference to the section number of this code in the following language:

"That section _______ of the Coachella Municipal Code, is hereby amended to read as follows: ..."

The new provisions shall then be set out in full as desired.

In the event a new section not heretofore existing in the code is to be added, the following language may be used:

"That the Coachella Municipal Code of Ordinances is hereby amended by adding a section, to be numbered _______ which said section reads as follows: ..."

The new section shall then be set out in full as desired.

All sections, articles, chapters or provisions desired to be repealed must be specifically repealed by section, article or chapter number, with reference to the subject matter, as the case may be.

(Prior code § 1-7)

It is unlawful for any person to change or amend by additions or deletions, any part or portion of this code or to insert or delete pages, or portions thereof, or to alter or tamper with such code in any manner whatsoever which will cause the law of the city of Coachella to be misrepresented.

(Prior code § 1-10)

The city manager may designate an employee or employees of the city to act as code enforcement officers. Pursuant to California Penal Code Section 836.5, the code enforcement officers of the city may make arrests for violations of this code or other city ordinances, and may issue citations for misdemeanors and infractions pursuant to California Penal Code Chapter 5C (commencing with Section 853.6) and this code, for violations of those provisions of such code which the code enforcement officers have the duty to enforce.

(Prior code § 1-11)