Corona Municipal Code Ch. 9.29 Penalties for Multiple Police Responses to Events

(A) Due to inadequate supervision, some events become loud and unruly to the point that they constitute a threat to the peace, health, safety, or general welfare of the public through excessive consumption of alcohol, and increased incidents of fighting, litter, noise and other conditions detrimental to the community.

(B) The city is required to make multiple responses to such loud or unruly events, or more than one such event at a particular premises, in order to restore and maintain the peace and protect public health, safety or general welfare. Such gatherings diminish the quality of life in the city, create a burden on scarce city resources, and can result in police responses to regular and emergency calls being delayed and police protection to the rest of the city being reduced.

(C) In order to discourage the occurrence of repeated loud and unruly events, the city seeks to penalize those responsible for such events and set forth a mechanism for recovery of such penalties in this chapter.

(Ord. 3098 § 2 (part), 2011)

As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings.

(A) “Officer” means any individual employed or otherwise charged by the city to enforce codes, ordinances, mandates, regulations, resolutions, rules or other laws adopted by the city, including a police officer and code enforcement officer.

(B) “Event” means any party or gathering on private property, regardless of the number of attendants, to which a police response is required due to any of the following:

(1) An alleged violation of any provision of the Corona Municipal Code; or

(2) An alleged violation of any provision of federal or state law, including, but not limited to, California Penal Code §§ 407, 415 or 416.

(C) (1) “Person responsible for the event” means any of the following:

(a) The owner(s) of record of the property where the event takes place; or

(b) The person or persons in charge or purportedly in charge of the premises where the event takes place; or

(c) The person or persons authorizing the use of the premises for the event; or

(d) The person or persons who organized the event; or

(e) The person who the responding officer believes is causing, performing, permitting to exist or otherwise maintaining the event as a public nuisance, including, but not limited to, any other person in real or apparent charge or control of the real property.

(D) “Subsequent police response” means any police response to the location of an event made within three months after the distribution of a written warning to the person responsible for an event at that location, or within three months after a prior subsequent police response.

(Ord. 3098 § 2 (part), 2011)

(A) Whenever an officer is called to the scene of an event, the officer shall leave a written warning with a person responsible for the event. If the person responsible for the event cannot be located, the officer shall either post the written warning on the front door or primary entrance to the event, or at a location which is visible from the street and which is as close to the front door or primary entrance to the event as is reasonably possible.

(B) The written warning shall:

(1) Identify the date, time and location of the officer's response;

(2) Include an explanation of why the event qualifies as an “event” under this chapter; and

(3) Include a general explanation of the consequences of a subsequent police response, including the fact that an administrative citation may be imposed on each person responsible for the event.

(C) The written warning provided or posted pursuant to this chapter shall qualify as a notice of violation, as provided for in § 1.08.130 of this code, for each possible person responsible for the event whether or not each actually received the written warning.

(Ord. 3098 § 2 (part), 2011)

(A) Whenever an officer makes a subsequent police response to an event, the officer may issue an administrative citation, pursuant to § 1.08.110 et seq. of this code, to each person responsible for the event. The officer should, but is not required to, also make note of such notification or attempted notification in his or her written incident or other report for that response.

(1) An administrative fine of $100 shall be issued for the first subsequent police response.

(2) An administrative fine of $250 shall be issued for the second subsequent police response.

(3) An administrative fine of $500 shall be issued for the third subsequent police response and any thereafter.

(B) The officer shall have the authority to issue an administrative citation to any one or more responsible persons, corporations, businesses or other entities that qualify as a responsible person.

(C) A person responsible for an event as defined by this chapter shall be guilty of an infraction in the event a subsequent police response is required. The responsible person shall be guilty of an infraction regardless of whether an administrative citation is issued. Criminal penalties maybe imposed in lieu of or in addition to administrative fines.

(D) When an administrative citation is issued to a property owner who does not reside at the location of the event, the city shall send a copy of the citation by certified mail, as provided for in § 1.08.130 of this code, to the property owner's mailing address as determined on the most recently available Riverside County tax assessor's roll.

(Ord. 3098 § 2 (part), 2011)

The total amount of the fine specified on the administrative citation shall be paid to the city pursuant to Section 1.08.150 of this code.

(Ord. 3098 § 2 (part), 2011)

(A) A recipient of an administrative citation may appeal the citation pursuant to §§ 1.08.160 et seq. of this code.

(B) The decision of the hearing officer on an administrative appeal may be appealed to the Superior Court having jurisdiction in accordance with Government Code § 53069.4(b).

(Ord. 3098 § 2 (part), 2011)

(A) A subsequent police response as defined in this chapter shall constitute a public nuisance.

(B) Any unpaid administrative citations may be recovered via any means provided by law, including by placement of a lien or special assessment upon the property at which the event occurred, pursuant to § 1.08.022 of this code. The unpaid bill shall also constitute a persona] obligation of the person responsible for the event, and, if a minor, their parents or guardians, and may be recovered as such.

(C) In the event the city is forced to initiate any administrative, judicial or other action to enforce this chapter or recover an unpaid administrative citation, it shall be entitled, pursuant to § 1.08.021 of this code, to recover its reasonable attorney's fees should it elect to do so and should it be the prevailing party. In addition, the city is entitled to recover its costs of enforcement pursuant to § 1.08.022 of this code.

(Ord. 3098 § 2 (part), 2011)

(A) The provisions of this chapter are in addition to the authority of the police or other city officials to regulate events or enforce this code or other applicable law, and shall supplement, and not supplant, the exercise of any other power available to the city or the enforcement of any other law within the jurisdiction of the city. The remedies included in this chapter are intended to be cumulative of other available remedies, and the city may pursue any other remedy allowed by law to enforce this chapter, including, but not limited to, injunctive relief and the issuance of administrative penalties pursuant to §§ 1.08.130 et seq. of this code. All such remedies may be pursued individually, consecutively, or in conjunction with each other.

(B) Violations of this chapter shall be considered of a “transitory nature” and the city need not issue an advance notice of violation before issuing the citation.

(Ord. 3098 § 2 (part), 2011)

Failure of the city to strictly apply any procedure or penalty provided in this chapter or in §§ 1.08.110 et seq., either in whole or in part, shall not invalidate any enforcement procedure or action commenced or concluded by the city, whether under this chapter or otherwise.

(Ord. 3098 § 2 (part), 2011)