El Centro Municipal Code Ch. 1 General Provisions

The ordinances embraced in this and the following chapters and sections shall constitute and be designated as the "Code of the City of El Centro, California," and may be so cited. Such Code may also be cited as the "El Centro City Code."

(Code 1962, § 1-1)

The provisions of this Code and all proceedings under it are to be construed to effect its object and to promote justice.

(Ord. No. 553; Code 1962, § 1-2)

In the construction of this Code and of all ordinances of the city, the following rules shall be observed, unless such construction would be inconsistent with the manifest intent of the city council or the context clearly requires otherwise:

City. The words "the city" or "this city" shall be construed as if followed by the words "of El Centro." Further, the word "city" shall be taken to mean the area within the territorial city limits of the City of El Centro and such territory outside of this city over which the city has jurisdiction or control by virtue of any constitutional provision or any law.

Code. The words "the Code" or "this Code" shall mean the "Code of the City of El Centro, California."

Computation of time. The time in which any act provided by law is to be done is computed by excluding the first day and including the last, unless the last day is a holiday and then it is also excluded.

Council. Whenever the word "council" is used in this Code, it shall be construed to mean the city council of the City of El Centro.

County. The words "the county" or "this county" shall mean the County of Imperial.

Day. A day is the period of time between any midnight and the midnight following. Unless otherwise specified, "day" means calendar day. "Business" or "working" day means a day on which the city regularly is open for business for any period of time.

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

Gender. Any reference to gender in this Code (i.e. his or hers) is for convenience of phrasing only and should be read as "them" or as without gender identity.

Joint authority. All words giving a joint authority to three (3) or more persons or officers shall be construed as giving such authority to a majority of such persons or officers.

Local signification. 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 the city, whether the city is mentioned in each particular section or not.

Month. The word "month" shall mean a calendar month.

Number. The singular number includes the plural, and the plural the singular.

Oath. "Oath" includes an affirmation.

Officers, departments, etc. Officers, departments, boards, commissions and employees referred to in this Code shall mean offices, departments, boards, commissions and employees of the City of El Centro, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

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

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

Owner. The word "owner", applied to a building or land, shall include any part owner, joint owner, tenant in common, tenant in partnership, joint tenant by the entirety of the whole or of a part of such building or land.

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

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

Preceding, following. The words "preceding" and "following" mean 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. The word "property" shall include real and personal property.

Real property shall include lands, tenements and hereditaments.

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

Signature or subscription by mark: "Signature" or "subscription" 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 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. The words "the state" or "this state" shall be construed to mean the State of California.

Tenant or occupant. The words "tenant" or "occupant", applied to a building or land, shall include 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. The present tense includes the past and future tenses, and the future includes the present.

Territorial limitation. This Code shall refer only to the omission or commission of acts within the territorial limits of the city 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.

Undefined words. Words and phrases not defined in this Code are construed according to the approved usage of the language.

Week. A week consists of seven (7) consecutive days.

Writing. 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 it is expressly provided otherwise.

Year. The word "year" shall mean a calendar year, except where otherwise provided.

(Code 1962, § 1-3; Ord. No. 18-06, § 3, 9-4-18)

State Law reference— For similar provisions, see Gov. Code, §§ 8, 11—18, 22, 6800, 6803—6807; C.C.P. Code § 17; Civ. Code §§ 12—14, 658, 663.

The matter in parentheses at the ends of sections is for information only and is not a part of the Code. Citations to ordinances indicate only the source of such section and the text may or may not be changed by this Code. Reference matter not in parentheses is for information only and is not a part of this Code.

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 and not as new enactments.

(Code 1962, § 1-4)

It is hereby 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 or invalid by the valid judgment or decree of a court of competent jurisdiction, such unconstitutionality or invalidity shall not affect any of the remaining phrases, clauses, sentences, paragraphs and sections of this Code.

(Code 1962, § 1-5)

The catchlines of the 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, nor unless expressly so provided, shall they be so deemed when any of such sections, including the catchlines, are amended or re-enacted.

(Code 1962, § 1-6)

Chapter, article, division and subdivision headings contained in this Code shall not govern, limit, modify or affect the scope, meaning or intent of the provisions of particular chapters, articles, divisions and subdivisions.

(Ord. No. 553; Code 1962, § 1-7)

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 pending at the time of the repeal, for any offense committed under the ordinance repealed.

(Code 1962, § 1-8)

(a) In accordance with the provisions of section 50022.6 of the Government Code, not less than three (3) copies of this Code shall be filed for use and examination by the public in the office of the city clerk. At least three (3) copies, duly certified to by the city clerk, shall be maintained on file in his office. Additional copies shall be prepared in loose-leaf form and shall be mounted to withstand heavy usage in such binders as the city council may prescribe. Copies thereof shall be distributed to the departments and divisions of the city as shall be prescribed by the city council.

(b) The cost of copies of this Code shall be as prescribed by the city council.

State Law reference— Filing of copies, Gov. Code, § 50022.6.

It shall be 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 to be misrepresented thereby; provided, that supplementation of this Code by authorized persons shall be permitted.

(a) Whenever in this Code or in any ordinance of the city an act is prohibited or is made or declared to be unlawful or an offense or a misdemeanor, or whenever in such Code or ordinance the doing of any act is required or the failure to do any act is declared to be unlawful, and no specific penalty is provided therefor, the violation of any such provision or the failure to perform any such act shall (unless charged as an infraction by the city attorney) be punished by a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) per day or by imprisonment not to exceed six (6) months, or by both such fine and imprisonment at the discretion of the court.

(b) Violation of any provision of this Code or city ordinance shall be a misdemeanor unless by such provision it is made an infraction or unless it is charged as (or reduced to) an infraction by the city attorney. Such a violation may be prosecuted in the name of the people of the state, or redressed by civil action. Every violation determined to be an infraction is punishable by:

(1) A fine not exceeding one hundred dollars ($100.00) for a first violation;

(2) A fine not exceeding two hundred dollars ($200.00) for a second violation of the same provision within one (1) year;

(3) A fine not exceeding five hundred dollars ($500.00) for each additional violation of the same provision within one (1) year.

(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of the City Code, a violation of the city's building and safety codes as set forth in articles II through XII of the City Code and determined to be an infraction is punishable by:

(1) A fine not exceeding one hundred ($100) for a first violation;

(2) A fine not exceeding five hundred ($500) for a second violation of the same ordinance within one (1) year;

(3) A fine not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) for each additional violation of the same ordinance within one (1) year of the first violation.

(d) Each day any such violation or failure to perform such act shall continue shall constitute a separate offense, unless otherwise specifically provided.

(Ord. No. 553; Code 1962, § 1-9; Ord. No. 86-10, § 1; Ord. No. 04-03, § 1; Ord. No. 20-01, § 3, 4-7-20)

State Law reference— Penalties for violations of city ordinances, Gov. Code, §§ 36900, 36901.

The imposition of a penalty under the provisions of this Code shall not prevent the revocation or suspension of any license, franchise or permit issued or granted under the provisions of this Code.

The city council hereby adopts Cal. Civ. Proc. Code § 1094.6, that defines the time period in which judicial review may be requested for certain final administrative decisions and orders under Cal. Civ. Proc. Code § 1094.5. Pursuant to Cal. Civ. Proc. Code § 1094.6(f), the city clerk shall provide notice to any party to a final decision indicating that the time within which judicial review must be sought is governed by Cal. Civ. Proc. Code § 1094.6.

(Ord. No. 18-06, § 3, 9-4-18)

Editor's note— Ord. No. 18-06, § 2, adopted Sept. 4, 2018, repealed the former § 1-14, and enacted a new § 1-14 as set out herein. The former § 1-14 pertained to imprisonment in default of payment of fine and derived from Ord. No. 553; Code 1962, § 1-10.

When a statute or ordinance requires an act to be done which, by law, an agent or deputy as well may do as the principal; such requisition shall be satisfied by the performance of such act by an authorized agent or deputy.

(Ord. No. 18-06, § 3, 9-4-18)

Whenever any person is arrested for the violation of any ordinance of the City, which declares therein that any violation is a misdemeanor or an infraction and such person is not immediately taken before a magistrate as more fully set forth in the Penal Code of California, the arresting officer shall prepare at least in duplicate a written notice to appear in court that shall contain the name and address of such person, the offense charged, and the time and place where and when such person shall appear in court and shall fully follow the provisions of Section 853.6 of the Penal Code.

Any person wilfully violating his written promise to appear in court or before an officer authorized to receive a deposit of bail is guilty of a misdemeanor regardless of the disposition of the charge upon which he was originally arrested.

(a) Whenever any person who has signed, as provided in section 1-16, a written promise to appear at a time and place specified in his written promise to appear and has not posted bail, as provided in section 853.6 or 1269b of the Penal Code, the magistrate shall issue and have delivered for execution a warrant for such person's arrest within twenty (20) days after failure of such person to appear as promised, or if such person promises to appear before an officer authorized to accept bail other than a magistrate and fails to do so on or before the date which he promised to appear, then, within twenty (20) days after delivery of such written promise to appear by the officer to a magistrate having jurisdiction over the offense.

(b) When such person violates his written promise to appear before an officer authorized to accept bail other than a magistrate, the officer shall immediately deliver to the magistrate having jurisdiction over the offense charged the written promise to appear and the complaint, if any, filed by the arresting officer.

The provisions of this chapter, and the procedure outlined in sections 853.6, 853.7, 853.8 and 853.9 of the Penal Code shall apply to all ordinances of the city heretofore and hereafter adopted and approved by the city council, violations of which are punishable as misdemeanors or infractions.

Pursuant to the provisions of section 1269b of the Penal Code, the chief of police shall designate an officer of the police department as an officer authorized to accept bail.

Whenever a notice is required to be given under the provisions of this Code, unless different provisions are otherwise specifically made, such notice may be given either by personal delivery thereof to the person to be notified or by deposit in the United States mail in a sealed envelope, postage prepaid, addressed to such person to be notified, at his last known business or residence address as the same appears in the public records or other records pertaining to the matter to which such notice is directed. Service by mail shall be deemed to have been completed at the time of deposit in the post office.

(Ord. No. 553; Code 1962, § 1-12)

Proof of giving any notice may be made by the certificate of any officer or employee of the city or by affidavit of any person over the age of eighteen (18) years, which shows service in conformity with this Code or other provisions of law applicable to the subject matter concerned.

(Ord. No. 553; Code 1962, § 1-13)

In addition to other penalties provided by law, any violation of any provision of this Code or any state law enforceable by the city shall be deemed a public nuisance and may be summarily abated as such by the city, and each day such condition continues shall constitute a new and separate offense.

(Ord. No. 18-06, § 3, 9-4-18)

(a) It shall be unlawful and a violation of this Code for any person to use or allow to be used any reproduction or facsimile of the city seal or other insignia, including any design so closely resembling the city seal or insignia, whether or not there is an intent to deceive, without first having obtained the permission of the city council on terms determined by this ordinance or by city council action.

(b) As used here, the city seal means the following symbol with the inscription shown, which has been adopted as the city's official seal.

(c) As used here, "insignia" means and includes the following in addition to the city seal, which insignia are deemed adopted by the city council:

(1) Any city logo shown below:

[Figure]

(2) The following hashtags: #WeareElCentro #SomosElCentro

[Figure]

(3) In addition, any city logo adopted or approved in writing by the city council or the city manager in writing at the request of any city department or as set out in city policies, as those may be adopted from time-to-time. This may include authorization for use by city partner organizations for uses supporting the city as provided by city policy.

(d) No person shall use or be allowed to use city name or insignia or any facsimile or reproduction of them, make or use any design which is an imitation of them or which may be mistaken for them, for whatever purpose other than a city purpose, except on the terms and conditions set out in this section.

(e) "Use" as set out in subsection (d) above includes but is not limited to any correspondence, printed materials, emails or social media postings distributed or displayed in favor of or against any ballot measure or in favor of or against any candidate for public office.

(f) Violations of this provision shall be a misdemeanor, and shall be governed by code section 1-12.

(Ord. No. 18-06, § 3, 9-4-18; Ord. No. 24-02, § 2, 7-31-24)

If a manifest error is discovered in the City Code, such as the misspelling of any words; the omission of any word or words necessary to express the intention of the provisions affected; the use of a word or words to which no meaning can be attached; or the use of a word or words when another word or words was clearly intended to express such intent, such spelling shall be corrected and such word or words supplied, omitted, or substituted as will conform with the manifest intention, and the provisions shall have the same effect as though the correct words were contained in the text as originally published. No alteration shall be made or permitted if any question exists regarding the nature or extent of such error.

(Ord. No. 18-06, § 3, 9-4-18)

The city council may by ordinance authorize any officer or employee who has the duty to enforce a statute or ordinance to arrest persons for violations of such statute or ordinance as provided in section 836.5 of the Penal Code of the state of California. Such public officer or employee may arrest a person without a warrant whenever he or she has reasonable cause to believe that the person to be arrested has committed a misdemeanor in his or her presence which is in violation of a statute or ordinance which the employee has the duty to enforce.

(Ord. No. 18-06, § 3, 9-4-18)