Fort Jones Municipal Code Title 1 General Provisions

The ordinances embraced in this and the following titles shall constitute the Code of Ordinances of the Town of Fort Jones, California, and may be designated as the "Fort Jones Municipal Code," and may be so cited.

The following words and phrases, whenever used in the ordinances of the town, shall be construed as defined in this section unless from the context a different meaning is intended or unless a different meaning is specifically defined and more particularly directed to the use of such words or phrases:

Code. The term "Code" means the Code of Ordinances of the Town of Fort Jones, California, as designated in section 1-1.

Council. The term "council" means the town council of the Town of Fort Jones, California. The term "all its members" or "all councilmen" means the total number of councilmen holding office.

County. The term "county" means Siskiyou County, California.

Law. The term "law" denotes applicable federal law, state law and constitution, this Code and other ordinances of the town and, when appropriate, all rules and regulations which may be promulgated thereunder.

May. The term "may" is permissive.

Month. The term "month" means a calendar month.

Must and shall. The terms "must" and "shall" are each mandatory.

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

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

Person. The term "person" means and includes a natural person, joint venture, joint stock company, partnership, association, club, company, corporation, business, trust, organization, or the manager, lessee, agent, servant, officer or employee of any of them.

Personal property. The term "personal property" means and includes money, goods, chattels, things in action and evidence of debt.

Preceding andfollowing. The terms "preceding," and "following," means next before and next after, respectively.

Property. The term "property" means and includes real and personal property.

Real property. The term "real property" includes lands, tenements and hereditaments.

Sidewalk. The term "sidewalk" means that portion of a street between the curbline and the adjacent property line intended for the use of pedestrians.

State. The term "state" means the State of California.

Street. The term "street" means and includes all streets, highways, avenues, lanes, alleys, courts, places, squares, curbs or other public ways in this town 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 and occupant. The terms "tenant" and "occupant," applied to a building or land, mean and include any person who occupies the whole or a part of such building or land, whether alone or with others.

Town. The term "town" means the town, or the area within the territorial limits of the town, and such territory outside the town over which the town has jurisdiction or control by virtue of any constitutional or statutory provision.

Written. The term "written" means and includes printed, typewritten, mimeographed, multigraphed or otherwise reproduced in permanent visible form.

Year. The term "year" means a calendar year.

(Ord. No. 2021-2, exh. A(1.04.010), 3-8-2021)

Use of the title of any officer, employee, department, board or commission means that officer, employee, department, board or commission of the town.

(Ord. No. 2021-2, exh. A(1.04.020), 3-8-2021)

All words and phrases shall be construed according to the common and approved usage of the language, but technical words and phrases and such others as may have acquired a peculiar and appropriate meaning in the law shall be construed and understood according to that peculiar and appropriate meaning.

(Ord. No. 2021-2, exh. A(1.04.030), 3-8-2021)

The following grammatical rules shall apply in the ordinances of the town, unless it is apparent from the context that a different construction is intended:

(1) Gender. Words of gender include all genders.

(2) Singular and plural. The singular number includes the plural, and the plural includes the singular.

(3) Tenses. Words used in the present tense include the past and the future tenses and vice versa, unless manifestly inapplicable.

(Ord. No. 2021-2, exh. A(1.04.040), 3-8-2021)

(a) All references to titles, chapters, articles, divisions, subdivisions, or sections are to titles, chapters, articles, divisions, subdivisions, or section of this Code, unless otherwise specified.

(b) The catchlines of the several sections of this Code 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 reenacted.

(c) The history or source notes appearing in parentheses after sections in this Code are not intended to have any legal effect but are intended merely to indicate the source of matter contained in the section.

(d) Editor's notes, charter references and state law references that appear after sections or subsections of this Code or which otherwise appear in footnote form are provided for the convenience of the user of the Code and have no legal effect.

When an act is required by an ordinance, the same being such that it may be done as well by an agent as by the principal, such requirement shall be construed to include all such acts performed by an authorized agent.

(Ord. No. 2021-2, exh. A(1.04.050), 3-8-2021)

When a provision of this Code requires or authorizes an officer or employee of the town to do some act or perform some duty, it shall be construed to authorize such officer or employee to designate, delegate and authorize subordinates to perform the act or duty unless the terms of the provision specifically designate otherwise.

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

(Ord. No. 2021-2, exh. A(1.04.060), 3-8-2021)

Except when otherwise provided, the time within which an act is required to be done shall be computed by excluding the first day and including the last day, unless the last day is Sunday or a holiday, in which case it shall also be excluded.

(Ord. No. 2021-2, exh. A(1.04.070), 3-8-2021)

The provisions of the ordinances of the town, and all proceedings under them, are to be construed with a view to affect their objects and to promote justice.

(Ord. No. 2021-2, exh. A(1.04.080), 3-8-2021)

When reference is made to sections or portions of this Code or to state or federal law or rules or other official publications and compilations, such references or citations shall be construed to mean the most recent version, as amended, unless otherwise specifically stated.

The repeal of any ordinance shall not repeal the repealing clause of an ordinance or revive any ordinance which has been repealed thereby.

(Ord. No. 2021-2, exh. A(1.04.090), 3-8-2021)

Nothing in this Code or the ordinance adopting this Code shall be construed to repeal or otherwise affect the validity of any of the following when not inconsistent with this Code:

(1) Any ordinance promising or guaranteeing the payment of money by the town, or authorizing the issuance of any bonds of the town or any evidence of the town's indebtedness or any contract, agreement, lease, deed or other instrument or obligation assumed by the town or creating interest and sinking funds;

(2) Any right or franchise, permit or other right granted by any ordinance;

(3) Any personnel regulations and any ordinance establishing salaries of town officers and employees or civil service rules;

(4) Any offense or act committed or done, or any penalty or forfeiture incurred or any contract or right established or accruing before the effective date of such Code;

(5) Any ordinance dedicating, naming, establishing, locating, opening, paving, widening, vacating, etc., any street or public way in the town;

(6) Any ordinance relating to municipal street maintenance agreements with the state;

(7) Any ordinance establishing or prescribing grades for streets in the town;

(8) Any appropriation ordinance or ordinance providing for the levy of taxes or for adopting an annual budget;

(9) Any ordinance relating to local improvements and assessments therefor;

(10) Any ordinance annexing territory to the town or discontinuing territory as a part of the town;

(11) Any ordinance dedicating or accepting any plat or subdivision in the town;

(12) Any ordinance creating special districts or assessing taxes therefor;

(13) Any ordinance granting specific tax exemptions;

(14) Any temporary or special ordinance; and

(15) Any administrative or policy ordinance.

It is declared to be the intention of the town 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 is declared unconstitutional or otherwise 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.

Unless otherwise provided in this Code for specific provisions:

(1) If the provisions of different chapters conflict with each other, the provisions of each individual chapter shall control all issues arising out of the events and persons intended to be governed by that chapter.

(2) If the provisions of different sections of the same chapter conflict with each other, the provision which is more specific in its application to the events or persons raising the conflict shall control over the more general provision.

(3) If any of the provisions hereof conflict, and the conflict cannot be resolved by application of subsections (1) and (2) of this section, the more stringent regulation shall apply, and the specific provision shall prevail over the general.

All ordinances of a general and permanent nature, and amendments to such ordinances, hereafter enacted or presented to the town council for enactment, shall be drafted, so far as possible, as specific amendments of, or additions to, this Code. Amendments to this Code shall be made by reference to the chapter and section to be amended, and additions shall bear an appropriate designation of chapter, article and section; provided, however, the failure to do so shall in no way affect the validity or enforceability of such ordinances.

(a) By contract or by town personnel, supplements to this Code shall be prepared and printed when authorized or directed by the town council. A supplement to the Code shall include all substantive permanent and general parts of ordinances passed by the town council during the period covered by the supplement and all changes made thereby in the Code. The pages of a supplement shall be so numbered that they will fit properly into the Code and will, where necessary, replace pages that have become obsolete or partially obsolete, and the new pages shall be so prepared that, when they have been inserted, the Code will be current through the date of the adoption of the latest ordinance included in the supplement.

(b) In preparing a supplement to this Code, all portions of the Code which have been repealed shall be excluded from the Code by omission thereof from reprinted pages.

(c) When preparing a supplement to this Code, the codifier (meaning the person, agency or organization authorized to prepare the supplement) may make formal, nonsubstantive changes in ordinances and parts of ordinances included in the supplement, insofar as it is necessary to do so to embody them into a unified Code. For example, the codifier may:

(1) Organize the ordinance material into appropriate subdivisions;

(2) Provide appropriate catchlines, headings and titles for articles, sections and other subdivisions of the code printed in the supplement and make changes in such catchlines, headings and titles;

(3) Assign appropriate numbers to articles, sections and other subdivisions to be inserted in the Code and, where necessary to accommodate new material, change existing article or section or other subdivision numbers;

(4) Change the words "this ordinance" or words of the same meaning to "this chapter," "this article," "this section," "this subsection," etc., as the case may be; and

(5) Make other nonsubstantive changes necessary to preserve the original meaning of ordinance material inserted into the Code, but in no case shall the codifier make any change in the meaning or effect of ordinance material included in the supplement or already embodied in the Code.

(a) Any person violating any of the provisions or failing to comply with any of the mandatory requirements of the ordinances of the town shall be guilty of a misdemeanor unless the violation is made an infraction by the ordinance.

(b) Except in cases where a different punishment is prescribed by any ordinance of the town, any person convicted of a misdemeanor for violation of an ordinance of the town is punishable by a fine of not more than $1,000.00, or by imprisonment not to exceed six months, or by both such fine and imprisonment.

(c) Any person convicted of an infraction for violation of any ordinance of the town is punishable by:

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

(2) A fine not exceeding $200.00 for a second violation of the same ordinance within one year;

(3) A fine not exceeding $500.00 for each additional violation of the same ordinance within one year.

(d) Each such person shall be guilty of a separate offense for each and every day during any portion of which any violation of any provision of the ordinances of the town is committed, continued or permitted by any such person, and he shall be punishable accordingly.

(Ord. No. 2021-2, exh. A(1.08.010), 3-8-2021)