Irvine Municipal Code Div. 1 General Provisions

This Code, which consists of administrative, criminal and regulatory ordinances of this City, shall be known as the "Irvine Municipal Code," and it shall be sufficient to refer to said Code as the "Irvine Municipal Code" in any prosecution for the violation thereof; it shall also be sufficient to designate any ordinance adding to, amending or repealing said Code as an addition to or amendment to or repeal of the "Irvine Municipal Code."

(Code 1976, § I.A-101)

Charter reference— Codification of ordinances, § 409.

In the construction of this Code and of all ordinances of this City, the following definitions and rules of construction shall be observed, unless to do so would be inconsistent with the manifest intent of the City Council, be repugnant to the context of the provisions, or the context clearly requires otherwise:

Generally. All words and phrases shall be construed and understood according to the common and approved usage of 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 such peculiar and appropriate meaning

Charter. The words "City Charter" or "Charter" mean the Charter of the City of Irvine.

City. The City of Irvine in the County of Orange in the State of California.

City Council or Council. The governing body of the City.

City Health Officer. The County Health Officer.

Code. This Irvine Municipal Code as designated and cited in Section 1-1-101.

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 day, unless the last day is a Saturday, Sunday or holiday, and then it is also excluded.

Conjunctions. Where two or more items, conditions, provisions or events are connected by the conjunctions "and," "or" or "either … or," the conjunction shall be interpreted as follows:

A. "And" indicates that all the connected terms, conditions, provisions or events shall apply.

B. "Or" indicates that the connected items, conditions, provisions or events may apply singly or in any combination.

C. "Either … or" indicates that the connected items, conditions, provisions or events shall apply singly but not in combination.

D. "Or" may be read "and" and "and" may be read "or" if the context of the provision requires it.

County. The word "County" means Orange County, California.

Delegation of authority. Whenever a provision appears in this Code requiring an officer or employee of the City to do some act or make certain inspections, it is to be construed to authorize such officer or employee to designate, delegate and authorize subordinates to perform the required act or make the required inspection unless the terms of the provision or section expressly state otherwise, or unless such delegation of authority is otherwise provided for or prohibited by law.

Easement. A right, liberty, privilege or advantage without profit which the owner of one parcel of land may have in the lands of another. A right in the owner of one parcel of land, by reason of such ownership, to use the land of another for a special purpose not inconsistent with a general property right in the owner.

Gender. A word importing the masculine gender only shall extend and be applied to females and to firms, partnerships, associations and corporations as well as to males.

In the City. The words "in the City" or "in this City" mean and include any territory within the corporate limits of this City and the police jurisdiction thereof, and any other territory over which the City has jurisdiction or control by the virtue of any constitutional or charter provisions or any law.

Joint authority. Words purporting to give authority to three or more officers or other persons shall be construed as giving such authority to a majority of such officers or other persons.

Law. Any statute, Charter provision, ordinance, resolution or other regulation promulgated by the United States, the State, the County, the City or any agencies thereof, as well as the rules and regulations of other bodies politic that may be appropriate.

May. The word "may" is to be construed as being permissive.

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

Number. Any word importing the singular number shall include the plural and any word importing the plural number shall include the singular.

Oath. The word "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 standard. Whenever 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.

Officials, employees, boards, commissions, etc. References to officials, employees, boards, commissions or other agencies of the City by title only; i.e., "Mayor," "Clerk," "Manager," "Director of Public Safety/Chief of Police," etc., shall mean the officials, employees, boards, commissions or other agencies of the City.

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

Person. The word "person" shall include and be applied to a firm, partnership, association, corporation, organization, club, society, group acting as a unit, or body politic and corporate, as well as to an individual.

Personal property. The words "personal property" shall include money, goods, chattels, evidences of debt, things in action, and any other species of property, except real property.

Preceding, following. The words "preceding" and "following" shall mean next before and next after, respectively.

Property. The word "property" shall include real, personal and mixed property.

Public place. Any public way, park, cemetery, school yard or open space adjacent thereto; any public lake or stream; and any place or business open to the use of the public in general, open to public view or to which the public has access.

Public way. Any street, alley, boulevard, parkway, highway, sidewalk or other public thoroughfare.

Real property. The words "real property" shall include lands, tenements and hereditaments.

Reasonable time. In all cases where any section of this Code or City ordinance shall require any act to be done in a reasonable time or reasonable notice to be given, such reasonable time or notice shall be deemed to mean such time only as may be necessary for the prompt performance of such duty, or compliance with such notice.

Residence. The place adopted by a person as his or her place of habitation, and to which, whenever he or she is absent, he or she has the intention of returning. When a person eats at one place and sleeps at another, the place where such person sleeps shall be deemed his or her residence.

Roadway. That portion of a street improved, designed or ordinarily used for vehicular traffic.

Shall. The word "shall" is to be construed as being mandatory.

Sidewalk. The word "sidewalk" shall mean any portion of the street between the curb, or the lateral line of the roadway and the adjacent property line intended for the use of pedestrians.

Signature, subscription. The word "signature" or "subscription" shall include a mark when the person cannot write, when his or her name is written near such mark and is witnessed by a person who writes his or her own name as witness.

State. The word "State" means the State of California.

State statute. References to a State statute are to such statute as now or hereafter amended.

Street. The word "street" shall mean and include public streets, avenues, boulevards, highways, roads, alleys, lanes, viaducts, bridges, public ways and approaches thereto and other public thoroughfares in the City devoted to public use.

Tenant, occupant. The words "tenant" and "occupant," applied to a building or land, shall mean any person who occupies the whole or a part of such building or land, whether alone or with others.

Tense. Words used in the past or present tense shall include the future as well as the past or present.

Writing, written. The words "writing" and "written" shall include typewriting, printing on paper and any other mode of representing words and letters.

Year. The word "year" shall mean a calendar year.

(Code 1976, § I.A-102; Ord. No. 27, §§ 11.0112, 11.0113, 4-17-72; Ord. No. 185, § 13, 2-8-77)

A. 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 this Code.

B. 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 are not titles of such sections, or of any part of the section, nor, unless expressly so provided, shall they be so deemed when any such section, including the catchline, is 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 merely intended to indicate the source or matter contained in the section. Cross references, Charter references, editor's notes, Zoning Ordinance references, and State law references which appear after sections or subsections of this Code or which otherwise appear in footnote form are provided for the convenience of the user of this Code and have no legal effect.

(Code 1976, § I.A-103)

All standard codes, rules, regulations, and other subject matter herein or hereafter properly incorporated by reference, together with subsequent amendments thereto, pursuant to State law, and future incorporations by reference, shall be kept and preserved in the Office of the City Clerk.

(Code 1976, § I.A-104)

In addition to the rules of construction and definitions specified in this chapter, the following rules shall be observed in the construction of this Code:

A. All references to titles, divisions, chapters, articles or sections are to the titles, divisions, chapters, articles and sections of this Code unless otherwise specified.

B. If the provisions of different chapters of this Code conflict with or contravene each other, the provisions of each chapter shall prevail as to all matters and questions growing out of the subject matter of such chapter.

(Code 1976, § I.A-107)

Charter reference— Violations, § 1201.

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.

(Code 1976, § I.A-108)

Citations for the violation of any provision of this Code or City ordinance shall be processed, issued and handled as provided by State law.

(Code 1976, § I.A-111; Ord. No. 27, § 11.024, 4-17-72)

A. 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.

B. In the event any violation of this Code is designated as a nuisance under the provisions of this Code, such nuisance may be summarily abated by the City in addition to the imposition of a fine or imprisonment.

(Code 1976, § I.A-112)

It is declared to be the intent of the City Council that if any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, or portion of this Code or any ordinance is for any reason held or declared to be unconstitutional, inoperative or void, such holding or invalidity shall not affect the remaining portions of this Code or any ordinance, and it shall be construed to have been the legislative intent to pass this Code or such ordinance without such unconstitutional, invalid, or inoperative part therein, and the remainder of this Code or such ordinance after the exclusion of such part or parts shall be deemed and held to be valid as if such part or parts had not been included herein. If this Code or any ordinance or any provision thereof shall be held inapplicable to any person, group of persons, property, or kind of property, or circumstances or set of circumstances, such holding shall not affect applicability to any other person, property, or circumstance.

(Code 1976, § I.A-113; Ord. No. 27, § 11.0111, 4-17-72)

The repeal of an ordinance does not revive any ordinance previously repealed. 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 an offense committed or cause of action arising under the ordinance repealed.

(Code 1976, § I.A-114)

A. Definitions.

1. Responsible party. For purposes of this section, "responsible party" shall mean, jointly and severally, the owner of any real property and/or any tenant, subtenant, lessee, assignee or other person or entity with a right of use or occupancy thereof who maintains or allows, permits or causes to be maintained, or aids or abets the maintenance of any building and safety violation on the real property.

2. Enforcement official. The Chief Building Official or his or her designee shall be the City enforcement official.

B. Any responsible party within the City of Irvine who is found by the enforcement official to be in violation of any City, State, and federal building, safety, right-of-way, and zoning regulations shall be given a written notice of violation. The notice shall specify that, should the violation not be remedied within 30 days of the giving of notice of violation, the responsible party will be charged a fee equal to the City's actual cost and expense of enforcement. The notice of violation shall include a displaying of the current hourly fees for enforcement activities.

C. If, after the 30th day from the date the notice of violation is given, the specified violation has not been corrected, the responsible party shall be charged a fee reflecting the actual costs and expenses incurred by the City as the result of its enforcement efforts. The fee shall be established by resolution of the City Council, which may be amended from time-to-time, and shall reflect all costs and expenses incurred by the City due to enforcement activities necessary to correct the specified violation, including, but not limited to, staff time, overhead, and legal costs.

D. Upon the remediation of any violation for which a fee is due pursuant to this section, the enforcement official shall provide the responsible party with an invoice itemizing all costs and expenses incurred by the City and any fees due to the City as the result of enforcement. The invoice shall be treated as an account receivable by the City and, should it not be paid in a timely fashion, shall be subject to the City's established policy for delinquent accounts receivable, including, but not limited to, the provisions of Council Resolution No. 91-65, or any successor ordinance or resolution.

E. Once notice is properly given pursuant to Subsection F below, notice, as required by this section, shall be deemed given for any recurrence of the same violation, for which notice was originally given, within a 12-month period from the date notice was originally given. The provisions of this section shall apply regardless of whether the original violation for which notice was given was corrected prior or subsequent to any fee called for in this section becoming due. It is intended that this section apply to prevent any responsible party from temporarily correcting violations so as to avoid any penalty or fee provided for in the Code of Ordinances of the City of Irvine, and immediately after correcting that violation causing or allowing it to exist again.

F. For the purposes of this section, notice shall be deemed given upon completion of all of the following:

1. Posting written notice in a conspicuous location on the real property upon which the violation exists;

2. Deposit of written notice in the United States mail, first class postage prepaid, addressed to the owner of the real property upon which the violation exists, as shown on the last equalized assessment role, or, if different, to the owner's last known address; and

3. Deposit of written notice in the United States mail, first class postage prepaid, addressed to "OCCUPANT" at the address of the real property upon which the violation exists.

G. Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the authority of the enforcement official or the City Attorney to take civil or penal action against any responsible party, person or property determined to be in violation of any City, State, and federal building, safety, right-of-way, and zoning regulations.

(Code 1976, § I.A-116; Ord. No. 91-15, § 1, 8-13-91)

The ballots used when voting upon a proposed City Charter amendment or ordinance, or other ballot question, shall have printed on them words substantially as follows:

"Shall the ordinance (or charter amendment) (and stating the nature thereof) be adopted?"

(Code 1976, § I.A-117; Ord. No. 92-17, § 1, 9-22-92)