Newport Beach Municipal Code Art. XIV Miscellaneous

Unless the provision or the context otherwise requires, as used in this Charter:

(a)

“Shall”

is mandatory, and “may” is permissive.

(b)

“City”

is the City of Newport Beach and “department,” “board,” “commission,” “agency,” “officer,” “public officer,” or “employee,” is a department, board, commission, agency, officer or employee, as the case may be, of the City of Newport Beach. Whenever a power is granted to, or a duty is imposed upon a public officer, or employee, the power may be exercised, or the duty may be performed by a deputy of such officer or employee or by a person otherwise duly authorized pursuant to law or ordinance.

(c)

“County”

is the County of Orange.

(d)

“State”

is the State of California.

(As amended effective January 9, 2013)

No drilling, including off shore drilling originating from the ocean’s surface, for exploration work of any kind, production or refining of, oil, gas or other hydrocarbon substances shall be permitted within the incorporated area of the City of Newport Beach. These prohibitions shall apply to any actions taken by the City of Newport Beach itself.

This Section, however, shall not prohibit the exploration or drilling for, production or processing of oil, gas or other hydrocarbon substances by vertical, slant or other drilling method originating from the surface within the approximately twenty (20) acres of territory depicted and specifically described in Exhibits “A” and “B” to this Charter and incorporated herein by reference. The owner of property annexed into the City after December 7, 2010 shall have up to a maximum of ten years from the date of annexation to bring the property into compliance with this section.

This Section shall not prohibit the continuance of production of any well slant drilled under property within the City from a location outside of the City and in existence at the time this Charter took effect. Nor shall this section preclude the City Council from permitting the slant drilling of wells under the surface of property within the City from surface locations located either outside the City or within future annexations to the City wherein the drilling for and production of oil, gas and other hydrocarbon substances is permitted. However, if such slant drilling originates from the surface outside of the approximately twenty (20) acres of territory depicted in Exhibits “A” and “B” it shall first be approved by a majority of the electors voting on such proposition at any special or general municipal election, and provided further that all of the following conditions shall be complied with:

(a) The holding of a public hearing upon any application for a permit to conduct such drilling;

(b) The requiring of the removal of all derricks and other surface structures used in the drilling of such well upon completion or abandonment of such well;

(c) The furnishing of a faithful performance surety bond and the maintenance of public liability and property damage insurance by the permittee in amounts deemed adequate by the City Council;

(d) The screening by landscaping and the beautification of any production and maintenance facilities used in the operation of any such well;

(e) Provisions for the payment to the City of such amounts as in the sound discretion of the Council are adequate amounts for the consideration or granting of such permit, the holding, of such hearing, the making of initial and periodic inspections, the granting of easements under City property and for royalties or rentals;

(f) The requirement that no such well shall traverse any land under the area of the City wherein drilling is prohibited at a vertical depth of less than four hundred feet from the surface of the ground; and

(g) Such other conditions as the City Council may prescribe by ordinance.

(As amended effective April 23, 1958, and December 20, 2010)

The City Council shall not sell or convey any water-front or beach property, excepting to the State or to the County for use as a public beach or park, without an affirmative vote of the electorate at a general or special election.

Notwithstanding any other provision of this Charter, the City Council shall have the authority to lease City-owned property, including tide and submerged lands so long as the lease is limited to the term permitted by State law.

Nothing in this Section shall invalidate any lease of such property in existence at the time of the effective date of the Charter nor the future leasing or releasing of any such property under lease at the effective date of this Charter.

There shall be reserved forever to the people the public use of a strip of bay front land above mean high tide not less than 85 feet in depth of the city-owned water front property bounded on the west by the southeasterly line of Nineteenth Street and bounded on the east by a line parallel thereto lying 349.90 feet northwesterly of the northwesterly line of Fifteenth Street, said frontage to be bay front frontage.

(As amended effective April 10, 1956, December 15, 1992, and December 20, 2010)

Section 1402(a). Exception to Section 1402.

Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 1402, the City Council may sell and convey that parcel of City-owned property fronting on the Rivo Alto Canal described as Lot 4, Block 434, Canal Section, Newport Beach, as per map recorded in Book 4, page 98, Miscellaneous Maps, Records of Orange County, California.

(Added effective January 25, 1961)

Section 1402(b). Exception to Section 1402.

Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 1402, the City Council may sell and convey that parcel of City-owned property fronting on Newport Bay described as follows:

All of Lot 1, Block 223, as shown upon a map of Section “A,” Newport Beach, recorded in Book 4, page 21 of Miscellaneous Maps, Records of Orange County, California, and all that portion of Block 222 of said Section “A” described as follows: Beginning at the most northerly corner of said Block 222; running thence south 46° 50' 30" East along the Northeasterly line of said Block 222 to the most northerly corner of Lot 1, Tract 814, as shown upon a map recorded in Book 24, page 36, Records of said County; running thence southwesterly along the Northwesterly line of said Lot 1, Tract 814, to a point in the Southwesterly line of said Block 222; thence Northwesterly along the Southwesterly line of said Block 222 to the most Westerly corner of said Block 222; thence Northeasterly along the Northwesterly line of said Block 222 to the point of beginning.

(Added effective January 25, 1961)

Section 1402(c). Exceptions to Section 1402.

Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 1402, the City Council may sell and convey that parcel of City-owned real property described as follows, to wit:

(Added effective May 4, 1964)

Section 1402(d). Exception to Section 1402.

Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 1402, the City Council may sell and convey that parcel of City-owned real property described as follows, to wit:

(Added effective April 28, 1966)

Section 1402(e). Exception to Section 1402.

Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 1402, the City Council may sell and convey that parcel of City-owned property fronting on Newport Bay described as follows:

(Added effective January 12, 1967)

Section 1402(f). Exception to Section 1402.

Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 1402, the City Council may sell and convey that parcel of City-owned property fronting on the Rivo Alto with the legal description as follows:

(Added effective December 15, 1992)

All service charges and charges for utilities furnished by the City may be combined upon one or more bills or invoices but each such charge shall be separately stated. No service or utility furnished by the City shall be discontinued for failure to pay any other service or utility furnished by the City.

(a) The violation of any provision of this Charter shall be deemed a misdemeanor, which may be prosecuted in the name of the People of the State of California, and be punishable by a fine not exceeding One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) or by imprisonment in the City Jail for a term not exceeding six (6) months or by both such fine and imprisonment. Additional, such violations of this Charter may also be redressed in civil action and/or administrative citation.

(b) The City Council may make the violation of any ordinance of the City a misdemeanor or an infraction which may be prosecuted in the name of the People of the State of California. Unless specifically designated as an infraction, a violation of any ordinance of the City shall constitute a misdemeanor. The maximum fine and/or penalty for any violation of a City ordinance, whether a misdemeanor or an infraction, shall be established by ordinance. Additionally, the violation of any City ordinance may be addressed by civil action and/or administrative citation.

(As amended effective June 6, 1974, and December 20, 2010)

If any provision of this Charter, or the application thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the Charter, and the application of such provision to other persons or circumstances, shall not be affected thereby.

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Editor's Note: Said Appendix material is included as an attachment to this title in the online Code.

Municipal Code