Chapter 1.04 — GENERAL PROVISIONS

Generally. All general provisions, terms, phrases and expressions contained in this Code shall be liberally construed in order that the true intent and meaning of the city council may be fully carried out. In the interpretation and application of any provisions of this Code, they shall be held to be the minimum requirements adopted for the promotion of the public health, safety, comfort, convenience and general welfare. Where any provision of the Code imposes greater restrictions upon the subject matter than another more general provision imposed by the Code or other law, the provision imposing the greater restriction or regulation shall be controlling.

California codes. Any reference to the codified statutes of the state, including, but not limited to, Business and Professions Code, Civil Code, Code of Civil Procedure, Commercial Code, Corporations Code, Education Code, Elections Code, Evidence Code, Family Code, Financial Code, Fish and Game Code, Food and Agricultural Code, Government Code, Harbors and Navigation Code, Health and Safety Code, Insurance Code, Labor Code, Military and Veterans Code, Penal Code, Probate Code, Public Contract Code, Public Resources Code, Public Utilities Code, Revenue and Taxation Code, Streets and Highways Code, Unemployment Insurance Code, Vehicle Code, Water Code, or Welfare and Institutions Code, are to such codes as adopted and now or hereafter amended. Any reference to a state law or state act by title is to such law or act as amended.

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.

Conjunctions. In a provision involving two or more items, conditions, provisions or events, which items, conditions, provisions or events are connected by the conjunction "and," "or" or "either … or," the conjunction shall be interpreted as follows, except that in appropriate cases the terms "or" and "and" are interchangeable:

(1)

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

(2)

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

(3)

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

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

Officers, departments, etc. Officers, departments, boards, commissions and employees referred to shall mean officers, departments, boards, commissions and employees of the City of Perris, California, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

Signature or subscription by mark. The term "signature" or "subscription by mark" 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.

Week. The term "week" means seven consecutive days.

(a)

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

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

Computation of time means the time within which an act is to be done. It shall be computed by excluding the first day and including the last day; and if the last day is Sunday or a legal holiday, that day shall be excluded.

Council. The term "council" means the city council of the City of Perris, California; "all its members" or "all councilmembers" mean the total number of councilmembers provided by the general laws of the State of California.

County. The term "county" means the county of Riverside, California.

Law. The term "law" denotes applicable federal law, the constitution and statutes of the State of California, the ordinances of the City of Perris, and when appropriate, any and 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 mandatory.

Oath. The term "oath" 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 words "swear" and "sworn" shall be equivalent to the words "affirm" and "affirmed."

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

Ordinance. The term "ordinance" means a law of the city, provided that a temporary or special law, administrative action, order or directive, may be in the form of a resolution.

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

Person. The term "person" means 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" includes money, goods, chattels, things in action and evidences of debt.

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

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

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

Responsible party. The term "responsible party" means the person, people, or entity who a city official believes is causing, performing, or permitting to exist or otherwise maintaining a public nuisance and includes the owner of the real property involved and any tenant, occupant or user thereof, or any other person in real or apparent charge or control of said real property.

Responsible person. The term "responsible person" means a person, whom a city official reasonably believes, is causing, performing, permitting to exist, or otherwise maintaining, or allowing to be maintained, a public nuisance or violation of this Code, and includes the owner of the property involved, and any tenant or occupant or user thereof, or any other person in real or apparent charge or control of said real property.

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

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

Street. The term "street" includes all streets, highways, avenues, lanes, alleys, courts, places, squares, curbs, or other public ways in this city which have been or may hereafter be dedicated and open to public use, or such other public property so designated in any law of this state.

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

Title of office. Use of the title of any officer, employee, board or commission means that officer, employee, department, board or commission of the city.

Written. The term "written" includes printed, typewritten, mimeographed or multigraphed.

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

(b)

All words and phrases shall be construed and under stood 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 such peculiar and appropriate meaning.

(c)

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 as to include all such acts performed by an authorized agent.

(Code 1972, § 1.04.010; Ord. No. 381, § 1, 1972; Ord. No. 1394, § 1, 10-27-2020; Ord. No. 1402, § 2, 6-8- 2021)

The following grammatical rules shall apply in this Code:

(1)

Gender. Any gender includes the other 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.

(4)

Use of words and phrases. Words and phrases not specifically defined shall be construed according to the context and approved usage of the language.

(Code 1972, § 1.04.020; Ord. No. 381, § 2, 1972)

Whenever in this Code any act or omission is made unlawful, it includes causing, allowing, permitting, aiding, abetting, suffering, or concealing the fact of such act or omission.

(Code 1972, § 1.04.030; Ord. No. 381, § 3, 1972)

The provisions of this Code and all proceedings under it are to be construed with a view to effect its objects and to promote justice.

(Code 1972, § 1.04.040; Ord. No. 381, § 4, 1972)

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

(Code 1972, § 1.04.050; Ord. No. 381, § 5, 1972)

The provisions appearing in this Code, so far as they are the same in substance 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.

(a)

Each bill which proposes an ordinance to repeal, amend or add to any portion of this Code and each bill which proposes an ordinance of a general and permanent nature suitable for inclusion in this Code, though constituting new subject matter not therein contained, shall be drafted so as to specify the specific section numbers, subsections, etc., of this Code which are to be repealed or amended and, with respect to additions and to new subject matter, so as to provide appropriate chapter, article, section, etc., numbers therefor and each amendment of and addition to this Code shall be set out in full and appropriate chapter and article headings and section catchlines shall be included.

(b)

Upon the adoption of an ordinance to repeal, amend or add to any portion of this Code or to include new subject matter in this Code, the city clerk shall separate the several chapters, articles, sections, etc., of such ordinance and enter them in their proper places in each file copy of this Code and shall remove therefrom any portion so repealed or amended and in the margin of each insertion in the file copies of this Code he shall note and initial the date of passage, effective date and number of the amending or repealing ordinance.

(c)

Items removed from the file copies of this Code pursuant to subsection (b) of this section shall be maintained by the city clerk in a reasonably accessible manner.

(a)

By contract or by city personnel, supplements to this Code shall be prepared and printed whenever authorized or directed by the city. A supplement to the Code shall include all substantive permanent and general parts of ordinances passed by the city council or adopted by initiative and referendum during the period covered by the supplement and all changes made thereby in the Code during that period. 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 that have been repealed shall be excluded from the Code by the 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, non-substantive 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 section headings and titles for sections and other subdivisions of the Code printed in the supplement and make changes in section headings, titles for sections and headings for other subdivisions of the Code;

(3)

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

(4)

Change the term "this ordinance" or terms of the same meaning to "this chapter," "this article," "this division," etc., as the case may be, or to "sections _____ through _____." The inserted section numbers will indicate the sections of the Code which embody the substantive sections of the ordinance incorporated into the Code; and

(5)

Make other nonsubstantive changes necessary to preserve the original meaning of ordinance sections 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.

It shall be unlawful for any person in the city 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 except pursuant to ordinance or other official act of the city council which will cause the law of the city to be misrepresented thereby. Any person violating this section shall be punished as provided in section 1.16.010.

(a)

Unless otherwise provided for, all rates, charges, or fees necessary for the administration and enforcement of the provisions of this Code shall be as currently established or as hereafter adopted by motion, resolution or ordinance of the city council, from time to time. Any rates, charges, or fees established by the city pursuant to the regulations or requirements established herein may be changed from time to time by the city council, and such changes shall both be considered an amendment to this Code.

(b)

Whenever any provision of this Code provides that a rate, charge, or fee shall be established by the city council, from time to time, and the amount of such rate, charge, or fee is not expressed in this Code in any dollar amount, then the amount of such rate, charge, or fee shall be the most recent and latest amount established, set or fixed by the city council by ordinance, resolution or motion.

(a)

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:

(1)

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 this Code;

(2)

Any ordinance or resolution promising or guaranteeing the payment of money for the city or authorizing the issuance of any bonds of the city or any evidence of the city's indebtedness;

(3)

Any contract or obligation assumed by the city;

(4)

Any ordinance or resolution fixing the salary of any city officer or employee, unless superseded;

(5)

Any right of franchise granted by the city to any person, firm, or corporation;

(6)

Any ordinance or resolution dedicating, naming, establishing, locating, relocating, closing, opening, widening, paving, widening, vacating, etc., any street or public way in the city;

(7)

Any ordinance or resolution establishing and prescribing the street grades of any street in the city;

(8)

Any appropriation ordinance;

(9)

Any ordinance or resolution which, by its own terms, is effective for a stated or limited term;

(10)

Any ordinance or resolution providing for local improvements and assessing taxes therefor.

(11)

Any ordinance or resolution describing or altering the boundaries of the city or annexing property to the city;

(12)

The administrative ordinances or resolutions of the city not in conflict or inconsistent with the provisions of this Code;

(13)

Any ordinance levying or imposing taxes not included in this Code;

(14)

Any ordinance or regulation prescribing traffic regulations for specific locations concerning through streets, parking limitations, parking prohibitions, one-way traffic, limitations on loads of vehicles or loading zones, not in conflict or inconsistent with this Code;

(15)

Any ordinance or resolution of agreement with another political subdivision;

(16)

Any specific rezoning ordinance or amendments thereto;

(17)

Any ordinance or resolution dedicating or accepting any specific subdivision plat;

(18)

Any ordinance or resolution that creates and/or continues a governmental funding mechanism for potential future projects and programs under the Alternative Voluntary Redevelopment Program as established in accordance with California Legislature Bills AB 1X26 and AB 1X27; and

(19)

Any other ordinance or resolution, or part thereof, which is not of a general and permanent nature; or which is referred to elsewhere in this Code as continuing in effect.

(b)

Nor shall the repeal of any such ordinance or resolution be construed to revive any ordinance, resolution or part thereof that has been repealed or superseded by a subsequent ordinance or resolution which is repealed or superseded by this chapter. All such ordinances are hereby recognized as continuing in full force and effect to the same extent as if set out at length in this Code.