San Juan Capistrano Municipal Code Ch. 2 Penalty Provisions

(a) No person shall violate any provision, or fail to comply with any of the requirements of this Code, any duly adopted code, or any State or Federal law or regulation. Each such person shall be guilty of a separate offense for each and every day during which such violation continues.

(b) Any person violating any of the provisions or failing to comply with any of the mandatory requirements of this Code, any duly adopted code, or any State or Federal law or regulation, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor unless this Code expressly declares the particular violation to be an infraction. However, any violation that constitutes a misdemeanor under this Code may be prosecuted by the City Attorney and cited by the issuing officer as an infraction at his or her discretion.

(c) Any person convicted of a misdemeanor for a violation of any provision of this Code, shall be punished by a fine of not more than $1,000 or by imprisonment in jail for a period not exceeding six months, or by both such fine and imprisonment.

(d) Any person convicted of a violation determined to be an infraction under the provisions of this Code, or any duly adopted code, or any State or Federal law or regulation, shall be punished by a fine not exceeding $100 for the first violation, a fine not exceeding $200 for a second violation of the same ordinance within one year, and a fine not exceeding $500 for each additional violation of the same ordinance within one year.

(e) Notwithstanding subsection (d), any person convicted of a violation determined to be an infraction under the provisions of any City building and safety code, or any duly adopted building and safety code, shall be punished by a fine not exceeding $100 for the first violation, a fine not exceeding $500 for a second violation of the same ordinance within one year, and a fine not exceeding $1,000 for each additional violation of the same ordinance within one year.

(f) In addition to the penalties hereinabove provided, any condition caused or permitted to exist in violation of any of the provisions of this Code, or any State or Federal law or regulation, shall be deemed a public nuisance and may be summarily abated, as such, in any manner prescribed by law.

(Ord. No. 38, § 2; Ord. No. 554, § 1, 1985; Ord. No. 1042, § 4, 2017)

(a) Whenever in this Code any act or omission is made unlawful, it shall include causing, permitting, aiding, abetting, suffering, or concealing the fact of such act or omission.

(b) It is a separate violation of this Code for any responsible party to advertise an activity or use that is itself a violation of this Code and that is advertised to take place within the City. For purposes of this subsection (b), a responsible party includes the property owner, business owner, operator, manager, lessor, lessee, and any other person that conducts or offers to conduct the illegal activity or use, but it does not include a person who publishes the advertisement, such as a newspaper publisher or online booking service.

(Ord. No. 1042, § 4, 2017)

The amount of any fee, fine, costs, service charge, utility charge, license, or tax of any nature whatsoever imposed by any provision of this Code shall be deemed a civil debt owed to the City. An action may be commenced in the name of the City in any court of competent jurisdiction for the collection of the amount of any such delinquent or unpaid fee, fine, costs, service charge, utility charge, license, or tax, together with any penalties applicable thereto as prescribed by this Code. The remedy prescribed by this section shall be cumulative, and the use of an action to collect such an amount as a debt by civil action shall not bar the use of any other remedy provided by this Code or by law for the purpose of enforcing the provisions thereof.

(Ord. No. 1042, § 4, 2017)

The bail applicable to violations of the provisions of this Code set out in Figure 1-2.08 shall be established by resolution of the Council.

Figure 1-2.08

(Ord. No. 482, § 1, 1983; Ord. No. 491, § 1, 1983; Res. No. 98-3-17-1, 1998)

Any person convicted of any criminal offense related to an arrest and booking at the County Jail shall pay to the City any criminal justice administration fee imposed on the City by the County of Orange.

(Ord. No. 761, § 1)

(a) Whenever any person creating, causing, committing, or maintaining a public nuisance, has been given notice, by or on behalf of the City Attorney or by any other City officer, employee, or policing agent authorized to give such notice, to abate such nuisance or cease and desist from continuing such nuisance or violation of law, and such person fails, refuses, or neglects to comply with the notice within the time specified therein, or if such a time is not specified, then within a time reasonably sufficient to enable such compliance, such noncomplying person shall be liable to the City for any and all costs and expenses to the City involved in abating the nuisance and in obtaining compliance with or enforcing the law as referred to or encompassed within the notice.

(b) Costs and expenses, as referred to in subsection (a) of this section, may include, but are not limited to, any and all direct costs and expenses related to such things as personnel salaries and benefits, operational overhead, rent, interest, fees for experts or consultants, legal costs and expenses, including attorneys’ fees, claims against the City arising as a consequence of the nuisance or violation, and procedures associated with collecting monies due hereunder.

(c) The liability of any person for the payment of the costs and expenses provided for in this section may be waived in whole or in part by the City Attorney in any case wherein he or she determines, in his or her sole discretion, that the failure or refusal of such persons to comply with the notice was based on a good faith and bona fide issue of law or fact specifically involved in the circumstances of the case. Any determination or decision of the City Attorney in this regard is final and conclusive and is not subject to appeal.

(d) Money due to the City under this section may be recovered in an appropriate civil action. Alternatively, such liability may be enforced by special assessment or lien proceedings, or both, against the parcel of land on which the nuisance existed, which proceedings may be conducted in a manner substantively similar to proceedings in Chapter 7 of Title 6 of this Code relating to weed abatement assessments.

(Ord. No. 948, § 1, 2008; Ord. No. 1042, § 4, 2017)