Santa Paula Municipal Code Ch. 10 Rules of Construction

This codification of ordinances by and for the City of Santa Paula shall be designated as the Santa Paula Municipal Code and may be so cited.

Unless otherwise provided herein, or by law or implication required, the same rules of construction, definition, and application shall govern the interpretation of this code as those governing the interpretation of state law.

All provisions of Title I compatible with future legislation, shall apply to ordinances hereafter adopted, amending or supplementing this code unless otherwise specifically provided.

Headings and captions used in this code other than the title, chapter, and section numbers are employed for reference purposes only and shall not be deemed a part of the text of any section.

(A) General rule. Words and phrases shall be taken in their plain, or ordinary and usual sense. However, technical words and phrases having a peculiar and appropriate meaning in law shall be understood according to their technical import.

(B) Specific definitions. For the purpose of this code, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.

CITY or TOWN. The City of Santa Paula, California, or the area within the territorial limits of the City of Santa Paula, and such territory outside of the city over which the city has jurisdiction or control by virtue of any constitutional or statutory provision.

CODE, THIS CODE or THIS CODE OF ORDINANCES. This municipal code as modified by amendment, revision, and adoption of new titles, chapters, or sections.

COUNCIL. The City Council of the city. “All its members” or “all Council members” means the total number of Council members holding office.

COUNTY. Ventura County, California.

DAY. The period of time between any midnight and the midnight following.

DAYTIME and NIGHTTIME. DAYTIME is the period of time between sunrise and sunset; NIGHTTIME is the period of time between sunset and sunrise.

DEPARTMENT, BOARD, COMMISSION, AGENCY, OFFICER or EMPLOYEE. A department, board, commission, agency, officer or employee of the city.

IN THE CITY. All territory over which the city now has, or shall hereafter acquire, the jurisdiction for the exercise of its police powers or other regulatory powers.

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.

LAW. Applicable federal law, the Constitution and statutes of the State of California, the ordinances of the city, and, when appropriate, any and all rules and regulations which may be promulgated thereunder.

MAY. The act referred to is permissive.

MONTH. A calendar month.

OATH. 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. Whenever certain hours are named in this code they mean Pacific Standard Time or Daylight Saving Time, whichever may be in current use in the city.

OWNER. Applied to a building or land, 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. Extends to and includes person, persons, firm, corporation, copartnership, trustee, lessee, or receiver. Whenever used in any clause prescribing and imposing a penalty, the terms PERSON or WHOEVER as applied to any unincorporated entity shall mean the partners or members thereof, and as applied to corporations, the officers or agents thereof.

PERSONAL PROPERTY. Includes money, goods, chattels, things in action and evidences of debt.

PRECEDING or FOLLOWING. Next before or next after, respectively.

PROCESS. Includes a writ or summons issued in the course of judicial proceedings of either a civil or criminal nature.

PROPERTY. Includes real and personal property.

PUBLICATION. A newspaper of general circulation in the city.

REAL PROPERTY. Includes lands, tenements and hereditaments.

SHALL. The act referred to is mandatory.

SIDEWALK. That portion of a street between the curbline and the adjacent property line intended for the use of pedestrians.

SIGNATURE or SUBSCRIPTION. Includes a mark when the person cannot write.

STATE. The State of California.

STREET. 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.

SUBCHAPTER. A division of a chapter, designated in this code by a heading in the chapter analysis and a capitalized heading in the body of the chapter, setting apart a group of sections related by the subject matter of the heading. Not all chapters have subchapters.

TENANT and OCCUPANT. Applied to a building or land, includes any person who occupies the whole or a part of such building or land, whether alone or with others.

WEEK. Consists of seven consecutive days.

WRITTEN. Any representation of words, letters, or figures, whether by printing or otherwise.

YEAR. A calendar year, unless otherwise expressed.

('81 Code, § 1.04.020)

The construction of all ordinances of this city shall be by the following rules, unless such construction is plainly repugnant to the intent of the legislative body or of the context of the same ordinance:

(A) AND or OR. Either conjunction shall include the other as if written “and/or,” if the sense requires it.

(B) Acts by assistants. When a statute or ordinance requires an act to be done which, by law, an agent or deputy as well may do as the principal, such requisition shall be satisfied by the performance of such act by an authorized agent or deputy.

(C) Gender; singular and plural; tenses. Words denoting the masculine gender shall be deemed to include the feminine and neuter genders; words in the singular shall include the plural, and words in the plural shall include the singular; the use of a verb in the present tense shall include the future, if applicable.

(D) General term. A general term following specific enumeration of terms is not to be limited to the class enumerated unless expressly so limited.

If any provision of this code as now or later amended or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity does not affect other provisions that can be given effect without the invalid provision or application.

Whenever in one section reference is made to another section hereof, such reference shall extend and apply to the section referred to as subsequently amended, revised, recodified, or renumbered unless the subject matter is changed or materially altered by the amendment or revision.

Reference to a public office or officer shall be deemed to apply to any office, officer, or employee of this city exercising the powers, duties, or functions contemplated in the provision, irrespective of any transfer of functions or change in the official title of the functionary.

If a manifest error is discovered, consisting of the misspelling of any words; the omission of any word or words necessary to express the intention of the provisions affected; the use of a word or words to which no meaning can be attached; or the use of a word or words when another word or words was clearly intended to express such intent, such spelling shall be corrected and such word or words supplied, omitted, or substituted as will conform with the manifest intention, and the provisions shall have the same effect as though the correct words were contained in the text as originally published. No alteration shall be made or permitted if any question exists regarding the nature or extent of such error.

The official time, as established by applicable state/federal laws, shall be the official time within this city for the transaction of all municipal business.

(A) In all cases where an ordinance requires an act to be done in a reasonable time or requires reasonable notice to be given, reasonable time or notice shall be deemed to mean the time which is necessary for a prompt performance of such act or the giving of such notice.

(B) The time within which an act is to be done, as herein provided, shall be computed by excluding the first day and including the last. If the last day be Sunday, it shall be excluded.

This code, from and after its effective date, shall contain all of the provisions of a general nature pertaining to the subjects herein enumerated and embraced. All prior ordinances pertaining to the subjects treated by this code shall be deemed repealed from and after the effective date of this code.

All ordinances of a temporary or special nature and all other ordinances pertaining to subjects not embraced in this code shall remain in full force and effect unless herein repealed expressly or by necessary implication.

All ordinances passed by the legislative body shall take effect in accordance with the provisions of Cal. Gov't Code § 36937 or other applicable state statute.

(A) Whenever any ordinance or part of an ordinance shall be repealed or modified by a subsequent ordinance, the ordinance or part of an ordinance thus repealed or modified shall continue in force until the ordinance repealing or modifying it becomes effective, unless otherwise expressly provided.

(B) No suit, proceedings, right, fine, forfeiture, or penalty instituted, created, given, secured, or accrued under any ordinance previous to its repeal shall in any way be affected, released, or discharged, but may be prosecuted, enjoyed, and recovered as fully as if the ordinance had continued in force unless it is otherwise expressly provided.

(C) When any ordinance repealing a former ordinance, clause, or provision shall be itself repealed, the repeal shall not be construed to revive the former ordinance, clause, or provision, unless it is expressly provided.

(A) If the legislative body shall desire to amend any existing chapter or section of this code, the chapter or section shall be specifically repealed and a new chapter or section, containing the desired amendment, substituted in its place.

(B) Any ordinance which is proposed to add to the existing code a new chapter or section shall indicate, with reference to the arrangement of this code, the proper number of such chapter or section. In addition to such indication thereof as may appear in the text of the proposed ordinance, a caption or title shall be shown in concise form above the ordinance.

(A) As histories for the code sections, the specific number and passage date of the original ordinance, and the most recent three amending ordinances, if any, are listed following the text of the code section. Example: (Ord. 10, passed 5-13-60; Am. Ord. 15, passed 1-1-70; Am. Ord. 20, passed 1-1-80; Am. Ord. 25, passed 1-1-85)

(B) (1) If a statutory cite is included in the history, this indicates that the text of the section reads substantially the same as the statute.

Example: (Cal. Penal Code § 1212) (Ord. 10, passed 1-17-80; Am. Ord. 20, passed 1-1-85).

(2) If a statutory cite is set forth as a “statutory reference” following the text of the section, this indicates that the reader should refer to that statute for further information.

Example:

This city shall make available to any person for inspection or copying all public records, unless otherwise exempted by state law.

Statutory reference:

For provisions concerning the inspection of public records, see Cal. Govt. Code §§ 6250.0 et seq.

(C) If a section of this code is derived from the previous code of ordinances of the city published in 1981 and subsequently amended, the 1981 code section number shall be indicated in the history by “('81 Code, § ).”

(A) Whenever a notice is required to be given under this code, unless different provisions are otherwise specifically made in the code, such notice may be given either by personal delivery thereof to the person to be notified or by deposit in the United States mail in a sealed envelope, postage prepaid, addressed to such person to be notified at his last known business or residence address as the same appears in the public records of the city or other records pertaining to the matter to which such notice is directed. Service by mail shall be deemed to have been completed at the time of deposit in the Postal Service.

(B) Proof of giving any notice may be made by the certificate of any officer or employee of the city or by affidavit of any person over the age of 18 years, which affidavit shows service in conformity with this code or other provisions of law applicable to the subject matter concerned.

(A) Not less than three copies of this code shall be filed for use and examination by the public in the office of the City Clerk. At least three additional copies, duly certified by the City Clerk, shall be maintained on file in his office as the official copies of the code. Additional copies of the code shall be distributed to the departments and divisions of the city as shall be prescribed by the City Manager.

(B) Upon the adoption of any amendment or addition to this code, or upon the repeal of any of its provisions, the City Clerk shall certify thereto and shall make an appropriate notation in the official volumes of this code of the taking of such action, noting the number and date of the ordinance pursuant to which such action is taken.

(C) Duly certified copies of each ordinance making changes in the code shall be filed in the office of the City Clerk in books for such purpose, duly indexed for ready reference.

(D) At least quarterly the City Clerk shall cause the loose leaf pages of this code in which changes have been made to be reproduced, including the notation as to the ordinance number and date pursuant to which such change is adopted, and distributed in order that the loose leaf copies of the code, prepared for the use and convenience of the officers and employees of the city and the general public, may be brought up-to-date.

(A) Prohibited acts. 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) Imposition of penalty. The provisions of this code which declare certain crimes to be punishable as therein mentioned devolve a duty upon the court authorized to pass sentence to determine and impose the punishment described.

(C) Determination of punishment. Whenever in this code the punishment for a crime is left undetermined between certain limits, the punishment to be inflicted in a particular case shall be determined by the court authorized to pass sentence, within such limits as may be prescribed by this code.

(A) Provisions of Cal. Civ. Proc. Code § 1094.6 are applicable to the final decisions of the city.

(B) The Council shall by resolution establish a notice procedure as may be necessary to comply with the provisions of Cal. Civ. Proc. Code § 1094.6.

('81 Code, § 1.04.150)