Shasta County Municipal Code Ch. 1.04 General Provisions

The title of this code is "Shasta County Code."

(Prior code § 1)

The purpose of the land use, regulation and planning provisions of this code, codified in Chapters 2.48 and 2.56 and in Titles 15 and 17, is to provide for the orderly and efficient application of the police power of the county of Shasta with respect to land use planning and management and to implement and supplement related laws of the state of California, including but not limited to the State Planning and Zoning Law, Subdivision Map Act and California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).

(Prior code § 4000)

A. The following words and terms are used and defined as follows for purposes of this code, unless the context in which any word or term is used requires another usage or meaning:

"Advisory agency" as referred to in this code and in the map act means the planning commission.

"Board of supervisors" and "board" mean the board of supervisors of the county.

"CEQA" means the California Environmental Quality Act.

"This code" means the Shasta County Code and includes any law or code adopted by reference in this code, any county policies or standards referred to in this code that are adopted by resolution of the board of supervisors, and any condition or limitation imposed on any permit, license, entitlement or other approval issued or made by the county or any of its officers.

"County" means the county of Shasta, state of California.

"Development standards" means standards and criteria for development adopted by resolution of the board of supervisors, including but not limited to, design of subdivisions and construction and installation of improvements for subdivisions and other developments.

"EIR" means environmental impact report.

"Enforcing officer" means the person, office or department designated by state law or the board of supervisors to enforce any provision of this code. "Enforcing officer" includes any county officer, employee or agent to whom enforcement powers have been lawfully delegated by a designated enforcement officer.

"Fee" means a fee, charge or rate set by the board of supervisors.

"General plan" means the county general plan.

"Nuisance" means and includes every public or private act or condition known or described in the common law as a public nuisance and any other public or private act or condition which is or may be declared to be a public nuisance under the laws of the state or by county ordinance.

"One ownership" as applied to real property, means ownership of property, or possession of property under a contract of sale or under a lease with a term of at least ten years, by a person or by persons exercising joint control of the property. Lands owned or beneficially controlled by substantially the same person shall be deemed to be in one ownership.

"Owner" means the person or persons exercising one ownership.

"Person" means a natural person, his heirs, executors, administrators or assigns and includes, but is not limited to, any firm, association, partnership, corporation, joint venture, social club, fraternal organization, business trust, receiver, syndicate, or other group or combination acting as a unit and the successors, assigns or agents of any of them, and any governmental agency, public entity or public utility, except the county.

"Planning commission" and "commission" mean the planning commission of the county.

"Shall" is mandatory except where it is used to direct a county or other public officer or employee to perform certain acts, in which case it is directory only; "may" is permissive.

"Staff advisory committee" or "SAC" means a committee composed of the director of resource management who shall act as chairman, the director of public works, the health officer, or the qualified designee of each, and such other persons as the board may direct.

"Street" means road, highway, alley, roadway or other way.

"Subdivision Map Act" or "map act" means the Subdivision Map Act set forth in Division 2 of Title 7 of the Government Code (commencing with Section 66410).

"Zoning plan" means the zoning plan of the county.

B. The present tense includes the future tense. The singular includes the plural. The masculine gender includes the feminine gender.

(Ord. 99-8 § 1, 1999: Ord. 95-3 § 1, 1995; prior code §§ 6, 4001)

It is the policy and intent of the board of supervisors to avoid infringing upon any constitutional right of any person. This code, and every provision of it, shall be interpreted and construed in accordance with that principle. If any provision of this code is capable of more than one interpretation, the interpretation which raises the least question of infringement upon any right guaranteed by the United States Constitution or the California Constitution shall be deemed to be the intended construction. If any provision of this code may be applied to a particular set of facts in more than one manner, the application which raises the least question of infringement upon any right guaranteed by the United States Constitution or the California Constitution shall be deemed to be the intended application.

(Prior code § 9 A)

All existing ordinances of the county except ordinances and their amendments calling an election, setting parking limits, establishing speed zones, setting load limit on county roads and bridges, establishing traffic signals, permitting the use of feather lake highway by the county of lassen, establishing the boundaries of districts including but not limited to supervisorial, judicial and other districts, adoption or adding to or amending zoning maps or salary schedules, contracts with state employees retirement fund, franchises, ordinances establishing a closed range, property tax and disaster relief, and for removal of overhead utilities and those ordinances hereinafter excepted in this section by number, and amendments thereto, are codified. all ordinances hereafter adopted pertaining to the subject of this code shall be adopted in the manner and form provided by section 25129 of the government code. those ordinances excepted are ordinances 462, 407, 434, 408, 463, 412, 413, 436, 419, 425, 424, 382, 444, 445, 458, those amendments to ordinance 378 affecting zoning maps, those parts of and amendments to 422 establishing salary schedules, 472, 451, 457, 432, 388, 202, 155, 427, 189, 152, 154, 162, 142, 120, 121, 104, unnumbered water company franchises, 488, 485, 459, 484, 478, and 470.

(Prior code § 2)

The provisions of this code, so far as they are substantially the same as existing law, shall be considered as continuations thereof and not as new enactments.

(Prior code § 3)

No action or proceedings commenced before this code takes effect, and no rights accrued shall be affected by the provisions in this code.

(Prior code § 4)

Title, article, chapter, division, section and subsection headings do not in any manner affect the scope, meaning or intent of the provisions of this code.

(Prior code § 7)

A. Nothing in this code or any other county enactment is intended, or shall be deemed or construed, to impose liability upon the county, or any of its officers, agents or employees, for any injury to persons or damage to property alleged to result from any act or omission by the county or any of its officers, agents or employees, beyond the liability imposed by the laws of the state or the united states. nothing in this code or any other county enactment is intended, or shall be deemed or construed, to impose a mandatory duty upon the county, or any of its officers, agents or employees, for the purpose of determining entitlement to equitable relief or liability for any injury to persons or damage to property alleged to result from the failure of the county or any of its officers, agents or employees to discharge a mandatory duty imposed by any county enactment.

B. Except as otherwise provided by law, any of the following judicial actions or proceedings against the county, or any of its officers, agents or employees, shall not be maintained by any person unless the action or proceeding is commenced and service of summons effected upon the county within ninety days after the date of accrual of the cause of action:

1. To attack, review set aside, void or annul any decision of any matter subject to this code, any county enactment or state law;

2. Concerning any of the proceedings, acts or determinations taken, done or made prior to such a decision or enactment;

3. To determine the reasonableness, legality or validity of any condition attached to any such decision or enactment;

4. To compel action or to seek relief from inaction as to any matters set forth in subdivisions 1 through 3 of this subsection;

5. For money or damages.

Thereafter, all persons are barred from any such action or proceeding or any defense of invalidity or unreasonableness of any of those decisions, proceedings, acts, determinations or conditions.

C. As used in this section:

1. "Agent" means any person not a county employee who performs services for or on behalf of the county pursuant to a contract with the county, or any board, commission, committee or advisory body of the county formed pursuant to state or federal law or county enactment and includes the members of each of them.

2. "County enactment" means any ordinance, resolution, policy, regulation, directive, rule, decision or other enactment adopted, enacted, promulgated, made or approved either explicitly or implicitly by the board of supervisors, or any decision or administrative policy, regulation or directive made or promulgated by any authorized county officer agent or employee.

3. "Date of accrual of the cause of action" means:

a. As to any county enactment against which relief is sought or for which money or damages sought, the date the enactment was adopted, enacted, promulgated, made or approved either explicitly or implicitly;

b. As to inaction or alleged improper performance as to any matter, the date on which the act sought to be compelled should have been performed or properly performed;

c. As to any other incident, the date the act or omission occurred that caused the alleged injury.

(Prior code § 8)

Any judicial proceeding or action to attack, review, set aside, void or annul any decision of matters listed in this chapter which are subject to judicial review (other than those listed in government code sections 65009, 65860, 66499.37 and public resources code section 21167) or concerning any of the proceedings, acts or determinations taken, done or made prior to such decision or to determine the reasonableness, legality or validity of any condition attached thereto, or concerning the general plan or any specific plan, or any amendment to, interpretation of, deletion from, addition to, or application of the general plan or specific plan, or to compel action as to any of these matters or to seek relief from inaction on any of these matters, shall not be maintained by any person unless such action or proceeding is commenced and service of summons effected within ninety days after the date of such decision, act or determination, or, in the case of inaction, within ninety days after the date on which the act sought to be compelled should have been performed. thereafter, all persons are barred from any such action or proceeding or any defense of invalidity or unreasonableness of such decisions or of such proceedings, acts or determinations.

(Prior code § 4005)

No required fee may be refunded or waived in whole or in part unless the refund or waiver is authorized by the board of supervisors by ordinance or resolution. The board may delegate the authority to waive or refund fees to an appropriate person or body.

(Prior code § 4006)

If any provision of this code or the application of any provision of this code to any person or circumstance is held invalid, that invalidity shall not affect any other provision or application of this code which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the provisions of this code are expressly made severable.

(Prior code § 9B)