Stanton Municipal Code Ch. 9.30 Multiple Responses by Law Enforcement

The Stanton city council finds that the city's law enforcement personnel respond to numerous loud and unruly events constituting a threat to the peace, health, safety, or general welfare of the public.

The city council finds that law enforcement personnel are often required to make multiple responses to such loud or unruly events at the same location to restore and maintain the peace and protect the public health, safety, or general welfare. These multiple responses create a burden on scarce city resources and on available law enforcement manpower, leaving law enforcement personnel unavailable to perform other duties and, therefore, creates a significant threat and detriment to the public health, safety and general welfare.

It is the intent of the city council, in enacting this chapter, to enhance the ability of the city's law enforcement personnel to abate or discourage repeated disturbances and unruly events constituting an immediate threat to public health or safety without making repeated responses to the scene of the same disturbance.

It is the purpose of this chapter to provide a program to mitigate the occurrence of repeated responses to the same loud and unruly events to protect the peace, health, safety, and general welfare of the public.

(Ord. 1021 § 5, 2013)

"Administrative fine"

means a monetary assessment imposed by the city, as provided in Chapter 1.12, for assessment of administrative citation fines.

"Event"

means any party or gathering on private property, regardless of the number of attendants, to which an officer response is required because the event is loud and unruly, as defined in this chapter.

"Loud and unruly"

includes, but is not limited to, any or all of the following:

Loud, unusual, penetrating or boisterous noise, disturbances or commotion, as described in Section 9.30.040 of this chapter;

Obstruction of public streets by crowds or vehicles;

Obstruction of rights-of-way by people or vehicles;

Public drunkenness;

Assaults, batteries, fights, domestic violence or other disturbances of the peace;

Urinating or defecating in public; or

Any conduct which would otherwise constitute a violation of the California Penal Code or Vehicle Code based on the citing official's observations.

"Loud or unruly conduct"

does not include any activity that is protected by federal or state law.

"Officer"

means a law enforcement officer employed or otherwise charged by the city to enforce codes, ordinances, mandates, regulations, resolutions, rules or other laws adopted by the city, including an officer employed by the city and an officer providing services to the city under contract.

"Responsible party"

means any of the following:

The owner(s) of record of the property where the event takes place.

The person(s) in charge or purportedly in charge of the premises where the event takes place.

The person(s) authorizing the use of the premises for the event.

The person(s) who organized the event.

The person(s) who the responding officer believes is causing, performing, permitting to exist or otherwise maintaining the event, including, but not limited to, any other person in real or apparent charge or control of the real property.

"Subsequent response"

means any response to the location of an event made within three months after the issuance of a written warning to the responsible party for an event at that location, or within three months after a prior subsequent response.

(Ord. 1021 § 5, 2013)

A. Whenever an officer responds to an event and determines that the event qualifies as an event as defined in Section 9.30.020, the officer shall orally notify and leave a written warning with the responsible party. If the person responsible for the event cannot be located, the officer shall either post the written warning on the front door or primary entrance to the event, or at a location which is visible from the street.

B. Whenever an officer makes a subsequent response to an event and determines that the event qualifies as an event as defined in Section 9.30.020, the officer may issue a notice of violation to the responsible party, which shall inform the responsible party of the City's authority to impose an administrative fine in the amount specified in Section 9.30.070(A) and assess costs as provided in Section 9.30.070(B). The officer should, but is not required to, also make note of such notification or attempted notification in a written incident or other report for that response.

(Ord. 1021 § 5, 2013)

A. No person within the city shall make or cause the making of, or suffer or permit to be made upon any premises owned, occupied, or controlled by such person or upon any public street, alley, right-of-way, park or public property any loud, unnecessary, unusual, penetrating, or boisterous noise, disturbance or commotion which shall cause discomfort or annoyance to a reasonable person of normal sensitivity.

B. An officer approaching a source of loud, unnecessary, unusual, penetrating or boisterous noise, disturbances or commotion shall use the following standards in determining whether a violation exists:

1. The volume of the noise;

2. The intensity of the noise;

3. Whether the origin of the noise is ambient or man-made;

4. The volume and intensity of the background noise, if any;

5. Whether the noise can be heard from a distance of twenty feet or more from the noise source, or from a distance determined to be reasonable by the officer at the scene;

6. The nature and zoning of the area within which the noise emanates;

7. The density of the buildings and population of the area within which the noise emanates;

8. The time of the day or night the noise occurs;

9. The duration of the noise; and

10. Whether the noise is recurrent, intermittent or constant.

C. A violation of this section is a misdemeanor subject to punishment in accordance with Chapter 1.10 of this code. In addition to any other remedy provided herein for a violation of this chapter, an officer charged with enforcing laws in the city of Stanton may enforce the provisions of this chapter by any means provided by law, including, without limitation, in accordance with Chapter 1.10 of this code, by arrest, or issuance of a notice of violation or administrative fine pursuant to Section 9.30.070.

(Ord. 1021 § 5, 2013)

Acts, conditions, or activities listed in Section 9.28.070 (Special provisions) of Chapter 9.28 of this title are exempt from the provisions of this chapter.

(Ord. 1021 § 5, 2013)

It is hereby declared to be a public nuisance for any responsible party to cause, perform, permit to exist, or otherwise maintain an event, as defined in Section 9.30.020. Any person who owns, leases or otherwise controls property on which said person knows an event, as defined in Section 9.30.020, exists and who fails to take immediate and reasonable steps to abate said event shall be deemed in violation of this chapter and shall be subject to all penalties provided herein.

(Ord. 1021 § 5, 2013)

A. The city shall have the authority to impose an administrative fine for multiple response services on any one or more persons who qualify as a responsible party for the event. The city is authorized to collect the amount of the fine specified below and any other amount to which the city may be entitled under the law. The fines shall be in the following amounts and shall be due to the city within thirty days of the date of an invoice issued by the city for said fines:

1. First subsequent response: one hundred dollars.

2. Second subsequent response: two hundred fifty dollars.

3. Third subsequent response and any thereafter: five hundred dollars.

B. The city shall also have the authority to impose costs for multiple response services on any one or more persons who qualify as a responsible party for the event. The city is authorized to collect the amount of the cost specified below and any other amount to which the city may be entitled under the law. The costs shall be due to the city within thirty days of the date of an invoice issued by the city for said costs:

1. The actual cost to the city of law enforcement services for a subsequent response;

2. Damage to public property resulting from a subsequent response; and

3. Injuries to law enforcement personnel incurred in a subsequent response.

C. Any officer may issue a notice of violation to a responsible party pursuant to this chapter.

D. Each notice of violation shall contain the following information:

1. The name of the person charged with any violation of the code.

2. The date(s) on which the person violated the code.

3. The section(s) of the code so violated.

4. The location where the violation occurred.

5. A notice that each violation of the code also constitutes a nuisance and that collection of any unpaid fines or nuisance abatement costs may be enforced as an assessment or lien against the real property where the code violation occurred.

6. A statement indicating that any person receiving a notice of violation may file an appeal pursuant to Chapter 1.12 within ten calendar days of an invoice issued by the city pursuant to Section 9.30.080 and that there is no right of appeal for a written warning issued pursuant to Section 9.30.030(A).

7. The signature of the person who issued the notice of violation.

E. The absence of any of the above information in the notice of violation form shall not invalidate the city's process or issuance of the notice of violation.

(Ord. 1021 § 5, 2013)

A. The chief of police, or designee, shall provide the finance department with a copy of the notice of violation and a detailed explanation of costs to enable the finance department to prepare the invoice for multiple response services. When calculating the costs detailed in Section 9.30.070(B), the chief of police or designee shall accurately compute the cost of providing such services in accordance with the schedule of rates and charges for personnel and equipment contained in the law enforcement services agreement with the city and advise the finance department of such costs, as well as any other costs of damage to public property or injuries to personnel resulting from the subsequent law enforcement response. The finance department shall send the invoice by certified mail to the responsible parties.

B. If the property owner does not reside at the location of the event, the finance department shall send a copy of the invoice to the property owner's mailing address identified on the most recently available county tax assessor's roll.

C. The invoice amount for multiple response services shall be a debt owed to the city jointly and severally by each responsible party for the event, and if the responsible party for the event is a minor, his or her parents or guardians. Any person owing money shall be liable in an action brought by the city to recover the amount, including reasonable attorneys' fees.

(Ord. 1021 § 5, 2013)

Any person receiving a notice of violation for a violation of this chapter may, within ten calendar days of the date of the invoice issued by the city pursuant to Section 9.30.080(A) and (B), file an appeal and request an administrative hearing pursuant to Chapter 1.12 of this code. Failure to timely and properly file an appeal shall constitute a waiver of all rights of appeal, and the fine shall be deemed valid and final. There shall be no right of appeal for a written warning issued pursuant to Section 9.30.030(A).

(Ord. 1021 § 5, 2013)

A. Any unpaid fines or costs may be recovered by any means provided by law, including, but not limited to, placement of a lien or special assessment upon the property at which the event occurred, pursuant to Section 1.12.130 of this code, or by filing a lawsuit. The unpaid bill shall also constitute a personal obligation recoverable against the following persons:

1. The owner of the property at which the event occurred; and

2. The person responsible for the event (if the person responsible for the event is a minor, the minor's parents or guardians).

B. In the event the city is forced to initiate any administrative, judicial or other action to enforce this chapter or recover any unpaid fines or costs, it shall be entitled, pursuant to Sections 1.12.130 and 9.16.165 of this code, to recover its reasonable attorneys' fees should it elect to do so and should it be the prevailing party. In addition, the city is entitled to recover its costs of enforcement pursuant to other relevant provisions of this code.

C. If the responsible party does not pay the fine imposed by the notice of violation and associated costs within thirty calendar days after the fine and costs become due or within such other time period established by the hearing officer pursuant to Chapter 1.12, as applicable, the city may take any appropriate steps to collect the unpaid amounts from the responsible party, including initiation of a lawsuit against the responsible parties for the unpaid amounts. The property owner shall be jointly and severally liable for the unpaid amounts, and the city may recover the fine through a lien or special assessment against the property as provided in this section.

(Ord. 1021 § 5, 2013)