Torrance Municipal Code Art. 1 Incorporation and Succession

100 NAME AND BOUNDARIES.

The City of Torrance, hereinafter termed the City, shall continue to be a municipal corporation under its present name of "City of Torrance." The boundaries of the City shall be the boundaries established at the time this Charter takes effect, and as such boundaries may be changed thereafter in the manner authorized by law.

101 SUCCESSION, RIGHTS, AND LIABILITIES.

The City shall continue to own, hold, possess, use, lease, control, and in every way succeed to and become the owner of all rights and property of every kind and nature owned, possessed, controlled, or claimed by it at the time this Charter takes effect and shall be subject to all its debts, obligations, liabilities, duties, and contracts of the existing municipal corporation.

102 ORDINANCES, CODES, AND OTHER REGULATIONS.

All lawful ordinances, codes, resolutions, rules, regulations, or portions thereof, in force at the time this Charter takes effect, and not in conflict or inconsistent herewith, shall continue in force until they shall be duly repealed, amended, changed, or superseded by proper authority.

103 CONTINUANCE OF PRESENT OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES.

The present officers and employees shall continue to perform the duties of their respective offices and employments without interruption and for the same compensations and under the same conditions until the appointment or election or qualification of their successors, but subject to removal, amendment, change, or control as provided by this Charter. Nothing contained in this Charter, unless specifically otherwise provided herein, shall affect or impair the personnel, pension, or retirement rights or privileges of officers or employees of the City, or of any officer, department, or agency thereof, existing at the time this Charter takes effect. For the avoidance of doubt, this Section does not prevent the implementation of Section 404.

104 CONTINUANCE OF CONTRACTS, FRANCHISES, AND PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS.

All contracts entered into by the City, or for its benefit, prior to the taking of effect of this Charter, shall continue in full force and effect. All franchises granted by the City prior to the taking effect of this Charter shall continue in full force and effect. Public improvements for which proceedings have been instituted under laws existing at the time this Charter takes effect, in the discretion of the City Council, may be carried to completion as nearly as practicable in accordance with the provisions of such existing laws or may be continued or perfected under this Charter.

105 PENDING ACTIONS AND PROCEEDINGS.

No action or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, or administrative, filed and pending at the time this Charter takes effect, brought by or against the City or any officer, office, department, or agency thereof, shall be affected or abated by the adoption of this Charter or by anything contained in the Charter, but all such actions or proceedings may be continued notwithstanding that functions, powers, and duties of any officer, office, department, or agency a party thereto, may be assigned or transferred by or under this Charter to another officer, office, department, or agency, but in that event, the same may be prosecuted or defended by the head of the office, department, or agency to which such functions, powers, and duties have been assigned or transferred by or under this Charter.

106 SEAL.

The official seal of the City at the time this Charter takes effect shall continue to be the official seal of the City for its acts and business unless and until changed by ordinance of the City Council.

107 SEVERABILITY.

If any article, section, paragraph, sentence, clause, or portion of this Charter is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by any court of competent jurisdiction, such article, section, paragraph, sentence, clause, or portion shall be deemed a separate, distinct, and independent provision and severable and such holding shall not affect the validity of the remaining articles, sections, paragraphs, sentences, clauses, or portions of this Charter.

108 CITATION TO STATE LAW.

Any citation to any specific provision of State law in this Charter, shall be construed to apply to any successive provisions, amendments, or revisions to such sections so long as the successive provisions, amendments, or revisions are largely consistent with such authorities as of the effective date hereof.

109 INTERPRETATION.

The provisions of this Charter shall be construed in accordance with the generally accepted meaning of the language used, and in the event of any asserted ambiguity in, or dispute regarding, the interpretation of any matter herein, the ambiguity or dispute shall be resolved by a construction which best carry out the overall intent of this Chapter as expressed in the terms hereof. “Shall” is mandatory and “may” is permissive.

110 DEFINITIONS.

Whenever in this Charter the word City occurs, it means the City of Torrance, and every department, board or officer, whenever either is mentioned, means a department, board or officer of the City of Torrance.

City means the City of Torrance.

Charter means the City Charter of the City of Torrance.

County means the County of Los Angeles.

Elected Official means any person who holds elective office in the City of Torrance.

Elections Code means the California Elections Code.

Municipal Code means the Torrance Municipal Code.

Officer means a person who holds the position of City Manager, Assistant City Manager, Deputy City Manager, City Clerk, City Treasurer, or Department Head.

State means the State of California.

111 AMENDMENTS.

This Charter may be amended in accordance with the laws of the State of California.

112 CITY CLERK AUTHORITY TO MAKE MINOR CORRECTIONS.

The City Clerk shall be authorized to make minor amendments to the Charter to correct typographical errors or to make other similar non-substantive corrections, subject to ratification by the City Council and approval as to form by the City Attorney.

113 EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS CHARTER.

This Charter, and any amendment hereto, will take effect upon its ratification by the voters of the City and filing with the Secretary of State pursuant to Section 3 of Article XI of the California Constitution.