Truckee Municipal Code Ch. 1.01 Establishment of Code

The Town Council finds that it is desirable and in the public interest to establish a Municipal Code in order to provide a scheme of organization for the classification and grouping of ordinances which the Council may adopt. The Council intends in adopting ordinances of a general and permanent nature to provide for their placement in accordance with the scheme of the Code. This will provide the user with a convenient and logical compilation of the ordinances of the Town.

This Code shall be known as the "Truckee Municipal Code". It shall be sufficient to refer to this Code as the Truckee Municipal Code in any prosecution for the violation of any provision of this Code. It shall also be sufficient to designate any ordinance adding to, amending, or repealing provisions of this Code as an addition or amendment to, or a repeal of the Truckee Municipal Code, or any portion thereof.

The Truckee Municipal Code shall consist of all ordinances adopted by the Town Council which are of a general and permanent nature. Any ordinance relating to any of the following subject matters is not considered an ordinance of general and permanent nature and need not be included within the Municipal Code:

The naming of streets or roads;

Granting, altering, or withdrawing franchises;

Levying real property taxes;

Calling an election;

Annexation proceedings;

Interim zoning measures;

Zoning or rezoning a particular parcel of property.

Such other ordinances of a special or particular subject matter which the Council considers inappropriate to a compilation of laws of a general and permanent nature.

The ordinances of the Town which are of a general and permanent nature shall be organized and grouped according to subject matter.

Ordinances which are adopted from time to time shall be classified and organized under the following scheme of titles:

Title 1 - General Provisions

Title 2 - Administration and Personnel

Title 3 - Revenue and Finance

Title 4 - Cable TV

Title 5 - Business Licenses

Title 6 - Health and Sanitation

Title 7 - Air Quality

Title 8 - Animals

Title 9 - Safety and Conduct

Title 10 - Vehicles and Traffic

Title 11 - Storm Water Quality

Title 12 - Parks and Recreation

Title 13 - Streets and Sidewalks

Title 14 - Aquatic Invasive Species Prevention

Title 15 - Building and Construction

Title 16 - Mobile Homes

Title 17 - Subdivision

Title 18 - Zoning

(a) At least three copies of this Code, duly certified by the Town Clerk, shall be maintained on file in the office of the Town Clerk as official copies of this Code. Additional copies of this Code shall be distributed to the departments of the Town as prescribed by the Town Manager.

(b) Duly certified copies of each ordinance making a change in this Code shall be filed in the office of the Town Clerk in books for such purpose, duly indexed for ready reference.

(c) At least semi-annually the Town Clerk shall cause the loose leaf pages of this Code in which changes have been made to be reproduced, including a notation as to the ordinance number and the date on which such change was adopted. Such reprinted pages shall be distributed in order that the loose leaf copies of this Code, prepared for the use and convenience of the officers and employees of the Town and the general public, may be brought up to date.

The provisions of this Code and all proceedings under it are to be construed to effect its purposes and to promote justice.

All the provisions of this Code and all other Town ordinances shall be interpreted to refer to the appropriate or designated officer or office of the Town, and whether an ordinance, uniform Code, statute, or other matter which is adopted by reference refers to any department, officer, employees, inspection, police, or other functions, unless the appropriate or designated office, officer, department, agency, employees, or function of the Town, or to the person or agency performing the function for the Town.

Neither the adoption of this Code or any portion thereof, nor the repeal by this Code of any ordinance previously in effect in the Town or within the territory currently comprising the Town, shall in any manner affect the prosecution for the violation of any ordinance, which violation was committed prior to the effective date of this Code, nor be construed as a waiver of any license fee or penalty due and unpaid under such ordinances on such effective date, nor be construed as affect any of the provisions of such ordinances relating to the collection of any such license fee or penalty or the penal provisions applicable to any violation of such ordinances, nor to affect the validity of any bond or cash deposit required to be posted, filed, or deposited pursuant to any ordinances, and all vested rights and obligations pertaining to such ordinances shall continue in full force and effect.

If any chapter, section, sentence, clause or portion of this Code is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by any court of competent jurisdiction, such portion shall be deemed a separate, distinct and independent provision and such holding shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions thereof.

This Code shall refer only to the omission or commission of acts within the territorial limits of the Town of Truckee and that territory outside of the Town over which the Town has jurisdiction or control by virtue of the Constitution, or any law, or by reason of ownership or control of property.

All references in this Code to places, acts, persons or things and all else in relation to this Code shall be construed to mean that the same are applicable to this Town, whether the Town is mentioned in each particular section or not.

Unless the provisions of this Code otherwise specifically provide, or the context of this Code indicates to the contrary, the general provisions, rules of construction, and definitions set forth in the following sections of this chapter shall govern the construction of this Code.

The title, chapter, article, and section headings contained in this Code shall not be deemed to govern, limit, modify, or in any manner affect the scope, meaning, or intent of the provisions of any title, chapter, article, or section of this Code.

"Section" shall mean a section of this Code, unless one other source is specifically set forth. "Subsection" shall mean a subsection of the section in which the term occurs, unless one other section is expressly set forth.

Whenever a power is granted to, or a duty is imposed upon, a public officer of employee, the power must be exercised or the duty may be performed by a deputy of such officer or employee of or by a person otherwise duly authorized pursuant to law or ordinance, unless this Code expressly provides otherwise.

"Writing" includes any form of recorded message capable of comprehension by ordinary visual means. Whenever any notice, report, statement, or record is required or authorized by this Code, such notice, report, statement or record shall be made in writing in the English language, unless this Code expressly provides otherwise.

Whenever any reference in this Code is made to an ordinance, the reference shall apply to such ordinance of the Town, unless this Code expressly provides otherwise. Whenever any reference is made to any portion of this Code or to any ordinances of this Town, the reference shall apply to all amendments and additions to this Code.

When a limitation or period of time prescribed in any existing ordinance or statute for acquiring a right or barring a remedy, or for any other purpose, has begun to run before this Code goes into effect, the time which has already run shall be deemed a part of the time prescribed as such limitation.

As used in this Code, unless a different meaning is apparent from the context of is specified elsewhere in the Code:

(a) "Calendar year" shall mean from January 1 through December 31 of any given year.

(b) "Town" shall mean the Town of Truckee.

(c) "Town Manager" shall mean the appointed official of the Town who occupies the position of chief administrative officer of the Town.

(d) "Council" shall mean the Town Council of the Town of Truckee.

(e) "Council Member" shall mean a person duly elected to the Council.

(f) "County" shall mean the County of Nevada.

(g) "Fiscal year" shall mean from July 1 of any year through June 30 of the following year.

(h) "Gender". The masculine gender shall include the feminine and neuter gender.

(i) "Goods" shall mean and include wares and merchandise.

(j) "May" shall be permissive.

(k) "Month" shall mean a calendar month, unless otherwise specifically expressed.

(l) "Number". The singular number shall include the plural, and the plural number shall include the singular.

(m) "Oath" shall include affirmation.

(n) "Official time standard". Wherever certain hours are named in this Code, they shall mean Standard Time or Daylight Savings Time as may be in current use in the Town.

(o) "Operate" shall mean and include carrying on, keeping, conducting, or maintaining.

(p) "Owner", applied to a building or land, shall include any part owner, joint owner, tenant, tenant in common, or joint tenant of the whole or a part of such building or land.

(q) "Person" shall include any person, firm, company, corporation, partnership, association, public corporation, City (except the Town of Truckee), the County of Nevada, any district in the County of Nevada, the State of California, or the United States of America, or any department, agency or political subdivision of the above, unless this Code expressly provides otherwise.

(r) "Personal property" shall include money, goods, chattels, things in action, and evidences of debts.

(s) "Police" shall mean the agency which performs the appropriate law enforcement function for the Town. "Police Chief" or "Chief of Police" shall mean the head of the agency or division which at the time involved has responsibility for performing the police function for, or within, the Town.

(t) "Property" shall include real and personal property.

(u) "Quarterly", where used to designate a period of time, shall mean the first three calendar months of any given year or succeeding period of three calendar months.

(v) "Real property" shall include land, tenements, and hereditaments.

(w) "Sale" shall include any sale, exchange, barter, or offer for sale.

(x) "Shall" shall be mandatory.

(y) "State" shall mean the State of California.

(z) "Street" shall include all streets, highways, avenues, boulevards, alleys, courts, places, squares, or other public ways in the Town which have been or may hereafter be dedicated and open to public use, or such other public property so designated in any law of the State.

(aa) "Tenant or occupant", applied to a building or land, shall include any person who occupies the whole or a part of such building or land, whether alone or with others.

(bb) "Tense". The present tense shall include the past and future tenses, and the future tense shall include the present tense.

Words and phrases not defined in this Code shall be construed according to the approved usage of the language, or, when appropriate, by reference to definitions contained in State or Federal Law.

(ORD 93-15 06-03-93)