Yucca Valley Municipal Code Ch. 1.02 General Penalty and Citations

A. It shall be unlawful for any person to violate any provision or fail to comply with any of the requirements of this Code or the provisions of any ordinance or code adopted by reference by this Code or any provision of any ordinance of the Town not included within this Code. Any person violating any of such provisions or failing to comply with any of the mandatory requirements of this Code or any ordinance or code adopted by reference by this Code or any other Town ordinance shall be guilty of an infraction, unless such violation is specifically designated as constituting a misdemeanor. Each such person shall be guilty of a separate offense for each and every day during any portion of which any violation of any provision of this Code, or any provision of any ordinance or code adopted by reference by this Code, or any other Town ordinance is committed, continued or permitted by such person, and may be punished accordingly.

B. Any provision or requirement of this Code or otherwise as referred to above, the violation of which or the failure to comply with which, is designated as an infraction, shall be prosecutable as a misdemeanor upon a third violation and each violation thereafter of the same provision by the same individual. In addition, any such violation or failure to comply may be prosecuted originally as a misdemeanor in the discretion of the Town Attorney or any deputy district attorney, upon a showing by the enforcing agency of the seriousness of the particular alleged violation. (Ord. 3, 11-27-1991)

C. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any violation of any of the provisions of this Code may be, but is not required to be, prosecuted as an administrative citation procedure pursuant to chapter 1.04 of this title. (Ord. 97, 11-5-1998)

Whenever in this Code any act or omission is made unlawful, it shall include causing, allowing, permitting, aiding, abetting, suffering or concealing the fact of such act or omission. (Ord. 3, 11-27-1991)

Any violation expressly declared to be punishable, in the discretion of the court, by either a fine or by a fine or imprisonment, or both, shall become an infraction for all purposes under any of the following circumstances:

A. Where a judgment imposes a punishment of a fine not exceeding one hundred dollars ($100.00) in the case of a first offense;

B. When the court grants probation to a defendant without the imposition of a sentence and, at the time of granting probation, or on application of the defendant or probation officer thereafter, the court declares the offense to be an infraction; or

C. When the Town Attorney or any deputy district attorney files in a court having jurisdiction over misdemeanor offenses a complaint specifying that the offense is an infraction. (Ord. 10, 3-19-1992)

A. Misdemeanor: Any person convicted of a misdemeanor under the provisions of this Code shall be punishable by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000.00), or by imprisonment in the County Jail for a period not exceeding six (6) months, or by both such fine and imprisonment.

B. Infraction: Any person convicted of an infraction under the provisions of this Code shall be punishable for a first conviction by a fine of not more than one hundred dollars ($100.00), for a second conviction within a period of one year by a fine of not more than two hundred dollars ($200.00), and for a third or any subsequent conviction within a period of one year by a fine of not more than five hundred dollars ($500.00). (Ord. 3, 11-27-1991)

A. In addition to other penalties provided by law, any condition caused or permitted to exist in violation of any provision of this Code, or any such threatened violation, shall be deemed a public nuisance and may be abated as such by the Town in accordance with applicable statutes.

B. Also, any such violation or threatened violation as referred to in subsection A of this Section, or any condition caused or permitted to exist in violation of any of the provisions of any code adopted by reference by this Code, or of the provisions of any other Town ordinance, shall be deemed a public nuisance which may be abated by the Town Attorney in a civil judicial action. (Ord. 3, 11-27-1991)

A. Whenever any person creating, causing, committing or maintaining a public nuisance, as referred to in Section 1.02.050 of this Chapter, or other public nuisance, as defined under State law or other ordinance or regulation, has been given notice, by or on behalf of the Town Attorney or by any other Town officer, employee or policing agent authorized to give such notice, to abate such nuisance or cease and desist from continuing such nuisance or violation of law, and such person who was given notice fails, refuses or neglects to comply with the notice within the time specified therein, or if such a time is not specified, taken within a time reasonably sufficient to enable such compliance, such noncomplying person shall be liable to the Town for any and all costs and expenses to the Town involved in thereafter abating the nuisance and in obtaining compliance with or enforcing the law as referred to or encompassed in the said notice.

B. Costs and expenses as referred to in subsection A of this Section may include, but are not limited to, any and all direct costs and expenses related to such things as personnel salaries and benefits, operational overhead, rent, interest, fees for experts or consultants, legal costs or expenses, including attorney fees, claims against the Town arising as a consequence of the nuisance or violation, and procedures associated with collecting monies due hereunder.

C. The provisions of subsection A of this Section shall also apply to any person who received a notice, as specified therein, and thereafter the nuisance or violation was abated, but such person subsequently allowed or was responsible for a recurrence of the nuisance or violation.

D. The liability of any person for the payment of the costs and expenses, not to exceed one hundred dollars ($100.00), provided for in subsection A of this Section, may be waived in whole or in part by the Town Attorney in any case wherein he determines, in his sole discretion, that the failure or refusal of such person to comply with the notice therein involved was based upon a good faith and bona fide issue of law or fact specially involved in the circumstances of the case. Any determination or decision of the Town Attorney in this regard shall be final and conclusive.

E. Monies due to the Town pursuant to this Section may be recovered in an appropriate civil action. Alternatively, such liability may be enforced by special assessment proceedings against the parcel of land upon which the nuisance existed, which proceedings may be conducted in a manner substantively similar to proceedings described in California Government Code sections 39574 et seq., relating to weed abatement assessments. (Ord. 3, 11-27-1991)

The violation of, or the failure or omission to perform in accordance with, any administrative provision of this Code by any officer or employee of the Town shall generally not be considered a criminal act, but may be deemed a failure to perform the duties or to observe the rules or regulations of the department, office, commission or board within the meaning of the rules and regulations of the Town, or of the civil service or other personnel regulations of the Town if applicable. (Ord. 3, 11-27-1991)

A. Service: Whenever a notice is required to be given, or may be given, under any provision of this Code or any provision of any code adopted by reference by this Code or any provisions of any ordinance or resolution of the Town not included within this Code, such notice may be given as herein provided. Unless different or special provisions are otherwise specifically made in this Code or in some other applicable enactment, any 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 that person's last known address as the same appears in the public records or their records pertaining to the matters to which such notice is directed. Service by mail shall be deemed to have been completed at the time of deposit in the Post Office or in the official receptacle thereof.

B. Proof: Proof of giving any notice may be made by the certificate of any officer or employee of this Town or by the affidavit or declaration, under penalty of perjury, of any person over the age of eighteen (18) years, which shows service in conformity with this Code or other provisions of law applicable to the subject matter concerned. (Ord. 3, 11-27-1991)

A. Notice To Appear In Lieu Of Arrest: In any case in which a person is arrested for a violation of any provision of this Code and does not demand to be taken before a Magistrate, such person may, in lieu of being taken before a Magistrate, be issued a written notice to appear in court and may then be released, all pursuant to and in accordance with the procedures prescribed by California Penal Code section 853.6 et seq.

B. Issuance Of Citations By Designated Officers And Employees: Officers and employees of the Town who have the discretionary duty to enforce a statute or ordinance may, pursuant to California Penal Code section 836.5 and subject to the provisions of this section, arrest a person without a warrant whenever any such officer or employee has reasonable cause to believe that the person to be arrested has committed an offense in the officer's or employee's presence which he has the discretionary duty to enforce, and to issue a notice to appear, and to release such person on his written promise to appear in court, pursuant to California Penal Code section 853.6. No officer or employee shall be allowed by his superior to exercise the arrest and citation authority conferred in this section unless such officer or employee is within a classification of Town officers and employees designated by resolution of the Town Council to exercise such arrest and citation authority as to specified violations. The Town Manager shall establish and cause to be administered a special enforcement training program designated to instruct each officer or employee who will exercise such arrest and citation authority, regarding the provisions of the statutes and ordinances to be enforced, the evidentiary prerequisites to proper procedures for making arrests or otherwise prudently exercising such arrest and citation authority, and the legal and practical ramifications and limitations attendant thereto. Any such officers or employees shall be appropriately instructed to deposit executed citations or notices with the Police Department for filing with the court, after review for legal sufficiency. (Ord. 3, 11-27-1991)

A. In any action, administrative proceeding, or special proceeding to abate a nuisance, the prevailing party may recover its attorneys' fees, provided that the Town elected, at the initiation of such individual action or proceeding, to recover its own attorneys' fees. In no action, administrative proceeding, or special proceeding shall an award of attorneys' fees to a prevailing party exceed the amount of reasonable attorneys' fees incurred by the Town in the action or proceeding. (Ord. 283, 3-5-2019)