The book shall be known and may be cited as "The Code of the
City of Firebaugh, 1980" and is herein referred to as the "revision."
Any additions or amendments to this code are incorporated in this
code so that a reference to "The General Ordinances of the City of
Firebaugh" includes them.
For the purpose of this revision, and in the interpretation
and application of all other ordinances heretofore or hereafter adopted,
except as the context may otherwise require:
a.
"City"
shall mean the City of Firebaugh in the County of Fresno and State
of California.
b.
"City
Council" or "Council" shall mean the mayor and council of the City.
c.
"Clerk"
or "City Clerk" shall mean the municipal clerk duly elected pursuant
to law.
d.
"County"
shall mean the County of Fresno.
e.
"Department"
shall mean an organizational unit of the government established or
designated by ordinance or this revision as a department, together
with any agency or instrumentality of the government assigned to such
organizational unit by the City Council.
f.
"Laws"
shall mean laws of the State of California.
g.
"Licensed"
shall mean licensed in accordance with the appropriate section or
chapter of this revision.
h.
"Month"
shall mean a calendar month unless otherwise specifically provided.
i.
"Ordinance"
shall mean any act of local legislation heretofore or hereafter adopted,
and including this revision, so long as it is adopted by the procedure
required for the adoption of an ordinance and so long as it remains
in force and effect pursuant to law.
j.
"Person"
shall mean any individual, natural persons, partnerships, joint ventures,
societies, associations, clubs, trustees, trusts, corporations or
unincorporated groups; or any officers, agents, employees, servants,
factors of any kind of personal representatives of any thereof in
any capacity, acting either for himself or for any other person, under
either personal appointment or pursuant to law.
k.
"State"
shall mean the State of California.
l.
"Street"
shall include a street, avenue, road, alley, lane, highway, boulevard,
concourse, driveway, culvert, sidewalk, and crosswalk, and every class
of road, square, place or municipal parking field used by the general
public.
m.
"This
code" shall mean the General Ordinances of the City of Firebaugh.
n.
"Year"
shall mean a calendar year unless otherwise specifically provided.
For the purpose of this revision and any other ordinances heretofore
or hereafter adopted, except as the context may otherwise require:
a.
The
present tense includes the past future tenses and the future, the
present.
b.
The
masculine gender includes the feminine and neuter.
c.
The
singular number includes the plural and the plural the singular.
d.
"Shall"
is mandatory and "may" is permissive.
e.
The
time within which an act is to be done shall be computed by excluding
the first and including the last day and if the last day be a Sunday,
a legal holiday, or a day on which the offices of the City are closed,
that day shall be excluded.
f.
"Writing"
and "written" shall include printing, typewriting and any other mode
of communication using paper or similar material which is in general
use, as well as legible handwriting.
g.
Whenever
a specific time is used in this revision, it shall mean the prevailing
and established time in effect in the State of California during any
day in any year.
h.
Any
citation of a law or ordinance contained in this revision shall be
deemed to refer to such law or ordinance as amended, whether or not
such designation is included in the citation.
i.
"Chapter"
shall mean one of the major divisions of the revisions identified
by an numeral and divided by subject matter.
j.
"Section"
shall mean a major subdivision of a chapter.
k.
"Subsection"
shall mean a subdivision of a section, identified by a decimal number.
l.
"Paragraph"
shall mean a subdivision under a subsection, identified by an alphabetical
letter or Arabic number.
If any chapter, section, subsection or paragraph of this revision
shall be declared to be unconstitutional, invalid, or inoperative,
in whole or in part, by a court of competent jurisdiction, such chapter,
section, subsection or paragraph shall, to the extent that it is not
unconstitutional, invalid or inoperative, remain in full force and
effect, and no such determination shall be deemed to invalidate the
remaining chapters, sections, subsections or paragraphs of this revision.
Whenever in this code or any other ordinance of the City, or
in any rule or regulation promulgated pursuant thereto, an act is
prohibited or is made or declared to be unlawful or an offense, or
the doing of any act is required or the failure to do an act is declared
to be unlawful or a misdemeanor, where no specific penalty is provided
therefor, the violation of any such provision of this code or any
other ordinance of the City or rule or regulation shall be punished
by a fine not exceeding $500 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding
six months, or by both such fine and imprisonment.
Whenever in this code or in any other ordinance of the City
or in any other rule or regulation promulgated pursuant thereto, any
act is made or declared to be an infraction, or the doing of any act
is required or the failure to do an act is declared to be an infraction,
where no specific penalty is provided therefor, the violation of any
such provision of this code or any other ordinance of the City or
rule or regulation declared to be an infraction shall be punishable
by:
Except as otherwise provided, every day any violation of this
code or any other ordinance of the City or any such rule, regulation
or order shall continue shall constitute a separate offense.
The maximum penalty stated in this section is not intended to
state an appropriate penalty for every violation. Any lesser penalty,
including a nominal penalty or no penalty at all, may be appropriate
for a particular case or violation.
In addition to the penalties provided in Subsection 1-5.1, any condition caused or permitted to exist in violation of any of the provisions of this code or any other City ordinance shall be deemed a public nuisance and may be, by this City, summarily abated as such. Every day such condition continues shall be regarded as a new and separate offense.
[Ord. # 04-01, S1]
The council finds that there is a need for an alternative method
of enforcement of violations of this code. The council further finds
and declares that an appropriate method for enforcement of violations
of the code is the following administrative citation and civil penalty
program.
[Ord. # 04-01, S1]
Any person violating any provision of this code may be issued an administrative citation by a citation officer as provided in this Subsection 1-5.5. A separate civil penalty for each violation of the code may be assessed by means of one administrative citation.
[Ord. #04-01, S1]
Upon discovering or observing any violation of this code, a
citation officer may issue an administrative citation, in a form approved
by the City Manager and the City Attorney, to a violator or property
owner. The administrative citation shall contain the following information:
a.
Date and location of the violation(s), including the street address,
if any, and the approximate time the violation(s) were observed.
b.
Section(s) of the code violated and brief description of how the
section(s) are violated, including a description of behaviors constituting
a nuisance, if any.
c.
Description of the action required to correct the violation(s), if
applicable; and, if applicable, the date by which the violation(s)
must be corrected.
d.
Statement explaining the consequences of failure to correct the violation(s).
e.
Amount of penalty imposed for the violation(s).
f.
Explanation of how the penalty is to be paid, the time within which
the penalty must be paid, and the consequences of failure to pay the
penalty.
g.
Statement of the right to contest the contents of the administrative
citation and right of appeal, including the name and address of the
hearing officer for purposes of filing any notice of appeal.
h.
Signature of the citation officer and the signature of the violator,
if he or she can be located as described in this section.
[Ord. #04-01, S1]
The citation officer shall attempt to locate the party responsible
for a violation of the code. For purposes of issuing a citation to
a business, the citation may be issued to the person in immediate
control of the business on site at the time of the issuance of the
administrative citation and penalty. In all cases, the citation officer
shall attempt to obtain the signature of the person to whom the citation
was issued. However, the lack of a signature shall not affect the
validity of the citation or any subsequent proceedings thereon.
[Ord. #04-01, S1]
If the citation officer is unable to locate the violator(s), the administrative citation shall be mailed to the party responsible for the violation and, if different than the responsible party, the property owner. The administrative citation shall be mailed by certified first class U.S. mail. The failure of any person with an interest in the property to receive the administrative citation shall not affect the validity of any proceedings taken under this Subsection 1-5.5. Notice given by mail as described above shall be effective on the date of mailing.
[Ord. #04-01, S1]
When an administrative citation is issued for a continuing violation
of building, plumbing, electrical or other similar structural or zoning
issues, and if such violation does not create an immediate danger
to health or safety, the responsible party shall be given a reasonable
period of time to correct the violation prior to the imposition of
the civil penalty. If the violation is not corrected within the time
prescribed, the penalty will be immediately due and payable. In all
other situations, the penalty is imposed at the time the citation
is issued and is immediately due and payable.
[Ord. #04-01, S1]
a.
Any person issued an administrative citation may contest the citation
by filing an appeal with the City Clerk within 15 days after the service
of the citation. The hearing officer for all appeals under this section
shall be the City Manager or such other person as the City Manager
specifically appoints to act in such capacity. The appeal shall be
addressed to the City Manager and shall contain the following:
1.
A caption reading "Appeal of _____," giving the name and address
of the appellant.
2.
A brief description of the specific citation being appealed.
3.
A statement of the relief sought.
4.
The reasons why such relief should be granted.
5.
The declaration of the appellant, under penalty of perjury, that
the facts stated in the appeal are true as of the appellant's own
knowledge, except as to matters which are not within the appellant's
knowledge and are not of public record; and, as to those matters,
that the appellant believes the facts stated to be true.
If an appeal is filed within the fifteen-day period and if the
appeal contains all the information prescribed above, all proceedings
in furtherance of the citation shall be stayed until the determination
of the appeal as provided in this section. If no such appeal is timely
filed, the administrative citation and the penalty shall be final
and the penalty shall be immediately due and payable.
b.
Upon timely receipt of an appeal meeting the requirements of Paragraph
a., the hearing officer shall cause one copy to be stamped indicating
the date of receipt and shall immediately forward the other copy to
the citation officer whose citation is being appealed. The hearing
officer shall set the date of the appeal hearing to commence within
45 days after the date the appeal was filed, and shall give to the
appellant and the citation officer whose citation is being appealed
at least 15 days' written notice of the date, time and place of the
hearing. The appellant, or his or her authorized representative, may
waive the fifteen-day notice period, so long as the waiver is in writing
and filed with the hearing officer.
c.
On the date set therefor, the hearing officer shall hold a hearing
on the appeal, except that either orally or at the same time for the
hearing or in writing prior to the time for the hearing, the hearing
officer may in his or her discretion, continue the matter to another
date certain, but not more than 30 days. The citation officer who
issued the citation shall present evidence in support of the findings
or reasons on which the citation was based. The appellant, or any
individual authorized in writing to represent the appellant, may then
present evidence in support of the contentions made in the notice
of appeal. The hearing shall be conducted informally and the technical
rules of evidence shall not apply, except that irrelevant or unduly
repetitious evidence shall be excluded. The hearing officer shall
give a decision at the conclusion of the hearing, or in writing within
10 working days after the conclusion of the hearing. The hearing officer
may affirm, reverse, modify or set aside the citation and penalty,
or may delete or impose such conditions as the facts and law warrant.
The decision of the hearing officer is final; except that when the
decision has upheld a penalty of $2,500 or more, the party charged
with the penalty may appeal the decision of the hearing officer to
the council by filing a written request with the City Clerk within
15 days after the date of the service of the decision. If the hearing
officer's decision is written, service of the decision shall be the
date the decision is mailed to the appellant; if the decision is given
orally to the appellant at the conclusion of the hearing, service
of the decision shall be the date the decision is given orally. In
such cases, if the applicant does not appeal the decision within the
fifteen-day period, the decision of the hearing officer shall be final.
If the applicant timely appeals, the council may confirm, modify up
or down or overrule the penalty. The decision of the council shall
be final.
d.
If the appellant fails to appear for the hearing at the time and
place noticed, the hearing officer, in his or her discretion, may
conduct the hearing to conclusion or may dismiss the appeal. If the
appeal is dismissed, the administrative citation and penalty shall
become final as if no appeal had been filed. On a showing of good
cause by the appellant, the hearing officer may, in his or her discretion,
set aside the appellant's failure to appear and reschedule the appeal
for hearing.
[Ord. #04-01, S1]
Except as otherwise set forth in this code or by resolution
of the council, the following base schedule is established for determining
the amount of civil penalty to be assessed for each code violation
specified in an administrative citation:
[Ord. #04-01, S1]
If the violator or property owner fails to correct the violation, subsequent administrative citations and penalties may be issued for the same violations, or the City may institute any other applicable action permissible under this code to gain compliance. The amount of penalty for each subsequent violation of the same code provision shall increase at the rate specified in Subsection 1-5.5.8.
[Ord. #04-01, S1]
Payment of a penalty shall not excuse the failure to correct
the violation or bar further enforcement action by the City. The failure
of any person to pay any penalty assessed by administrative citation
within the time specified in the citation shall result in the assessment
of an additional late fee equal to 10% of the total amount of penalty
due and owing.
[Ord. #04-01, S1; amended 6-7-2021 by Ord. No. 21-03]
The City may file a legal action, impose a lien as set forth
below, or pursue any other legal remedy to collect a penalty that
has become final as provided in this section. The City may impose
a lien in the amount of the confirmed penalty against the property
that is the subject of an administrative citation and penalty, if
the citation has been issued to the property owner. The City may record
a notice of lien in the office of the county recorder. After the notice
of lien is recorded, a copy may be turned over to the county tax collector
to add the amount of the unpaid penalty to the next regular tax bill
levied against the property for property taxes. Those amounts shall
be collected at the same time and in the same manner as ordinary property
taxes are collected, and shall be subject to the same penalties and
procedures under foreclosure and sale in case of delinquency as provided
for ordinary property taxes. Alternatively, after recording, the lien
may be foreclosed by judicial or other sale in the manner and means
provided by law. The notice of lien shall be in a form approved by
the City Manager and the City Attorney. In any action, administrative
proceeding, or special proceeding to abate a nuisance, the prevailing
party of said action may recover its reasonable attorneys' fees.
[Ord. #04-01, S1]
The following officers and employees are deemed citation officers
and have the authority to issue administrative citations and civil
penalties: the police chief, the fire chief and their respective designated
deputies, assistants or employees; the Public Works Director; and
the Building Inspector.
[Ord. #04-01, S1]
Except as otherwise provided, all civil penalties imposed pursuant
to this section shall be payable to the City.
This code incorporates and codifies the general ordinances of
the City as originally enacted, except as revised herein, existing
and in effect on the effective date of the ordinance adopting this
code. Certain general ordinances, expressly referred to in the adopting
ordinance, shall be repealed and not codified herein. The provisions
of this code, insofar as they are substantially the same as the previously
enacted ordinances, shall be construed as restatements and continuations
thereof and not as new enactments.
[Added 1-17-2018 by Ord.
No. 18-01]
The Council, now being duly advised, finds that certain credit
cards may be used to pay for City fees. A convenience fee in the amount
of 2.5% of the total charge is necessary to cover the costs of administering
this service and may be modified from time to time by City Council
resolution. The transaction amount is limited to no more than $1,000
and shall be done by actual swiping of the credit card. Proof of identification
is required for every transaction. No manual entries, over-the-phone
transactions, or cash back to the credit card holder are allowed.
Only credit cards with Visa, MasterCard, and Discover logos will be
accepted for payment.
