The following words and phrases when used in this Title shall,
for the purposes of this Title, have the meanings ascribed to them
in this chapter.
"Abatement"
shall mean the removal of a certain condition or conditions
or the cessation of a certain activity or activities which endanger
the life, limb, health, property, safety or welfare of the general
public and/or constitute a violation of the Rancho Mirage Municipal
Code and/or other regulation(s).
"Abandoned"
as applied to a building shall mean a building that is unoccupied
and is in such a state of neglect that a reasonable person would believe
that the building has not been used for its intended, lawful purpose
and/or has not been lawfully occupied for an extended period of time.
"Abandoned"
as applied to real property shall mean real property that
is vacant and undeveloped, and/or real property that has not been
lawfully developed and/or improved and which is more than two years
delinquent in payment of the assessed real property taxes owing upon
such property.
"Administrative hearing officer"
shall mean the individual who shall conduct administrative
appeal hearings and other administrative hearings pursuant to this
Title 14 and who shall render decisions pursuant to the applicable
administrative hearing procedures set forth in this Title 14.
"Administrative citation"
shall mean a formal notice that is issued by a code compliance
officer or other authorized code compliance agent to a person who
has been determined to have committed a violation of the Rancho Mirage
Municipal Code and/or other regulation(s) enforceable by the City
of Rancho Mirage.
"Assessment"
shall mean the special assessment which may be assessed against
a parcel of land as authorized by
Government Code Section 38773.5
to recover the cost of abatement of a public nuisance incurred by
the City of Rancho Mirage.
"Attractive nuisance"
shall mean an instrumentality, activity or condition existing
on premises or property which may reasonably be considered to be a
source of danger to children who have been known to be accustomed
to resort on the premises or property or who may, by reason of something
on the premises which may be expected to attract children, come to
the premises or property to play.
"Building" or "structure"
shall mean all such improvements regardless of use and including,
but not limited to, residential, commercial, or industrial buildings
or structures.
"Building official"
shall mean the individual designated by the city manager
as the person authorized to serve as the City's Building Official
for the purposes of administering various Uniform Codes and California
Codes duly adopted by the City and incorporated herein by this reference
in the Municipal Code.
"Building permit"
shall mean the permit granted by a ministerial process which
permits the construction or modification of a building or structure
in accordance with the Municipal Code and applicable statutes, codes,
rules and regulations.
"Certificate of occupancy"
shall mean the certificate required by the California Building
Code and administered by the Building Official or his/her designee
as may be authorized by law indicating that work has been completed
in compliance with building and zoning codes.
"Citing officer"
shall mean the code compliance officer or other authorized
enforcement agent of the City who issued a citation or notice pursuant
to this Title 14.
"Code compliance manager"
shall mean the individual designated by the city manager
to cause inspections and to take such actions as may be required by
the provisions of this Title 14 for the purpose of enforcing certain
prescribed provisions of the Municipal Code, and all applicable statutes,
rules, codes and regulations enforceable by the City of Rancho Mirage.
"Code compliance officers"
shall mean those individuals employed by the City and/or
designated by the Code Compliance Manager or his or her designee to
conduct inspections and to take such actions as may be required by
the provisions of this Title 14 for the purpose of enforcing certain
prescribed provisions of the Municipal Code and all applicable statutes,
rules, codes and regulations enforceable by the City of Rancho Mirage.
"Conditional use permit"
shall mean the permit granted by a quasi-judicial process
wherein a specific use is approved subject to specific conditions
in accordance with the Municipal Code and applicable statutes, codes,
rules and regulations.
"Declaration"
shall mean the formal document written by an individual under
penalty of perjury describing the individual's observations, actions,
and/or investigation.
"Excavation"
shall mean any well, shaft, basement, cesspool, septic tank,
fish pond, and other like or similar conditions more than six inches
in diameter and twenty-four inches in depth.
"Field citation"
shall mean a document that is issued by a Code Compliance
Officer or other authorized agent to a person who has been arrested
for committing an infraction or misdemeanor violation, which may be
signed by the violator as a promise to appear at court at a designated
date and time, which, together with sufficient evidence of the violator's
identity, shall permit the violator to avoid being taken into custody.
"Garbage"
shall mean any organic refuse of any kind resulting from
the preparation and serving of food, old, decayed or spoiled food,
dead animal litter or any other organic refuse of any source.
"Inoperative vehicle"
shall mean any vehicle which cannot be legally operated on
the street because the vehicle: (a) lacks an engine, transmission,
wheels, tires, doors, windshield or any other part or equipment necessary
to operate the vehicle safely, or (b) cannot be operated under its
own power.
"Issuing division or department"
shall mean the division or department of the City of Rancho
Mirage which issued a citation and/or notice pursuant to its authority
set forth in this Title 14. For purposes of this ordinance, "Division"
shall include the City's Code Compliance, Planning, Building, Housing
and Animal Control Divisions; "Department" shall include the City's
Fire and Police Departments.
"Highway"
shall mean a way or place of whatever nature, publicly maintained
and open to the use of the public for purposes of vehicular travel.
Highway includes streets.
"Issuing officer" or "authorized agent"
shall mean the Code Compliance Manager or other authorized
officer of the City possessing the requisite training who issued a
citation or notice pursuant to this Title 14.
"Junk"
shall mean any cast-off, damaged, discarded, obsolete, salvaged,
scrapped, unusable, worn-out or wrecked object, thing or material
including, but not limited to, those composed in whole or in part
of asphalt, brick, carbon, cement, plastic or other synthetic substance,
fiber, glass, plaster, plaster of Paris, rubber, terra cotta, wool,
cotton, cloth, canvas, wood, metal, sand, organic matter or other
substance, crates, cartons, containers, boxes, machinery or parts
thereof, scrap metal and other pieces of metal, ferrous or nonferrous,
furniture or parts thereof, trimmings from plants or trees, cans,
bottles and barrels.
"Legal interest"
shall mean possession of a legal or equitable interest in
real property including, but not limited to, a leasehold interest.
"Lien"
shall mean the legal document generally recorded against
real property to secure the payment of a debt.
"Litter"
shall mean an accumulation of garbage, rubbish and junk and
all other waste material dangerous or injurious to neighboring property
or to the health and safety of the general public.
"Municipal Code"
shall mean the Municipal Code of the City of Rancho Mirage
and all applicable statutes, rules, codes and regulations adopted
and incorporated therein by reference through a duly adopted ordinance
or resolution of the city council.
"Notice of public nuisance"
shall mean a formal notice informing an owner, occupant,
custodian, agent or user of real property about the existence of certain
conditions or activities which constitute a public nuisance.
"Notice of violation"
shall mean an informal notice informing a party about the
existence of a certain condition or activity which constitutes a violation
of the Municipal Code, a public nuisance, or a violation of any applicable
statute, rule, code or regulation enforceable by the City of Rancho
Mirage.
"Owner"
shall mean any person having a legal or equitable interest
in property. "Owner" as applied to a building or land shall include
any part owner, joint owner, tenant, tenant in common, joint tenant,
of the whole or a part of such building or land.
"Permit"
shall mean a document issued by the City of Rancho Mirage
which allows a use, activity, event, or structure in accordance with
the Municipal Code and applicable statutes, codes, rules and regulations.
"Person"
shall mean any natural person, individual, firm, association,
club, organization, corporation, business trust, partnership, company,
corporation or other entity which is recognized by law as the subject
of rights or duties, or any employee thereof.
"Plain view"
shall mean an unintrusive observation by or a sound heard
by an individual's own natural senses from a location upon which the
observing or listening individual is legally justified to be present.
"Polluted water"
shall mean water contained in a swimming pool, pond or other
body of water, which is composed of, but is not limited to, bacterial
growth, algae, remains of insects, remains of deceased animals, reptiles,
rubbish, refuse, debris, papers and any other foreign matter or material,
which because of the nature or location of the water constitutes an
unhealthy, unsafe or unsightly condition.
"Privies"
shall mean an outhouse or similar use.
"Property owner"
shall mean an owner of record of a parcel of land identified
on the last equalized assessment roll of the county in which the land
is located or as otherwise known to a code compliance officer or other
authorized agent.
"Public right-of-way"
shall mean any area or parcel of property granted, deeded,
dedicated to, or otherwise acquired by the City of Rancho Mirage or
the public at large for any public purpose including, but not limited
to, alleys, roadways, parkways, pedestrian ways, sidewalks and public
streets.
"Refuse"
shall mean any putrescible and nonputrescible solid waste,
except sewage, whether combustible or noncombustible and includes
garbage and rubbish.
"Remedies"
shall mean the enforcement options available to the City
of Rancho Mirage to gain compliance with a law or regulation.
"Responsible person"
shall mean the owner of record of real property, any occupant,
agent, custodian, lessee, manager, user, or interested holder in property
or premises, or any other person determined to have caused, committed,
or permitted a violation of the Municipal Code and/or applicable statute,
rule, code or regulation or a public nuisance.
"Secured"
as applied to a building shall mean that reasonable actions
have been taken to prohibit unlawful entry into the building, including,
at a minimum, locked or boarded up windows and doors.
"Statute"
shall mean any law or regulation enacted by the California
State Legislature.
"Stop work order"
shall mean the order issued by the Building Official or authorized
agent requiring that construction cease due to apparent code violations.
"Structure" or "building"
shall mean all such improvements regardless of use and including,
but not limited to, residential, commercial, or industrial buildings
or structures.
"Tenant or occupant"
applied to a building, dwelling, structure or land shall
include any person who lawfully occupies the whole or part of such
building, dwelling, structure or land, whether alone or with others.
"Unoccupied" or "vacant"
applied to a building, dwelling, structure or land shall
mean a building, dwelling, structure or land that is not occupied
or otherwise utilized by any person with a legal right to hold possession
or to exercise dominion or control over such building, dwelling, structure
or land such that a reasonable person would believe that such building,
dwelling, structure or land has not been lawfully occupied or utilized
for an extended period of time.
"Vector"
shall mean any animal or insect capable of transmitting the
causative agent of human disease or capable of producing human discomfort
or injury, including, but not limited to, mosquitoes, flies, mites,
ticks, other arthropods, rodents, Red Imported Fire Ants and other
vertebrates.
"Vehicle"
shall mean a device by which any person or property may be
drawn, moved, or propelled upon a highway, except a device moved by
human power or used exclusively upon stationary rail or tracks.
(Ord. 870, § 2, 2004; Ord. 971, § 1, 2008)
The words and phrases when used in this Title 14 in relation
to the
California Building Code shall, for the purposes of this Title
14, have the meanings ascribed to them in the California Building
Code.
(Ord. 870 § 2, 2004)
The words and phrases when used in this Title 14 in relation
to the Uniform Administrative Code shall, for the purposes of this
Title 14, have the meanings ascribed to them in the Uniform Administrative
Code.
(Ord. 870 § 2, 2004)
The words and phrases when used in this Title 14 in relation
to the California Plumbing Code shall, for the purposes of this Title
14, have the meanings ascribed to them in the California Plumbing
Code.
(Ord. 870 § 2, 2004)
The words and phrases when used in this Title 14 in relation
to the California Mechanical Code shall, for the purposes of this
Title 14, have the meanings ascribed to them in the California Mechanical
Code.
(Ord. 870 § 2, 2004)
The words and phrases when used in this Title 14 in relation
to the California Electrical Code shall, for the purposes of this
Title 14, have the meanings ascribed to them in the California Electrical
Code.
(Ord. 870 § 2, 2004)
The words and phrases when used in this Title 14 in relation
to the Uniform Code for the Abatement of Dangerous Buildings shall,
for the purposes of this Title 14, have the meanings ascribed to them
in the Uniform Code for the Abatement of Dangerous Buildings.
(Ord. 870 § 2, 2004)
The words and phrases when used in this Title 14 in relation
to the Uniform Housing Code shall, for the purposes of this Title
14, have the meanings ascribed to them in the Uniform Housing Code.
(Ord. 870 § 2, 2004)
The words and phrases when used in this Title 14 in relation
to the California Fire Code shall, for the purposes of this Title
14, have the meanings ascribed to them in the California Fire Code.
(Ord. 870 § 2, 2004)
The words and phrases when used in this Title 13 in relation
to the Uniform Swimming Pool, Spa and Hot Tub Code shall, for the
purposes of this Title 13, have the meanings ascribed to them in the
Uniform Swimming Pool, Spa and Hot Tub Code.
(Ord. 870 § 2, 2004)
Where terms are not specifically defined in this Title 14, in
the Municipal Code, in any applicable statute, rule, code or regulation,
or in any of the Uniform Codes or California Codes adopted and incorporated
by reference by the Municipal Code, they shall have the meanings set
forth their ordinary accepted meanings within the context with which
they are used. The most current edition of Webster's Third New International
Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged, shall be construed
as providing ordinary accepted meanings for any duly adopted City
policy or regulation.
(Ord. 870 § 2, 2004)
Words used in the singular include the plural and the plural
the singular.
(Ord. 870 § 2, 2004)
Words used in the masculine gender include the feminine and
words used in the feminine gender include the masculine.
(Ord. 870 § 2, 2004)
Whenever a reference is made to any part of the Municipal Code
or to any ordinance of the city, reference applies to all amendments
and additions now or hereafter made.
(Ord. 870 § 2, 2004)
Whenever a power is granted to, or a duty is impose upon a public
officer, or employee, the power may be exercised, or the duty may
be performed, by a deputy of such officer or employee or by a person
otherwise duly authorized pursuant to law or ordinance, unless this
Title 14 or the Municipal Code expressly provides otherwise.
(Ord. 870 § 2, 2004)
Whenever in this Title 14, any act or omission is made unlawful,
it shall include causing, permitting, aiding, abetting, suffering
or concealing the fact of such act or omission.
(Ord. 870 § 2, 2004)