A. 
The purpose of this chapter is to permit the creation and registration of domestic partnership relationships between consenting adults who can not otherwise register as domestic partners under the criteria set forth in the California Family Code.
B. 
The provisions of this chapter are intended to provide certain rights to domestic partners who have officially registered as such pursuant to either the California Family Code, Cathedral City Ordinance No. 465 prior to July 1, 2000, or this chapter.
(Ord. 545 § 2(a), 2001)
A. 
Eligibility requirements for being recognized as an official "domestic partnership" include the following:
1. 
The partnership is between no more than two persons;
2. 
The persons are not related by blood closer than would bar marriage in the state of California;
3. 
The persons are not married and are not related by marriage;
4. 
The persons share the common necessities of life;
5. 
Each of the persons is eighteen years old or older;
6. 
Both persons' domicile are in the city of Cathedral City;
7. 
Each of the persons is competent to enter into a contract;
8. 
The persons are jointly responsible for their common care, welfare and basic living expenses;
9. 
Each of the persons agree to notify the city of any change in the status of their domestic partnership;
10. 
The persons will declare that they are each other's sole domestic partner;
11. 
Neither person has officially declared to any other jurisdiction or to the city that he or she has a different domestic partner;
12. 
The persons will complete, sign under penalty of perjury and personally submit to the city clerk a statement of domestic partnership in the form prescribed herein; and
13. 
The persons have been cohabitating for a period of six months.
14. 
The persons cannot register as domestic partners under the California Family Code since they do not meet the criteria set forth therein.
(Ord. 465 § 3, 1997; Ord. 545 § 2(b), 2001)
A. 
Domestic partners who register pursuant to this chapter may make an official record of their domestic partnership by completing, signing and submitting in person to the city clerk a "statement of domestic partnership" on the form provided by the city clerk.
B. 
No statement of domestic partnership filed pursuant to this chapter shall be deemed effective unless submitted to the city clerk in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.
(Ord. 465 § 3, 1997; Ord. 545 § 2(c)(part), 2001)
A. 
A statement of domestic partnership, filed pursuant to Cathedral City Ordinance No. 465 prior to July 1, 2000 or pursuant to this chapter, may be amended to reflect changes, such as a change in address of the partners, by filing in person a statement of domestic partnership amendment on a form provided by the city clerk.
B. 
No statement of domestic partnership amendment shall be deemed effective unless submitted to the city clerk in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.
(Ord. 465 § 3, 1997; Ord. 545 § 2(c)(part), 2001)
A. 
Any member of a domestic partnership, created pursuant to Cathedral City Ordinance No. 465 prior to July 1, 2000 or pursuant to this chapter, may terminate the domestic partnership by completing, signing under penalty of perjury and submitting to the city clerk, in person, a statement of termination of domestic partnership on a form provided by the city clerk.
B. 
Upon termination of a domestic partnership under this section, at least one partner shall complete, sign under penalty of perjury and submit to the city clerk, in person or certified mail, a statement of termination of domestic partnership on the form provided by the city clerk and send a copy of the statement to the last known address of the other partner.
C. 
A domestic partnership shall be deemed terminated thirty days after the filing of the statement of termination of domestic partnership. However, no statement of termination of domestic partnership shall be deemed effective unless submitted to the city clerk in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.
D. 
Any former domestic partner who has given a copy of a statement of domestic partnership to any third party in order to qualify for any benefit or right shall, within sixty days of termination of the domestic partnership, give or send to the third party, at the last known address of the third party, written notification that the domestic partnership has been terminated. Failure to provide the third-party notice required in this subsection shall not delay or prevent the termination of the domestic partnership.
E. 
A domestic partnership, created pursuant to Cathedral City Ordinance No. 465 prior to July 1, 2000 or pursuant to this ordinance, shall automatically terminate when any one of the following occurs:
1. 
One partner gives or sends to the other partner a written notice by certified mail that he or she is terminating the partnership;
2. 
One of the domestic partners dies;
3. 
One of the domestic partners marries; or
4. 
The domestic partners are no longer cohabitating.
(Ord. 465 § 3, 1997; Ord. 545 § 2(d), 2001)
No person who has filed a statement of domestic partnership with the city clerk pursuant to Cathedral City Ordinance No. 465 prior to July 1, 2000 or pursuant to this chapter shall file another statement of domestic partnership unless the current statement of domestic partnership has been terminated with the filing of a statement of termination of domestic partnership and six months has passed since the effective date of said statement of termination of domestic partnership. This provision shall also apply to those cases where the prior domestic partnership automatically terminated pursuant to this chapter.
(Ord. 465 § 3, 1997; Ord. 545 § 2(e), 2001)
A. 
No statement of domestic partnership filed pursuant to this chapter shall be accepted by the city clerk unless accompanied by payment of the filing fee established by resolution of the city council.
B. 
Payment of filing fees shall entitle the person filing the subject statement to have two copies of said statement certified by the city clerk.
C. 
The cost of certification of additional copies of a statement shall be an amount per copy as established by resolution of the city council.
(Ord. 465 § 3, 1997; Ord. 545 § 2(f), 2001)
The city clerk shall maintain adequate records of all statements of domestic partnership filed pursuant to Cathedral City Ordinance No. 465 prior to July 1, 2000 or pursuant to this chapter and all statements of termination of domestic partnership filed pursuant to this chapter.
(Ord. 465 § 3, 1997; Ord. 545 § 2(g), 2001)
This chapter is not intended to make the California Uniform Partnership Act (California Corporations Code Section 15001 et seq.) applicable to domestic partnerships.
(Ord. 465 § 3, 1997)
All health care and psychiatric care facilities located in the city of Cathedral City, including, but not limited to, hospitals, convalescent facilities or other long-term care facilities, shall allow a domestic partner of a patient to visit the patient unless the applicable rules of the facility prohibit all visitors.
(Ord. 465 § 3, 1997)
A domestic partner of an inmate in the Cathedral City jail shall be allowed to visit the inmate unless (1) the applicable rules prohibit all visitors, or (2) the police department decides that a particular visitor is a threat to the security of the jail.
(Ord. 465 § 3, 1997)
The provisions of and the rights and benefits accorded by this chapter shall be applicable to persons registered as domestic partners in any other jurisdiction with a comparable domestic partnership enactment.
(Ord. 465 § 3, 1997)
For purposes of this chapter, "domicile" shall mean the one location the respective person considers to have the most settled and permanent location, the place where he or she intends to remain and to which, whenever he or she is absent, he or she has the intention of returning to.
(Ord. 465 § 3, 1997)
The rights and privileges set forth in this chapter shall be afforded to those domestic partners who had registered as domestic partners pursuant to the provisions of Cathedral City Ordinance No. 465 prior to July 1, 2000 or the provisions set forth in this chapter or who are registered as domestic partners pursuant to the laws of the state or any other jurisdictional government either foreign or domestic.
(Ord. 545 § 2(j), 2001)
A violation of Section 11.97.040(D), Section 11.97.050 or Section 11.97.110 of this chapter by the person responsible for committing, causing or maintaining such violation shall constitute an infraction violation which shall be subject to the provisions set forth in Chapter 13.65, including, but not limited to, the imposition of any and all criminal penalties set forth therein.
(Ord. 545 § 2(k), 2001)
Any person convicted of an infraction shall, for each separate violation of this chapter, be subject to: (a) a fine in an amount not to exceed two hundred fifty dollars for a first conviction of an offense; (b) a fine in an amount not to exceed five hundred dollars for a second conviction of the same offense within a twelve-month period of the date of the first offense; and (c) a fine in an amount not to exceed seven hundred fifty dollars for the third conviction of the same offense within a twelve-month period of the date of the first offense. The fine for a fourth and subsequent convictions of the same offense within a twelve-month period of the date of the first offense shall be one thousand dollars.
(Ord. 545 § 2(l), 2001)
The city may issue an administrative citation in lieu of an infraction citation, pursuant to Chapter 13.58, to any person responsible for committing, causing or maintaining a violation of Section 11.97.040(D), Section 11.97.050 or Section 11.97.110 of this chapter. Nothing in this section shall preclude the city from also issuing an infraction citation upon the occurrence of the same offense on a separate day.
(Ord. 545 § 2(m), 2001)
Nothing in this chapter shall preclude the city from pursuing the remedies provided by Chapter 13.140, including but not limited to, as applicable, denial or revocation of certificates of occupancy, issuance or stop work orders and injunctive relief.
(Ord. 545 § 2(p), 2001)