No person, whether as principal, agent, employee or otherwise,
shall violate, cause the violation of, or otherwise fail to comply
with any of the requirements of this Code. Unless a different penalty
is prescribed for violation a specific provision of this Code, every
act prohibited or declared unlawful, and every failure to perform
an act made mandatory, shall be a misdemeanor or an infraction, at
the discretion of the City Attorney or the district attorney.
In addition to the penalties provided in this chapter, any condition
caused or permitted to exist in violation of any of the provisions
to exist in violation of any of the provisions of this Code is declared
a public nuisance, and may be abated by civil proceedings such as
restraining orders, civil injunctions, abatement proceedings or the
like. The expense of such abatement proceedings may, by resolution
of the City Council, be declared to be a lien against the property
on which such nuisance is maintained, and such lien shall be made
the personal obligation of the property owner.
(89-16)
A.
Misdemeanor—Penalty.
Every violation of this Code which is prosecuted as a misdemeanor
shall be punishable by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars,
or by imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months, or by both
such fine and imprisonment.
B.
Infraction—Penalty.
Every violation of this Code which is prosecuted as an infraction
shall be punishable by the following:
C.
Parking—Penalty. Every violation of this Code which involves the parking, standing or stopping of a vehicle shall be punishable by a civil penalty as established by the City through resolution. All penalties, with the exception of the overnight parking penalty in Section 10.32.210, shall increase at a progressive rate. The second offense, within one year, shall equal two times the amount of the penalty, as set by resolution, and all subsequent offenses, within one year, shall equal three times the amount of the penalty, as set by resolution.
D.
Violation
of Building and Safety Codes. Notwithstanding the above, a violation
of local building and safety codes that is an infraction is punishable
by the following:
1.
A
fine not exceeding $130 for the first offense;
2.
A
fine not exceeding $700 for the second violation of the same provision
within one year of the first offense; and
3.
A
fine not exceeding $1,300 for each additional violation of the same
provision within one year of the first offense; or a fine not exceeding
$2,500 for each additional violation of the same provision within
two years of the first offense if the property is a commercial property
that has an existing building at the time of the violation and the
violation is due to failure by the owner to remove visible refuse
or failure to prohibit unauthorized use of the property.
E.
Definitions.
As used in this section, the term "year" means any consecutive twelve-month
period. As used in this section, the terms "offense" and "violation"
include any violation of the code which is cited or charged and which
does not result in:
F.
Hardship Waiver. For fines imposed pursuant to paragraphs (2) and (3) of subsections (B) and (D), above, the recipient of a fine may request a hardship waiver by completing a hardship waiver form and returning the form to the City Clerk. The waiver request shall include a sworn affidavit and any supporting documents or materials demonstrating to the satisfaction of the City Manager that: (1) the recipient of the fine has made a bona fide effort to comply after the first violation, and (2) payment of the full amount of the fine would impose an undue financial burden on the recipient. The City Clerk shall serve written notice of the City Manager's determination on the recipient of the fine by certified mail, return receipt requested. Service shall be deemed complete at the time the notice is deposited into the mail and addressed to the person at the address indicated on the hardship waiver form. The notice shall include a brief description of the reasons for the City Manager's determination to approve or not approve the hardship waiver. The written determination of the City Manager shall be final. If the City Manager determines not to approve a hardship waiver, the recipient of the fine shall remit the deposit amount to the City Clerk within 10 days of service of that decision, or 30 calendar days from the date of the citation or administrative citation, whichever is sooner.
(09-15; 21-06)
Each person shall be deemed guilty of a separate crime for each
and every day during any portion of which any violation of any provision
of this Code is committed, continued or permitted by such person,
firm or corporation and shall be punishable accordingly.
(89-16)
A.
The
City Manager and the City police department shall have the duty and
authority to enforce the provisions of this Code.
B.
The City Manager may designate in writing specific additional City employees as code enforcement officials. When these code enforcement officials are designated, the designation shall specify which chapters or sections the official is authorized to enforce. These designated code enforcement officials are authorized by the City Council, pursuant to Section 832, 836.5 and 19(d) of the California Penal Code, and subject to the training provisions of subsection B(2) below, to arrest a person without warrant whenever the code enforcement official has reasonable cause to believe that the person to be arrested has violated a provision of this Code, that the official has been designated to enforce, in the code enforcement official's presence.
1.
In
any case in which a person is arrested by a code enforcement official,
the official shall issue a "Notice to Appear" and shall release such
person on his or her written promise to appear in court, pursuant
to Section 836.5, 853.5 and 853.6 of the California Penal Code. Under
no circumstances may code enforcement officials take persons to be
arrested into custody. In the event that the person to be arrested
demands to be taken before a magistrate or refuses to provide his
or her written promise to appear in court, code enforcement officials
shall either (a) summon a police officer and request that the police
officer arrest the person and take that person into custody, or (b)
promptly refer the matter to the City Attorney or the prosecuting
attorney and request that a complaint be prepared and filed against
the person.
2.
Each
code enforcement official designated to enforce this Code shall complete
a course of training to be coordinated by the Chief of Police which
shall include, at a minimum, training in (a) the evidentiary prerequisites
to criminal prosecution, and (b) procedures for prudently exercising
the code enforcement official's arrest and citation authority.
C.
The
City Manager may also designate in writing specific City employees
as parking enforcement officials. The City Council, pursuant to Vehicle
Code Sections 40202 and 41102, authorizes these designated parking
enforcement officials to issue parking citations to enforce state
laws and municipal laws that pertain to the parking or standing of
vehicles. If the vehicle is unattended during the time of the violation,
the parking enforcement official shall securely attach to the vehicle
a notice of parking violation setting forth the following:
1.
A
reference to the section of the state or municipal law violated;
2.
The
approximate time of the violation;
3.
The
location where the violation occurred;
4.
The
vehicle license number;
5.
The
registration expiration date;
6.
The
color of the vehicle; and
7.
The
make of the vehicle, if possible.
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The notice of parking violation shall be attached to the vehicle
either under the windshield wiper or in another conspicuous place
upon the vehicle so as to be easily observed by the person in charge
of the vehicle upon return of that person. Once the notice of parking
violation has been attached to the vehicle as provided above, the
notice of parking violation shall be filed with the City's processing
agency. Thenceforth, these citations shall be dealt with in the same
manner as are the parking citations issued by the police department
of the City.
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(89-16)
Persons who violate this Code may be cited by the City police
officers, the City code enforcement officials, and/or City parking
enforcement officials in accordance with the authority granted in
this Code. In addition, persons who violate this Code may be charged
by the City Attorney or the district attorney. Also, any violation
of this Code may be dealt with by civil action such as restraining
orders, injunctions, abatement proceedings, and the like.
No person shall interfere with, oppose or resist an authorized
person charged with the enforcement of this Code while such person
is engaged in the performance of his or her duty.
(89-16)
Any activity, object, establishment, property, or facility operated,
conducted, or maintained contrary to the provisions of the Claremont
Municipal Code or State or Federal law or regulation shall be, and
the same is hereby declared to be, unlawful and a public nuisance.
The City Attorney or other legal counsel retained by the City for
that purpose may, in addition to or in lieu of prosecuting a criminal
action hereunder, commence an action or actions, proceeding or proceedings,
for the abatement, removal, and enjoinment of such violations in the
manner provided by law, and shall take such other steps and shall
apply to such court or courts as may have jurisdiction to grant such
relief as will abate or remove such violations and restrain and enjoin
any person from conducting activities constituting such a public nuisance.
If the City elects at the initiation of a public nuisance action to
seek the recovery of its own attorney's fees, the prevailing party
in any such action shall be entitled to recover all of its reasonable
costs and expenses incurred with respect to said action, including,
without limitation, its costs of investigation and discovery, attorneys'
fees, and expert witness fees.
(18-02)
