(Legislative History: Ordinance No. 85-044, 12/16/85; Ordinance No. 89-02, 2/6/89; Ordinance No. 90-03, 2/20/90 (Section 1-12-210); Ordinance No. 92-019, 9/8/92 (Sections 1-12-215, 1-12-220); Ordinance No. 2002-031, 12/9/02 (Sections 1-12-200—1-12-220); Ordinance No. 2017-013, 6/19/17 (Sections 1-12-200—1-12-220))
(a) 
A violation of this Code may be prosecuted as a criminal offense. Unless expressly described as an infraction, a violation of any provision of this Code, or failing to comply with any mandatory requirement hereof, shall constitute a misdemeanor. Notwithstanding the preceding sentence or any other section of this Code, a violation of this Code may, in the discretion of the enforcing authority, be charged and prosecuted as an infraction.
(b) 
Any person convicted of a misdemeanor under the provisions of this Code, unless provision is otherwise herein made, shall be punished by a fine of not more than One thousand dollars or by imprisonment in the County Jail for a period of not more than six months or by both fine and imprisonment.
(c) 
Any person convicted of an infraction under this Code shall be punished by a fine of not more than One hundred dollars for a first violation, or a fine of not more than Two hundred dollars for a second violation of the same Code section within one year. A third (or more) violation of the same code section by the same person within a 12 month period may be charged and prosecuted as a misdemeanor.
(d) 
Upon entry of a second or subsequent conviction against the same responsible party within a two year period for a condition of real property constituting a public nuisance under this Chapter, the court may require the responsible party to pay to the City treble the cost of the abatement. Any costs awarded to the City may be enforced in the manner described in Section 1-12-600, below.
(a) 
If an Enforcement Officer arrests a person for a violation of this Code and elects to charge the violation as a misdemeanor or infraction, such Officer shall prepare in duplicate a written notice to appear, pursuant to Penal Code Section 948, containing the name and address of such person, the offense(s) charged, and the time and place where and when such person shall appear in court. The arresting Enforcement Officer shall deliver one copy of the notice to appear to the violator and the violator, in order to secure release, must give his or her written promise to so appear in court by signing the duplicate notice which shall be retained by the Officer. The time specified in the notice to appear must be at least 30 days after the date of the arrest.
(b) 
In any matter where the City Attorney is charged with prosecuting the violation, the arresting Enforcement Officer shall, as soon as practicable, send a duplicate notice to appear to the City Attorney, who will process the citation with the Superior Court of Alameda County (hereinafter, "the court"). In all other cases, the matter shall be referred directly to the District Attorney's office for prosecution. Thereupon the clerk of the court shall fix the amount of bail according to the City's approved bail schedule. The defendant may, prior to the date upon which he or she promised to appear in court, deposit with the court the amount of bail thus set. Thereafter, at the time when the case is called for arraignment before a Magistrate, if the defendant does not appear in person or by counsel, the Magistrate may declare bail forfeited, and may, in his or her discretion, order that no further proceedings be had in such case.
(c) 
The City Council shall establish, by resolution, a recommended bail schedule which may be amended from time to time. The amount of recommended bail imposed for violations that are prosecuted as criminal offenses pursuant to this Chapter shall be set forth in the bail schedule. The bail schedule shall include a recommended amount for any increased bail amount for repeated violations of the same provisions by the same person within a 12 month period from the date of the issuance of a notice to appear.
(d) 
Any person willfully violating his or her written promise to appear in court is guilty of a misdemeanor regardless of the disposition of the charge upon which he or she was originally arrested.