In the construction of this code and of all ordinances of the city, the following rules in this chapter shall be observed, unless such construction would be inconsistent with the manifest intent of the city council or the context clearly requires otherwise.
(Prior code § 1-2; Ord. 2893 § 1, 1975)
A. 
The following words as used in this code shall be defined as follows:
"The city" or "this city"
shall be construed as if followed by the words "of El Cajon."
"The code" or "this code"
means the code of the city of El Cajon, California.
Computation of Time.
The time in which any act provided by law is to be done is computed by excluding the first day and including the last, unless the last day is a holiday, and then it is also excluded.
"Council"
means the city council of the city of El Cajon.
"The county" or "this county"
means the county of San Diego.
"Day"
means the period of time between any midnight and the midnight following.
"Daytime"
means the period of time between sunrise and sunset. "Nighttime" means the period of time between sunset and sunrise.
"In the city"
means and includes all territory over which the city now has, or shall hereafter acquire, jurisdiction for the exercise of its police powers or other regulatory powers.
Joint Authority.
All words giving a joint authority to three or more persons or officers shall be construed as giving such authority to a majority of such persons or officers.
"May"
is permissive.
"Month"
means a calendar month.
"Oath"
shall be construed to include an affirmation or declaration in all cases in which, by law, an affirmation may be substituted for an oath, and in such cases the words "swear" and "sworn" shall be equivalent to the words "affirm" and "affirmed."
Officers, departments, boards, commissions and employees
referred to in this code mean officers, departments, boards, commissions and employees of the city unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.
Official Time.
Whenever certain hours are named in this code, they mean Pacific standard time or daylight saving time, as may be in current use in the city.
"Or" may be read "and," and "and" may be read "or,"
if the sense requires it.
"Owner,"
applied to a building or land, shall include any part owner, joint owner, tenant in common, tenant in partnership, joint tenant, or tenant by the entirety of the whole or of a part of such building or land.
"Person"
includes any natural person, corporation, company, firm, association, organization, partnership, joint venture, trust, business trust, syndicate, estate, receiver, social club, fraternal organization, or any group or combination acting as a unit, and includes any officer, agent, employee and servant of any of the foregoing.
"Personal property"
includes every species of property, except real property as defined in this section.
"Preceding" and "following"
mean next before and next after, respectively.
"Process"
includes a writ or summons issued in the course of judicial proceedings of either a civil or criminal nature.
"Property"
includes real and personal property.
"Real property"
includes lands, tenements and hereditaments.
"Shall" and "must."
Each is mandatory.
Signature or Subscription by Mark.
"Signature" or "subscription" includes a mark when the signer or subscriber can not write, such signer's or subscriber's name being written near the mark by a witness who writes his own name near the signer's or subscriber's name; but a signature or subscription by mark can be acknowledged or can serve as a signature or subscription to a sworn statement only when two witnesses so sign their own names thereto.
"The state" or "this state"
means the state of California.
"Tenant" or "occupant,"
applied to a building or land, includes any person holding a written or an oral lease of, or who occupies the whole or a part of, such building or land, either alone or with others.
Week.
A "week" consists of seven consecutive days.
Writing.
"Writing" includes any form of recorded message capable of comprehension by ordinary visual means. Whenever any notice, report, statement or record is required or authorized by this code, it shall be made in writing in the English language, unless it is expressly provided otherwise.
"Year"
means a calendar year, except where otherwise provided.
B. 
When an act is required by an ordinance, the same being such that it may be done as well by an agent as by the principal, such requirement shall be construed as to include all such acts performed by an authorized agent.
C. 
All words and phrases shall be construed and understood according to the common and approved usage of the language; but technical words and phrases and such others as may have acquired a peculiar and appropriate meaning in the law shall be construed and understood according to such peculiar and appropriate meaning.
(Prior code § 1-2; Ord. 2893 § 1, 1975)
A. 
Gender. Designation in the form of any gender includes the masculine, feminine and neuter genders and the term "he" shall mean "he or she."
B. 
Singular and Plural. The singular number includes the plural, and the plural includes the singular.
C. 
Tenses. Words used in the present tense include the past and the future tenses and vice versa, unless manifestly inapplicable.
(Prior code § 1-2; Ord. 2893 § 1, 1975; Ord. 4602 § 1, 1999)
It is the intent of the city council of the city of El Cajon that any ordinance establishing performance standards or establishing an obligation to act upon a city officer or employee shall not be construed as creating a mandatory duty for purposes of tort liability if the officer or employee fails to perform said act. Except when otherwise specifically indicated, the obligations imposed upon city officers or employees for implementation and enforcement of this code are directory in nature. Nothing in this code shall be construed as limiting or eliminating any defense or immunity from liability for the city or its officers or employees established by the provisions of Title 1, Division 3.6 of the California Government Code or by any other provision of law.
(Ord. 3870 § 1, 1985)