A.
It is unlawful for any person to violate any provision or to fail to comply with any of the requirements of this code. Any person violating any of the provisions, or failing to comply with any of the requirements of this code shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, except where it has been provided by State law or this code that the violator shall be guilty of an infraction. Any person convicted of a misdemeanor under the provisions of this code shall be punishable by a fine of not more than $1,000.00, or by imprisonment in the County Jail for a period not exceeding six months, or by both such fine and imprisonment.
B.
Any person convicted of an infraction shall be punished by a fine only as follows:
C.
Notwithstanding any other law, a violation of local building and safety codes determined to be an infraction is punishable by the following:
1.
A fine not exceeding $130.00 for a first violation.
2.
A fine not exceeding $700.00 for a second violation of the same ordinance within one year.
3.
A fine not exceeding $1,300.00 for each additional violation of the same ordinance within one year of the first violation.
4.
A fine not exceeding $2,500.00 for each additional violation of the same ordinance within two years of the first violation 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.
D.
Violation of any of the provisions of Title 10 of the Stockton Municipal Code shall be deemed to be an infraction unless otherwise provided in such chapters.
E.
Notwithstanding the above provisions, a violation of any provision of the Stockton Municipal Code is an infraction when the prosecutor files a complaint charging the offense as an infraction.
F.
Pursuant to California Government Code, Section 36900, upon levying a fine in accordance with paragraphs 2 and 3 of subdivisions B and C of this section of the municipal code, the City shall establish a process for granting a hardship waiver to reduce the amount of the fine upon a showing by the responsible party that the responsible party has made a bona fide effort to comply after the first violation and that payment of the full amount of the fine would impose an undue financial burden on the responsible party.
G.
For consideration of a hardship waiver, when issued a notice with a qualifying infraction, it shall be the responsibility of the cited party to petition the City no later than 10 days from the date the notice was issued. All required documents for consideration of a hardship waiver shall be submitted to the City no later than 30 days from the date of the hardship waiver submittal.
(Prior code § 1-010; Ord. 2025-03-04-1602, 3/4/2025)