ORDINANCE NO.
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF ANAHEIM AMENDING SECTION
1.01.389 OF TITLE 1 (ADMINISTRATION) OF THE ANAHEIM MUNICIPAL
CODE TO MAKE IT UNLAWFUL FOR ANY PERSON TO THREATEN,
FOLLOW, INTIMIDATE, OBSTRUCT, OR IMPEDE ANY COMMUNITY
PRESERVATION OFFICER ENGAGED IN THE PERFORMANCE OF HIS OR
HER RESPECTIVE DUTIES, JOB DESCRIPTION, AND/OR ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITY AS PROVIDED IN THE ANAHEIM MUNICIPAL CODE; AND
TO AUTHORIZE COMMUNITY PRESERVATION OFFICERS TO ASK
PERSONS WHO ARE VIOLATING PROVISIONS OF THE CODE OR STATE
LAW FOR THEIR IDENTIFICATION, AS ALLOWED BY LAW, IN ORDER
TO FACILITATE THE ENFORCEMENT OF THE CODE AND STATE LAW WHEREAS, Community Preservation Officers (CPOs), also known as Code Enforcement Officers, employed by local jurisdictions are tasked with preventing, detecting, investigating, and enforcing violations of ordinances and State law that regulate public health, safety, and welfare; and
WHEREAS, CPOs often encounter aggressive persons who seek to oppose and stop the officers from performing their official duties, which include obtaining compliance with municipal codes and State law; and
WHEREAS, according to data compiled by the California Association of Code Enforcement Officers, based on reports from CPOs between 2015 and 2021, 141 safety incidents involving CPOs were reported, which included 29 incidents of actual attacks, assaults, and being held against one’s will, and 108 incidents involving some form of a threat, stalking, or brandishing a weapon; and
WHEREAS, the California State Legislature found and declared in Senate Bill 296 (“SB 296”), signed into law by the Governor on October 7, 2021, that “code enforcement officers are disproportionately at risk for threat, assault, injury, and even homicide due to the nature of their obligations”; and
WHEREAS, SB 296 mandated that local jurisdictions, such as the City of Anaheim (“City”), develop appropriate safety standards for CPOs employed within their jurisdiction; and WHEREAS, the City had already developed and adopted safety standards and training for its CPOs on July 8, 2021, to address the threats, risks, and hazards faced by the officers within the City; and WHEREAS, despite the City’s implementation of a safety policy specific to CPOs, these officers continue to encounter hazardous situations while carrying out their duties, including confronting property owners and occupants who resist compliance or become hostile; and WHEREAS, the threats, risks, and hazards to the City’s CPOs have evolved since the adoption of safety standards and training for these officers; and
WHEREAS, specifically, CPOs have observed individuals described as “spotters” who sit in vehicles near the City Hall parking lot watching the movement of Community Preservation vehicles, forcing CPOs to park City vehicles at other City facilities unknown and/or unmonitored by spotters; and
WHEREAS, specifically, during one enforcement operation, an individual began aggressively stalking a CPO’s vehicle throughout various streets, prompting staff to involve law enforcement in contacting the driver of that vehicle; and
WHEREAS, the City now desires to authorize its CPOs to request identification from any person violating provisions of the Anaheim Municipal Code or State law to assist the officers in performing their official duties; and
WHEREAS, to further address the threats, risks, and hazards that the officers face, the City now desires to impose criminal sanctions upon any person who threatens, follows, intimidates, obstructs, or impedes any CPO engaged in the performance of his or her respective duties, job description, and/or enforcement authority as provided in the Anaheim Municipal Code.
WHEREAS, pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (Public Resources Code Section 21000 et seq.; herein referred to as “CEQA”) and the State of California Guidelines for Implementation of the California Environmental Quality Act (commencing with Section 15000 of Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations; herein referred to as the “State CEQA Guidelines”), the City is the “lead agency” for the preparation and consideration of environmental documents for this ordinance; and
WHEREAS, the City Council finds and determines that this ordinance is not subject to the requirements to prepare additional environmental documentation pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Sections 15060(c)(2) and 15060(c)(3) because the proposed amendments will not result in a direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment and are not a “project,” as that term is defined in Section 15378 of the State CEQA Guidelines; and SECTION 1. Anaheim Municipal Code Section 1.01.389 is hereby amended to read in full as follows:
1.01.389 ENFORCEMENT OF THE CODE — COMMUNITY PRESERVATION MANAGER — INSPECTIONS AND REINSPECTIONS — FEES.
.010 The Community Preservation Manager and Community Preservation Officers shall have the duty and authority to enforce Titles 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, and 18 of the Anaheim Municipal Code; Sections 17560 through 17568, and Sections 22435 through 22435.5 of the California Business and Professions Code; Sections 374.3, 594 and 594.1 of the California Penal Code; Sections 17920.3, 17926 and 13113.7 of the California Health and Safety Code; and Section 6404.5 of the California Labor Code; and are further authorized and directed, pursuant to Section 836.5 of the California Penal Code and Section 1.01.390 of the Anaheim Municipal Code, to investigate violations, to arrest persons, to prepare, issue and deliver to any such arrested person written notice to appear in court, and to release such person from custody, upon receiving his or her written promise to appear in court for any violation or violations of these provisions of the Anaheim Municipal Code and of State law. .020 Nothing in this section is intended to or shall operate to change or shall have the effect of changing the status of the Community Preservation Manager, Community Preservation Officers, or other designated employees from public or miscellaneous employees of the City of Anaheim to an individual peace officer or safety member for purposes of retirement, Workers' Compensation or similar injury or death benefits, or any other employee benefits to which said officer or employee would not have been entitled to as a public employee prior to adoption of this section.
.030 There is hereby imposed, upon each person who receives a notice of violation of any of the above-referenced provisions of the Municipal Code or State law, an inspection fee, in such amounts as set from time to time by the City Council, which may be assessed for each inspection or reinspection conducted pursuant to this section. Any such initial inspection fee and first reinspection fee shall be waived and shall not be imposed, when the particular violation for which an initial inspection and first reinspection is conducted is fully abated and corrected within the time and manner specified in the notice of violation. This fee is intended to provide full cost recovery for administrative and operational costs, based on actual time expended for unnecessary inspections, and not for enforcement of the law. Any fees imposed shall be separate and apart from any fines or penalties imposed for violation of the law. The amount of any fee imposed shall be deemed a civil debt due and owing to the City of Anaheim. For purposes of this subsection, the term “initial inspection” shall mean any inspection of the premises which results in the issuance of a notice of violation of any of the above-referenced provisions of the Municipal Code or State law.
.040 Graffiti Abatement and Cost Recovery.
.0401 Property defaced by graffiti or other inscribed material (as defined in Section 38772 of the Government Code, or any successor provision thereto) is hereby declared to constitute a public nuisance. The City, acting by and through its authorized employees, contractors or agents, may summarily abate, or cause the summary abatement of, any such nuisance, in the event the owner of the property upon which the nuisance exists has not caused the complete abatement thereof, following receipt of notice of violation from the City and within the time and manner specified in such notice. There is hereby imposed upon each commercial business or industrial property owner a graffiti removal fee, in such amounts as set from time to time by the City Council, which may be assessed for each graffiti removal conducted by the City pursuant to this section, after two complimentary removals by the City conducted pursuant to this section, when the particular violation for which a graffiti removal is not fully abated or corrected as directed by, and within the time and manner specified in, the notice of violation. This fee is intended to provide full cost recovery for administrative and operational costs, based on actual time expended for habitual graffiti removals for commercial property owners, and not for enforcement of the law. Any fees imposed shall be separate and apart from any fines or penalties imposed for violation of the law. .0402 Any charges assessed pursuant to subsection .0401, for the abatement of any nuisance resulting from the defacement of property by graffiti or other inscribed material, shall be a lien against the property on which said nuisance is maintained, and a personal obligation against the owner of such property. Notice of said lien shall be provided prior to recording thereof to the owner of record of such parcel, and shall contain all information required under Government Code Section 38773.1, or any successor provision thereto. Such notice shall be served on the owner in the same manner as a summons in a civil action. Any lien so recorded may be foreclosed by an action brought by the City for a money judgment. Should such lien be satisfied, discharged or released by payment or foreclosure, notice thereof shall be recorded by the City. .050 In order to facilitate the enforcement of the Anaheim Municipal Code and State law, Community Preservation Officers are authorized to ask persons who are violating provisions of the Code or State law for their identification card or other identifying information, as allowed by law.
.060 It shall be unlawful for any person to threaten, follow, intimidate, obstruct, or impede any Community Preservation Officer engaged in the performance of his or her respective duties, job description, and/or enforcement authority as provided in the Anaheim Municipal Code. Such person shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, unless provision is otherwise herein made by any other applicable State law, shall be subject to a fine of not more than $1,000.00 or by imprisonment in the County jail for a period of not more than six months, or by both fine and imprisonment.
SECTION 2.
The City Council of the City of Anaheim hereby declares that should any section, paragraph, sentence, phrase, term or word of this ordinance be declared for any reason to be invalid, it is the intent of the City Council that it would have adopted all other portions of this ordinance independent of the elimination of any such portion as may be declared invalid. If any section, subdivision, paragraph, sentence, clause or phrase of this Ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this Ordinance. The City Council hereby declares that it would have passed this Ordinance, and each section, subdivision, paragraph, sentence, clause and phrase thereof, irrespective of the fact that any one (or more) section, subdivision, paragraph, sentence, clause or phrase had been declared invalid or unconstitutional.
SECTION 3.
The City Clerk shall certify to the passage of this ordinance and shall cause the same to be printed once within fifteen (15) days after its adoption in the Anaheim Bulletin, a newspaper of general circulation, published and circulated in the City of Anaheim.
SECTION 4.
This ordinance shall take effect and be in full force thirty (30) days from and after its final passage.
THE FOREGOING ORDINANCE was introduced at a regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Anaheim held on the ____ day of ______________, 2024, and thereafter passed and adopted at a regular meeting of said City Council held on the ____ day of ______________, 2024, by the following roll call vote:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
ABSTAIN:
CITY OF ANAHEIM
By: ____________________________________
MAYOR OF THE CITY OF ANAHEIM
ATTEST:
_____________________________________
CITY CLERK OF THE CITY OF ANAHEIM