ORDINANCE NO. ______
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FONTANA, CALIFORNIA, AMENDING SECTIONS 1-1, 1-2, 1-7, AND 1-14 IN CHAPTER 1 OF THE FONTANA MUNICIPAL CODE TO MAKE THE SECTIONS MORE INTUITIVE AND TO INCORPORATE CURRENT BEST PRACTICES.
WHEREAS, the City of Fontana, California (the “City”) is a municipal corporation, duly organized under the constitution and laws of the State of California; and WHEREAS, the City Council (“Council”) finds and declares that this Ordinance constitutes a valid exercise of police power in accordance with Article XI, Section 7 of the California Constitution, is consistent with the General Plan, and furthers the health, safety, and general welfare of the residents of the City of Fontana; and WHEREAS, after a review of the Fontana Municipal Code (“FMC”), the City has identified several provisions that are in need of amendment and refinement; and WHEREAS, in order to make the FMC clearer, easier to use and understand, and to incorporate current best practices, Council finds that it is necessary to amend certain provisions of the FMC; and WHEREAS, City staff has carefully reviewed every existing provision of Chapter 1 of the FMC and has made recommendations for amendments and updates thereto; and WHEREAS, the City held a noticed public hearing on June 13, 2023, at which time all interested persons had the opportunity to appear and be heard on the matter of adopting this instant Ordinance; and WHEREAS, Council desires to revise Chapter 1 of the FMC to make it clearer, easier to use and understand, and to incorporate current best practices.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED by the Council of the City of Fontana as follows:
SECTION 1. Incorporation of recitals. The recitals are true and correct and incorporated herein by this reference.
SECTION 2. Amendment of Municipal Code. Chapter 1 “General Provisions.” is hereby amended to read as follows:
“Sec. 1-1. How Code Designated and Cited.
The ordinances of the City of Fontana as revised, amended, codified and compiled in book form are hereby adopted as and shall constitute as the “Fontana Municipal Code," or may also be referred to herein as the “Code of the City of Fontana” and may be so cited.
Sec. 1-2. Definitions and rules of construction.
For the purposes of this Code, unless otherwise apparent from the context, certain words and phrases used in this Code are defined as follows:
(A) City. The words "the City" or "this City" shall be construed as if followed by the words "of Fontana." (B) Code. The words "the Code" or "this Code" shall mean the Fontana Municipal Code. (C) 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. (D) Council. Whenever the words "Council" or "City Council" are used, they shall be construed to mean the city council of the City of Fontana. (E) County. The words "the county" or "this county" shall mean the County of San Bernardino, California. (F) Day. A day is the period of time between any midnight and the midnight following. (G) Daytime; nighttime. The word "daytime" means the period of time between sunrise and sunset. The word "nighttime" means the period of time between sunset and sunrise. (H) Gender. The masculine gender includes the feminine and neuter genders. (I) In the city. The words "in the city" shall mean and include all territory over which the city now has or shall hereafter acquire the jurisdiction for the exercise of its police powers or other regulatory powers. (J) 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. (K) Month. The word "month" shall mean a calendar month. (L) Number. The singular number includes the plural, and the plural the singular. (M) Oath. The word "oath" includes affirmation.
(N) Officers, departments, etc. Officers, departments, boards, commissions and employees referred to in this Code shall mean officers, departments, boards, commissions and employees of the City of Fontana, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. (O) Official time. Whenever certain hours are named they shall mean Pacific Standard Time or Daylight Saving Time, as may be in current use in the city and state. (P) Or; and. "Or" may be read "and," and "and" may be read "or," if the sense requires it. (Q) Person. The word "person" includes any person, firm, association, organization, partnership, business trust, corporation or company. (R) Preceding; following. The words "preceding" and "following" mean next before and next after, respectively. (S) Process. The word "process" includes a writ or summons issued in the course of judicial proceedings of either a civil or criminal nature. (T) Property. The word "property" shall include real and personal property. (U) Shall; may. The word "shall" is mandatory, and the word "may" is permissive. (V) Signature or subscription by mark. "Signature" or "subscription" includes a mark when the signer or subscriber cannot 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. (W) State. The words "the state" or "this state" shall mean the State of California. (X) Tense. The present tense includes past and future tenses, and the future tense includes the present tense. (Y) Week. The word "week" means seven consecutive days. (Z) Writing. The word "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 expressly provided otherwise. (AA) Year. The word "year" shall mean a calendar year, except where otherwise provide Sec. 1-7. General penalty; continuing violations.
It shall be unlawful for any person to violate any provision or to fail to comply with any of the requirements or provisions of this Code heretofore or hereafter enacted or the provisions of any code adopted by reference by 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. Any person continuing or committing a violation of any provision of this Code declaring any act or omission to be unlawful is guilty of a separate offense for each and every day which any violation is committed. (a) Misdemeanor penalty. Every violation of a provision of this Code which is specifically designated as a misdemeanor shall be punishable by a fine of not more than $1,000.00 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months, or by both such fine and imprisonment. (b) Infraction penalty. Every violation of this Code prosecuted as an infraction shall be punishable by a fine not exceeding $500.00. (c) Civil penalty. Every violation of a provision of this Code which is specifically designated to carry a civil penalty, in addition to a criminal penalty, shall be punishable by a civil fine not exceeding $1,000.00, unless otherwise specifically provided and authorized by state law. Nothing set forth herein shall limit the ability of the city to seek and obtain other remedies permitted by law.
As used in this section, the term "year" means any consecutive 12-month period.
As used in this section, the term "offense" includes any violation of the Code which is cited or charged and which does not result in:
(1) An acquittal.
(2) A finding of "not guilty."
(3) A dismissal of charges by the city or the court.
State law reference(s)—Authority of city to impose fines not exceeding $1,000.00 and imprisonment for terms not exceeding six months or both for misdemeanor violations of ordinances, Government Code section 36901; provisions declaring violations of ordinances to be a misdemeanor unless declared an infraction, Government Code section 36900; authority of city to impose graduated fines of $100.00, $200.00 and $500.00 with each successive violation designated as an infraction, Government Code section 36900.” SECTION 3. Environmental review. This Ordinance is not a project within the meaning of Section 1538 of the State of California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) Guidelines, because it has no potential for resulting in physical change in the environment, directly or indirectly. The City Council further finds, under Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations, Section 15061(b)(3), that this Ordinance is nonetheless exempt for the requirements of CEQA in that the activity is covered by the general rule that CEQA applies only to projects which have the potential for causing a significant effect on the environment. Where it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment, the activity is not subject to CEQA. Council, therefore, directs that a Notice of Exemption be filed with the County Clerk of the County of San Bernardino in accordance with CEQA Guidelines.
SECTION 4: Severability. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase or portion of this Ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by any court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remainder of the Ordinance. Council hereby declares that it would have adopted this Ordinance, and each section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, or portion thereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more sections, subsections, sentences, clauses, phrases, or portions may be declared invalid or unconstitutional.
SECTION 5. Effective Date. The Ordinance shall become effective thirty (30) days following its passage and adoption.
SECTION 6. Publication. The City Clerk shall attest to the passage and adoption of this Ordinance and cause a summary of the same to be published as required by law.
SECTION 7. Custodian of Records. The documents and materials that constitute the record of proceedings on which this Ordinance is based are located at the City Clerk’s office located at 8353 Sierra Avenue, Fontana, CA 92335. The custodian or records is the City Clerk.
PASSED, APPROVED AND ADOPTED this ____ day of __________, 2023.
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Acquanetta Warren, Mayor
City of Fontana
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Germaine McClellan Key
City Clerk
Read and Approved as to form:
Best, Best & Krieger, LLP.
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Ruben Duran, City Attorney