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City CouncilSeptember 16, 2025Riverside Fire Department and Community & Economic DevelopmentProposed Amendments to Riverside Municipal Code Chapter 9.60 RiversideCA.gov2
Riverside Municipal Code (RMC) 9.60:BACKGROUND•Chapter 9.60 established liability for false police reports and extraordinary police services.•The purpose of the proposed amendment is to hold owners and occupants of certain businesses and properties responsible for extraordinary use of fire and community and economic development services and responses.•The purpose of the proposed ordinance is to also recover costs expended in responding to and investigating false reports of an emergency or other criminal offense.•Departments are frequently called upon to provide services and respond to emergency incidents that exceed what they normally provide or that are otherwise covered by user fees. •Extraordinary services arise when Departments are called upon to respond to emergency incidents that exceeds what they normally provide or that are otherwise covered by user fees. Safety, Wellness, and Youth Committee:•On July 16, 2025, the proposed ordinance amendments were presented to the Safety, Wellness, and Youth Committee, which was unanimously recommend and to move forward to City Council. 1 2
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Community and Economic Development Departments: Included in this chapter entail Code Enforcement and Building and Safety Divisions. Dangerous properties: If a building or property is determined by the Building Official or Fire Marshall to be uninhabitable due to a dangerous condition existing on the property, and the property is posted by the City as “Do Not Occupy,” or equivalent, the property owner is liable for costs of emergency fire, medical, police, and public utility responses to the property, including without limitation the expenses of fighting a fire, which are determined by the Fire Chief, Police Chief, or Building Official to have been caused by or attributed to, in whole or part, the dangerous condition. This section shall only apply if the City notified the property owner of the dangerous condition prior to the response per the applicable code.DISCUSSIONProposed amendments to Chapter 9.60 include:
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DISCUSSIONProposed amendments to Chapter 9.60 include (cont.):Emergency incidents: responding to a hazardous material incident or emergency; an illegal fire; a threat of harm to oneself or others; any person obstructing, removing, tampering with or otherwise damaging any fire hydrant or city fire appliance; a structure demolition or utility line failure; water rescue attempts; a bomb threat; or any other incident where emergency medical, public safety, police, or community and economic development services are necessary. Extraordinary fire service response: defined as the response of fire/EMS crews to an emergency incident or dangerous properties; the response of fire/EMS crews to five or more false medical alarms within a one-year period; and the response of fire/EMS crews to the same property or business four or more times within a 30-day period.Extraordinary code enforcement service or response occurs after the issuance of the second or more administrative citations for an identical violation(s) at the same business or property. 3 4
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That the City Council:1. Receive this report summarizing proposed amendments to Chapter 9.60 of the RMC.2. Recommend that the City Council introduce and subsequently adopt the proposed ordinance amending Riverside Municipal Code Section 9.60, “EXTRAORDINARY RESPONSES TO CERTAIN EMERGENCY INCIDENTS AND DANGEROUS PROPERTIES.”RECOMMENDATIONS5