HomeMy WebLinkAbout1408 - ORDINANCES - 3/18/1992 ORDINANCE NO. 1408
AN URGENCY ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF PALM
SPRINGS, CALIFORNIA, AMENDING THE PALM
SPRINGS MUNICIPAL COPE PENALTY PROVISIONS
WHEREAS, the City Council wishes to add flexibility and
efficiency to the City's code enforcement procedures and
thereby chooses to designate as an infraction any first
violation of a Code provision unless expressly stated
otherwise in the Municipal Code; and
WHEREAS, the City Council finds and determines that the
number of municipal code violations increases tremendously
during the period known as "Spring Break, " which begins this
year in late March; and ,
WHEREAS, the City Council finds and determines that the
traditional Spring Break revelry places extra demands on the
code enforcement personnel of the City of Palm Springs,
requiring them to issue almost triple the amount of criminal
citations for code violations than at other times in the
year ; and
WHEREAS, the City Council finds and determines that this
increase in the issuance of criminal Citations places
extraordinary processing demands and hardships on City staff
and the court system; and
WHEREAS, the City Council finds and determines that it is
necessary to implement on an urgency basis this change in
penalty provision in anticipation of Spring Break 1992, so as
to reduce the amount of time the City spends filing the
criminal complaints and processing the cases through the
courts.
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PALM SPRINGS, CALIFORNIA,
DOES ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1 . The following sections codified in the Palm
Springs Municipal Code are hereby amended to read as
follows:
1.01 . ;40 Violation--Infraction. Any person
violating or wilfully failing to comply with any
provision of this code shall be guilty of an infraction
for any such violation and shall be subject to
penalties as provided in Section 1. 01.155, unless a
different penalty is prescribed or unless the violation
is made a misdemeanor by ordinance.
1. 01 , 150 Subsequent or violation--
MisdemeanoY. Any person who commits a second or
subsequent violation of the same provision of this code
within one year of the commission of the first such
violation shall be guilty of a misdemeanor for each
such violation and shall be subject to penalties as
provided in Section 1. 01. 160. Each day or portion
thereof that a person, firm or corporation permits a
violation of this code to continue shall constitute a ��
separate and subsequent offense.
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11.60 . 050 —Penalties. Violation of any portion of
this chapter is punishable as specified in Sections
1.01 ,140 and 1 . 01. 150 .
11 , 92 , 080 ViolatiQ�rs--Penalty. Violation of any
provision of this chapter is punishable as specified in
Sections 1 . 01. 140 and :1.01.150 .
11. 92 . 090 Nuisance—Civil abatement. The distri-
bution or possession for the purpose of sale, the
exhibition, or the display of any drug paraphernalia as
defined in Section 11.92.050 in any place of business
from which minors are not excluded as set forth in this
chapter is a public nuisance, and may be abated
pursuant to the provisions of Section 731 of the Code
of Civil Procedure of the State of California„ This
remedy is in addition to any other remedy provided by
law, including but not limited to the penalty provi-
sions applicable for violation of the terms and provi-
sions of this chapter.
SECTION 2 . DECLARATION OF FACTS CONSTITUTING URGENCY. This
Ordinance is hereby declared to be urgently required for the
immediate preservation of the public health, safety and
general welfare and shall take effect immediately upon its
publication. The following is a statement of facts showing
its urgency:
The traditional "Spring Break" holiday attracts many
ViSitoeg to the City of Palm Springs . However, much of the
activity sparked by this increase in tourism does not conform
with the ordinances and regulations codified in the Palm
Springs Municipal Code. The City of Palm Springs is forced
to hire additional law enforcement personnel during Spring
Break to combat and control the unlawful revelry„ As a
result, City-issued criminal citations almost triple in
number during this period. Currently, violation of most of
the Code provisions constitutes a misdemeanor violation.
Before the criminal citation may be processed withothe
courts, the City must prepare a formal complaint to accompany
the citation. During Spring Break, the City's code
enforcement personnel are overburdened with this task which
results in delayed court filings and Longer processing
periods for each criminal case. By changing most Municipal
Code violations to infractions, the City may file the issued
citation directly with the court, thereby avoiding the time
delay and expense of filing separate formal complaints.
Therefore, the City Council finds and determines that it is
necessary to implement on an urgency basis this change in
penalty provision in anticipation of Spring Break 1992, so as
to reduce the amount of time the City spends filing the
criminal complaints and processing the cases through the
courts. If this ordinance does not take immediate effect,
the public health, safety and general welfare will be greatly
diminished as a result.
SECTION 4. PUBLICATION. The City Clerk is hereby ordered
and directed to certify to the passage of this ordinance,
and to cause the same or a summary thereof or a display
advertisement, duly prepared according to law, to be pub-
lished in accordance with law.
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Page 3
ADOPTED this 18th day of March , 1992.
AYES: Councilmembers Broich, Hodges, Murawski , and Mayor Bono
NOES: None
A13SENT: Councilmember Neel
ATTEST: CITY OF PALM SPRINGS, CALIF'ORNIA
City'C erk C`jmayor
REVIEWED & APPROVED: ✓_. _
I HEREBY CERTIFY that the foregoing Ordinance 1408 was duly
adopted by the City Council , of the City of Palm Springs,
California, in a meeting held on the 18th day of March, 1992,
and that same was published in the DESERT SUN, a newspaper of
general circulation, on March 25 and April 8, 1992.
9/425/0140$4-000$/019 ADITH SUMICH
City Clerk
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