HomeMy WebLinkAbout11A - CITY ATTORNEY DISCRETION
Icp 1/31/05
ORDINANCE NO. NS-2674
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE
CITY OF SANTA ANA AMENDING SECTION 1-8 OF
THE SANTA ANA MUNICIPAL CODE TO GRANT
THE CITY ATTORNEY DISCRETION TO
PROSECUTE CRIMINAL VIOLATIONS OF THE
CODE AS MISDEMEANORS OR INFRACTIONS
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA ANA DOES ORDAIN AS
FOLLOWS:
Section 1. The City Council of the City of Santa Ana hereby finds,
determines and declares as follows:
A.
Currently, except where otherwise noted, all criminal violations of
the Santa Ana Municipal Code are prosecuted as misdemeanors.
The Council desires to give the City Attorney discretion to
determine whether violations of the Santa Ana Municipal Code
should be criminally prosecuted as misdemeanors or infractions.
All provisions of the Santa Ana Municipal Code that are repeated
herein are repeated solely in order to comply with the provisions of
section 418 of the Charter of the City of Santa Ana. Any such
restatement of existing provisions of the Code is not intended, nor
shall it be interpreted, as constituting a new action or decision of
the City Council, but rather such provisions are repeated for
tracking purposes only in conformance with the Charter.
Section 2. Section 1-8 of the Santa Ana Municipal Code is hereby amended to
grant the City Attorney discretion to prosecute a violation of the Code as a misdemeanor or
an infraction, such that it reads as follows:
B.
Sec. 1-8. Violations - General penalty; continuing violations;
adjudging fines and imprisonment; alternative enforcement.
Unless otherwise specifically stated in this Code, it shall be
unlawful and a misdemeanor for any person to violate or fail to
comply with any provision of this Code and where no specific penalty
is provided therefore in this Code, the violation of any provision of
this Code shall be punished by a fine not exceeding one thousand
dollars ($1,000.00) or imprisonment for a term not exceeding six (6)
months or by both such fine and imprisonment. However, any such
violation constituting a misdemeanor under this Code may, at the
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Ordinance No. NS-XXX
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discretion of the City Attorney, be prosecuted as an infraction. Each
day any violation of any provision of this Code shall continue shall
constitute a separate offense.
As an alternative enforcement method, violations of this Code may be
addressed through the use of an administrative citation as set forth in
sections 1-21.1 through 1-21.9. Use of sections 1-21.1 through 1-21.9
shall not prevent the use of other methods of enforcement or abatement
as provided by this Code. Such methods include but are not limited to
criminal and civil actions.
Section 3. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase or portion of
this ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by the decision
of any court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the
remaining portions of this ordinance. The City Council of the City of Santa Ana
hereby declares that it would have adopted this ordinance and each section,
subsection, sentence, clause, phrase or portion thereof irrespective of the fact that
anyone or more sections, subsections, sentences, clauses, phrases, or portions be
declared invalid or unconstitutional.
ADOPTED this
day of
,2005.
Miguel A. Pulido
Mayor
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
Joseph W. Fletcher, City Attorney
By:
Lorena C. Peñaloza
Assistant City Attorney
Ordinance No. NS-XXX
Page 2 of 3
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AYES:
Councilmembers
NOES:
Councilmembers
ABSTAIN:
Councilmembers
NOT PRESENT:
Councilmembers
CERTIFICATE OF ATTESTATION AND ORIGINALITY
I, PATRICIA E. HEALY, Clerk of the Council, do hereby attest to and certify that
the attached Ordinance No. NS-2674 to be the original ordinance adopted by the
City Council of the City of Santa Ana on , and that said
ordinance was published in accordance with the Charter of the City of Santa Ana.
Date:
Clerk of the Council
City of Santa Ana
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Ordinance No. NS-XXX
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