TITLE I—GENERAL PROVISIONS

CHAPTER 2—DEFINITIONS AND RULES OF CONSTRUCTION

Sec. 1100 Definitions and rules of construction.

In the construction of this Code, and all the ordinances of the City, the following rules shall be observed, unless construction would be inconsistent with the manifest intent of the City Council or the context clearly requires otherwise:

Chief of Police. "Chief of Police" means the Chief of Police of this City or such person as hereafter may, by law, be authorized to perform the duties now being performed by that official.

City. "City means the City of Arcata or the area within the territorial city limits of the City of Arcata and such territory outside the limits of this City over which the City has jurisdiction and control by virtue of any constitutional or charter provisions, or any law.

City Attorney. "City Attorney" or "Attorney" means the City Attorney of this City or such person as hereafter may, by law, be designated as the official legal advisor of this City.

City Clerk. "City Clerk" or "Clerk" means the City Clerk of this City or such person as hereafter may, by law, be authorized to perform the duties now being performed by that official.

City Engineer. "City Engineer" or "Engineer" means the City Engineer of this City.

City Manager. "City Manager" or "Manager" means the City Manager of this City or his successor as chief executive officer of this City.

City Tax Collector. "City Tax Collector" or "Tax Collector" means the City Tax Collector of this City or officers of other governments or agencies when designated by law or contract as tax collecting agents for this City.

Code. The words "the Code" or "this Code" shall mean "the Arcata Municipal Code".

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.

Council. "Council" means the City Council of this City.

County. "County" is the County of Humboldt.

Day. A day is the period of time between any midnight and the midnight following.

Daytime, Nighttime. "Daytime" is the period of time between sunrise and sunset. "Nighttime" is the period of time between sunset and sunrise.

Director of Environmental Services. "Director of Environmental Services" means the Director of Environmental Services of the City of Arcata.

Director of Finance. "Director of Finance" means the Director of Finance of the City of Arcata.

Department, Board, Commission, Office, Officer or Employee. Whenever any department, board, commission, office, officer, or employee is referred to it shall mean a department, board, commission, office, officer, or employee of the City of Arcata, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

Gender. The masculine gender includes the feminine and masculine.

Month. The word "month" shall mean a calendar month.

Number. The singular number includes the plural and the plural the singular.

Oath. "Oath" includes affirmation.

Official Time. Whenever certain hours are named herein, they shall mean Pacific Standard Time or Daylight Savings Time as may be in current use in the City.

Owner. The word "Owner", applied to a building or land, shall include any part owner, joint owner, tenant in common, tenant in partnership, joint tenant or tenant by the entirety, of the whole or of a part of such building or land.

Park. "Park" includes any publicly owned ground or building intended or used for recreation.

Person. "Person" includes any person, firm, association, organization, partnership, business trust, cooperation, company or governmental agency or body.

Personal Property. "Personal Property" includes every species of property, except real property as herein defined.

Planning Director. "Planning Director" means the Planning Director of the City of Arcata.

Preceding, Following. The words "preceding" and "following" mean next before and next after, respectively.

Process. "Process" includes a writ or summons issued in the course of judicial proceedings of either a civil or criminal nature.

Property. The word "Property" shall include real and personal property.

Public Place. The term "public place" includes any room to which the general public has a license to enter for business, trade, amusement, worship or other purposes, or which the general public has a right to enter upon the payment of an admission fee.

Public Transportation Manager. "Public Transportation Manager" means the Public Transportation Manager of the City of Arcata.

Real Property. Real property shall include lands, tenements and hereditaments.

Recreation. The term "recreation" is hereby defined to mean any activity, voluntarily engaged in, which contributes to the physical, mental or moral development of the individual or group participating therein, and includes any activity in the fields of music, drama, art, handicraft, science, literature, nature study, nature contacting, aquatic sports, and athletics, or any of them, and any informal play incorporating any such activity.

Senior Management Staff. Senior Management Staff means all department heads and the Assistant to the City Manager.

Shall, May. "Shall" is mandatory and "may" is permissive.

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.

State. "State" is the State of California.

Tenant or Occupant. The words "tenant" or "occupant" applied to a building or land, shall include any person holding a written or an oral lease of or who occupies the whole or a part of such building or land, either alone or with others.

Tenses. The present tense includes the past and future tenses, and the future includes the present.

Week. A week consists of seven consecutive days.

Writing. 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 it is expressly provided otherwise.

Year. The work "year" shall mean a calendar year, except where otherwise provided. (Ord. 1193, eff. 7/31/1992; Ord. 1516, eff. 8/16/2019)

Sec. 1101 Reference to ordinances.

Any reference to an ordinance in this Code, shall mean such ordinance of this City unless otherwise specifically provided.

Any reference in this Code to an ordinance or provision of this Code shall mean such ordinance or provision as now, or hereafter, amended. Reference to any section of this Code shall be understood to refer to and include the penalty section relating thereto unless otherwise expressly provided. In case of the amendment of any section of this Code containing provisions for which a penalty is provided in such other section shall be held to relate to the section so amended whether reenacted in the amendatory ordinance or not, unless such penalty is specifically repealed therein.

Sec. 1102 Acts by deputy.

Whenever a power is granted to, or a duty is imposed upon, a public officer or employee, the power may be exercised or duty may be performed by a deputy of such officer or employee or by a person otherwise duly authorized pursuant to law or ordinance, unless this Code expressly provides otherwise.

Sec. 1103 Headings and catchlines.

Title, Chapter, Article and Section headings and the catchlines to sections contained in this code shall not govern, limit, modify or affect the scope, meaning or intent of the provisions of this Code.

Sec. 1104 Local signification.

All references in this Code to places, acts, persons or things and all else in relation to this Code shall be construed to mean that the same are applicable to this City, whether the City is mentioned in each particular section or not.

Sec. 1105 Territorial limitation.

This Code shall refer only to the omission or commission of acts within the territorial limits of the City and that territory outside of the City over which the City has jurisdiction or control by virtue of the Constitution or law or by reason of ownership or control of property.