Chapter 2.55
EMERGENCY CODE
Sections:
2.55.020 Declaration of state of emergency.
2.55.030 Emergency interim succession.
2.55.050 Declaration of nuisance.
2.55.060 Violation of measure or order.
2.55.070 Controlling provisions.
2.55.010 Definitions.
For purposes of this chapter, the following words and phrases mean:
“Disaster” means an occurrence or imminent threat of widespread or severe damage, injury, or loss of life or property resulting from any natural, technological or human-made cause including fire, flood, earthquake, windstorm, wave action, oil spill or other contamination, radioactive incident, epidemic, air contamination, blight, drought, infestation, explosion, riot, hostile or paramilitary action, or structure failure of a dam, building or infrastructure, or other public calamity requiring emergency action.
“Emergency” means any human-made, technological or natural event or circumstance causing or threatening loss of life, injury to persons or property, human suffering or financial loss including but not limited to fire, explosion, flood, severe weather, drought, earthquake, volcanic activity, spills or releases of petroleum products or other hazardous material, contamination, utility or transportation emergencies, disease, blight, infestation, civil disturbance, riot, sabotage and war.
“State of Emergency” means a situation which involves an emergency or a disaster. (Ord. 992 § 1 (part), 2008)
2.55.020 Declaration of state of emergency.
A. The city manager may declare a state of emergency when:
1. An emergency requires a coordinated response beyond that which occurs routinely;
2. The required response is not achievable solely with the added resources acquired through mutual aid or cooperative assistance agreements; and
3. The emergency is of a magnitude requiring county, state and/or federal assistance. Local resources, including mutual assistance response, are insufficient to cope with the situation, and the incident requires response from other levels of government to protect lives and minimize property damage for a large portion of the population.
B. The city manager shall use an administrative order to declare a state of emergency. Any administrative order declaring a state of emergency shall:
1. Immediately be provided to the city council and mayor;
2. Designate the geographic boundaries of the area where the state of emergency exists; and
3. Fix the duration of time in which the state of emergency shall exist. The initial duration shall not exceed a two-week period, but may be extended for additional periods of two weeks.
C. The city manager may request the Governor to declare a state of emergency within the city. The city manager shall submit the request as provided in state law.
D. The city manager shall terminate the state of emergency in an administrative order when the state of emergency no longer exists or when the threat of an emergency has passed. If the Governor has declared a state of emergency within the city, the city manager shall request the Governor to terminate the declaration.
E. The city council may repeal the city manager’s declaration of a state of emergency by majority vote. (Ord. 992 § 1 (part), 2008)
2.55.030 Emergency interim succession.
A. If the city manager, for any reason, is unable or unavailable to perform the duties of office under this code during a state of emergency, the duties shall be performed by the first available of those emergency interim successors as designated by the city manager.
B. The powers of the emergency interim successor to the city manager shall be the same as the city manager and the duration of succession shall be until such time as the city manager is able to perform the duties of office. (Ord. 992 § 1 (part), 2008)
2.55.040 Authority.
Upon the declaration of a state of emergency, in addition to other powers granted to the city manager elsewhere in this code or the City Charter, the city manager may:
A. Designate persons to coordinate the work of public and private relief agencies operating in the area and exclude from the area any person or agency refusing to cooperate and work under the coordinator or to coordinate with other agencies engaged in the emergency work.
B. Regulate, by rationing, freezing, use of quotas, prohibitions on shipments, price fixing, allocation or other means, the sale or distribution of food, feed, fuel, clothing and other commodities, materials, goods and services.
C. Order the removal of debris and wreckage which may threaten the public health or safety on public or private property.
D. Barricade streets and prohibit vehicular or pedestrian traffic, or regulate the same on any public street leading to the area designated as an emergency area for such distance as may be deemed necessary under the circumstances.
E. Prohibit or limit the number of persons who may gather or congregate upon any public street, public place or any outdoor place within the area designated as an emergency area.
F. Establish a curfew for the designated emergency area which fixes the hours during which all persons other than officially authorized personnel may not be upon the public streets or other public places.
G. Prohibit the sale, carrying or possession of any firearms or explosives of any kind on public streets or public places.
H. Establish rent controls and provide temporary or permanent housing by purchase, lease or otherwise and to enter into arrangements necessary to prepare or equip the living units for occupancy.
I. Order the evacuation of persons from designated areas as necessary.
J. Adopt rules for the expeditious issuance of permits necessary to address issues which arise from the emergency or disaster.
K. In accordance with Chapter 2.36 of this code, suspend the applicable public procurement requirements.
L. To the extent sufficient funds are available and budgeted, to redirect city funds to pay expenses incurred as a result of responding to the state of emergency.
M. Appropriate from commercial or industrial businesses merchandise, equipment or vehicles needed to alleviate the emergency. The city shall reimburse the business within 30 days at the customary value charged for the items during the 90-day period before the declaration of the state of emergency. Nothing in this chapter authorizes the city to take an individual’s personal property (including food or other goods).
To the extent that the emergency permits, the city manager shall consult with the mayor and a majority of councilors prior to invoking any of the powers under this section. The city manager shall provide the city council with notice of each action the city manager takes pursuant to this section. By majority vote, the city council may override the city manager’s decision to invoke a power or take action pursuant to this section. (Ord. 992 § 1 (part), 2008)
2.55.050 Declaration of nuisance.
Debris or wreckage resulting from a natural disaster or emergency situation is declared to be a nuisance and may be abated as such pursuant to Chapter 8.16 of this code. (Ord. 992 § 1 (part), 2008)
2.55.060 Violation of measure or order.
No person shall knowingly violate any emergency measure, regulation or lawful order of an authorized city employee or agent taken pursuant to this chapter. (Ord. 992 § 1 (part), 2008)
2.55.070 Controlling provisions.
In the event of a state of emergency, these code provisions shall control over any conflicting code provisions. (Ord. 992 § 1 (part), 2008)