(Added by Ord. No. 171,464, Eff. 2/6/97.)
(a) Scope. This section shall apply to any activity or work of any Bureau or Department of the City engaged in administering or enforcing any City ordinances, State or Federal enactments or any regulations where units of distance, weight or force are used in any regulatory, enforcement, design or control activity or posting of limits.
(b) Use of Metric System of Measure Authorized.
1. Notwithstanding any provision of this Code to the contrary, commencing with the effective date of this ordinance, any Bureau or Department of the City may use the metric system of measure in enforcing any enactments, statutes, ordinances, codes or regulations subject to its jurisdiction; provided, however, that such use is not contrary to any applicable State of California or Federal regulations or enactments.
2. The metric system of measure authorized by this section is that system of units and measurements defined and described in the Federal Metric Conversion Act of 1975 (15 U.S.C. 2056) and commonly referred to as the ‘System Internationale d’Unites’.
3. It is intended that whenever any City code or ordinance contains an Imperial unit of measure that the equivalent unit in metric measure may be used and that the conversion shall be made using nationally recognized conversion factors. Where metric units are used, all metric values shall be direct conversions of the values expressed in the official enactment, ordinance, code or regulation. In the case of linear measurements, conversion shall be based on the Standard U.S. Survey Foot defined as 0.3048006 parts of a meter. Converted values may be rounded to a reasonable number of decimal places; provided however that no such rounding shall result in any increase in any fee collected or dedication or taking of land, any increase in any upper or lower limit of speed or any reduction in any standard of minimum clearance.
(c) Public Notice. Prior to commencing the use of the metric system of measure a public notice of intent to do so shall be approved by the governing officer or body of the Department. The notice shall identify the Department or Bureau proposing the use of the metric system of values and shall enumerate the provisions containing the numeric values and measurements that will be converted. The notice shall further state whether or not a dual system of measurement will be permitted. After approval by the Department, the notice shall be transmitted to the City Council which may approve or disapprove the notice by resolution. After approval by the City Council the notice shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation for a period not less than 30 days or for such longer period as may be applicable where a longer notice period is specified for an amendment to any code.