(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of the San Bernardino County Code, each person violating, causing, or allowing a violation of any provision of this Development Code or any permit or condition of approval granted pursuant thereto, shall be guilty of an infraction, unless the violation is specifically declared to be a misdemeanor.
(b) Every violation of any provision of this Development Code, or of any permit issued pursuant to this Development Code (including any of the conditions of approval for such permit) that is prosecuted as an infraction shall be punished, upon conviction or upon a plea of nolo contendere (commonly called no contest), by: (1) a base fine not exceeding $100 for a first violation; (2) a base fine not exceeding $200 for a second violation of the same Code Section or permit (or any of the conditions of approval) occurring on the same property and committed by the same person within one year; and (3) a base fine not exceeding $500 for each additional violation of the same Code Section or permit (or any of the conditions of approval) occurring on the same property and committed by the same person within one year. Any court costs that the court may otherwise be required to impose pursuant to applicable state law or local ordinance shall be imposed in addition to the base fine. Notwithstanding the above, a first or subsequent violation of this Development Code may be charged and prosecuted as a misdemeanor.
(c) A misdemeanor shall be punished, upon conviction or upon a plea of nolo contendere (commonly called no contest), by a base fine of not less than $500 and not more than $1,000, or by imprisonment in the County jail for a period of not more than six months, or by both such base fine and imprisonment. Any court costs that the court may otherwise be required to impose pursuant to applicable state law or local ordinance shall be imposed in addition to the base fine.
(d) The conviction and punishment of any person of an offense as described in this Section or the payment of a criminal fine by or on behalf of the person convicted, shall not relieve that person from the responsibility for correcting, removing, or abating the violation that resulted in the conviction; nor prevent the enforced correction, removal or abatement thereof by the County. The correction, removal, or abatement of a violation begun after the issuance of a criminal citation or the filing of a criminal complaint shall not be a defense to the infraction or misdemeanor so charged and, following a conviction or plea of nolo contendere, shall not be grounds for the dismissal of the action or the waiver, stay, or reduction of any fine established in this Section.
(Ord. 4011, passed - -2007; Am. Ord. 4043, passed - -2008; Am. Ord. 4057, passed - - 2008; Am. Ord. 4085, passed - -2009)