It shall be unlawful for any person or entity to deny access, interfere with, prevent, restrict, obstruct, or hinder either the City of San Bernardino or the Department of Environmental Health Services' (DEHS) employees or agents acting within the scope of their duty or agency. It shall be unlawful for any person to fail to identify oneself upon lawful request by either the City of San Bernardino or the Department of Environmental Health Services (DEHS) employees or agents acting within the scope of their duty or agency. Offering physical resistance or bodily attack upon authorized representative of the City of San Bernardino or DEHS acting within the scope of their duty or agency is a misdemeanor, punishable by imprisonment in the County jail for not less than ten (10) days, without the alternative of a fine.
In addition to criminal prosecution, civil action, and every other remedy or penalty provided by law, public nuisance may be abated or enjoined in an action brought by either the City of San Bernardino or DEHS, or under circumstances immediately dangerous to public health or safety may be summarily abated by either the City of San Bernardino or DEHS enforcement officers as provided herein or otherwise in the manner provided by law for the summary abatement of public nuisances.
Except where punishable as a misdemeanor or felony under state law or herein, any person or entity who violates any provision of this Environmental Health Code (EHC) shall be guilty of an infraction and upon conviction thereof shall be punished by a fine of not less than twenty-five dollars ($25.00) but not exceeding one hundred dollars ($100.00) for a first violation, a fine not exceeding two hundred dollars ($200.00) for a second conviction, within one (1) year, and a fine not exceeding five hundred dollars ($500.00) for the third conviction within one (1) year, the fourth and additional convictions within one (1) year shall be punishable as misdemeanors and shall be punished by a fine not less than two hundred fifty dollars ($250.00) nor more than one thousand dollars ($1,000.00), or by imprisonment in the County jail for a term not exceeding six (6) months, or both, and such convicted person or entity may in the discretion of the court be adjudged in addition to the above penalties, to be liable to the City of San Bernardino and/or DEHS for all necessary costs incurred in investigation, discovery, analysis, inspection, clean-up and other actual costs incurred by the City of San Bernardino and/or DEHS or its agents pertaining to the violation.
Each day or portion thereof in violation shall be considered a separate and distinct offense. The owner, manager, and operator of every activity or facility subject to the jurisdiction of this EHC shall be responsible for any violation by any employee of any of its provisions. Payment of any penalty or serving any term of imprisonment herein provided shall not relieve any person or entity from the responsibility of correcting the condition constituting the violation.
Unless otherwise stated in this Chapter, any violation of this Chapter may be prosecuted by the City Attorney and be punishable as an infraction or a misdemeanor in accordance with Chapter 1.12 of the San Bernardino Municipal Code.
(Ord. MC-1545, 10-07-20; Ord. MC-613, 12-21-87)