[HISTORY: Adopted by the Common Council of the City of Middletown as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 2-8-1978 as §§ 1-1 to 1-5 of the 1978 Code]
The general ordinances of the City of Middletown shall be compiled and published as required by the General Statutes. Said ordinances shall be organized by chapters and sections and be designated as the "Code of Ordinances of the City of Middletown, Connecticut."
[Amended 2-4-1980; 4-7-1980]
In the construction of this Code and of all ordinances of the City, the following rules of construction shall be applied unless the context requires otherwise:
A. 
General rule. All words and phrases shall be construed according to the commonly approved usage of the language, and technical words and phrases, and such as have acquired a peculiar and appropriate meaning in the law, shall be construed and understood accordingly.
B. 
Gender. Words importing the masculine gender shall include the female and neuter.
C. 
Number. A word importing the singular number only may extend and be applied to several persons or things, and a word importing the plural number may be applied to one person or thing.
D. 
Computation of time. The time within which an act is to be performed shall be computed by excluding the first and including the last day, and if the last day is a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, then the last day to perform said act shall be the next business day.
E. 
Joint authority. All words giving a joint authority to three or more persons shall be construed as giving such authority to a majority of such persons, unless otherwise specifically provided.
F. 
Tenses. The use of any verb in the present tense shall include the future when applicable.
G. 
Overlapping provisions. Whenever any specific provision of the Code imposes a greater restriction upon the subject matter than any general provisions of the Code, the provision imposing the greater restriction shall apply.
H. 
Delegation of authority. Whenever a provision requires a director of a department or officer of the City to do some act or perform some duty, it shall be construed to authorize qualified subordinates to do the required act or perform the required duty unless the terms of the provision designate otherwise.
I. 
Use of the words "shall" and "may." Whenever the word "shall" is used, it shall be construed to be mandatory, and whenever the word "may" is used, it shall be construed to be permissive.
[Amended 5-1-1978]
The following words and phrases when used in this Code and all other ordinances of the City shall have the following meanings unless the context requires otherwise:
CITY and MUNICIPALITY
The City of Middletown, Connecticut.
CODE, CODE OF ORDINANCES and CITY CODE
The Code of Ordinances of the City of Middletown, Connecticut.
COUNTY
Middlesex County in the State of Connecticut.
GENERAL STATUTES
The General Statutes of the State of Connecticut, as amended.
LAW
Includes any federal or state statute or regulation and any ordinance, regulation or bylaw of the City.
MONTH
A calendar month.
OATH, SWEAR, SWORN, AFFIRM and AFFIRMED
The word "oath" shall include an affirmation in all cases in which by law an affirmation may be substituted for an oath, and in such cases the words "swear" and "sworn" shall be equivalent to the words "affirm" and "affirmed."
OWNER
Applied to a building or land, shall include any part owner, joint owner, tenant in common, tenant in partnership or joint tenant of the whole or of any part of such building or land.
PERSON
Includes associations, firms, partnerships, corporations, individuals and other legal entities.
PRECEDING and FOLLOWING
Next before and next after, respectively.
SIDEWALK
Any portion of any street between the curb and adjacent property line, intended for use of pedestrians.
SIGNATURE and SUBSCRIPTION
Includes a mark when the person cannot write.
STATE
The State of Connecticut.
STREET
Includes avenues, boulevards, highways, roads, alleys, lanes, viaducts, bridges and the approaches thereto, and all other public thoroughfares in the City, and means all that part thereof from the property line of the premises abutting thereon.
TENANT and OCCUPANT
Applied to a building or land, shall mean any person who occupies the whole or any part of such building or land, whether alone or with others.
WRITTEN and IN WRITING
Includes any representation of words, letters or figures, whether by printing or otherwise.
YEAR
A calendar year.
The headings of sections and subsections of the Code are intended as captions to indicate the contents of the section or subsection and shall not be deemed or taken to be titles of such sections, nor any part of the section or subsection, nor, unless expressly so provided, shall they be so deemed when any section, including its heading, is amended or reenacted.
A. 
When a Code section or other ordinance which has repealed another Code section or ordinance is itself repealed, the previous section or ordinance shall not be revived.
B. 
The repeal of a Code section or other ordinance shall not affect any right accrued, any offense committed, any penalty or punishment incurred or any proceeding commenced before the repeal took effect.
[Added 10-4-1982]
A. 
Whenever in this Code, or any other ordinance, rule or regulation promulgated by any officer or agency of the City under authority vested in him or it by law, any act is prohibited or declared to be unlawful, or the doing of any act is required or the failure to do any act is declared to be unlawful, and no specific penalty is provided therefor by this Code, any other ordinance, rule or regulation, or the General Statutes, violation of any such provision of this Code, or any other ordinance, rule or regulation, shall be punished by a fine not exceeding $100.
[Amended 1-6-2003 by Ord. No. 01-03]
B. 
Each day any violation of any provision of this Code or any other ordinance, rule or regulation of the City continues shall constitute a separate offense.
[Added 5-1-1978]
In all cases where any law requires or permits the giving of a notice or order to any person or corporation, union, partnership, association or other organization or legal entity, unless otherwise required by law, such notice or order shall be served by a City official authorized to issue such notice or order, a City official or employee who is under the supervision of any such City official, or a person authorized to serve civil process by the laws of the State of Connecticut. When deemed advisable by the issuing authority, the notice or order may also be served as herein provided in addition to service required by any other law.
A. 
Service of a notice or order addressed to an individual shall be made by leaving a copy in his hands or at his usual place of abode, or by depositing a copy in the United States Mail, postage prepaid, registered or certified, addressed to his last known place of residence.
B. 
Service of a notice or order addressed to a corporation or other organization or legal entity shall be made by leaving a copy in the hands of a person authorized by law to be served with civil process on behalf of such corporation, organization or other legal entity, or the manager or person in charge of its place of business in the City or in charge of its principal office or place of business outside the City, or by depositing a copy of the notice or order in the United States Mail, postage prepaid, registered or certified, addressed to its last known office or place of business in the City, or addressed to its principal office or place of business outside the City.
C. 
The person making service shall make a written statement of the manner, time and place of service, which statement is to be attached to a copy of the notice or order and kept on file in the office of the official that issued the notice or order.
[Adopted 1-6-2003 by Ord. No. 01-03]
The various chapters and sections of the 1978 Code of Ordinances of the City of Middletown, and subsequent ordinances of the City of Middletown of a general and permanent nature adopted by the Common Council of the City of Middletown, as revised, codified and consolidated into chapters and sections by General Code Publishers Corp., and consisting of Chapters 1 through 305, together with an Appendix, are hereby approved, adopted, ordained and enacted as the "Code of the City of Middletown," hereinafter referred to as the "Code."
The provisions of the Code, insofar as they are substantively the same as those of the legislation in force immediately prior to the enactment of the Code by this ordinance, are intended as a continuation of such legislation and not as new enactments, and the effectiveness of such provisions shall date from the date of adoption of the prior legislation.
A copy of the Code, in loose-leaf form, has been filed in the office of the City/Town Clerk and shall remain there for use and examination by the public until final action is taken on this ordinance, and, if this ordinance shall be adopted, such copy shall be certified to by the City/Town Clerk, and such certified copy shall remain on file in the office of said City/Town Clerk to be made available to persons desiring to examine the same during all times while said Code is in effect.
Any and all additions, deletions, amendments or supplements to the Code, when adopted in such form as to indicate the intention of the Common Council to make them a part thereof, shall be deemed to be incorporated into such Code so that reference to the "Code of the City of Middletown" shall be understood and intended to include such additions, deletions, amendments or supplements. Whenever such additions, deletions, amendments or supplements to the Code shall be adopted, they shall thereafter be printed and, as provided hereunder, inserted in the loose-leaf book containing said Code as amendments and supplements thereto.
The Clerk of the City of Middletown shall cause to be published, in the manner required by law, a copy of this Adoption Ordinance. Sufficient copies of the Code shall be maintained in the office of the Clerk for inspection by the public at all times during regular office hours. The enactment and publication of this ordinance, coupled with the availability of a copy of the Code for inspection by the public, shall be deemed, held and considered to be due and legal publication of all provisions of the Code for all purposes.
It shall be the duty of the City/Town Clerk, or someone authorized and directed by the Clerk, to keep up-to-date the certified copy of the book containing the Code required to be filed in the Clerk's office for use by the public. All changes in said Code and all ordinances adopted subsequent to the effective date of this codification which shall be adopted specifically as part of the Code shall, when finally adopted, be included therein by reference until such changes or new ordinances are printed as supplements to said Code book, at which time such supplements shall be inserted therein.
Copies of the Code, or any chapter or portion of it, may be purchased from the Clerk or an authorized agent of the Clerk upon the payment of a fee to be set by the Common Council. The Clerk may also arrange for procedures for the periodic supplementation of the Code.
It shall be unlawful for anyone to improperly change or amend, by additions or deletions, any part or portion of the Code or to alter or tamper with such Code in any manner whatsoever which will cause the law of the City of Middletown to be misrepresented thereby. Anyone violating this section or any part of this ordinance shall be subject, upon conviction, to a fine of not more than $100.
Each section of the Code and every part of each section is an independent section or part of a section, and the holding of any section or a part thereof to be unconstitutional, void or ineffective for any cause shall not be deemed to affect the validity or constitutionality of any other sections or parts thereof.
Each section of this ordinance is an independent section, and the holding of any section or part thereof to be unconstitutional, void or ineffective for any cause shall not be deemed to affect the validity or constitutionality of any other sections or parts thereof.
All ordinances or parts of ordinances of the City of Middletown of a general and permanent nature in force on the date of the adoption of this ordinance which are inconsistent with any provisions of the Code are hereby repealed from and after the effective date of this ordinance.
[Amended 5-2-2013 by Ord. No. 11-13]
A. 
In compiling and preparing the ordinances for publication as the Code of the City of Middletown, no changes in the meaning or intent of such ordinances have been made, except as provided for in Subsections B and C hereof. Certain grammatical changes and other minor nonsubstantive changes were made in one or more of said pieces of legislation and shall be made as needed for all legislation adopted by the Common Council. It is the intention of the Common Council that all such changes be adopted as part of the Code as if the ordinances had been previously formally amended to read as such.
B. 
The following changes are made throughout the Code:
(1) 
References to specific chapters and sections of the Connecticut General Statutes are revised to reflect numbering of the statutes as of the publication of this Code.
(2) 
References to the "Finance and Budget Committee" are amended to "Finance and Government Operations Commission."
(3) 
References to the "Finance Director" are amended to "Director of Finance."
(4) 
References to the "Zoning Enforcement Officer" are amended to "Zoning/Wetlands Officer."
(5) 
References to the "Building Inspector" are amended to "Assistant Building Official" and references to the "Chief Building Inspector" are amended to "Chief Building Official."
(6) 
References to the "Superintendent of Fire Alarms" are amended to "Superintendent of Alarms."
(7) 
[1]References to the "City Clerk," "Town Clerk," "Town and City Clerk" and "Town/City Clerk" are amended to "City/Town Clerk."
[1]
Editor's Note: Former Subsection B(7), which amended references to the "Park and Recreation Commission" to "Parks and Recreation Commission," was repealed 8-5-2019 by Ord. No. 09-19. This ordinance also provided for the redesignation of former Subsection B(8) through (11) as Subsection B(7) through (10), respectively.
(8) 
References to the "City Attorney" are amended to "General Counsel."
(9) 
References to the "Deputy City Attorney" are amended to "Deputy General Counsel."
(10) 
References to the "Personnel Director" or "Director of Personnel" are amended to "Director of Human Resources."
(11) 
References to "Parks and Recreation Department" and "Department of Parks and Recreation" are amended to "Recreation and Community Services Department."
[Added 8-5-2019 by Ord. No. 09-19]
(12) 
References to "Public Works Commission" are amended to "Public Works and Facilities Commission."
[Added 8-5-2019 by Ord. No. 09-19[2]]
[2]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also redesignated former Subsection B(12) and (13) as Subsection B(14) and (15), respectively.
(13) 
References to "Director of Parks and Recreation," "Parks and Recreation Director," "Director of Senior Services," and "Senior Services Director" are amended to "Director of Recreation and Community Services."
[Added 8-5-2019 by Ord. No. 09-19]
(14) 
References to the "Director of Human Relations" and "Human Relations Director" are amended to the "Director of Equal Opportunity and Diversity Management."
[Added 5-2-2016 by Ord. No. 06-16]
(15) 
References to the "Human Relations Office" or "Office of Human Relations" are amended to the "Office of Equal Opportunity and Diversity Management."
[Added 5-2-2016 by Ord. No. 06-16]
(16) 
References to the "Recreation and Community Services Commission" are amended to the "Recreation and Senior Services Commission."
[Added 8-5-2019 by Ord. No. 09-19]
C. 
In addition, the amendments and/or additions as set forth in Schedule A attached hereto and made a part hereof are made herewith, to become effective upon the effective date of this ordinance. (Chapter and section number references are to the ordinances as they have been renumbered and appear in the Code.)[3]
[3]
Editor's Note: In accordance with § 1-19C, the chapters, parts and sections which were added, amended, adopted or deleted by this ordinance are indicated throughout the Code by a footnote referring to Chapter 1, General Provisions, Article II. During routine supplementation, footnotes indicating amendments, additions or deletions will be replaced with the following history: "Amended (added, deleted) 1-6-2003 by Ord. No. 01-03." Schedule A, which contains a complete description of all changes, is on file in the City offices.
This ordinance shall take effect upon passage and publication as required by law.