[HISTORY: Adopted by the City Council of
the City of Saco as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted
where applicable.]
[An ordinance adopting Parts I and II of the Code of the City of Saco is presently proposed before the City Council. Upon final adoption, it will be included here as Article I of this chapter.]
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[Adopted 5-1-1995 as Ch. I, Secs.
1-2, 1-3, 1-5, 1-6.3, 1-6.4 and 1-7 of the 1994 Code]
For the purposes of this Code, and in the interpretation
and application of all other ordinances heretofore or hereafter adopted,
except as the context may otherwise require, the following terms shall
have the meanings indicated:
The City of Saco in the County of York and State of Maine.
Chapter 201A, Home Rule Law, Section 1911.
The local legislative body of the City, constituted and elected
pursuant to the Statutes of the State of Maine.
The Municipal Clerk duly appointed pursuant to law.
The Code of the City of Saco.
York County, Maine.
An organizational unit of the government established or designated
by ordinance or this Code as a department, together with any agency
or instrumentality of the government assigned to such organizational
unit by the City Administrator.
Licensed in accordance with the appropriate section or chapter
of this Code.
A calendar month, unless otherwise specifically provided.
The Maine Revised Statutes Annotated.
The municipal officers of the City of Saco, Maine.
Shall be construed to include an affirmation in all cases
in which, by law, an affirmation may be substituted for an oath.
Shall be construed as if the words "of the City of Saco"
followed it.
As applied to any property, shall include any part owner,
joint owner, tenant-in-common, tenant-in-partnership, joint tenant
or tenant by the entirety of the whole or a part of such property.
Shall extend and be applied to associations, firms, partnerships
and bodies politic and corporate, as well as to individuals.
The State of Maine.
The latest published edition of the Statutes or Revised Statutes
of Maine.
Includes public avenues, boulevards, highways, roads, alleys,
lanes, viaducts, bridges and the approaches thereto and all other
public thoroughfares in the City, and shall mean the entire width
thereof between abutting property lines; it shall be construed to
include a sidewalk or footpath, unless the contrary is expressed or
unless such construction would be inconsistent with the manifest intent
of the City Council.
Any person occupying the premises, building or land of another
in subordination to such other person's title and with his express
or implied assent, whether he occupies the whole or a part of those
premises, building or land, whether alone or with others.
Seven days.
A calendar year.
A.Â
Word usage. In the construction of this Code and of
all ordinances and resolutions of the City, the following rules shall
be observed, unless otherwise specifically provided or unless such
construction would be inconsistent with the manifest intent of the
City Council:
(1)Â
"And" may read "or" and "or" may be read "and," if
the sense requires it.
(2)Â
Any citation of a statute, law or ordinance contained
in this Code shall be deemed to refer to such statute, law or ordinance
as amended, whether or not such designation is included in the citation.
(3)Â
Definitions given within a chapter or article apply
only to words or phrases used in such chapter or article, unless otherwise
provided.
(4)Â
Gender. A word importing the masculine gender shall
extend and be applied to females and to firms, partnerships and corporations
as well as to males.
(5)Â
"Shall" is mandatory and "may" is permissive.
(6)Â
The singular number includes the plural and the plural
the singular.
(7)Â
"Time" means an hour of the day according to the official
time of the City. The time within which an act is to be done shall
be computed by excluding the first and including the last day, and
if the last day is a Sunday, a legal holiday or a day on which the
offices of the City are closed, that day shall be excluded.
(8)Â
Whenever a specific time is used in this Code, it
shall mean the prevailing time in effect in the State of Maine during
any day in any year.
(9)Â
Whenever the word "person" is used in any section
of this Code prescribing a penalty or fine as applied to partnerships
or associations, the word shall include the partners or members thereof,
and such word as applied to corporations shall include the officers,
agents or employees thereof who are responsible for any violation
of said section.
(10)Â
"Preceding" and "following" mean next before and next
after, respectively.
(11)Â
Tense. Words used in the past or present tense include
the future, past and present where applicable, unless the context
clearly indicates otherwise.
(12)Â
Words and phrases shall be construed according to
the common and approved usage of the language, but technical words
and phrases and others that have acquired a peculiar and appropriate
meaning in the law shall be construed and understood according to
such meaning.
(13)Â
"Writing" and "written" mean any representation of
words, letters or figures, whether by printing or otherwise, capable
of comprehension by ordinary visual means.
C.Â
References include amendments. Any reference in this
Code to an ordinance or provision of this Code shall mean such ordinance
or provision as it may now exist or as hereafter amended. Any references
in this Code to chapters, articles, divisions or sections shall be
to chapters, articles, divisions and sections of this Code, unless
otherwise specified.
D.Â
Catch lines of sections. The catch lines of the sections
appearing in this Code are only intended as guide words or phrases
to indicate the contents of the sections and shall not be deemed to
be a part of or affect the application or substance of such sections
unless expressly so provided.
[Amended 11-18-2002]
A.Â
The violation of any Code provision contained herein,
or any Code provision subsequently adopted hereunder, or any violation
of uncodified ordinances, including the Zoning Ordinance and the Subdivision
Regulations, shall constitute a civil offense against the City of
Saco punishable by a fine of not more than $1,000 per day, per violation,
and such civil offense may be prosecuted by the City pursuant to Maine
Rule of Civil Procedure 80H, or any other applicable lawful proceeding
under Maine law. Each day that any cited violation continues shall
constitute a separate offense, amenable to a separate complaint or
as additional violations in any pending actions or proceedings.
B.Â
Any such civil offense may be prosecuted on behalf
of the City by its City Attorney or its Code Enforcement Officer.
Certain actions, under applicable codes, may be initiated by the
City's Electrical Inspector, its Plumbing Inspector, its Health Officer
or its Police Department.
C.Â
If an act is prohibited by this Code, it shall also
be a civil offense against the City for any party, including a third
party, to cause, allow, aid, permit, assist, conceal or suffer the
underlying civil offense or violation.
D.Â
The City official prosecuting the civil offense shall
be deemed to have authority to settle and resolve such offense before
any court hearing, but no such settlement may be entered into until
it is reviewed and approved by the City Administrator.
E.Â
All fines paid as a result of any enforcement action
hereunder shall inure to the City's General Fund.
F.Â
To the extent any Code provision hereunder has its
own enforcement or penalty provisions set forth within that Code section,
that Code section shall be subject to the terms and conditions of
this Code provision.
G.Â
Notwithstanding the preceding, the City may opt to
bring an enforcement action under any alternative enforcement procedure
permitted under Maine law or this Code. If there is a conflict between
this section and any other enforcement provision of the Code, this
provision shall control.
[Amended 3-16-2020]
The design hereby annexed shall be the device
of the historic City Seal,[1] and the inscription shall be as follows:
DOMINE DIRIGE NOS CITY OF SACO, ME. 1867
(Translation: "The Lord Guides Us")
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[1]
Editor's Note: A copy of the historic City
Seal, digital City Seal, and City Logo are on file in the City Clerk's
office, and the proper uses for each are identified in the Brand Style
Guide.