Town of Wakefield, MA Chapter 1 General Provisions

[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Meeting of the Town of Wakefield as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]

Article I Interpretation and Penalties

[Adopted 6-1-1992 ATM by Art. 37 as Ch. I, Secs. 1 through 10 of the 1992 Bylaws]

§ 1-1 Title.

These bylaws[1] may be referred to as the "General Bylaws of the Town of Wakefield."

[1] Editor's Note: "These bylaws" refers to the chapters contained in Division 1 of the Code.

§ 1-2 Construal of provisions.

These bylaws and the repeal of all bylaws heretofore in force shall not affect any act done, any right accrued or any penalty pending at the time when they take effect, nor shall the repeal of any bylaw thereby have the effect of reviving any bylaw theretofore repealed or suspended.

§ 1-3 Record of bylaws.

[Amended 5-10-2018 ATM by Art. 22]

All bylaws hereafter passed shall be recorded in the order of passage by the Town Clerk, in a book kept for that purpose, with proper margins and notations to be lettered "Record of Bylaws of the Town of Wakefield," which book shall be kept in the office of the Town Clerk, subject to the inspection of the citizens. The Town Clerk shall cause a true copy of the General Bylaws and the Zoning Bylaws of the Town to be available online.

§ 1-4 Licenses and permits.

When in a bylaw anything is prohibited from being done without the license or permission of a certain officer, officers or board, such officer, officers or board shall have the power to license or permit such thing to be done.

§ 1-5 Word usage.

In all these bylaws the following words and expressions shall, unless inconsistent with the manifest intent, be severally construed as follows:

A. The words "public way" shall include any highway, town way, road, bridge, street, avenue, boulevard, roadway, parkway, land, sidewalk or square taken or owned by the town or dedicated to public use in accordance with law or to which the public has a right of access.

B. The "owner or occupant of a building or land" shall include any sole owner or occupant and any joint tenant and tenant in common of the whole or of any part of a building or lot of land.

C. Words purporting to give a joint authority to three or more officers or other persons shall give such authority to a majority of such officers or persons.

D. The word "person" may include corporations.

E. Words importing the singular number may apply to the plural number.

F. Words importing the masculine gender may apply to the feminine gender.

G. Wherever in these bylaws written notice is required, unless some specific form thereof is called for (such as by certified mail or hand delivery), electronic notice will suffice if acknowledged by the recipient.

[Added 5-10-2018 ATM by Art. 22]

H. A "business day" shall mean a day when the Town Hall, or a facility used for substantially the same purpose, is open for normal Town business.

[Added 4-29-2019 ATM by Art. 23]

§ 1-6 Violations and penalties.

[Amended 5-10-2018 ATM by Art. 22]

Whoever violates any of the provisions of these bylaws whereby any act or thing is enjoined or prohibited shall, unless other provision is expressly made, forfeit and pay to the Town a fine in the amount of $100 for the first offense, $200 for the second offense occurring within one year of the first offense, and $300 for each offense occurring thereafter within one year of the first offense. Each day, or portion thereof, that any violation continues shall constitute a separate offense.

§ 1-7 Noncriminal disposition.

[Added 5-5-1997 ATM by Art. 19; amended 10-2-2000 STM by Art. 9; 4-2-2007 ATM by Art. 15; 11-16-2009 RTM by Art. 13; 10-2-2000 ATM by Art. 9; 11-14-2011 RTM by Art. 3; 11-6-2017 by Art. 4; 5-10-2018ATM by Art. 22]

A. Any alleged violation of any of the regulations of the Board of Health, as the same may from time to time be amended, may, in the sole discretion of the Health Agent, be made the subject matter of noncriminal disposition proceedings commenced by the Health Agent or his designee under MGL c. 40, § 21D. The penalties for such violations shall be as set forth in said regulations as the same may be amended from time to time, provided that the maximum penalty for any violation in such noncriminal proceedings shall be a fine of $300 for each offense. Nothing contained herein shall be construed to limit any other means of enforcement of said regulations.

B. Any alleged violation of § 175-1 of the Code of the Town of Wakefield, concerning the disposal of refuse and discarded materials, or § 175-8 or 175-9 of the said Code, concerning snow and ice, as any such bylaw may be amended from time to time, may, in the sole discretion of the police, be made the subject matter of noncriminal disposition proceedings commenced by the police under MGL c. 40, § 21D.

C. Any alleged violation of the Town Council's "regulation regarding the removal and disposal of dog feces," as the same may be amended from time to time, may, in the sole discretion of the Animal Officer and/or the police, be made the subject matter of noncriminal disposition proceedings commenced by the Animal Officer or the police, as the case may be, under MGL c. 40, § 21D. The penalty for such violation shall be as set forth in said regulation, as the same may be amended from time to time, provided that the maximum penalty for any violation in such noncriminal disposition proceedings shall be a fine of $300 for each offense. Nothing contained herein shall be construed to limit any other means of enforcement of said regulation.

[Amended 11-5-2018 RTM by Art. 17]

§ 1-8 Refusal to comply with order.

[Amended 5-10-2018 ATM by Art. 22]

Whoever shall refuse or neglect to obey any lawful order of any town officer or board of town officers, issued under any of these bylaws, directed to him and properly served upon him in writing, shall, in cases not otherwise provided for, forfeit and pay to the Town a fine in the amount of $100 for the first offense, $200 for the second offense occurring within one year of the first offense, and $300 for each offense occurring thereafter within one year of the first offense. Each day, or portion thereof, that any violation continues shall constitute a separate offense.

§ 1-9 Time limit for prosecution.

Prosecutions for the breach of any of the provisions of these bylaws shall be commenced within six (6) months from such breach.

§ 1-10 Disposition of fines and penalties.

[Amended 5-10-2018 ATM by Art. 22]

All fines and penalties for the violation of any bylaw or regulation, or the order of any board lawfully established thereunder, shall, when recovered, inure to the town and be paid into the town treasury, unless otherwise directed by the laws of the commonwealth or bylaws or regulations of the town.

§ 1-11 Amendments.

Any or all of these bylaws may be repealed or amended or other bylaws may be adopted at any town meeting, annual or special, an article containing the subject matter of the proposed change having been inserted in the warrant for such meeting.

Article II Acceptance of Bylaws

At the Annual Town Meeting on May 5, 1997, under Article 35, the town unanimously voted: That the town accept and approve the codification of the bylaws of the Town of Wakefield in the format presented by General Code Publishers Corp., said codification contained in a renumbering, recaptioning and repositioning of the present bylaws with no substantive changes, and such codification of the bylaws to be known as the "Code of the Town of Wakefield."

At the Special Town Meeting on December 15, 1997, under Article 6, the town unanimously voted: That the town accept and approve the codification of the Zoning Bylaw in the format presented by General Code Publishers Corp., which is on file in the office of the Town Clerk, said codification contained in a renumbering, recaptioning and repositioning of the present Zoning Bylaw with no substantive changes, and such codification to be part of the "Code of the Town of Wakefield."