[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Meeting of
the Town of Wakefield as indicated in article histories. Amendments
noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 6-1-1992 ATM by Art. 37 as Ch. I, Secs. 1 through 10 of the 1992 Bylaws]
These bylaws may be referred to as the "General Bylaws of the Town
of Wakefield."
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repealed or suspended.
[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.
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.
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]
[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.
[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]
[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.
Prosecutions for the breach of any of the provisions
of these bylaws shall be commenced within six (6) months from such
breach.
[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.
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.
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."
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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."
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