The Council shall have the power to pass all such ordinances,
resolutions and laws not contrary to the Constitution and laws of
the State of Maryland or this Charter as it may deem necessary for
the good government of the City; for the protection and preservation
of the City's property, rights and privileges; for the preservation
of peace and good order; for securing persons and property from violence,
danger or destruction; and for the protection and promotion of the
health, safety, comfort, convenience, welfare and happiness of the
residents of the City and visitors thereto and sojourners therein.
[Amended 3-1-2004 by
HR 2004-01]
A. The Council shall have, in addition to the powers set out in the
preceding section, the power to pass ordinances, resolutions or motions
not contrary to the laws and Constitution of the State of Maryland
for the following specific purposes:
(1) Amusements. To provide, in the interest of the public welfare, for
licensing, regulating or restraining theatrical or other public amusements.
(2) Appropriations. To appropriate municipal moneys for any purpose within
the powers of the Council.
(3) Billboards. To license, tax and regulate, restrain or prohibit the
erection or maintenance of billboards, within the City and the placing
of signs, bills and posters of every kind and description on any building,
fence, post, billboard, pole or other place within the City.
(4) Bonds. To issue bonds under such terms, conditions and restrictions
as deemed necessary; to limit to any amount the assets of the City
pledged for said bonds; and to pledge the full faith and credit of
the City for said bonds.
(5) Code enforcement. To appoint a Code Enforcement Officer, who shall
enforce within the municipal limits of the City the various City,
county and state codes, including but not limited to the Health, Building,
Housing, Electrical, Plumbing and Fire Codes, subject to any restrictions
of the laws of the State of Maryland and Prince George's County; and
to enforce the licensing provisions of the City, county and state
within the municipal limits of the City.
(6) Codification of general and permanent ordinances. To provide for
the codification of all ordinances which have been or may hereafter
be passed.
[Amended 1-5-2004 by
HR 2003-21]
(7) Community services. To provide, maintain and operate community and
social services for the preservation and promotion of the health,
recreation, welfare and enlightenment of the inhabitants of the City.
(8) Cooperative activities. To make agreements with other municipalities,
counties, districts, bureaus, commissions and governmental authorities
for the joint performance of or for cooperation in the performance
of any governmental functions.
(9) Curfew. To prohibit the youth of the City from being in the streets,
lanes, alleys or public places at unreasonable hours of the night.
(10) Dangerous improvements. To compel persons about to undertake dangerous
improvements to execute bonds with sufficient sureties conditional
that the owner or contractor will pay all damages resulting from such
work which may be sustained by any persons or property.
(11) Departments, etc. To create, change and abolish offices, departments
or agencies, other than the offices, departments and agencies established
by this Charter, and to assign additional functions or duties to offices,
departments or agencies established by this Charter, but not including
the power to discontinue or assign to any other office, department
or agency any function or duty assigned by this Charter to a particular
office, department or agency.
(12) Disorderly houses, etc. To suppress bawdy houses, disorderly houses
and houses of ill fame.
(13) Dogs. To regulate the keeping of dogs in the City and to provide,
wherever the county does not license or tax dogs, for the licensing
and taxing of the same, and to provide for the disposition of homeless
dogs and dogs on which no license fee or taxes are paid.
(14) Emergency medical services. To contribute funds for the maintenance
and operation of programs providing volunteer emergency medical services
to the inhabitants of the City.
(15) Explosives, etc. To regulate or prevent the storage of gunpowder,
oil or any other explosive or combustible matter, and to regulate
or prevent the use of firearms, fireworks, bonfires, explosives or
any other similar things which may endanger persons or property.
(16) Filth. To compel the occupant of any premises, building or outhouse
situated in the City, when the same has become filthy or unwholesome,
to abate or cleanse the condition and, after reasonable notice to
the owners or occupants, to authorize such work to be done by the
proper officers and to assess the expense thereof against such property,
making it collectible by taxes or against the occupant or occupants.
(17) Finances and taxation. To levy, assess and collect ad valorem property
taxes, to expend municipal funds for any public purpose; and to have
general management and control of the finances of the City.
(18) Fire. To suppress fires and prevent the dangers thereof and to establish
and maintain a Fire Department, to contribute funds to volunteer fire
companies serving the City, to inspect buildings for the purpose of
reducing fire hazards, to issue regulations concerning fire hazards
and to forbid and prohibit the use of fire-hazardous buildings and
structures permanently or until the conditions of City fire hazard
regulations are met, and to take all other measures necessary to control
and prevent fires in the City.
(19) Franchises. To regulate franchises, including but not limited to
utility and quasi-utilities companies, as permitted by federal law
and the laws of Prince George's County and the State of Maryland.
(20) Gambling. To restrain and prohibit gambling, betting, wagering and
other games of chance.
(21) Garbage. To prevent the deposit of any unwholesome substance, either
on private or public property, and to compel its removal to designated
points, and to require slops, garbage, ashes and other waste or other
unwholesome materials to be removed to designated or to require the
occupants of the premises to place them conveniently for removal.
(22) Grants-in-aid. To accept gifts and grants of federal or of state
funds from the federal or state governments or any agency thereof
and to expend the same for any lawful public purpose agreeably to
the conditions which the gifts or grants were made.
(23) Hawkers, etc. To license, tax, regulate, suppress and prohibit vendors,
hawkers and itinerant dealers, peddlers, pawnbrokers and all persons
selling any articles on the streets of the City and to revoke such
licenses.
(24) Jail. To establish and regulate a station house or lockup for the
temporary confinement of violators of the laws and ordinances of the
City.
(25) Licensing and regulation of business, etc., fees for licenses and
permits. Subject to any restrictions imposed by the public general
laws of the state, to license and regulate all persons beginning or
conducting transient or permanent business in the City for the sale
of any goods, wares, merchandise or services; to license and regulate
any business, occupation, trade, calling or place of amusement or
business; and to establish and collect fees and charges for all licenses
and permits issued under the authority of this Charter.
(26) Liens. To provide that any valid charges, taxes or assessments made
against any real property within the City shall be liens upon such
property, to be collected as municipal taxes are collected.
(27) Livestock, etc. To regulate and prohibit the running at large of
cattle, horses, swine, fowl, sheep, goats, dogs or other animals and
to authorize the impounding, keeping, sale and redemption of such
animals when found in violation of the ordinance in such cases provided.
(28) Markets. To obtain, by lease or by rent, own, construct, purchase,
operate and maintain public markets within the City.
(29) Minor privileges in use of public ways, etc. To regulate or prevent
the use of public ways, sidewalks and public places for signs, awnings,
posts, steps, railings, entrances, racks, posting handbills and advertisements
and display of goods, wares and merchandise.
(30) Noise. To regulate or prohibit loud or unreasonable noises, including
the ringing of bells, crying of goods or sounding of whistles and
horns.
(31) Parking facilities. To license and regulate and to establish, obtain,
by purchase, by lease or by rent, own, construct, operate and maintain
parking lots and other facilities for off-street parking.
(32) Parking meters. To install parking meters on the streets and public
places of the City in such places as they shall, by ordinance, determine
and, by ordinance, to prescribe rates and provisions for the use thereof,
except that the installation of parking meters on any street, road
or highway maintained by the appropriate division of the State of
Maryland shall first be approved by said division.
(33) Parks and recreation. To establish and maintain public parks, gardens,
playgrounds and other recreational facilities and programs to promote
the health, welfare and enjoyment of the inhabitants of the City.
(34) Police powers. To establish, operate and maintain a police force,
which shall protect the inhabitants of the City and provide for said
inhabitants' welfare and safety. All City policemen shall have the
powers and authority given other police officers as defined in the
Annotated Code of Maryland.
(35) Property. To acquire, by conveyance, purchase or gift, real or leasable
property for any public purposes, to erect buildings and structures
thereon for the benefit of the City and its inhabitants, to convey
any real or leasehold property when no longer needed for the public
use after having given at least twenty (20) days' public notice of
the proposed conveyance, and to control, protect and maintain public
buildings, grounds and property of the City.
(36) Sidewalks. To regulate the use of sidewalks and all structures in,
under or above the same, to require the owner or occupant of premises
to keep the sidewalks in front thereof free from snow or other obstructions,
and to prescribe hours for cleaning sidewalks.
(37) Sweepings, etc., deposited on public way, etc. To regulate or prevent
the throwing or depositing of sweepings, dust, ashes, offal, garbage,
paper, handbills, dirty liquids or other unwholesome materials into
any public way or onto any public or private property in the City.
(38) Taxicabs. To license, tax and regulate public hackmen, taxicab men,
draymen, drivers, cabmen, porters and expressmen and all other persons
pursuing like occupations.
(39) Urban renewal.
(a)
To acquire, within the City's boundary lines, land and property
of every kind, single family or multiple family dwelling unit, and
any right, interest, franchise, easement or privilege therein, by
purchase, lease, gift, condemnation or any other legal means, for
development or redevelopment, including, but not limited to, the comprehensive
renovation or rehabilitation thereof, and to sell, lease, convey,
transfer or otherwise dispose of any of said land or property, regardless
of whether or not it has been developed, redeveloped, altered or improved
and irrespective of the manner or means in or by which it may have
been acquired, to any private, public or quasi-public corporation,
partnership, association, person or other legal entity.
(b)
Before the acquisition of any
single family or multiple family dwelling unit, or other structure
is made under this paragraph, a finding or determination shall be
made that:
(1) The dwelling unit or structure has deteriorated to such extent as
to constitute a serious and growing menace to the public health, safety
and welfare;
(2) The dwelling unit or structure is likely to continue to deteriorate
unless corrected;
(3) The continued deterioration of the dwelling unit or structure will
contribute to the blighting or deterioration of the area immediately
surrounding the dwelling unit or structure; and
(4) The owner of the dwelling unit or structure has failed to correct
the deterioration thereof.
(c) The City Council shall adopt an ordinance for each acquisition of
land or property made.
(40) Vehicles. To regulate and license wagons and other vehicles not subject
to the licensing powers of the State of Maryland.
(41) Voting machines. To purchase, lease, borrow, install and maintain
voting machines for use in City elections.
(42) Zoning. To exercise the powers as to zoning conferred upon municipal
corporations by the Prince George's County Code and the Annotated
Code of Maryland, subject, however, to the limitations and provisions
of said Codes.
B. Enumeration not exclusive. The enumeration of powers in this section
is not to be construed as limiting the powers of the City to the several
subjects mentioned.
For the purpose of carrying out the powers granted in this Article
or elsewhere in this Charter, the Council may pass all necessary ordinances.
All the powers of the City shall be exercised in the manner prescribed
by this Charter or, if the manner be not prescribed, then in such
manner as may be prescribed by ordinance.
[Amended 11-5-1979 by
HR No. 9-79, 2-19-2015 by HR 2015-02]
A. Unless otherwise provided, all violations of ordinances shall be
punishable as misdemeanors, and the Council shall have the power to
affix penalties therefor, provided that no such penalty shall exceed
that allowed by Title Six of the Local Government Article of the Annotated
Code of Maryland, as amended.
B. The Council may also provide that violations of any ordinance shall
be a municipal infraction, unless the violation is declared to be
a felony or a misdemeanor by law or ordinance. A municipal infraction
shall be a civil offense.