These bylaws (which do not include the zoning bylaw) shall be known and may be cited as the Code of Bylaws, Town of Winchester.
[Historical Note: Article 54 of the 2025 Spring Annual Town Meeting amended all chapters of the Code of Bylaws on 5/1/2025 to impose a standard chapter-section numbering style for all sections. Article 55 of the 2025 Spring Annual Town Meeting amended all chapters of the Code of Bylaws on 5/1/2025 to standardize the citation of amendment information as footnotes.]
The Code of Bylaws may be amended, repealed or revised from time to time, by a majority vote of the Town Meeting. (A change in the zoning bylaw shall require a two-thirds vote.) All proposed bylaws adopted by the Town Meeting shall be submitted to the Attorney General for review, and published, as required by the General Laws.
The provisions of Section 7-4 (References to General Laws), Section 7-5 (Computation of Time), Section 7-6 (Number and Gender) and Section 7-7 (Definitions) of the Charter are hereby incorporated into these bylaws. To the extent the Charter provides or suggests a different meaning, the meaning set forth in the Charter shall supersede and control. In addition, the following words, for the purposes of these bylaws shall, unless another meaning is clearly apparent from the way in which the word is used, have the following meanings:
Shall mean any day other than a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday. "Legal holiday" includes those days specified in M.G.L. c. 4, § 7, and any other day appointed as a holiday by the President or the Congress of the United States or designated by the laws of the Commonwealth.
The word “bylaws” shall mean the Code of Bylaws, Town of Winchester, as the same may be amended from time to time.
The word “hackney carriage” shall mean every vehicle used, driven or set up to be used for the conveyance of persons for hire, except that it shall NOT include railroad and street railway cars, ambulances, trackless trolley vehicles within the meaning of Chapter 163, Section 2 of the M.G.L., motor vehicles operated in the same manner and for the purposes stated in Chapter 159A, Section 1 of the M.G.L., or sightseeing automobiles as defined in M.G.L. Chapter 592, Section 1 of the Statutes of 1913.
The word “mailed” shall mean deposited in the local U.S. Post Office, or branch thereof, postage prepaid.
The codified collection of the State of Massachusetts' permanent, general laws, abbreviated by "M.G.L."
The word “street” shall mean any public way, highway, street, avenue, boulevard, alley, court, lane, common or square located within the Town, but shall not include private ways.
The words “Town office” shall mean a position in the Town held by Town officers as defined.
The words “Town website” shall mean the internet site, maintained by the Town, through which the Town may post official notices, for public viewing, provide access for the public to conduct online Town-related business, and otherwise inform the public of the operations of the Town. “Town website” replaces “Town bulletin board” for posting of official Town notices.
The words “two-thirds vote” shall mean two-thirds of the number of persons present and voting, provided a quorum of the body is present.
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Article 16 of the 2025 Fall Town Meeting amended this section on 11/3/2025.
The Town shall have a seal which shall be in the following style: Viz.:
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The Town Clerk shall be the keeper of the Town seal. Papers or documents issued from any Town agency may be attested by use of the Town seal. The colors of the seal shall be the same as those in the original drawing on file in the Office of the Town Clerk.[1]
[1]
Article 4 of the 2001 Fall Town Meeting replaced the design of the seal with the 1896 version designed by Edmund M. Garrett, and specified the colors of the seal by adding the final sentence.
In computing time under the bylaws, if seven days or less, only business days shall be counted; if more than seven days, every day shall be counted.
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Article 16 of the 2025 Fall Town Meeting added this new section on 11/3/2025.
Words importing the singular number may extend and be applied to several persons or things and words importing the plural number may include the singular. Words importing gender will be replaced by gender-neutral representations of the pertinent office, title, or role (e.g., “Selectman” will be replaced by “Select Board Member”).
[1]
Article 16 of the 2025 Fall Town Meeting added this new section on 11/3/2025.
With the concurrence of the Committee on Government Regulations, the Town Clerk shall be authorized to make non-substantive alphanumeric changes to the component provisions of these bylaws; provided, however, that a footnote or other convention shall identify each such change.
[1]
Article 16 of the 2025 Fall Town Meeting added this new section on 11/3/2025.