In the interpretation and construction of this Code and of all
ordinances of the County, the following definitions and rules of construction
shall be observed, unless they are inconsistent with the manifest
intent of the Board of Supervisors or the context clearly requires
otherwise:
A. Definitions.
COUNTY
Appomattox County in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
OATH
Includes an affirmation in all cases in which, by law, an
affirmation may be substituted for an oath.
OCCUPANT
Applied to a building or land, any person who holds a written
or oral lease of or actually occupies the whole or a part of such
building or land, either alone or with others.
OWNER
Applied to any property, shall include any part owner, joint
owner, tenant in common, joint tenant or tenant by the entirety of
the whole or a part of such property.
PERSON
Includes a firm, partnership, association of persons, corporation,
body politic, organization or any other group acting as a unit, as
well as an individual.
PROPERTY
Real, personal or mixed property.
PUBLIC GROUND
The parks and all public lands owned by the County and those
parts of public places which do not form traveled parts of streets
as defined in this section.
STATE
See "commonwealth."
B. Rules of
construction.
(1) Computation
of time. 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 Sunday or legal holiday, that day shall be excluded.
(2) Following.
The word "following," when used by way of reference to any section
or sections in the Code, shall be construed to mean next following
that in which such reference is made.
(3) Gender.
A word importing the masculine gender only may extend and be applied
to females and to corporations as well as to males.
(4) Number.
A word importing the singular number only may extend and be applied
to several persons or things as well as to one person or thing, and
a word importing the plural number only may extend and be applied
to one person or thing as well as to several persons or things.
(5) Or;
and. "Or" may read as "and" and "and" may be read as "or" if the sense
so requires.
(6) Preceding.
The word "preceding," when used by way of reference to any section
or sections in this Code, shall be construed to mean next preceding
that in which such reference is made.
(7) Shall.
The word "shall" shall be mandatory.
(8) Swear;
sworn. The word "swear" or "sworn" shall be equivalent to the word
"affirm" or "affirmed" in all cases in which, by law, an affirmation
may be substituted for an oath.
(9) Written;
in writing. The words "written" and "in writing" shall include typewriting,
printing on paper and any other mode of representing words, letters
and figures.
The catchlines of the sections of this Code are intended as
mere catchwords to indicate the contents of the sections and shall
not be deemed or taken to be titles of such sections nor as any part
of any section, nor, unless expressly so provided, shall they be so
deemed when any section, including its catchline, is amended or reenacted.
A. Wherever
in this Code or in any ordinance or resolution of the County or any
rule or regulation or order promulgated by any officer or agency of
the County under authority duly vested in him or if any act is prohibited
or is declared to be unlawful or an offense or misdemeanor or the
doing of any act is required or the failure to do any act is declared
to be unlawful or an offense or a misdemeanor and no specific penalty
is provided for the violation thereof, the violation of any such provision
of this Code or of any such ordinance, resolution, rule, regulation
or order shall be punished as a Class 1 misdemeanor.
B. Each day
any violation of this Code or any such ordinance, resolution, rule,
regulation or order shall continue shall constitute, except where
otherwise provided, a separate offense.
In accordance with § 15.2-1433 of the Code of Virginia, the ordinances and certain resolutions of Appomattox County of a general and permanent nature adopted by the Board of Supervisors of Appomattox County, as revised, codified and consolidated into chapters and sections by General Code, and consisting of Chapters
1 through
19, are hereby approved, adopted, ordained and enacted as the "Code of Appomattox County," hereinafter known and referred to as the "Code."
This ordinance and the Code shall supersede all other general
and permanent ordinances enacted prior to the enactment of this Code,
except such ordinances as are hereinafter expressly saved from repeal
or continued in force.
The provisions of the Code, insofar as they are substantively
the same as those of ordinances and resolutions in force immediately
prior to the enactment of the Code by this ordinance, are intended
as a continuation of such ordinances and resolutions and not as new
enactments, and the effectiveness of such provisions shall date from
the date of adoption of the prior ordinance or resolution. All such
provisions are hereby continued in full force and effect and are hereby
reaffirmed as to their adoption by the Board of Supervisors of Appomattox
County, and it is the intention of said Board that each such provision
contained within the Code is hereby reaffirmed as it appears in said
Code. Only such provisions of former ordinances as are omitted from
this Code shall be deemed repealed or abrogated by the provisions
of § 1.1-15 below.
This ordinance shall take effect immediately upon passage and
publication according to law.
A copy of the Code has been filed in the office of the County
Administrator and shall remain there for use and examination by the
public until final action is taken on this ordinance, and, if this
ordinance shall be adopted, such copy shall be certified to by the
County Administrator by impressing thereon the Seal of the County,
as provided by law, and such certified copy shall remain on file in
the office of the County Administrator, to be made available to persons
desiring to examine the same during all times while said Code is in
effect. The enactment and publication of this ordinance, coupled with
the availability of a copy of the Code for inspection by the public,
shall be deemed, held and considered to be due and legal publication
of all provisions of the Code for all purposes.
Any and all additions, deletions, amendments or supplements
to any of the ordinances and resolutions known collectively as the
"Code of Appomattox County" or any new ordinances or resolutions,
when enacted or adopted in such form as to indicate the intention
of the Board of Supervisors to be part thereof, shall be deemed to
be incorporated into such Code so that reference to the Code shall
be understood and intended to include such additions, deletions, amendments
or supplements. Whenever such additions, deletions, amendments or
supplements to the Code shall be enacted or adopted, they shall thereafter
be printed and, as provided hereunder, inserted in the Code as amendments
and supplements thereto. Nothing contained in this ordinance shall
affect the status of any ordinance or resolution contained herein,
and such ordinances or resolutions may be amended, deleted or changed
from time to time as the Board of Supervisors deems desirable.
It shall be the duty of the County Administrator or someone
authorized and directed by the Administrator to keep up-to-date the
certified copy of the book containing the Code required to be filed
in his or her office for the use of the public. All changes in said
Code and all ordinances adopted subsequent to the effective date of
this codification which shall be adopted specifically as part of the
Code shall, when finally adopted, be included therein by reference
until such changes or new ordinances are included as supplements to
said Code book.
Copies of the Code, or any chapter or portion of it, may be
purchased from the County Administrator, or an authorized agent of
the Administrator, upon the payment of a fee to be set by resolution
of the Board of Supervisors. The Administrator may also arrange for
procedures for the periodic supplementation of the Code.
Any person who, without authorization from the County Administrator,
changes or amends, by additions or deletions, any part or portion
of the Code of Appomattox County or who alters or tampers with such
Code in any manner whatsoever which will cause the legislation of
Appomattox County to be misrepresented thereby or who violates any
other provision of this ordinance shall be punished as for a Class
1 misdemeanor.
Each section of the Code and every part of each section is an
independent section or part of a section, and the holding of any section
or a part thereof to be unconstitutional, void or ineffective for
any cause shall not be deemed to affect the validity or constitutionality
of any other sections or parts thereof. If any provision of this Code
or the application thereof to any person or circumstances is held
invalid, the remainder of this Code and the application of such provision
to other persons or circumstances shall not be affected thereby.
Each section of this ordinance is an independent section, and
the holding of any section or part thereof to be unconstitutional,
void or ineffective for any cause shall not be deemed to affect the
validity or constitutionality of any other sections or parts thereof.
A. All ordinances
or parts of ordinances inconsistent with the provisions contained
in the Code adopted by this ordinance are hereby repealed; provided,
however, that such repeal shall only be to the extent of such inconsistency,
and any valid legislation of Appomattox County which is not in conflict
with the provisions of the Code shall be deemed to remain in full
force and effect.
B. The following chapters and articles of the former (1993) County Code are specifically repealed: Chapter 6, Affirmative Action (adopted 2-13-1981); Chapter 48, Brush, Grass and Weeds, Article
I, Johnson Grass Control (adopted 2-6-1987); Chapter 147, Taxation, Article
XVIII, Special Tax for the Provision of Enhanced 9-1-1 Services (adopted 12-18-2000); and Chapter 151, Tradesmen (adopted 2-6-1989).
The adoption of this Code and the repeal of ordinances provided
for in § 1.1-15 of this ordinance shall not affect the following
ordinances, rights and obligations, which are hereby expressly saved
from repeal:
A. Any ordinance
adopted subsequent to December 3, 2012.
B. Any right
or liability established, accrued or incurred under any legislative
provision prior to the effective date of this ordinance or any action
or proceeding brought for the enforcement of such right or liability.
C. Any offense
or act committed or done before the effective date of this ordinance
in violation of any legislative provision or any penalty, punishment
or forfeiture which may result therefrom.
D. Any prosecution,
indictment, action, suit or other proceeding pending or any judgment
rendered, prior to the effective date of this ordinance, brought pursuant
to any legislative provision.
E. Any franchise,
license, right, easement or privilege heretofore granted or conferred.
F. Any ordinance
providing for the laying out, opening, altering, widening, relocating,
straightening, establishing of grade, changing of name, improvement,
acceptance or vacation of any right-of-way, easement, street, road,
highway, park or other public place or any portion thereof.
G. Any ordinance
or resolution appropriating money or transferring funds, promising
or guaranteeing the payment of money or authorizing the issuance and
delivery of any bond or other instruments or evidence of the County's
indebtedness.
H. Ordinances
authorizing the purchase, sale, lease or transfer of property or any
lawful contract, agreement or obligation.
I. The levy
or imposition of taxes, assessments or charges or the approval of
the County budget.
J. The annexation
or dedication of property or approval of preliminary or final subdivision
plats.
K. All currently
effective ordinances pertaining to the rate and manner of payment
of salaries and compensation of officers and employees.
L. Any purchasing
policies and amendments thereto.
M. Any ordinance
relating to or establishing a pension plan or pension fund for County
employees.
N. Any ordinance adopting or amending a Zoning Map or otherwise zoning or rezoning property. (Please note that Chapter 170 of the Appomattox County Code was amended and readopted by Ordinance on March 3, 2014, and this Ordinance is now recodified as Chapter
19, Article
VI, Zoning.)
A. In compiling
and preparing the ordinances and certain resolutions for adoption
and revision as part of the Code pursuant to § 15.2-1433
of the Code of Virginia, certain grammatical changes and other minor
changes were made in one or more of said ordinances. It is the intention
of the Board of Supervisors that all such changes be adopted as part
of the Code as if the ordinances and resolutions so changed had been
previously formally amended to read as such.
B. In addition,
the following changes, amendments or revisions are made herewith,
to become effective upon the effective date of this ordinance, as
set forth in Schedule A attached hereto and made a part hereof (chapter
and section number references are to the ordinances as they have been
renumbered and appear in the Code).
C. The following
changes are made throughout the Code:
(1) References
to "Code of Virginia 1950" are amended to "Code of Virginia."
(2) References
to "Commissioner of Revenue" are amended to "Commissioner of the Revenue."
(3) References
to "Town of Pamplin" are amended to "Town of Pamplin City."
(4) References
to "Board of Appeals" are amended to "Board of Zoning Appeals."