Repealed by Ord. 2004-20.
(Code 1964 § 1-1; Code 1985 § 1-1)
Charter reference – Application of publication requirements to codification of ordinances, § 11(23). |
Cross reference – Interfering with enforcement of code, SCC § 9.05.040. |
In the interpretation and construction of this code and of all ordinances of the city, the following definitions and rules of construction shall be observed, unless inconsistent with the manifest intent of the council or the context clearly requires otherwise:
Generally. The rules of construction given in Sections 1-202 through 1-257 of the Code of Virginia shall govern, so far as applicable, the construction of words not defined in this section.
Bond. When a bond is required, an undertaking in writing shall be sufficient.
shall mean the Charter of the city as it now exists or as amended in the future.
shall mean the city of Staunton, in the state of Virginia.
Code. Whenever the term "code" or "this code" is used without further qualification, it shall mean the code of the city of Staunton, Virginia. |
Computation of Time. When a notice is required to be given or any other act to be done a certain time before any proceeding, there must be that time, exclusive of the day for such proceeding, but the day on which such notice is given, or such act is done, may be counted as part of the time; but when a notice is required to be given or any other act to be done within a certain time after any event, that time shall be allowed in addition to the day on which the event occurred. When under provisions of this code an act, order of the court, or administrative regulation or order requires, either by specification of a date or by a prescribed period of time, that an act be performed or an action be filed on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday or on any day or part of a day on which city offices are closed, the act may be performed or the action may be filed on the next business day that is not a Saturday, Sunday, legal holiday, or day on which city offices are closed. |
Council; city council. Wherever the term "council" or "city council" is used, it shall be construed to mean the council of the city of Staunton. |
"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. |
Gender. A word importing the masculine gender shall extend and be applied to females and to firms, partnerships and corporations, as well as to males. |
shall mean any territory jurisdiction of which, for the exercise of its regulatory power, has been conferred on the city by public or private law.
shall mean a calendar month.
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. |
shall be construed to include an affirmation in all cases in which, by law, an affirmation may be substituted for an oath.
applied to a building or land, shall mean 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.
Officers, Boards, Etc. Whenever reference is made to a particular officer, department, board, commission or other agency, such reference shall be construed as if followed by the words "of the city of Staunton." Reference to a specific officer shall be deemed to include his duly authorized agents, deputies or representatives, subject, however, to the provisions of Section 15.2-1502 of the Code of Virginia. |
Official Time Standard. Whenever particular hours are referred to, the time applicable shall be official standard time or daylight saving time, whichever is in current use in the city. |
applied to a building or land, shall include any part owner, joint owner, tenant in common, tenant in partnership, joint tenant or tenant by the entirety, of the whole or of a part of such building or land.
shall extend and be applied to associations, firms, partnerships and bodies politic and corporate, as well as to individuals.
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.
shall mean any portion of a street between the curb line, or the lateral lines of a roadway where there is no curb, and the adjacent property line intended for the use of pedestrians.
includes a mark when a person cannot write.
shall be construed as if followed by the words "of Virginia."
shall mean the Code of Virginia (1950), as amended.
shall include avenues, boulevards, highways, roads, alleys, lanes, viaducts, bridges and the approaches thereto, and all other public thoroughfares in the city, and shall mean the entire width thereof between abutting property lines. It shall also be construed to include a sidewalk or footpath, unless the contrary is expressed or unless such construction would be inconsistent with the manifest intent of the city council.
shall be equivalent to the word "affirm" or "affirmed" in all cases in which, by law, an affirmation may be substituted for an oath.
Tense. Words used in the past or present tense include the future, as well as the past and present. |
shall be construed to include any representation of words, letters or figures, whether by printing or otherwise.
shall mean a calendar year.
State law reference – Similar definitions and rules of construction, Code of Virginia, § 1-200. |
(Code 1964 § 1-2; Code 1985 § 1-2; Ord. 2018-09)
The catchlines of the several sections of this code printed in boldface type are intended as mere catchwords to indicate the contents of the section and shall not be deemed or taken to be titles of such sections, nor as any part of the section, nor, unless expressly so provided, shall they be so deemed when any of such sections, including the catchlines, are amended or re-enacted.
(Code 1964 § 1-3; Code 1985 § 1-3)
If any part, section, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase of this code is, for any reason, declared to be unconstitutional or invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this code.
(Code 1964 § 1-5; Code 1985 § 1-4)
The provisions appearing in this code, so far as they are the same as those of the Staunton City Code approved August 13, 1964, and of ordinances adopted subsequent to such code and included herein, shall be considered as continuations thereof and not as new enactments.
(Code 1964 § 1-4; Code 1985 § 1-5)
Nothing in this code or the ordinance adopting this code shall affect:
(1)
Any ordinance promising or guaranteeing the payment of money by or for the city or authorizing the issuance of any bonds of the city or any evidence of the city's indebtedness or any contract or obligation assumed by the city;
(2)
Any ordinance granting any franchise or right;
(3)
Any ordinance appropriating funds, levying or imposing taxes or relating to an annual budget;
(4)
Any ordinance providing for or otherwise relating to licenses and license taxes;
(5)
Any ordinance relating to salaries or compensation of city officers and employees or members of city boards or commissions or to compensation or pay plans or classification plans for such officers or employees;
(6)
Any ordinance establishing, extending or contracting the corporate limits of the city;
(7)
Any ordinance authorizing, providing for or otherwise relating to any specific public improvement or making any assessment;
(9)
Any ordinance adopted for purposes which have been consummated; or
(10)
Any ordinance which is temporary, although general in effect, or special, although permanent in effect; and all such ordinances are hereby recognized as continuing in full force and effect to the same extent as if set out at length in this code.
(Code 1985 § 1-6)
Nothing in this code or the ordinance adopting this code shall affect any offense or act committed or done, or any penalty or forfeiture incurred, or any contract or right established or accruing, or any prosecution, suit or proceeding pending or any judgment rendered on or before the effective date of this code.
(Code 1985 § 1-7)
(1)
By contract or by municipal personnel, supplements to this code shall be prepared and printed whenever authorized or directed by the council. A supplement to the code shall include all substantive permanent and general parts of ordinances adopted during the period covered by the supplement and all changes made thereby in the code. The pages of a supplement shall be so numbered that they will fit properly into the code and will, where necessary, replace pages which have become obsolete or partially obsolete, and the new pages shall be so prepared that, when they have been inserted, the code will be current through the date of the adoption of the latest ordinance included in the supplement.
(2)
In preparing a supplement to this code, all portions of the code, which have been replaced, shall be excluded from the code by the omission thereof from reprinted pages.
(3)
When preparing a supplement to this code, the codifier (meaning the person, agency or organization authorized to prepare the supplement) may make formal, nonsubstantive changes in ordinances and parts of ordinances included in the supplement, insofar as it is necessary to do so to embody them into a unified code. For example, the codifier may:
(a)
Organize the ordinance material into appropriate subdivisions;
(b)
Provide appropriate catchlines, headings and titles for sections; and other subdivisions of the code printed in the supplement, and make changes in such catchlines, headings and titles;
(c)
Assign appropriate numbers to sections and other subdivisions to be inserted in the code and, where necessary to accommodate new material, change existing section or other subdivision numbers;
(d)
Change the words "this ordinance" or words of the same meaning to "this chapter," "this article," "this division," etc., as the case may be, or to "sections _________ to __________" (inserting section numbers to indicate the sections of the code which embody the substantive sections of the ordinance incorporated into the code); and
(e)
Make other nonsubstantive changes necessary to preserve the original meaning of ordinance sections inserted into the code; but in no case shall the codifier make any change in the meaning or effect of ordinance material included in the supplement or already embodied in the code.
State law reference – Authority to supplement code, Code of Virginia, § 15.2-1433. |
(Code 1985 § 1-8)
At least three copies of this code and every supplement thereto shall be kept in the office of the clerk of the council and shall there be available for public inspection, during normal business hours.
State law reference – Similar provisions, Code of Virginia, § 15.2-1433. |
(Code 1985 § 1-9)
(1)
Whenever in this code or any other ordinance of the city or any rule or regulation promulgated by any officer or agency of the city, under authority duly vested in such officer or agency, it is provided that a violation of any provision thereof shall constitute a Class 3 or 4 misdemeanor, such violation shall be punished as follows:
(2)
Whenever in any provision of this code or in any other ordinance of the city or any rule or regulation promulgated by an officer or agency of the city, under authority duly vested in such officer or agency, any act is prohibited or is made or declared to be unlawful or an offense or a 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, where no specific penalty is provided for the violation of such provision and such violation is not described as being of a particular class of misdemeanor, such violation shall constitute a Class 4 misdemeanor punishable as prescribed in subsection (1)(b) of this section.
(3)
Notwithstanding any provision of this section or any other section of this code, no penalty for a violation of this code or other ordinance, rule or regulation of the city shall exceed that prescribed by state law for a like offense.
(4)
Each day any violation of this code or any ordinance, rule or regulation referred to in this section shall continue shall constitute a separate offense, except where otherwise provided.
Charter reference – Authority of council to provide penalty for ordinance violations, § 11(20). |
State law references – Classification of misdemeanors and punishment therefore, Code of Virginia, §§ 18.2-9, 18.2-11; authority of city to provide penalties for violation of ordinances and provisions similar to subsection (3) of this section, § 15.2-1429; authority of court trying case, upon conviction, to require bond conditioned that the person convicted will not violate the ordinance for the breach of which he was convicted for a period of not more than one year, § 15.2-1430; injunctive relief for continuing violations of ordinances, § 15.2-1432. |
(Code 1964 §§ 11-1 – 11-1.2; Code 1985 § 1-10; Ord. 3-11-93)
(1)
Any violation of this code by any officer, agent or other person acting for or employed by any corporation or unincorporated association or organization, while acting within the scope of his office or employment, shall in every case also be deemed to be a violation by such corporation, association or organization.
(2)
Any officer, agent or other person acting for or employed by any corporation or unincorporated association or organization shall be subject and liable to punishment, as well as such corporation or unincorporated association or organization, for the violation by it of any provision of this code, where such violation was the act or omission or the result of the act, omission or order of any such person.
(Code 1964 § 1-6; Code 1985 § 1-11)
(1)
Where a person convicted of a violation of any provision of this code or other ordinance of the city is sentenced to pay a fine and such person defaults in the payment of such fine or an installment thereof, the court, upon the motion of the city or upon its own motion, may require him to show cause why he should not be imprisoned or fined for nonpayment.
(2)
Following an order to show cause, unless the defendant shows that his default was not attributable to an intentional refusal to obey the sentence of the court, or not attributable to a failure on his part to make a good faith effort to obtain the necessary funds for payment, the court may order the defendant imprisoned as for a contempt for a term not to exceed 60 days or impose a fine not to exceed $500.00. The court may provide in its order that payment or satisfaction of the fine in default at any time will entitle the defendant to his release from such imprisonment or, after entering the order, may at any time reduce the sentence for good cause shown, including payment or satisfaction of such fine.
(3)
If it appears that the default is excusable under the standards set forth in subsection (2) of this section, the court may enter an order allowing the defendant additional time for payment, reducing the amount of the fine or of each installment, or remitting the unpaid portion in whole or in part.
(Code 1985 § 1-12)
Any person convicted of violating any provision of this code or any ordinance of the city, or rule or regulation or order promulgated by any officer or agency of the city under authority duly vested in him or it, shall pay all costs and expenses incurred by the city in connection with such violation.
(Code 1964 § 11-4; Code 1985 § 1-13)
The corporate seal of the city shall be represented by a circular design with the word "Seal" in raised letters across the face thereof and the words "City of Staunton, Virginia," in raised letters about the outer edge of the circle, this design being the same as that heretofore in use as the seal of the city.
Charter reference – Authority of city to have corporate seal, § 1. |
(Code 1964 § 1-7; Code 1985 § 1-14)
The city clerk shall be the custodian of the corporate seal of the city, and shall affix it to all papers issued by municipal authority which require the seal of the city to be attached.
(Code 1964 § 1-8; Code 1985 § 1-15)
The coat of arms of the city, adopted January 22, 1926, being the coat of arms of Lady Rebecca Staunton, after whom the town was named in 1748, shall be accepted and used as such. The design, argent, two chevrons sable, within a border engrailed of the same, the crest being a fox statant proper, and the name "Staunton" in Old English letters shall appear under the coat of arms as a part of the same in accordance with that reproduced below:
 |
OFFICIAL FLAG of the CITY OF STAUNTON, VIRGINIA Adopted January 26, 1926 |
 |
(Code 1964; Code 1985 § 1-16)