[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council
of the Town of Middletown as indicated in article histories. Amendments
noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 9-8-1998]
The ordinances of the Town of Middletown, County of New Castle, State of Delaware, of a general and permanent nature, adopted by the Town Council of the Town of Middletown, as revised, codified and consolidated into chapters and sections by General Code Publishers Corp. and consisting of Chapters 1 through 180, together with an Appendix, are hereby approved, adopted, ordained and enacted as the Code of the Town of Middletown, hereinafter known and referred to as the "Code."
The provisions of the Code, insofar as they
are substantively the same as those of ordinances in force immediately
prior to the enactment of the Code by this ordinance, are intended
as a continuation of such ordinances and not as new enactments, and
the effectiveness of such provisions shall date from the date of adoption
of the prior ordinance. All such provisions are hereby continued in
full force and effect and are hereby reaffirmed as to their adoption
by the Town Council of the Town of Middletown, and it is the intention
of said Council that each such provision contained within the Code
is hereby reaffirmed as it appears in the Code.
A copy of the Code, in loose-leaf form, has
been filed in the office of the Town Clerk of the Town of Middletown
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 Town Clerk of the
Town of Middletown by impressing thereon the Seal of the town, and
such certified copy shall remain on file in the office of said Town
Clerk to be made available to persons desiring to examine the same
during all times when said Code is in effect.
Any and all additions, deletions, amendments
or supplements to the Code or any new ordinances, when enacted or
adopted in such form as to indicate the intention of the Town Council
to be a 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 loose-leaf book containing said Code as
amendments and supplements thereto.
It shall be the duty of the Town Clerk or such
other authorized person to keep up-to-date the certified copy of the
book containing the Code of the Town of Middletown required to be
filed in the office of the Town Clerk for use by the public. All changes
in said Code and all ordinances adopted by the Town Council subsequent
to the enactment of this ordinance in such form as to indicate the
intention of said Council to be a part of said Code shall, when finally
enacted or adopted, be included therein by temporary attachment of
copies of such changes or ordinances until such changes or ordinances
are printed as supplements to said Code book, at which time such supplements
shall be inserted therein.
A.
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 part thereof to be unconstitutional, void or ineffective
for any cause shall not be deemed to affect the validity or constitutionality
of any section or part thereof.
B.
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.
All ordinances of a general and permanent nature
of the Town of Middletown in force on the date of the adoption of
this ordinance and not contained in such Code or recognized and continued
in force by reference therein are hereby repealed from and after the
effective date of this ordinance.
The repeal of ordinances provided for in § 1-7 of this ordinance shall not affect the following classes of ordinances, rights and obligations, which are hereby expressly saved from repeal:
A.
Any right or liability established, accrued or incurred
under any legislative provision of the Town of Middletown prior to
the effective date of this ordinance or any action or proceeding brought
for the enforcement of such right or liability.
B.
Any offense or act committed or done before the effective
date of this ordinance in violation of any legislative provision of
the Town of Middletown or any penalty, punishment or forfeiture which
may result therefrom.
C.
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
of the Town of Middletown.
D.
Any franchise, license, right, easement or privilege
heretofore granted or conferred by the Town of Middletown, including
the Gas District Franchise of November 11, 1991.
E.
Any ordinance of the Town of Middletown providing
for the laying out, opening, altering, widening, relocating, straightening,
establishing grade, changing name, improvement, acceptance or vacation
of any right-of-way, easement, street, road, highway, park or other
public place within the Town of Middletown or any portion thereof.
F.
Any ordinance of the Town of Middletown appropriating
money or transferring funds, promising or guaranteeing the payment
of money or authorizing the issuance and delivery of any bond of the
Town of Middletown or other instruments or evidence of the town's
indebtedness.
G.
Ordinances authorizing the purchase, sale, lease or
transfer of property or any lawful contract or obligation.
H.
The levy or imposition of special assessments or charges.
I.
The annexation of land or dedication of property.
J.
Any ordinance relating to salaries and compensation
of municipal officials.
K.
Any ordinance relating to or establishing a pension
plan or pension fund for municipal employees.
L.
Street vacation procedure adopted January 7, 1991.
M.
The Charter of the town, adopted February 17, 1923,
Laws of Delaware, Vol. 33, Ch. 128, as amended.
N.
The Zoning Ordinance, adopted January 5, 1987, as
amended, and any amendment to the Zoning Map.
O.
Ordinance adopted April 3, 1995, transferring building
inspection functions from New Castle County to the Town of Middletown.
P.
An ordinance adopted October 3, 1994, governing auxiliary
building setbacks.
Q.
An ordinance adopted July 5, 1977, pertaining to parking
fines.
R.
The Subdivision of Land Ordinance adopted November
2, 1981, and any amendment thereto.
S.
The Electric Service Rules and Regulations adopted
September 11, 1995, and any amendment thereto.
T.
Any ordinance adopted subsequent to March 2, 1998.
A.
In compiling and preparing the ordinances of the Town
of Middletown for adoption and revision as part of the Code, certain
grammatical and other minor changes were made in one or more of said
ordinances. It is the intention of the Town Council that all such
changes be adopted as part of the Code as if the ordinances so changed
had been previously formally adopted 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).[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: In accordance with § 1-9B, the chapters, parts and sections which were added, amended, adopted or deleted by this ordinance are indicated throughout the Code by a footnote referring to Chapter 1, General Provisions, Article I. During routine supplementation, footnotes indicating amendments, additions or deletions will be replaced with the following history: "Amended (added, deleted) 9-8-1998." Schedule A, which contains a complete description of all changes, is on file in the Town offices.
All provisions of the Code shall be in full
force and effect on and after the effective date of this ordinance,
which shall take effect immediately upon its final adoption.
[Adopted 12-1-2014 by Ord. No. 14-11-01]
Prior to the issuance of any Town services, utilities, permits,
licenses or approvals, all outstanding payments owed to the Town of
Middletown and/or outstanding violations of the Town of Middletown
Code of Ordinances shall be paid in full or resolved in full.
Applicants for Town services, utilities, permits, licenses or
approvals shall be current on all of the following obligations to
the Town of Middletown, prior to receiving such approvals:
A.
Property taxes/transfer taxes.
B.
Water, sewer and electric fees and/or usage charges.
C.
Trash fees.
D.
Application fees.
E.
Permit fees, including building permits, plan review and inspection
fees.
F.
Costs associated with any work performed by Town of Middletown employees
in association with the violation of an ordinance.
G.
Interest, penalties, fines, court costs and attorney's fees
associated with any of the above-listed obligations.
H.
Documented Code violations.
I.
Miscellaneous charges and fees.
The Town of Middletown department responsible for approving an applicant's request for any Town services, utilities, permits, licenses or approvals shall have the responsibility to determine if the applicant is delinquent on any Town obligations outlined in § 1-13. Upon the discovery of any outstanding obligations, the department supervisor shall notify the applicant that the request cannot be processed until the outstanding obligation is satisfied in full. Within 10 calendar days, the department supervisor shall provide the applicant with the reason for the denial in writing.
Any person, business, or entity that has been denied a request
for any Town service, utility, permit, license or approval may appeal
that denial with a request for review to the Mayor and Council of
Middletown within 20 calendar days after receipt of such denial. All
requests for an appeal shall be in writing. The Mayor and Council
shall thereafter hold a public hearing to offer the applicant an opportunity
to provide evidence supporting the applicant's appeal.
