[HISTORY: Adopted by the City Council of
the City of Lexington as indicated in article histories. Amendments
noted where applicable.]
[Adopted as §§ 1-2 and 1-5
to 1-8 of the 1958 Code (§§ 1-2 and 1-5 to 1-8 of the
1970 Code)]
In the construction of this Code and of all
ordinances, the following rules shall be observed, unless otherwise
specifically provided or unless such construction would be inconsistent
with the manifest intent of the Council:
A.
Bond. When a bond is required, an undertaking in writing
shall be sufficient.
B.
Charter. The word "Charter" shall be taken to mean
the Charter of the City of Lexington, as contained in an act of the
General Assembly of the state, being Acts of 1966, Chapter 662, and
all acts amendatory thereof.
C.
City. The words "the City" and "this City" shall mean
the City of Lexington in the State of Virginia.
D.
Computation of time.[1] Whenever a notice is required to be given or an act to
be done a certain length of time before any proceeding shall be had,
the day on which such notice is given or such act is done shall be
counted in computing the time, but the day on which such proceeding
is to be had shall not be counted.
[1]
Editor's Note: For state law as to computation
of time, see Code of Virginia, § 1-210.
E.
Council. Wherever the word "Council" is used it shall
be construed to mean the Council of the City of Lexington, Virginia.
F.
County. The word "county" shall be construed as if
the words "of Rockbridge" followed it.
H.
Health Department. The words "Health Department" shall
mean the Lexington-Rockbridge Health Department.
I.
Health Director. The words "Health Director" shall
mean the Health Director of the Lexington-Rockbridge Health Department
or his authorized agent.
L.
Number.[5] A word importing the singular number only may extend and
be applied to several persons and things as well as to one person
and 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]
Editor's Note: For similar state law, see
Code of Virginia, § 1-227.
N.
Or; and. "Or" may be read "and" and "and" may be read
"or" if the sense requires it.
O.
Owner. The word "owner," 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 a part of such building or land.
Q.
Preceding; following. The words "preceding" and "following"
mean next before and next after, respectively.
R.
Sidewalk. The word "sidewalk" shall mean any portion
of a street between the curbline, or the lateral lines of a roadway
where there is no curb, and the adjacent property line intended for
the use of pedestrians.
S.
Signature or subscription. "Signature" or "subscription"
includes a mark when a person cannot write.
T.
State; commonwealth. The words "state" and "commonwealth"
shall be construed as if the words "of Virginia" followed.
U.
Street. The word "street" shall include public 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 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.
W.
Time. Words used in the past or present tense include
the future as well as the past and present.
X.
Written; in writing. "Written" or "in writing" shall
be construed to include any representation of words, letters or figures,
whether by printing or otherwise.
The catchlines of the several sections of this
Code 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 reenacted.
[1]
Editor's Note: For similar state law applicable
to statutes, see Code of Virginia, § 1-217.
When an ordinance which has repealed a provision
of this Code or another ordinance shall itself be repealed, such repealed
provision of this Code or such previous ordinance shall not be revived
without express words to that effect.
[1]
Editor's Note: For similar state law applicable
to statutes, see Code of Virginia, § 1-240.
The provisions of this Code and other ordinances of the City with reference to peace, good order and public safety now in full force and effect are hereby declared to be the law within one mile from the corporate limits of the City, and any violation thereof shall be punished in conformity with § 1-6 of this Code.
The Seal of the City shall be as represented
below:
 |
[Added by Ord. No. 05-5 (§ 7-1 of the 1970 Code)]
A.
Wherever in the Charter or in this Code or in any
ordinance or resolution of the City or rule or regulation promulgated
by any officer or agency, under authority duly vested in him or it,
any act is prohibited or is made or 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
misdemeanor, where no specific penalty is provided therefor, the violation
of any such provision of the Charter, this Code, any ordinance, resolution,
rule or regulation shall be punished by a fine not exceeding $2,500
or confinement in jail not exceeding 12 months, or both.
B.
In the event that the penalty provided in Subsection A is in conflict with any mandatory penalty for a similar offense under the laws and statutes of the state in such cases made and provided, then the penalty provided by the laws and statutes of the state shall be enforced and not the penalty provided in Subsection A.
C.
Each day any violation of the Charter, this Code or
of any such ordinance, resolution, rule or regulation shall continue
shall be a separate offense, except where otherwise provided.
[Adopted 1-17-2008 by Ord. No. 2008-01]
Pursuant to § 15.2-1433 of the Code of Virginia, there is hereby adopted that certain Code titled the "Code of the City of Lexington, Virginia," containing ordinances of a general and permanent nature as compiled, consolidated and codified as Chapters 1 to 420, inclusive, together with an appendix. At least one copy of the Code has been and is now filed in the office of the City Clerk and shall remain on file and be available to the public for inspection during all regular business hours.
The provisions of the Code, insofar as they
are substantively the same as those of the 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 ordinances.
Nothing in the Code or this ordinance 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.
Any and all additions, deletions, amendments
or supplements to the Code, when adopted in such form as to indicate
the intention of the City Council to make them a part thereof, shall
be deemed to be incorporated into such Code so that reference to the
"Code of the City of Lexington" shall be understood and intended to
include such additions, deletions, amendments or supplements.
All ordinances of a general and permanent nature
adopted on final reading and passage on or before October 18, 2007,
and not contained in such Code are hereby repealed from and after
the effective date of this ordinance, except as hereinafter provided.
The repeal provided for in § 1-11 above shall not affect the following, which are hereby expressly saved from repeal:
A.
Any offense or act committed or done or any penalty
or forfeiture incurred or any contract or right established or accruing
before the effective date of this ordinance.
B.
Any prosecution, suit or proceeding pending or any
judgment rendered prior to the effective date of this ordinance.
C.
Any ordinance or resolution promising or guaranteeing
the payment of money for the City or authorizing the issue of any
bonds of the City or any evidence of the City's indebtedness or any
contract or obligation assumed by the City.
D.
Any ordinance levying or imposing taxes or making
any assessment.
E.
Any right or franchise conferred by ordinance or resolution
of the City on any person or corporation.
F.
Any ordinance adopted for purposes which have been
consummated.
G.
Any ordinance which is temporary, although general
in effect, or special, although permanent in effect.
H.
Any ordinance annexing territory to the City or providing
for the acquisition or sale of property.
I.
Any ordinance naming, renaming, opening, accepting
or vacating streets or alleys in the City.
J.
Any ordinance relating to the Zoning Map.
K.
Any ordinance establishing fees for City services.
L.
Any ordinance providing for any public improvement.
M.
Any ordinance relative to salaries, wages or compensation,
pensions or bonds of City officers and employees or of members or
employees of City boards or commissions.
N.
Any ordinance adopted on final reading and passage
after October 18, 2007.
It is hereby declared to be the intention of
the City Council that the sections, paragraphs, sentences, clauses
and phrases of this ordinance and the Code hereby adopted are severable,
and if any phrase, clause, sentence, paragraph or section of this
ordinance or the Code hereby adopted shall be declared unconstitutional
or otherwise invalid by the valid judgment or decree of a court of
competent jurisdiction, such unconstitutionality or invalidity shall
not affect any of the remaining phrases, clauses, sentences, paragraphs
and sections of this ordinance or the Code hereby adopted.
Copies of the Code, or any chapter or portion
of it, may be purchased from the Clerk or an authorized agent of the
Clerk upon the payment of a fee to be set by the City Council. The
Clerk may also arrange for procedures for the periodic supplementation
of the Code.
It shall be unlawful for anyone to improperly change or amend, by additions or deletions, any part or portion of the Code or to alter or tamper with such Code in any manner whatsoever which will cause the law of the City of Lexington to be misrepresented thereby. Anyone violating this section or any part of this ordinance shall be subject, upon conviction, to the penalties as set forth in § 1-6 of the Code of the City of Lexington.
It shall be the duty of the City Clerk, or someone
authorized and directed by the Clerk, to keep up-to-date the certified
copy of the Code required to be filed in the Clerk's office for use
by 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.
A.
By contract or by City personnel, supplements to this
Code may be prepared when needed and when funds therefor are available.
B.
In preparing a supplement to this Code, all portions
of the Code that have been repealed or replaced shall be excluded
from the Code by the omission thereof from reprinted pages.
C.
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, 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. For example, the codifier may:
(1)
Organize the ordinance material into appropriate sections
and subsections;
(2)
Provide appropriate headings and titles for chapters,
articles, sections and subsections of the Code included in the supplement
and make changes in such headings and titles;
(3)
Assign appropriate numbers to chapters, articles,
sections and subsections to be inserted in the Code and, where necessary
to accommodate new material, change existing numbers;
(4)
Change the words "this ordinance" or words of the
same meaning to "this chapter," "this article," "this section," 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
(5)
Make other nonsubstantive changes necessary to preserve
the original meaning of ordinance sections inserted into the Code.
This ordinance shall be in full force and effect
on passage and publication as required by the City Charter.
