§ 2-4. Power to regulate the health, safety and welfare of the town.
In addition to the powers granted by other sections of this Charter, the town shall have power to pass and enforce by-laws, rules, regulations and ordinances not in conflict with this Charter or prohibited by the general laws of the common-wealth, for the preservation of the safety, health, peace, good order, comfort, convenience, morals and welfare of the town and of its inhabitants and among such powers, but not a limitation thereof, the town is empowered:
2-401. To collect and dispose of sewage, offal, ashes, garbage, trash, carcasses of dead animals and other refuse, and to make reasonable charges therefor, and to provide such facilities for citizens living without the corporate limits of said town and to make reasonable charges therefor; to acquire and operate dumps, land fills, reduction plants, or any other plants for the utilization or destruction of such materials; and to contract for or regulate the collection and disposal thereof.
2-402. To inspect, test, measure and weight any commodity or commodities, or articles of consumption for use within the town; and to establish, regulate, license and inspect weights, meters, measures and scales; to provide standards of purity, in conformity with existing state and federal laws and regulations for milk, foods and foodstuffs sold within the corporate limits of the town.
2-403. To license and regulate the holding and location of shows, circuses, public exhibitions, carnivals and other similar shows or fairs or to prohibit the holding of the same or any of them within the town.
2-404. To compel the abatement and removal of all nuisances within the town or upon property owned by the town without the corporate limits at the expense of the person or persons causing the same, or of the owner or occupant of the grounds or premises whereon the same may be and to collect said expense by suit or motion or by distress or sale; to require that all lands, lots and other premises within the town be kept clean and sanitary and free from stagnant water, weeds, filth, junk and unsightly deposits, or to make them so at the expense of the owners or occupants thereof; to control and regulate junk yards and automobile parts yards to the end that such junk yards or automobile parts yards shall not be unsightly, and the town may require by appropriate ordinance that all such junk yards or automobile parts yards be so fenced or screened that the same will be hidden from public view; and in the event it is necessary for the town to do any work in connection with keeping the property or lands sanitary and free from stagnant water, weeds, filth, junk or other unsightly deposits or controlling such junk yards or automobile parts yards as above set forth, the town shall have the right to collect monies expended by it from the owner or operator by suit or motion or by distress and sale; to pass and enforce any ordinance that may be necessary for the public safety for the control of dogs, cats and other pets; to regulate or prevent slaughter or other noisome or offensive business within the town, the keeping of hogs or other animals, poultry or other fowl therein or the exercise of any dangerous or unwholesome business, trade or employment therein; to regulate the transportation of all articles through and upon the streets of the town; to compel the abatement of smoke and dust and prevent unnecessary noise; to regulate the location of stables and the manner in which they shall be kept and constructed; to regulate the location, construction, operation and maintenance of billboards, signs and advertising; and generally to define, prohibit, abate, suppress and prevent all things detrimental to the health, morals, aesthetic sensibilities, safety, convenience and welfare of the inhabitants of the town; and to require all owners or occupants of property having sidewalks in front thereof to keep the same clean and sanitary and free from all weeds, filth, junk, unsightly deposits, ice and snow.
2-405. To extinguish and prevent fires and to establish, maintain, regulate and control a fire department or division; to regulate the size, height, materials and construction of buildings, fences, walls, retaining walls and other structures hereafter erected in such manner as the public safety and convenience may require; to remove or require to be removed or require to be reconstructed any building, structure or addition thereto which, by reason of dilapidation, defect of structure or other causes, may have become dangerous to life or property, or which may be erected contrary to law; to establish and designate from time to time fire limits, within which limits wooden buildings shall not be constructed, added to, enlarged or repaired and to direct that any or all future buildings within such limits shall be constructed of stone, natural or artificial, concrete, brick, steel or other fireproof materials; and may enact stringent and efficient laws for securing the safety of persons from fires in halls and buildings used for public assemblies, entertainment or amusements.
2-406. To direct the location of all buildings for storing explosives or combustible substances; to regulate the sale and use of gunpowder, nitroglycerine, kerosene oil or other like materials; to regulate the discharge of firearms, and the making of bonfires in the streets and yards; to prohibit the sale and use of fireworks.
2-407. To provide for regular and safe construction of houses in the town for the future; and to provide a building code for the town, and setback lines on the streets.
2-408. To provide for the preservation of the general health of the inhabitants of the town, make regulations to secure the same, inspect all foodstuffs and prevent the introduction and sale in the town of any article or thing intended for human consumption, which is adulterated, impure or otherwise dangerous to health, and to condemn, seize and destroy or otherwise dispose of any such article or thing without liability to the owner thereof; to prevent the introduction or spread of contagious or infectious diseases, and prevent and suppress disease generally; to provide and regulate hospitals within or without the town limits, and if necessary to the suppression of disease, to enforce the removal of persons afflicted with contagious or infectious diseases to hospitals provided for them; to construct and maintain or to aid in the construction and maintenance of a hospital or hospitals for the use of the people of the town.
2-409. To provide and maintain, either within or without the town, charitable, recreative, curative, corrective, detentive or penal institutions.
2-410. To prevent fowls and animals being kept in or running at large in the town, or any thickly populated portion thereof, and to subject the same to such taxes, regulations and penalties as the council may think proper.
2-411. To prevent the riding or driving of horses or other animals at an improper speed; to prevent the flying of kites, throwing of stones, or engaging in any sort of employment in the public streets which is dangerous or annoying to passersby, and to prohibit and punish the abuse of animals.
2-412. To control, regulate, limit and restrict, insofar as not prohibited by general law, the operation of motor vehicles carrying passengers for hire upon the streets and alleys of the town; to regulate the use of automobiles and other automotive vehicles upon the streets; to regulate the routes in and through the town to be used by motor vehicle carriers operating in and through the town and to prescribe different routes for different carriers; to prohibit the use of certain streets by motor trucks; and generally to prescribe such regulations respecting motor traffic therein as may be necessary for the general welfare.
2-413. To exercise full police powers and establish and maintain a department of division of police.
2-414. To restrain and punish drunkards, vagrants and street beggars; to prevent and quell riots, disturbances and disorderly assemblages; to suppress houses of ill fame and gambling houses; to prevent and punish lewd, indecent and disorderly exhibitions in the town; and to expel therefrom persons guilty of such conduct who have not resided therein as much as one year.
2-415. To prohibit and punish for mischievous, wanton or malicious damage to school and public property, as well as private property.
2-416. To offer and pay rewards for the apprehension and conviction of criminals; to compel persons sentenced to confinement in the jail of the town for any misdemeanor or other violation of the laws or ordinances of said town to work on the public streets, parks or other public works of the town; and on the requisition of the mayor, or other person acting as judge of the municipal court, it shall be the duty of the police of the town to deliver such person to the duly authorized agent of the town for such purposes from day to day as he may be required. For the purpose of carrying into effect the police regulations of said town, the town may, subject to the provisions of general law, be allowed the use of the jail of Tazewell County or the jails of other counties or municipalities, or the use of the facilities of Bland Correctional Farm, for the safekeeping and confinement of all persons who shall be sentenced to imprisonment under an ordinance of said town, provided, however, the town shall pay the cost of keeping such persons in such jails or at such correctional farm.
2-417. To prohibit begging, and to prohibit or regulate the soliciting by any person, group of persons, firm, corporation, charitable organization and the like and the peddling or hawking of any article for sale within the town, provided that such prohibition or regulation shall not be applied with respect to persons duly licensed and regulated exclusively by the Commonwealth of Virginia; the town, however, shall have the right to require the purchase of a local license at a cost not exceeding the cost of a similar state license, from any person, firm or corporation hawking or peddling any article for sale within the town.
2-418. To punish for releasing or attempting to release a prisoner or interfering in any manner with an officer in the exercise of his official duties.
2-419. To make and enforce ordinances to regulate, control, license and tax the manufacture, bottling, sale, distribution, handling, advertising, possession, dispensing, drinking, and use of alcohol, and all liquids, beverages and articles containing alcohol obtained by distillation, fermentation or otherwise; provided, however, that no such ordinance shall be in conflict with any of the provisions of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Act or the general laws of this commonwealth with respect to such alcoholic beverages, liquids and articles.
2-420. To provide for the protection of the town's property, real and personal, the prevention of the pollution of the town's water supply, and the regulation of the use of parks, playgrounds, playfields, recreational facilities, cemeteries, airports and other public property, whether located within or without the town. For the purpose of enforcing such regulations all town property wherever located shall be under the police jurisdiction of the town. Any member of the police force of the town, or employee thereof appointed as a special policeman, shall have power to make arrests for violation of any ordinance, rule or regulation adopted pursuant to this section, and the appropriate district court shall have jurisdiction in all cases arising thereunder within or without the town wherein the offense occurs.
2-421. To prescribe the location in, under or over, and grant permits for the use of, streets, alleys and other public places for the maintenance and operation of tracks, poles, wires, cables, pipes, conduits, bridges, subways, vaults, sewers, areas and cellars; require tracks, poles, wires, cables, pipes, conduits and bridges to be altered, removed or relocated either permanently or temporarily; charge and collect compensation for the privileges so granted and prohibit such use of the streets, alleys and other public places of the town, and no such use shall be made of the streets, alleys or other public places of the town without the consent of the council.
2-422. To prevent any obstruction of or encroachment on, over, under or in any street, alley, sidewalk or other public place; provide penalties for maintaining any such obstruction or encroachment; remove the same and charge the cost thereof to the owner or owners, occupant or occupants of the property so obstructing or encroaching, and collect the sum charged in any manner provided by law for the collection of taxes; require the owner or owners or the occupant or occupants of the property so obstructing or encroaching to remove the same; authorize encroachments upon streets, alleys, sidewalks or other public places, subject to such terms and conditions as the council may prescribe, and recover possession of any street, alley, sidewalk or other public place or any other property of the town by suit or action.
2-423. To regulate, in the interest of public health, the production, preparation, distribution, and sale of milk, other beverages and foods for human consumption, and the places within the town in which they are produced, prepared, distributed, sold, served or stored; regulate the construction, installation, maintenance and condition of all water and sewer pipes, connections, toilets, water closets and plumbing fixtures of all kinds; regulate the construction and use of septic tanks and dry closets, and the sanitation of swimming pools; compel the use of sewers, the connection of premises therewith, and the installation in such premises of suitable sanitary facilities; regulate or prohibit connections to and use of sewers; to prevent the connecting of roof drains and storm sewers to any sanitary sewer system; to regulate or prohibit the use of garbage disposal units connected to the sanitary sewer system; and make and enforce all regulations necessary to preserve and promote public health and sanitation and protect the inhabitants of the town from contagious, infectious or other diseases.
2-424. To regulate the light, ventilation, sanitation and use and occupancy of buildings heretofore or hereafter constructed, altered, remodeled or improved, and the sanitation of the premises surrounding the same.
2-425. To enjoin and restrain the violation of any town ordinance or ordinances, although a penalty is provided for conviction of such violation.
2-426. To prescribe penalties for the violation of any town ordinance, rule or regulation, not exceeding five hundred dollars or twelve months' imprisonment in jail, or both, but not exceeding any penalty established by the commonwealth for a similar offense.
2-427. To make and adopt a comprehensive plan for the town, and to that end all plats and replats hereafter made subdividing any land within the town into streets, alleys, roads, and lots or tracts shall be submitted to and approved by the council or such official or board, including the Tazewell planning commission, as the council designates in any regulations controlling the orderly subdivision of land it may adopt, before such plats or replats are filed for record or recorded in the office of the Clerk of Tazewell County, Virginia.
2-428. To do all things whatsoever necessary or expedient and lawful to be done for promoting or maintaining the general welfare, comfort, education, morals, peace, government, health, trade, commerce, or industries of the town, or its inhabitants.
2-429. To declare the practice of going in and upon private residences in the Town of Tazewell by solicitors, peddlers, hawkers, itinerant merchants or transient vendors of merchandise not having been requested or invited so to do by the owner or owners, occupant or occupants of said private residences, for the purpose of soliciting orders for the sale of goods, wares and merchandise and/or disposing of and/or peddling or hawking, to be a nuisance and punishable as such as a misdemeanor, provided that the power referred to in this section shall not apply with respect to persons duly licensed and regulated by the Commonwealth of Virginia.
2-430. To create a sinking fund commission to have full power and control over and administration of a sinking fund or funds for the redemption of bonds, issued heretofore or issued hereafter, in conformity with general law.
( H.B. No. 1149 , § 1, passed 3-17-14; S.B. No. 196 , § 1, passed 4-6-14)
( H.B. No. 1149 , § 1, passed 3-17-14; S.B. No. 196 , § 1, passed 4-6-14)