CHAPTER 397

AN ACT to provide a new charter for the Town of Amherst; and
to repeal the existing charter and amendments here
589

Approved April 5, 1950
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
ARTICLE I
THE TOWN CORPORATE

1. §1. (1) The inhabitants of the territory comprised with-
in the limits of the town of Amherst, as such limits are herein-
after set out or as the same may be hereafter altered and estab-
lished by law, shall constitute and continue a body, politic and
corporate, to be known and designated as the town of Amherst,
and as such shall have and may exercise all powers which are
now or hereafter may be conferred upon or delegated to towns
under the Constitution and laws of the Commonwealth of Vir-
ginia, as fully and completely as though such powers were spe-
cifically enumerated herein, and no enumeration of particular
powers by this charter shall be held to be exclusive, and shall
have, exercise and enjoy all the rights, immunities, powers and
privileges and be subject to all the duties and obligations now
appertaining to and incumbent on said town as a municipal cor-
poration, and shall have perpetual succession, may sue and
be sued, implead and be impleaded, contract and be contracted
with, and may have a corporate seal which it may alter, renew,
or amend at its pleasure by proper ordinance.

ARTICLE II
CORPORATE LIMITS

§ 1. (1) The corporate limits of the town of Amherst are
hereby established as follows: Beginning at the Southern Rail-
way center line, on line between Whitehead and Cunningham
thence North 37 degrees 20 minutes West 965 feet to stake;
thence North 47 degrees West 900 feet to corner, the Judge
Meeks property, thence North 55 degrees 55 minutes East 633
feet; thence North 65 degrees 40 minutes East 470 feet; thence
North 60 degrees East 1300 feet; thence North 57 degrees 25
minutes East 315 feet; thence North 48 degrees East 550 feet;
thence North 36 degrees 30 minutes East 470 feet; thence North
21 degrees 50 minutes East 865 feet; thence North 42 degrees
50 minutes West 1420 feet; thence South 81 degrees 35 minutes
West 4725 feet to Tribulation Creek, thence up Tribulation
Creek South 15 degrees 55 minutes West 739 feet; thence South
56 degrees 45 minutes West 689 feet; thence South 57 degrees
35 minutes West 458 feet; thence South 54 degrees 50 minutes
West 614 feet; thence South 40 degrees West 598 feet; thence
South 36 degrees 30 minutes West 441 feet; thence North 77
degrees 30 minutes West 202 feet; thence South 74 degrees 30
minutes West 368 feet; thence South 48 degrees 40 minutes
West 383 feet; thence South 32 degrees 30 minutes West 407
feet; thence South 45 degrees West 580 feet to the pumping
house inlet, thence along the Northeast side of said road as it
meanders for 2925 feet crossing Route 29 to corner of line of
Mrs. Effie Wills’ land and Route 29; thence in a Southwest
direction along the land of said Effie Wills in a straight line
crossing Route 29, to the Northeast corner of the lot belonging
to the estate of Elizabeth Payne, deceased, at south edge of
Route 663; thence with said Payne property on the southern
edge of said Route 663 to Tripple Oaks corner on Plot of Town,
a distance of 13800 feet; thence South 65 degrees 26 minutes
East, 1145 feet to White Oak, thence South 57 degrees 5 minutes
East 1410 feet to Lynchburg Road, thence South 63 degrees 5
minutes East 1016 feet to Southern Railway, thence South 64
degrees 20 minutes East 341 feet; thence South 8514 degrees
East 298 feet; thence North 7 minutes East 400 feet; thence
North 22 degrees 50 minutes East 450 feet; thence North 2014
degrees East, 363 feet; thence North 3614 degrees East 218
feet; thence along eastern right of way line of the Southern
Railway 2580 feet to beginning.

ARTICLE III
ADMINISTRATION AND GOVERNMENT

§ 1. (1) The present mayor and councilmen of the town
of Amherst shall continue in office and exercise all the powers
conferred by this charter and the general laws of this State
until the expiration of the term for which they were elected, or
until their successors are duly elected and qualified.

(2) On the second Tuesday in June, nineteen hundred and
fifty, and every two years thereafter, there shall be elected by
the qualified voters of the town, one elector of the town, who
shall be denominated mayor, and five other electors, who shall
be denominated councilmen, and the mayor and councilmen shall
constitute the town council. They shall enter upon the duties of
their offices on the first day of September next succeeding their
election, and shall continue in office until their successors are
duly elected and qualified. Every person so elected shall take an
oath faithfully to execute and discharge the duties of his office
to the best of his judgment, and the mayor shall take the oath
prescribed by law for State officers. The failure of any person
elected or appointed under the provisions of this charter to
qualify or to take the oath required, within the time prescribed
for entering upon the discharge of the duties of the office to
which he is elected or appointed, shall vacate the said office, and
the council shall proceed and is hereby vested with power to fill
such vacancy in the manner herein prescribed.

(3) There shall be appointed for the town a registrar and
officers of election in the manner provided for by general law
of Virginia, and all elections held in said town shall be conducted
in accordance with said general law; the electorate shall be that
prescribed by general law.

(4) The council shall judge of the election, qualification,
and returns of its members; may fine them for disorderly con-
duct, and, with the concurrence of two-thirds, expel a member.
If any person returned be adjudged disqualified, or be expelled,
a new election to fill the vacancy shall be held on such day as the
council may prescribe. Any vacancy occurring otherwise during
the term for which such person was elected shall be filled by the
council by the appointment of any one eligible to such office. A
vacancy in the office of mayor shall be filled by the council from
the electors of the town, and any member of the council may
be eligible to fill such vacancy. |

(5) A majority of the members of the council shall consti-
tute a quorum for the transaction of business.

(6) Each member of the council may receive a salary to
be fixed by the council, payable at such times and in such manner
as the council may direct, but the salary paid to any one member
during any year shall not exceed the sum of one hundred dollars
($100.00) per annum. The mayor may receive a salary to be
fixed by the council, payable in such manner and at such times
as the council may direct, not to exceed the sum of five hundred
dollars ($500.00) per annum; and such salary shall be in lieu
of any fees he is entitled to enter up as part of the costs and
receive in the trial of cases of violation of the ordinances of the
town as hereinafter provided for.

(7) The mayor shall preside at the meetings of the council
and perform such other duties as are prescribed by this charter
and by the general law, and such as may be imposed by the
council consistent with his office. The mayor shall have no right
to vote in the council, except in case of a tie he shall have the
right to break the same by his vote; but he shall have the right
to veto. He shall take care and see that the by-laws, ordinances,
acts and resolutions of the council are faithfully executed and
obeyed, and shall have and exercise all power and authority con-
ferred by general law on mayors of towns not inconsistent with
this charter. He shall be ex officio a conservator of the peace
within the town and within one mile of its corporate limits; and
shall have jurisdiction to issue process for and try all cases for
the violation of the town ordinances, subject to an appeal to the
Circuit Court of Amherst County, Virginia, and impose such
punishment and/or fines as may be prescribed for violation of
the same, and he shall have power to issue executions for all
fines and costs imposed by him, or he may require an immediate
payment thereof, and in default of such payment he may commit
the defaulting party to the Amherst County Jail until such fine
and costs shall be paid, such commitment, however, not to be
for more than twelve months. He may release persons accused
or convicted of the violation of a town ordinance upon the giving
of sufficient bail to be fixed by him. He shall see that peace and
good order are preserved and that persons and property within
the town are protected. He shall authenticate by his signature
such documents and instruments as the council, this charter, or
the laws of this Commonwealth require. He shall from time to
time recommend to the council such measures as he may deem
needful for the welfare of the town.
(8) Every ordinance, or resolution having the effect of an
ordinance, shall, before it becomes operative be presented to the
mayor. If he approves, he shall sign it, but if not, he may return
it, with his objections in writing, to the town clerk who shall
enter the mayor’s objections at length on the minute book of the
council. The council shall thereupon proceed to reconsider such
ordinance or resolution. If, after such consideration, two-thirds
of all the memhers elected to the council shall agree to pass the
ordinance or resolution, it shall become operative notwithstanding
the objection of the mayor. In all such cases the votes of members
of the council upon such reconsideration and the names of the
members voting for and against the ordinance or resolution shall
be entered on the minute book of the council. If any ordinance
or resolution shall not be returned by the mayor within five
days (Sunday excepted) after it shall have been presented to
him, it shall become operative in like manner as if he had signed
it, unless his term of office or that of the council, shall expire
within said five days.

(9) The council shall, as soon as practicable after qualifi-
cation, and biennially thereafter following the regular municipal
election, appoint one of its members as vice-mayor. The vice-
mayor, during the absence or disability of the mayor, shall per-
form the duties and be vested with all the powers, authority, and
jurisdiction, of the mayor; and in the event of a vacancy for any
reason in the office of mayor, he shall act as mayor until a
mayor is duly appointed by the town council or is elected. The
member of the council who shall be chosen vice-mayor shall con-
tinue to have all the rights, privileges, powers, duties and obli-
gations of councilman even when performing the duties of
mayor during the absence or disability of the mayor of the town.

(10) The council shall, by ordinance, fix the time for their
regular meetings, which shall be held at least once a month.
Special meetings may be called by the clerk at the instance of
the mayor or any two members of the council in writing; and
no other business shall be transacted at a special meeting except
that stated in the call, unless all members be present and consent
to the transaction of such other business. The meetings of the
council shall be open to the public except when in the judgment
of the council the public welfare shall require executive meetings.

(11) The council shall keep a minute book, in which the
clerk shall note the proceedings of the council, and shall record
proceedings at large on the minute book and keep the same
properly indexed.

(12) The council may adopt rules for regulating its pro-
ceedings, but no tax shall be levied, corporate debt contracted,
or appropriation of money exceeding the sum of one hundred
dollars be made, except by a recorded affirmative vote of a
majority of all the members elected to the council.

(13) There shall be appointed by the council at its first
meeting in September, or as soon as practicable thereafter, a
treasurer, who shall hold office for a term of two years. The
council may provide a salary for the treasurer. He shall give
such bond, with surety and in such penalty as the council pre-
scribes. He shall receive all money belonging to the town, and
keep correct accounts of all receipts from all sources and of all
expenditures of all departments. He shall be responsible for the
collection of all taxes, license fees, levies and charges due to the
town, and shall disburse the moneys of the town in the manner
prescribed by the council as it may by ordinance direct.

(14) The treasurer shall make such reports and at such
time as the council may prescribe. The books and accounts of
the treasurer shall be examined and audited at least once during
the term for which he is elected by a competent accountant
selected by the council, such examination and audit to be re-
ported to the council.

(15) The council may in its discretion designate the place
of deposit of all town funds, which shall be kept by the treas-
urer separate and apart from his personal funds.

(16) There shall be appointed by the council, at its first
regular meeting in September after its election, a clerk of the
council, who shall hold office at the pleasure of the council. He
shall attend the meetings of the council and keep its minutes
and records and have charge of the corporate seal and shall
attest the same. He shall keep all papers required to be kept by
the council, shall publish such reports and ordinances as are
required to be published, and shall perform such other duties as
the council may from time to time require. His compensation
shall be fixed by the council. Any vacancy in this office shall be
filled by the council.

(17) There shall be appointed by the council at its first
regular meeting in September or as soon as practicable there-
after, a town sergeant, who shall also be chief of police; and
shall hold office at the pleasure of the council. His duties shall
be such as the council prescribes. He shall be vested with the
powers of a conservator of the peace. His compensation shall
be fixed by the council.

(18) The council may appoint a trial justice for the town
who shall serve at the pleasure of the council and until his suc-
cessor is appointed by the council and qualifies. The mayor, or
any other qualified voter of the town of Amherst whom the
council deems qualified, may be appointed by it as such trial
justice. If the mayor is appointed as trial justice he shall dis-
charge such duties as the trial justice of the town under this
charter and not as the mayor of the town, in addition to the
execution of the duties of the mayor imposed upon him by this
charter; and his powers, duties, authority and jurisdiction as
such trial justice shall be as hereinafter provided for the trial
justice, he shall receive the salary of mayor provided by the
council for the discharge of his duties as mayor as well as such
salary of trial justice as may be provided by the council, if any.

The trial justice is hereby vested with all the power, author-
ity and jurisdiction and charged with all the duties within and
for the town of Amherst, and in criminal matters for one mile
beyond the corporate limits thereof which are or may hereafter
be, conferred upon the trial justice by the laws of the State of
Virginia, so far as the same may be applicable, and not in con-
flict with the provisions of this charter; and any amendments
of the trial justice laws of this State shall be considered as
amendments also of this section of this charter if the same are
applicable hereto.

Fees and costs shall be assessed by the trial justice and
shall be collected as provided by the laws of the State of Vir-
ginia relating to trial justices as the same shall now be or as
hereafter amended. All fees and costs collected by the said trial
justice and all fines collected for violations of all laws and ordi-
nances of the town shall be paid into the town treasury for the
use and benefit of the town.

Removals may be taken, and appeals from the decisions of
the trial justice may be taken, to the Circuit Court of Amherst
County in the same manner, upon the same terms and shall be
tried in the same way as removals, or as appeals from the deci-
sion of trial justices, as the case may be, are provided to be
taken and tried by the laws of the State of Virginia, relating to
trial justices as the same shall now be or as hereafter amended.

The council may also appoint such clerk or clerks as may
in their discretion be necessary, provide for just compensation
therefor and provide necessary records.

The council of said town shall provide a salary to compen-
sate such trial justice in such amount and payable at such times
as the council shall deem proper, and the council may provide
also for a vacation period, either with or without pay, and for
such duration, as in the judgment of the council may be proper.

Like provisions may be made for a substitute justice, and
when such substitute acts, he shall receive the compensation
which would have been paid him had the principal acted, and
which compensation shall be deducted from salary or allowance
made to the principal.

The town of Amherst may combine with the county of
Amherst for the use of one trial justice and one substitute trial
justice for such combined town and county, in such manner as
may be provided by the laws of the State of Virginia relating
to trial justices; and if the town of Amherst and the county of
Amherst shall at any time combine for the use of one trial
justice and one substitute trial justice for the said town and the
said county, the laws of the State of Virginia relating to trial
justices, so far as applicable, shall control and not this section
of this charter.

(19) The council may appoint or select such other officers
as may be necessary, including a business manager for the town,
and fix their salaries and define their duties.

(20) All ordinances, resolutions and by-laws passed by the
council shall take effect at the time indicated in such ordinances,
resolutions or by-laws, but in event no effective date shall be
set forth in any such ordinances, resolutions or by-laws passed
by the council, the same shall become effective thirty days from
its passage.

ARTICLE IV
TAXATION AND FINANCES

§ 1. (1) The Town Council shall have control of taxation
and finances for its municipal purposes. It shall have the follow-
ing powers:

(2) To prepare, or cause to be prepared, annually a budget
showing the estimated receipts and proposed expenditures for
town purposes as required by State law, and to publish the same.

(3) To raise annually by levy and collection of taxes and
assessments in the said town on all such property, real and
personal, as is now or may hereafter be subject to taxation by
towns by the laws of the Commonwealth, such sums of money
as the council thereof may deem necessary for the purposes of
the said town in such manner as the said council shall deem
expedient in accordance with this charter, the Constitution and
laws of this State and the United States; provided, however, that
it shall impose no taxes on the bonds of the said town.

(4) To impose special or local assessments for local im-
provements and enforce the payment thereof, subject to such
hmitations as may be prescribed by the Constitution and laws
of this State, as may be in force at the time of the imposition
of such special or local assessments.

(5) To contract debts in the name of and for the use of
the town and make and issue, or cause to be made and issued,
as evidence thereof, bonds, notes or other obligations, within
the limitations prescribed by the Constitution and laws of this
State concerning bonds issued by towns, upon credit of the
town, or solely upon the credit of specific property owned by
the town or solely upon the credit of income derived from prop-
erty used in connection with any public utility owned and oper-
ated by the town.

(6) To borrow money temporarily, pending the issuance
and sale of any bonds, notes or other obligations authorized by
this charter, or in anticipation of the receipt of taxes and rev-
enue of the current fiscal year, and to issue notes or other evi-
dences of indebtedness therefor, and from time to time to renew
such temporary loans or to use current funds to be ultimately
repaid from the proceeds of said bonds, notes or other obliga-
tions, or from the town taxes and revenues, as the case may be.

(7) To expend the money of the town for all lawful
purposes.

(8) To levy a tax or a license on any slot machine or similar
device of any kind, whether a license may be required therefor
by the State or not, and may, if permitted by general law,
exceed the State license, if any be required, and may provide
penalties for any violation thereof.

(9) To license and regulate the holding and location of
shows, circuses, public exhibitions, carnivals, and other similar
shows or fairs, or prohibit the holding of the same, or any of
them within the limits of the town or within one mile thereof ;
provided that the license fee for holding any of the foregoing
within one mile of the town shall only be sufficient to provide
regulation and protection.

(10) To impose licenses by ordinance upon businesses,
trades, professions or callings, and upon persons, firms, associa-
tions or corporations engaged therein or offering to do business
within the boundaries of the town, whose principal office is or
is not located in the town, except when prohibited by general
law, whether or not a license may be required therefor by the
State. The fee for such license may exceed the State license fee
if any be required.

(11) Licenses may also be imposed upon and a fee therefor
collected from persons, firms, or corporations selling and deliv-
ering at the same time at other than a definite place of business,
goods, wares or merchandise, to licensed dealers or retailers in
the town.

(12) For every license issued or transferred under this
charter, there may be prescribed by ordinance a reasonable
charge or fee, for issuing or transferring the same. Such charges
or fees shall be paid into the town treasury.

(13) A lien shall exist on all real estate within the corpo-
rate limits for taxes, levies, penalties or assessments in favor of
the town, levied or assessed thereon from the commencement
of the year for which the same was levied or assessed, and the
penalties and procedure for collecting such taxes and for selling
real estate for town taxes shall be the same as provided by the
general laws of this Commonwealth. The council shall have the
benefit of all other remedies for the collection of town taxes
which are now, or may hereafter be permitted under the general
laws of the State, including the power to distrain goods and
chattels for failure to pay taxes levied thereon.

ARTICLE V
PROPERTY

§ 1. The Town Council shall have the following powers:

(1) To acquire by purchase, gift, devise, condemnation, or
otherwise, property, real or personal, or any estate therein
within or without the town, for any purpose of the town, not
inconsistent with the general law, and the Constitution of Vir-
ginia, and to hold, improve, sell, lease, mortgage, or pledge, or
otherwise dispose of the same or any part thereof, including any
property now owned by the town.

(2) To acquire by gift, purchase, exchange or by the exer-
cise of the power of eminent domain within this State, lands, or
any interest or estate in lands, rock quarries, gravel pits, sand-
pits, water and water rights, and the necessary roadways
thereto, either within or without the town, and to acquire and
install machinery and equipment and build the necessary roads
or trainways thereto, and to operate the same for producing
material required for any and all purposes of the town.

(3) To acquire and operate parks, playgrounds, and public
grounds within or without the corporate limits of the town, and
to place on the same either within or without the town, stadia,
swimming pools, recreation and amusement buildings, structures
or enclosures of every character and charge admission thereto,
and to rent out or lease the privileges of the same.

(4) To acquire by condemnation, purchase or otherwise,
provide for. maintain, operate and protect aircraft landing fields
either within or without the corporate limits of the town.

(5) To acquire in any lawful manner, for the purpose of
encouraging commerce and manufacture, Jands within or with-
out the town, not exceeding at any one time five hundred acres
in the aggregate, and from time to time sell or lease the same
or any part thereof for industrial or commercial use and purposes,
irrespective of the consideration paid for such lease or sale.

(6) To construct, purchase, maintain, regulate and operate
public improvements of all kinds, including municipal and other
buildings, armories, sewage disposal plants, jails, comfort sta-
tions, markets and all buildings and structures necessary or ap-
propriate for the use and proper operation of various depart-
ments of the town and to acquire by condemnation or otherwise
all lands, riparian and other rights and easements necessary for
such improvements, or any of them, and, either within or with-
out the town to construct, maintain, or aid therein, roads and
bridges to any property owned by the said town, and situated
beyond the corporate limits thereof, and to acquire land neces-
sary for the aforesaid uses by condemnation or otherwise.

ARTICLE VI
UTILITIES

§ 1. The Town Council shall have the following powers:

(1) To own, operate ind maintain electric light and gas
works, either within or without the corporate limits of the town
and to supply electricity and gas, whether the same be generated
or purchased by said town, to its customers and consumers both
within and without the corporate limits of the said town, at such
price and upon such terms as it may prescribe, and to that end it
may contract for and purchase electricity and gas from the
owners thereof upon such terms as it may deem expedient.

(2) To own, operate and maintain water works and to ac-
quire in any lawful manner in any county of the State, such
water, lands, property rights and riparian rights as the council
of the town may deem necessary for the purpose of providing
an adequate water supply to the town and piping and conducting
the same; to lay, erect and maintain all necessary mains and
sewer lines, either within or without the corporate limits of the
town, and to require abutting property owners within such cor-
porate limits to connect therewith, for the distribution of water
to its customers and consumers, both within and without the cor-
porate limits of the town, and to charge and collect water rents
therefor; to erect and maintain all necessary dams, pumping sta-
tions and other works in connection therewith; to make reason-
able rules and regulations promoting the purity of its water
supply and for protecting the same from pollution; and for this
purpose to exercise full police powers and sanitary patrol over
all land comprised within the limits of the watershed, tributary
to any such water supply wherever such lands may be located in
this State; to impose and enforce adequate penalties for the
violation of any such rules and regulations; and to prevent by
injunction any pollution or threatened pollution of such water
supply, and any and all acts likely to impair the purity thereof;
and to carry out the powers herein granted, the town may exer-
cise within the State all powers of eminent domain provided by
the laws of this State.
(3) To establish, construct, and maintain sanitary sewers,
sewer lines and systems, and to require abutting property own-
ers to connect therewith; to establish, construct, maintain, and
operate sewage disposal plants, and to acquire by condemnation
or otherwise, within or without the town limits, all land, rights-
of-way, riparian and other rights and easements necessary for
said purposes, and to charge and assess and collect reasonable
fees, rentals, assessments or costs of service for connecting with
and using the same.

(4) To charge and collect fees for permits to use public
facilities and for public services and privileges; and to have the
right and power to charge for any service rendered or conven-
ience furnished to those residing without the corporate limits
different from the rates charged for similar services or conven-
iences to those residing within the corporate limits.

(5) To collect and dispose of sewage, offal, ashes, garbage,
carcasses of dead animals, and other refuse, and make reasonable
charges therefor; to acquire and operate reduction or any other
plants for utilization and disposal of such material; to contract
for or regulate the collection and disposal thereof; and to require
the collection and disposal thereof, and to acquire land within
or without the town for said purpose.

(6) To establish, impose and enforce the collection of water
and sewage rates, and rates and charges for public utilities, or
other services, products, or conveniences, operated, rented, or
furnished by the town; and to assess, or cause to be assessed,
after reasonable notice to the owner or owners, water and sew-
age rates and charge directly against the owner or owners of
the building, or against the proper tenant or tenants; and may
by ordinance require a deposit of such reasonable amount as it
may prescribe before furnishing such service either to owner
or tenant.

(7) To grant franchises for public utilities in accordance
with the provisions of the Constitution and general laws; pro-
vided, however, the town shall at any time have the power to
construct, own, operate, manage, sell, encumber, or otherwise
dispose of, either within or without the town, any and all public
utilities for the town, and to sell the services thereof any existing
franchises to the contrary notwithstanding, if permitted by the
terms thereof.

(8) To regulate, permit or prohibit poles and wires for
electric, telephone, and telegraph purposes erected or to be erect-
ed and gas pipes to be laid in the streets and alleys of the town;
to require the owner or lessee of an electric light, telephone, or
telegraph pole, or poles, or wires, now in use or hereafter erected,
to change the location of or move the same.
ARTICLE VII
STREETS

§ 1. The Town Council shall have the following powers:

(1) The town shall have the power to acquire, establish,
enter, open, widen, extend, grade, improve, construct, maintain,
and clear public highways, streets, sidewalks, boulevards, park-
ways, alleys, and to alter, vacate, or close the same; to establish
and maintain parks, golf courses, playgrounds and public grounds
and to keep them lighted and in good order; to construct, main-
tain and operate bridges, viaducts, subways, tunnels, sewers and
drains, and to regulate the use of all such highways, parks, pub-
lic grounds and works; to plant and maintain or remove shade
trees along the streets and upon such public grounds; to prevent
the obstruction of such streets, alleys and highways, to regulate
the operation and speed of cars and vehicles within the streets
and highways within the town; and to do all other things what-
soever adapted to make the streets and highways safe, conven-
ient and attractive.

(2) To give names to or alter the names of the streets.

ARTICLE VIII
BUILDING REGULATIONS

§ 1. The Town Council shall have the following powers:

(1) To regulate the size, height, materials and construc-
tion of buildings, fences, walls, retaining walls and other struc-
tures hereafter erected in such manner as the public safety and
convenience may require; to remove or require to be removed or
reconstructed any building, structure or addition thereto which
by reason of dilapidation, defect of structure, or other causes
may become dangerous to life or property, or which may be
erected contrary to law.

(2) To provide for regular and safe construction of houses
in the town for the future and to provide a building code for the
town; to provide setback lines on the streets beyond which no
buildings may be constructed if permitted by general law; to
require the standard of all dwelling houses to be maintained in
residential sections in keeping with the majority of residences
therein, and if permitted by general law to require the standard
of all business houses to be maintained in business sections in
keeping with the majority of the business houses therein.

(3) To make and adopt a comprehensive plan for the town
and to that end all plats and replats hereafter made subdivid-
ing any land within the town, or within one mile thereof, into
streets, alleys, roads and lots or tracts, shall be submitted to and
approved by the council before such plats or replats are filed
for record, or recorded, in the office of the clerk of Amherst
County, Virginia.

4) To issue, or refuse (in case of noncompliance with
the building requirements of the town) to issue, permits for the
construction of buildings, fences, walls and other structures in
the said town; and any person, firm or corporation failing to
secure such permit prior to the beginning of said construction
or other work shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and pun-
ished as hereinbefore provided.

ARTICLE 1X
ADDITIONAL POWERS

§ 1. In addition to powers elsewhere mentioned in this
charter and the powers conferred by general law and the Consti-
tution, the town shall have the following powers:

(1) To compel the abatement and removal of all nuisances
within the town or upon property owned by the town without its
limits at the expense of the person or persons causing the same
or of the owner or occupant of the ground or premises wherein
the same may be, and to collect said expense by suit or motion or
by distress and sale; to require all lands, lots and other premises
within the town to be kept clean and sanitary and free from
stagnant water, weeds, filth, and unsightly deposits, or to make
them so at the expense of the owners or occupants thereof, and
to collect said expense by suit or motion or by distress and sale;
to regulate or prevent noisome or offensive business within
the said town, or the exercise of any dangerous or unwholesome
business, trade, or employment therein; to regulate the trans-
portation of all articles through the streets of the town; to com-
pel the abatement of smoke and dust, and prevent unnecessary
noise; to regulate the location of stables and the manner in which
the same shall be constructed and kept; to regulate the location,
construction, operation, and maintenance of bill boards and
signs; and generally to define, prohibit, abate, suppress, and
prevent all things detrimental to the health, morals, aesthetics,
safety, convenience and welfare of the inhabitants of the town;
and to require all owners or occupants of property having public
sidewalks adjacent thereto to keep the same clean and sanitary,
free from weeds, filth, unsightly deposits, ice and snow, and any
obstruction.

(2) To extinguish and prevent fires, and to establish, regu-
late, and control a fire department or division; 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, iron or other fireproof materials; to enact strin-
gent and efficient laws for securing the safety of persons from
fires in halls and buildings used for public assemblages, enter-
tainments or amusements.

(8) To direct the location and construction of all buildings
for storing explosives or combustible substances; to regulate the
sale and use of gunpowder, nitroglycerin, fireworks, kerosene,
gasoline, and other like material; to regulate or prevent the ex-
hibition of fireworks, the discharge of firearms, and the making
of bonfires within the corporate limits of said town.

(4) To provide for the preservation of the general health
of the inhabitants of said town, make regulations to secure the
same, inspect all foodstuffs and prevent the introduction and
sale in said town of any articles or thing intended for human
consumption which is adulterated, impure, or otherwise danger-
ous 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 con-
tagious 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 affected with contagious or
infectious diseases to hospitals provided for them; to provide for
the organization of a department or bureau of health, to have
the powers of a board of health for the town, with authority
necessary for the prompt and efficient performance of its duties,
with the power to invest any or all of the officials or employees
of such department of health with such powers as the police
officers of the town have, to establish quarantine ground within
or without the town, and establish and enforce such quarantine
regulations against contagious and infectious diseases as the
council may see fit, subject to the laws of the State and the
United States.

(5) To provide for the care, support and maintenance of
children and of sick, aged, insane, or poor persons and paupers.

(6) To provide and maintain either within or without the
town, charitable, recreative, curative, corrective, detention or
penal institutions.

(7) To regulate poultry or other fowl, hogs, dogs or other
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.

(8) To prevent the riding or driving of horses or other
animals at an improper speed; to prevent the flying of kites,
throwing of stones, the setting off of fireworks 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.

(9) To establish markets in the town and regulate the same
and to enforce such regulations in regard to the keeping and
sale of fresh meats, vegetables, eggs, and other green groceries,
and the trade of hucksters and junk dealers as may be deemed
advisable.

(10) To prevent any person having no visible means of
support, paupers, and persons who may be dangerous to the
peace and safety of the town from coming to town from without
the same; and to expel therefrom any such person who has been
in the town less than twelve months.

(11) To exercise full police powers and establish and main-
tain a department or division of police.

(12) 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 gam-
bling houses and punish operators and inmates of the same; to
prohibit and punish the carrying of concealed weapons within
the town; to prevent and punish lewd, indecent, and disorderly
exhibitions in the town. To prohibit and punish gambling and
betting, disturbances of the peace, disorderly conduct, and public
Swearing and cursing, within the town.

(13) To prohibit and punish mischievous, wanton, or mali-
cious damage to school, church, and public property, as well as
to private property.

(14) To prohibit minors from and punish them for fre-
quenting, playing or loitering in any public poolroom, billiard
parlor, or bowling alley, and to punish any proprietor or agent
thereof for permitting same.

(15) To compel persons sentenced to confinement in jail for
any violation of the laws or ordinances of the town to work on
the public streets, parks, or other public works of the town; and
on the requisition of the mayor it shall be the duty of the ser-
geant of the town or the sheriff of Amherst County to deliver
such persons to the duly authorized agent of the town for such
purposes from day to day as they may be required. For the pur-
pose of carrying into effect the police regulations of the town,
the town shall have the use of the county jail of Amherst County
for the safe keeping and confinement of all persons who shall be
sentenced to imprisonment under the ordinances of the town.

(16) To enjoin and restrain the violation of any town ordi-
nance or ordinances, although a penalty is provided upon the
conviction of such violation.

(17) To pass and enforce all by-laws, rules, regulations,
and ordinances which it may deem necessary for the good order
and government of the town, the management of its property,
the conduct of its affairs, the peace, comfort, convenience, order,
morals, health, and protection of the citizens and their property,
and to do such other things and pass such other laws as may be
necessary or proper to carry into full effect all powers, authority,
capacity or jurisdiction, which is or shall be granted to or vested
in said town, or in the council, court or officers, thereof, or
which may be necessarily incident to a municipal corporation.

(18) To do all things whatsoever necessary or expedient
and lawful to be done for promoting or maintaining the general
welfare, comfort, education, morals, government, peace, health,
trade, commerce, or industries of the town, or its inhabitants.

(19) To offer and pay rewards for the apprehension of
criminals.

(20) To provide by ordinance a system of meat and milk
inspection, and appoint milk and meat inspectors, agents, or
officers to carry the same into effect; to prevent, license, regu-
late, control, and locate slaughter houses within or without the
corporate limits of the town; and for such services of inspection
to make reasonable charges; and to provide reasonable penalties
for the violation of such ordinances.

(21) To establish, organize, administer, or contribute to
the support of public schools and libraries, subject to the general
laws establishing a standard of education for the State.

(22) To inspect, test, measure and weigh 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.

(23) To make and enforce ordinances, in so far as not pro-
hibited by the general laws of this State, to regulate, control,
license and/or tax the manufacture, bottling, sale, distribution,
transportation, handling, advertising, possession, dispensing,
drinking and use of alcohol, brandy, rum, whiskey, gin, wine,
beer, lager beer, ale, porter, stout, and all liquids, beverages and
articles containing alcohol by distillation, fermentation or other-
wise.

(24) To require every owner or operator of motor vehicles
residing in the town, on a date to be designated by the council,
to annually register such motor vehicles and to obtain a license
to operate the same by making application to the treasurer of
the town, or such other person as may be designated by the
council; to issue such license, and to require the owner to pay
the annual license fee therefor to be fixed by the council, pro-
vided that the license fee shall not exceed the amount charged
by the State on such machines. The council shall have the right
to require the operator of the motor vehicle to attach a proper
license plate on a conspicuous part of the motor vehicle and to
keep same thereon in plain view for common observation. The
council may prorate such license fee over periods of not less
than three months.

(25) In so far as not prohibited by general law, to control,
regulate, limit and restrict the operation of motor vehicles carry-
ing passengers for hire upon the streets or 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 car-
riers; to prohibit the use of certain streets by motor trucks;
and generally to prescribe such regulations respecting motor
trattic therein as may be necessary for the general welfare and
safety.

(26) To make and enforce ordinances, not inconsistent with
the laws of this State.

(27) To put into force and effect by ordinances any and
all the foregoing powers, and any other powers and authority
of the council given by this charter, or any State law, or any
amendments thereto; and to prescribe punishment for the viola-
tion of any town ordinance, rule or regulation, or of any pro-
vision of this charter, the penalty not to exceed five hundrea
dollars ($500.00) fine or twelve months’ imprisonment in jail,
or both.

(28) The enumeration of particular powers by this charter
shall not be deemed to be exclusive, and in addition to the powers
enumerated herein or implied hereby, or appropriate to the exer-
cise of such powers, it is intended that the town council shall
have and may exercise all powers which, under the constitution
and laws of this State, it would be competent for this charter
specifically to enumerate.

ARTICLE X
ACTIONS AGAINST TOWN

§ 1. (1) No actions shall be maintained against the town
for damages for any injury to any person or property alleged
to have been sustained by reason of the negligence of the town
cr any Officer, agent, or employee thereof, unless a written state-
ment of the claimant, his agent, or attorney, or the personal
representative of any decedent whose death is a result of the
alleged negligence of the town, its officers, agents or employees.
of the nature of the claim and the time and place at which the
injury is alleged to have occurred or to have been received, shal!
have been filed with the mayor or any attorney appointed by the
council for the purpose within sixty days after such cause of
action shall have occurred, except where the claimant is an
infant or non compos mentis, or the injured party dies withir
such sixty days such statement may be filed within one hundred
and twenty days. And no officers, agents, or employees of the
town shall have authority to waive such conditions precedent or
any of them.

ARTICLE XI
MISCELLANEOUS

§ 1. (1) If any clause, sentence, paragraph, or part of
this act shall for any reason be adjudged by a court of com-
petent jurisdiction to be invalid, such judgment shall not affect,
impair or invalidate the remainder of the act, but shall be con-
fined in its operation to the part of the act directly involved in
the controversy in which the judgment shall have been rendered.

(2) That nothing contained in this act, shall be construed
to invalidate or to, in any manner, affect the present existing
indebtedness, and liabilities of the town of Amherst, whether
evidenced by bonded obligations or otherwise.

(3) All ordinances in force in the town of Amherst, not
inconsistent with this charter, shall be and remain in force
until altered, amended or repealed by the council.

(4) This act may for all purposes be referred to or cited
as the Town of Amherst Charter of 1950.

2. The charter of the town of Amherst granted by the Circuit
Court of the County of Amherst on the fifteenth day of April,
nineteen hundred and ten, and all amendments are hereby
repealed.
3. An emergency exists and this act is in force from its
passage.