CHAPTER 526

AN ACT to incorporate and provide a charter for the Town of
Whaleyville in the County of Nansemond. '
fH 610

Approved April 7, 1950

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. § 1. The inhabitants of the territory embraced within the
present limits of the town of Whaleyville in the county of Nan-
semond, as hereinafter defined, or as the same may be hereafter
altered or established by law, shall constitute and continue a
body politic and corporate, to be known and designated as the
town of Whaleyville, and as such shall have and may exercise
all powers which are now, or may hereafter be, conferred upon
or delegated to towns under the Constitution and laws of the
Commonwealth of Virginia as fully and as completely as though
all such powers were specifically enumerated herein. The terri-
tory embraced within the following limits of the town of
Whaleyville is described by metes and bounds as follows:

Beginning at a point in a ditch on the Northwest side of
the Holland-Whaleyville secondary highway No. 616, being the
point of intersection of the ditch and the highway; thence N. 62
degrees E. 183 ft. to a point in the ditch; thence S. 38 degrees E.
190 ft. to a point in the ditch; thence N. 49 degrees 30’ E. 1020 ft.
to an iron pipe in a ditch; thence N. 48 degrees E. 920 ft. toa
point; thence N. 41 degrees W. 285 ft. to a point; thence N. 46
degrees 30’ E. 494 ft. along a wire fence to a point; thence S. 41
degrees E. 304 ft. to a point; thence N. 48 degrees E. 224 ft.
to a pear tree; thence N. 35 degrees E. 75 ft. to a point; thence
along a ditch N. 49 degrees 30’ E. 274 ft. to a point in said ditch;
thence continuing along said ditch N. 52 degrees 30’ E. 281 ft. to
a point; thence continuing in said ditch N. 7 degrees 15’ W. 35
ft. to a point; thence continuing in said ditch N. 60 degrees 45’
EK. 180 ft. to a point; thence continuing in said ditch N. 54 de-
grees E. 510 ft. to a point; thence N. 54 degrees E. 328 ft. to a
point; thence N. 54 degrees E. 580 ft. to a point; thence S. 57
degrees 30’ E. 780 ft. across the Suffolk-Somerton highway and
along a ditch to a point; thence S. 49 degrees W. 1300 ft. to
& point in a ditch; thence S. 61 degrees 30’ W. 646 ft.
along a ditch to a point; thence S. 48 degrees 30’ W. 885 ft. to
a point; thence S. 45 degrees 30’ E. 1000 ft. along a wire fence
to a point; thence S. 44 degrees 30’ W. 150 ft. to the center of
the secondary highway leading to Whaley station; thence along
the center of Whaley Station Highway N. 45 degrees 30’ W. 127
ft. to a point; thence S. 47 degrees 30’ W. 295 ft. to an iron pipe
on a lane; thence N. 45 degrees 30’ W. 286 ft. along said lane
to a point in a ditch; thence along said ditch S. 48 degrees W.
204 ft. to a point in another ditch; thence N. 45 degrees W. 735
ft. along a ditch to a point; thence S. 44 degrees W. 600 ft.
along a ditch to a point; thence S. 51 degrees 30’ W. 617 ft.
along a ditch to a point on another lane; thence along said lane
S. 41 degrees E. 404 ft. to a point; thence S. 50 degrees W. 616
ft. across Mill Road to a point; thence S. 50 degrees W. 225 ft.
to a point; thence N. 39 degrees W. 245 ft. to a point; thence
N. 29 degrees W. 135 ft. to a point; thence S. 48 degrees 30’
W. 660 ft., more or less, to a point; thence N. 41 degrees 30’
W. 500 ft. across the Suffolk-Somerton highway to a point; thence
N. 48 degrees 30’ E. 565 ft. to a point; thence N. 41 degrees W.
350 ft. to a point in a ditch; thence N. 58 degrees 30’ E. 200 ft. to
a point in the ditch; thence N. 73 degrees 15’ E. 146 ft., more or
less, to the point of beginning; all of which is fully set out on that
certain plat made by Roy Brinkley, April 29, 1949, entitled
“Plat Showing Incorporated Limits of Whaleyville, Virginia,
Nansemond County,” a copy of said plat being duly of record in
the Clerk’s Office of the Circuit Court of Nansemond County,
Virginia.

§ 2. The administration and government of the town shall
be vested in a council which shall consist of five members, four
of whom shall be denominated the councilmen and one to be de-
nominated the mayor, all of whom shall be residents and qualified
voters of the town. Each councilman may receive a salary for
his services as such, the amount thereof to be fixed by the coun-
cil, but in no event to be in excess of one hundred dollars per
year.

§ 3. The councilmen and the mayor shall be elected by the
qualified voters of the town on the second Tuesday in June, nine-
teen hundred fifty, and every two years thereafter, in the man-
ner prescribed by law.

§ 4. The council shall, by ordinance, fix the time for its
regular meetings. Special meetings shall be called by the clerk
of the council upon the written request of the mayor or any three
councilmen. At least twelve hours written notice shall be given
to the other members of the council, of the purpose, place and
time of any such special meeting. Special meetings may also be
held at any time without notice, provided all members of the
council are present. No business shall be transacted at any such
special meeting which is not stated in the notice calling the same,
unless all members of the council attend the meeting or waive
notice thereof.

§ 5. The council may appoint a clerk and a treasurer, and
may appoint a town attorney and such other officers and create
such boards and departments as it deems necessary or proper,
and define their duties and functions. Such officers so appointed
shall hold office during the pleasure of the council, shall give such
bonds as the council requires, and shall receive such compensa-
tion as the council prescribes. The same person may hold two or
more of such offices, in the discretion of the council.

The council may appoint a sergeant who shall qualify
as provided by law, and give bond in such amount as the coun-
cil requires. The sergeant shall be a conservator of the peace,
and shall have the same powers and perform the same duties
within the corporate limits of the town and to a distance of one
mile beyond the same, as were formerly had and performed by
constables. He shall perform such other duties and receive such
compensation as the council prescribes, and shall hold office dur-
ing the pleasure of the council.

§ 7. The mayor shall be a conservator of the peace, and
shall, unless and until a police justice is appointed as herein-
after provided, have power to issue warrants and summon wit-
nesses, and exclusive original jurisdiction to try cases involving
violations of town ordinances, or the collection of town taxes
or assessments, or any other form of debts owing to the town,
and shall have like powers in the matter of collecting fines and
costs imposed by him, as are vested by law in trial justices.
‘he fees and costs in connection with such cases shall be the
same as are authorized by law to be charged, taxed and col-
lected by trial justices for similar services, and such fees, and
all fines collected by the mayor shall be promptly paid by him
into the town treasury, unless the council by ordinance directs
some other disposition thereof; provided that the council may,
at any time it deems the same expedient, appoint a police jus-
tice for the town, who shall be a resident and qualified voter of
the town, shall give such bond as the council requires, shall
serve during the pleasure of the council, and shall receive such
compensation as the council prescribes.

In the event of the appointment of such police justice, he
shall have, during such time as he serves, and to the exclusion
of the mayor, the same powers and jurisdiction as are herein-
above conferred upon and vested in the mayor, and shall exer-
cise the same in like manner as they are above authorized and
directed to be exercised by the mayor.

§ 8. In addition to, and supplementary of the powers con-
ferred upon towns and town councils by general law, the town
of Whaleyville and its council shall have the powers set forth
in the following sections of this charter.

§ 9. The town is empowered to acquire, establish, enlarge,
maintain and operate such water works and systems as the
council deems necessary for the purpose of providing an ade-
quate supply of water to consumers within the corporate limits
of the town and within such adjacent territory as the council
deems it expedient or proper to serve, at such rates as the coun-
cil prescribes, provided that the rates charged consumers with-
out the corporate limits shall not be less than, nor more than
double, the rates charged consumers within the town for similar
services, any or all of which rates the council may alter at any
time without notice.

The council may discontinue serving water to any con-
sumer who defaults in payment for such service within the
time prescribed by the council for the payment thereof, for so
long as such default continues.

§ 10. The town is empowered to establish, construct, en-
large, and maintain such sanitary sewer lines and systems as the
council deems necessary or expedient, and to require owners or
occupiers of real estate within the corporate limits of the towns,
which fronts or abuts on any such sewer line, to make connection
with and use the same; and shall have power to assess and col-
lect reasonable fees and rates for making sewer connections and
CH. 526] ACTS OF ASSEMBLY 1025

for sewer service, of the reasonableness of which, the council
shall be the sole judge; and sewer service may be ‘discontinued
for default in payment for such service within the time pre-
scribed by the council for payment thereof, for so long as such
default continues.

The town is empowered to acquire by condemnation or
otherwise, such properties or interests or estate therein, either
within or without its corporate limits, as the council deems
necessary for the purpose of establishing, enlarging, maintain-
ing or operating any such sewer line or lines.

§ 11. The town is empowered to acquire by condemnation,
or otherwise, property, real or personal, or any interest or es-
tate therein, either within or without its corporate limits, for any
of its proper purposes, including that of providing playgrounds,
parks, golf courses and other recreational facilities, and to make
reasonable charges for the use of such facilities, and to other-
wise handle and deal with such properties in such manner as the
council deems proper or expedient; and shall have power to ac-.
quire by condemnation or otherwise, rights of way from the town
to any property acquired by it under any of the provisions of this
charter, which lies without its corporate limits, and to construct.
and maintain upon such rights of way, such roads or bridges as
may be reasonably necessary for the full enjoyment thereof; and
shall also have power to sell such properties or any of them, or
any other property owned by the town, whenever the council
deems it expedient to do so.

§ 12. In so far as not expressly prohibited by general law,
the town is empowered (a) to control and regulate the operation
upon its streets and alleys, of motor vehicles carrying passenger
or freight for hire, and to require the owners or operators of
such carriers to provide and maintain within the town, suitable
terminals for the convenient loading and unloading of passengers
and freight; (b) to regulate the fares to be charged by operators
of taxicabs or other motor vehicles operating from established
stands within the town, for carrying passengers within its cor-
porate limits, and to require that the drivers of such vehicles be
of such moral character as meets with the approval of the coun-
cil; and (c) to prescribe rules and regulations with respect to
motor traffic of all kinds, within the town, and the parking of
motor vehicles on its streets and alleys.

§ 18. The town is empowered (a) to regulate the holding
of shows, carnivals, fairs and other similar public exhibitions, or
to prohibit the holding of same, or any of them, within its cor-
porate limits or within one mile thereof; (b) except as pro-
hibited by general law, to impose and collect a license tax for
the privilege of doing within the town, anything upon which the
State imposes a license tax; provided that the town may, unless
expressly prohibited by general law, impose a higher license tax
on any such thing, than that imposed by the State on the same
thing, the amount of the license tax imposed by the town to be in
each instance, in the discretion of the council.

§ 14.° The town is empowered (a) to provide a building
code for the town; to provide for the orderly and safe construc-
tion of houses and other buildings; to prescibe setback lines on
designated streets; to designate standards to be observed in the
construction of dwellings and business houses on designated
streets and in designated sections; and (b) to adopt a compre-
hensive plan concerning the subdivision of lands within the cor-
porate limits of the town or within two miles thereof; to require
that plats of all such subdivisions shall, after having been ap-
proved by the council as hereinafter provided, be recorded in the
clerk’s office of Nansemond County; and the term “subdivision”,
when and as used in this charter, means the division of a tract
of land into five or more lots, with appropriate streets and alleys,
and with the intention on the part of the owner of the land, of
developing the same, or making it available for development by
others, for residential and business purposes.

§ 15. The town is empowered (a) to prohibit, and to pun-
ish for mischievous or wanton damage to school property or any
other property, either public or private, within the town; (b)
to prohibit minors from frequenting or loitering in public pool
rooms, billiard parlors or bowling alleys, and prescribe punish-
ment therefor, and to punish the proprietors of such places, or
their agents in charge, for permitting the same; (c) to compel
persons sentenced to confinement in jail for violations of town
ordinances, to work on the streets or other public places of the

wn.

§ 16. The town is empowered to prohibit encroachments
upon the streets or alleys, or upon parks or other public places
of the town by any fence, building, porch or other projection,
and to require the removal of any such encroachment heretofore
or hereafter made, unless made with the consent and approval of
the council, and to punish for any such encroachment hereafter
made without such consent first obtained; and any such en-
croachment made without such consent shall be deemed a nui-
sance, of which the town may compel the abatement and removal
by and through appropriate court action or proceeding, against
which right of the town, no statute of limitation shall run.

§ 17. The town is empowered to permit and regulate, or
to prohibit, the erection of poles and wires for electric, telegraph
or telephone service or the laying of any kinds of pipes in the
streets or alleys of the town, and to prescribe, assess and collect
annual or other periodical charges for the doing of any such
things under permits hereafter granted; and the power to re-
quire the owners or operators of any such electric light, tele-
phone or telegraph lines to change the location of any of their
poles whenever the council deems any such change expedient;
provided that none of the powers above enumerated shall be
exercised in a manner inconsistent with the provisions of any
franchise granted by the town.

§ 18. The town is empowered to exercise all such police
powers as the council deems reasonably necessary for the pro-
motion and protection of the health, morals and safety of the
inhabitants of the town, for the protection of the property of
the town and its inhabitants, for the preservation of peace and
good order, and for the general welfare; and the council is em-
powered to make ordinances and by-laws for the purpose of
carrying into effect the enumerated powers conferred upon the
town by this charter, including police powers, and to prescribe
punishments for violations thereof provided that no such pun-
ishment shall exceed the maximum punishment prescribed by
general law for a misdemeanor; and provided further, that all
ordinances, by-laws and resolutions made and adopted by the
council shall become effective thirty days after their passage,
unless a different date is specified in any such ordinance, by-laws
or resolution, upon which the same shall become effective.

§ 19. Town manager.—(a) The council may appoint a
town manager who shall be the chief administrative officer of the
town and shall be chosen solely on the basis of his executive and
administrative qualifications, and shall have some knowledge of
civil, mechanical and electrical engineering. He need not, when
appointed, be a resident of the town, or of the State of Virginia,
but shall during his term of office, reside within the corporate
limits of the town, and shall be appointed for such term as he
and the council agree upon, not to exceed two years, but in any
event, to end with the term of the council making the appoint-
ment. The town manager may be suspended or removed by the
council for any cause it deems sufficient, provided that no order
of suspension or removal! shall be made until after he shall have
been given at least five days’ notice in writing, stating the cause
for such suspension or removal and fixing a day when he may be
heard thereon. The action of the council, suspending or remov-
ing the town manager, shall be final. The council may place the
control and supervision of the police force of the town under
either the mayor or the town manager.

(b) Except as otherwise provided in this charter, the town
manager may, with the consent of the council, appoint or employ,
and remove or discharge, such officers, employees and assistants
as he deems necessary to carry on the work of such departments
of the town as are committed to him by the council, in all their
respective details, in an economical and satisfactory manner
The salary or compensation, and the terms of office or employ-
ment of such officers, employees and assistants shall be fixed by
the town manager, subject to approval by the council; and his
actions in all respects shall be subject to review by the council,
and he shall be accountable to the council only.

§ 20. Subdivisions.—No plat of any subdivision within
the corporate limits of the town or within two miles thereof
shall be recorded in the clerk’s office of Nansemond county unless
and until it shall have been approved by the council, and the
council shall not approve any plat of any such subdivision unless
the streets, alleys or other roadways provided for therein are of
such widths and grades and are so located as to, in the opinion of
the council, meet the probable traffic needs in the reasonably
near future. Before approving any such plat, the council may,
in its discretion, require the owner of the land so subdivided to
enter into an agreement in writing, and to give satisfactory
security for the performance thereof, to the effect that he will,
when and as the same becomes necessary, grade and surface
the streets, alleys or roadways shown thereon, in such manner
as to meet with the approval of the council.

The approval of any such plat by the council shall not be
construed or held to impose any obligation upon the town to
grade or surface such streets, alleys, or roadways unless and
until the same is, in the opinion of the council, for the best in-
terest and general welfare of the town and its inhabitants.

An emergency exists and this act is in force from passage.