CHAPTER 540

AN ACT to provide a new charter for the town of Haymarket and
to repeal Chapter 873 of the Acts of Assembly of 1948, approved
March $1. 1948.

[H 702]

Approved April 7, 1950
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. ARTICLE I
THe Town CorRPoRATE

§ 1. (1) The inhabitants of the territory comprised within
the limits of the town of Haymarket, as such limits are hereinafter
set out or as the same may be hereafter altered and established by
law, shall constitute and continue a body, politic and corporate, to
be known and designated as the town of Haymarket, 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 Constitu-
tion and laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia, as fully and com-
pletely as though such powers were specifically 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 gaid
town as a municipal corporation, and shall have perpetual succes-
sion, 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.
§ 1. (1) The limits of said town shall be as follows:

Beginning in the center of John Marshall Highway (Virginia
State Route 55) a distance of 2,241.57 feet northwesterly from a
pipe driven into the said highway where it intersects Carolina Road
(State Route 625) ; thence North 35 degrees 21 minutes 25 seconds
East, with Peters, 1,800 feet (passing through a concrete marker at
40.07 feet) to a concrete marker; thence, with Peters, Robinson
(or Robertson), Thomas, King, and Jordan, South 57 degrees 31
minutes 39 seconds East, 4,474.04 feet crossing Carolina Road
(Virginia State Route 625) and passing through concrete markers
at 1,855.82 feet and 1,892.42 feet respectively, to a concrete marker ;
thence, with Jordan, Prince William County School Board and
Stanton, South 35 degrees 21 minutes 25 seconds West, a distance
of 3,500 feet crossing John Marshall Highway (Virginia State Route
55) and passing through concrete markers at 1,599.78 feet and
1,680.22 feet respectively to a concrete marker just southwesterly.
from the Southern Railway Company’s right-of-way; thence, with
Stanton, Bleight, Tyler, and Rust, South 58 degrees 09 minutes
59 seconds West, 4,476.84 feet crossing Carolina Road (Virginia
State Route 625) just northeasterly from a bridge and passing
through concrete markers at 1,671.11 feet and 1,711.61 feet, respec-
tively to a concrete marker, and thence with Rust and Fletcher
(following the old Clarkson line) North 35 degrees 21 minutes 25
seconds East, a distance of 1,750 feet crossing the Southern Rail-
way Company’s right-of-way at about 800 feet and passing through
a concrete marker at 1,709.93 feet to the place of beginning, con-
taining 361.59288 acres, more or less, according to a survey based
on true bearings made by R. J. Ratcliffe, Surveyor of Prince William
County, Virginia.

ARTICLE IIT
ADMINISTRATION AND GOVERNMENT

§1. (1) The present mayor and councilmen of the town of
Haymarket shall continue in office and exercise all the powers con-
ferred by this charter and the general laws of this State until
September ist, 1951, or until their successors are duly elected and
qualified.

(2) On the second Tuesday in June, nineteen hundred and
fifty-one, 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 six other electors, who shall be denomi-
nated 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 pre
scribed.

(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 pre-
scribed by general law.

(4) The council shall judge of the election, qualification, and
returns of its members; may fine them for disorderly conduct, 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 constitute 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
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 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 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 conferred 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 juris-
diction to issue process for and try all cases for the violation of
the town ordinances, subject to an appeal to the Circuit Court of
Prince William 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 Prince William 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 pro-
tected. He shall authenticate by his signature such documents and
instruments as the council, this charter, or the laws of this Com-
monwealth 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 ordi-
nance, 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 books of the council. The council
shall thereupon proceed to reconsider such ordinance or resolution.
If, after such consideration, two-thirds of all the members 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 qualifica-
tion, 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 perform the
duties and be vested with all the powers, authority, and jurisdic-
tion, 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 continue to have all
of the rights, privileges, powers, duties and obligations of council-
man 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 busi-
ness shall be transacted at a special meeting except that stated
in the call, unless all members be present and consent to the trans-
action 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 pro-
ceedings at large on the minute book and keep the same properly
indexed.

(12) The council may adopt rules for regulating its proceed-
ings, 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 meet-
ing 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 prescribes. 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 depart-
ments. 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 reported 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 treasurer
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 thereafter, 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 con-
servator 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 successor is
appointed by the council and qualifies. The mayor, or any other
qualified voter of the town of Haymarket whom the council deems
qualified, may be appointed by it as such trial justice. If the mayor
is appointed as trial justice he shall discharge 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 pro-
vided 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, authority
and jurisdiction and charged with all the duties within and for the
town of Haymarket, and in criminal matters for one mile beyond
the corporate limits thereof; which are or may hereafter be, con-
ferred upon the trial justice by the laws of the State of Virginia,
so far as the same may be applicable, and not in conflict 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 Virginia relat-
ing to trial justices as the same shall now be or as hereby amended.
All fees and costs collected by the said trial justice and all fines
collected for violations of all laws and ordinances 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 Prince William
County in the same manner, upon the same terms and shall be
tried in the same way as removals, or as appeals from the decision
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 compensate
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 com-
pensation shall be deducted from salary or allowance made to the
principal.

The town of Haymarket may combine with the County of
Prince William 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 Haymarket and the County
of Prince William 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 pass-

age.
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 following
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 assess-
ments 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 improve-
ments and enforce the payment thereof, subject to such limitations

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 evi-
dence thereof, bonds, notes or other obligations, within the limita-
tions prescribed by the Constitution and laws of this State con-
cerning 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 property used in connec-
tion with any public utility owned and operated 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 revenue of
the current fiscal year, and to issue notes or other evidences of
indebtedness therefor, and from time to time to renew such tempo-
rary loans or to use current funds to be ultimately repaid from the
proceeds of said bonds, notes or other obligations, 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 shal] only be sufficient to provide regulation and protec-
tion.

(10) To impose licenses by ordinance upon businesses, trades,
professions or callings, and upon persons, firms, associations or cor-
porations 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 deliver-
ing 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 corporate
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 shal] have the benefit of all other
remedies for the collection of town taxes which are now, or may
hereafter be permitted under the general law 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 within the provisions of gen-
eral law and the Constitution of this State the following powers:

(1) To acquire by purchase, gift, devise, condemnation, or
otherwise, as provided by general law and the Constitution of this
State, property, real or personal, or any estate therein within
or without the town, for any purpose of the town, and to hold, im-
prove, 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 exercise
of the power of eminent domain within this State, lands, or any
interest or estate in lands,. rock quarries, gravel pits, sandpits,
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, swim-
ming pools, recreation and amusement buildings, structures or en-
closures 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, pro-
vide 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 en-
couraging commerce and manufacture, lands within or without
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 stations,
markets and all buildings and structures necessary or appropriate
for the use and proper operation of various departments of the
town and to acquire by condemnation or otherwise all lands,
riparian and other rights and easements necessary for such improve-
ments, or any of them, and, either within or without 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 necessary for the aforesaid uses
by condemnation or otherwise.

(7) To provide in or near the town land to be used as burial
places for the dead, to improve and care for the same and the
approaches thereto, and to charge for and regulate the use of the
ground therein, to cooperate with any non-profit corporation or
association in the improvements and care of burial places and
approaches thereto; and to provide for the perpetual upkeep and
care of any plot or burial lot therein, the town is authorized to
take and receive sums of money by gift, bequest, or otherwise, to
be kept and invested, and the income thereof used in and about the
perpetual upkeep and care of the said lot or plot for which the
said donation, gift, or bequest has been made. And all acts of the
said town in accepting from any cemetery company, society or cor-
poration such land to be used as a burial place for the dead, whether
the land has been heretofore used or not, as well as all contracts
and agreements made with any person or persons for perpetual care
and maintenance, are hereby declared valid.

ARTICLE VI
UTILITIES

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

(1) To own, operate and 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 pur-
chased 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 acquire
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 corporate limits to connect
therewith, for the distribution of water to its customers and con-
sumers, both within and without the corporate limits of the town,
and to charge and collect water rents therefor; to erect and main-
tain all necessary dams, pumping stations and other works in con-
nection therewith; to make reasonable rules and regulations pro-
moting 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
exercise 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 owners
to connect therewith; to establish, construct, maintain, and operate
sewage disposal plants, and to acquire by condemnation or other-
wise, 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 facili-
ties and for public services and privileges; and to have the right
and power to charge for any service rendered or convenience fur-
nished to those residing without the corporate limits different from
the rates charged for similar services or conveniences 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 with-
out 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 sewage 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 de-
posit of such reasonable amount as it may prescribe before fur-
nishing 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; provided, how-
ever, 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 con-
trary notwithstanding.

(8) To regulate, permit or prohibit poles and wires for elec-
tric, telephone, and telegraph purposes erected or to be erected
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, parkways, 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, maintain and operate
bridges, viaducts, subways, tunnels, sewers and drains, and to
regulate the use of all such highways, parks, public 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
3peed of cars and vehicles within the streets and highways within
the town; and to do all other things whatsoever adapted to make
the streets and highways safe, convenient 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 construction of
buildings, fences, walls, retaining walls and other structures here-
after 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 dan-
gerous to life or property, or which may be erected contrary to
aw.

(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 re-
quire 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 subdividing
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 Prince William County, Vir-
ginia.

(4) To issue, or refuse (in case of noncompliance with the
building requirements of the town) to issue, permits for the con-
struction 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 punished as
hereinbefore provided.

ARTICLE IX
ADDITIONAL POWERS

§ 1. In addition to powers elsewhere mentioned in thig char-
ter and the powers conferred by general law and the Constitution,
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 stag-
nant 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 transportation of
all articles through the streets of the town; to compel the abate-
ment of smoke and dust, and prevent unnecessary noise; to regu-
late 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 billboards and signs; and gener-
ally 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, regulate
and control a fire department or division; to establish and desig-
nate 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 stringent and efficient
laws for securing the safety of persons from fires in halls and
buildings used for public assemblages, entertainments or amuse-
ments.

(3) 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, gaso-
line, and other like material; to regulate or prevent the exhibition
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. consump-
tion which ig 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 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 quaran-
tine ground within or without the town, and establish and enforce
such quarantine regulations against contagious and infectious dis-
eases 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 ani-
mals 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 gambling 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 disturb-
ances of the peace, disorderly conduct, and public swearing and
cursing, within the town.

(18) To prohibit and punish mischievous, wanton, or malicious
damage to school, church, and public property, as well as to pri-
vate property.
(14) To prohibit minorg from and punish them for frequent-
ing, 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 sergeant
of the town or the sheriff of Prince William 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 purpose of
carrying into effect the police regulations of the town, the town
shall have the use of the county jail of Prince William County for
the safe keeping and confinement of all persons who shall be sen-
tenced 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 con-
viction 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 con-
duct 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 of officers, thereof or which may be a
necessary 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 wel-
fare, 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 crimi-
nals.

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

(21) To establish, organize, administer, or contribute to the
gupport 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, li-
cense and/or tax the manufacture, bottling, sale, distribution,
transportation, handling, advertising, possession, dispensing, drink-
ing and use of alcohol, brandy, rum, whiskey, gin, wine, beer, lager
beer, ale, porter, stout, and all liquids, beverages and articles con-
taining alcohol by distillation, fermentation or otherwise.

(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, provided 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 pro rate
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 carrying
passengers for hire upon the streets or alleys of the town; to regu-
late 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 neces-
sary for the general welfare and safety.

(26) To make and enforce and effect by ordinances any and all
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 violation of any town ordi-
nance, rule or regulation, or of any provision of this charter, the
penalty not to exceed five hundred 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 exercise
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.
§ 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 or any
officer, agent, or employee thereof, unless a written statement 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, shall 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 within 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 con-
ditions 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 competent juris-
diction to be invalid, such judgment shall not affect, impair or
invalidate the remainder of the act, but shall be confined in its
operation to the part of the act directly involved in the contro-
versy in which the judgment shall have been rendered.

(2) This act may be referred to or cited as the Haymarket
Charter of nineteen hundred and fifty.

2. That Chapter 373 of the Acts of Assembly of 1948, approved
March 31, 1948, is repealed.
3. An emergency exists and this act is in force from its passage.