CHAPTER 561

An Act to provide a charter for the town of Keysville, and to repeal
Chapter 427 of the Acts of Assembly of 1887, approved May 24, 1887,
' which provided a charter for the town of Keysville, and all acts and
parts of acts amendatory thereof, or inconsistent therewith. '

H 337

Approved April 3, 1952

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 Keysville, 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
Keysville, 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 territory embraced within the present limits of the town of Keysville
is described by metes and bounds as follows:

Beginning at a fence corner, the northeast corner of Morton’s land,
on the west side of Highways No.’s 15 and 360: thence, crossing the high-
way and the Southern Railway, S 50 degrees 45 minutes E, 133 feet toa
fence corner; thence, following this fence and passing through a marked
pine at 895 feet, S 64 degrees E, 1973 feet to a monument on the east side
of Bagby Mill Road, a point on the old boundary line; thence, following
the old boundary line and the road, S 6 degrees W, 319 feet to a monu-
ment on the east side of Bagby Mill Road, this monument being 420 feet
north of the north side of Farrar Street; thence, parallel to Farrar Street,
S 64 degrees 15 minutes E, 1270 feet to a monument on a fence line;
thence, along this fence line, S 36 degrees 45 minutes W, 483 feet to a
monument on a fence line, this fence being on the south side of Farrar
Street; thence, following this fence, S 64 degrees 45 minutes E, 754 feet
to a pine tree; thence S 5 degrees 15 minutes E, 1220 feet to a monument
on a fence line and the south right of way line of Highway No. 40 leading
to Lunenburg Court House, this point being on the old boundary line;
thence S 8 degrees 15 minutes W, 436 feet to a monument in pine woods;
thence S 81 degrees 40 minutes W, 1272 feet to an iron pin near a three-
pronged chestnut oak and on the east right of way line of Highways No.’s
15 and 360, this point being on the old boundary line; thence, following
the old boundary line and the east right of way line of the highway, S 1
degree W, 519 feet to a monument opposite a triangular concrete highway
project monument in the forks of the roads, old Highway 15 and 360 and
the present Highway 15 and 360 forking at this point; thence, leaving
the old boundary line, N 88 degrees 20 minutes W, 1543 feet to a fence
corner on the east right of way line of the Durham branch of the Southern
Railway; thence, crossing the railway, N 42 degrees 30 minutes W, 391
feet to a bend in a power line; thence, following this power line, N 69
degrees 15 minutes W, 2880 feet to a bend in the power line on the south-
east side of Highway No. 637 leading to Drakes Branch; thence, crossing
the highway and the Southern Railway, N 72 degrees W, 412 feet to a
monument on a fence line; thence N 15 degrees 40 minutes E, 2020 feet
to a set stone on the west bank of a branch, this stone being the northeast
corner of H. J. Hamlett’s property; thence N 63 degrees 30 minutes W,
1445 feet to a monument on the east side of Road No. 688, this point being
on the old boundary line; thence, following about the center line of this
road and crossing Highway No. 40 leading to Charlotte Court House, on
the west side of a cemetery and church, N 34 degrees 30 minutes E, 772
feet to a monument; thence N 75 degrees 30 minutes E, 2137 feet to a
fence corner, the northwest corner of Morton’s land; thence, following the
north line of Morton’s land, S 69 degrees 30 minutes E, 1000 feet to the
point of beginning and containing 830 acres more or less.

§ 2. The administration and government of the town shall be vested
in a council which shall consist of seven members, six of whom shall be
denominated the councilmen and one to be denominated the mayor, all
of whom shall be residents and qualified voters of the town. Each council-
man may receive a salary for his services as such, the amount thereof to
be fixed by the council, 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, nineteen hundred fifty-
two, and every two years thereafter, in the manner prescribed by law.
The present mayor and councilmen shall continue in office until the expi-
ration of the terms for which they were respectively elected.

§ 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 meet-
ings 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 shall 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 may require,
and shall receive such compensation as the council prescribes. The same
person may hold two or more of such offices, in the discretion of the council.

§ 6. The council shall appoint a sergeant who shall qualify as pro-
vided by law, and give bond in such amount as the council may require.
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 provided in § 15-557
of the Code of Virginia. He shall perform such other duties and receive
such compensation as the council prescribes, and shall hold office during
the pleasure of the council.

. The mayor shall preside at the meetings of the council and
shall have no right to vote in the council, except that, in case of a tie, he
shall have the right to break the same by his vote. The mayor shall be a
conservator of the peace, and shall, unless and until a police justice is
appointed as hereinafter provided, have power to issue warrants and
summon witnesses, and exclusive original jurisdiction to try cases involv-
ing 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. The fees and costs in connection
with such cases shall be the same as are authorized by law to be charged,
taxed and collected 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 disposi-
tion thereof; provided that the council may, at any time it deems the same
expedient, appoint a police justice for the town, who shall give such bond
as the council may require, 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 hereinabove conferred upon and vested in
the mayor, and shall exercise the same in like manner as they are above
authorized and directed to be éxercised by the mayor.

§ 8. In addition to, and supplementary of the powers conferred
upon towns and town councils by general law, the town of Keysville 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, main-
tain and operate such water works and systems as the council deems
necessary for the purpose of providing an adequate 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 council prescribes, provided that the rates charged
consumers without the corporate limits shall not be less than 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 consumer 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, enlarge, 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 town, which fronts or abuts on any
such sewer line, to make connection with and use the same; and shall have
power to assess and collect reasonable fees and rates for making sewer
connections and 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 prescribed by the
council for payment thereof, for so long as each 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, maintaining or operating any such sewer line
or lines. .

§ 11. The town is empowered to acquire by condemnation or other-
wise, property, real or personal, or any interest or estate 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 otherwise handle and deal with such properties in such
manner as the council deems proper or expedient; and shall have power
to acquire 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 passengers or freight for hire;
(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 whose journeys begin and end within its corporate
limits, and to require that the drivers of such vehicles be of good moral
character; 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.

§ 13. The town is empowered 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.

§ 14. The town is empowered to impose licenses by ordinance upon
businesses, trades, professions or callings, and upon persons, firms, asso-
ciations or corporations, except motor vehicle carriers liable for and which
pay the road tax calculated on gross receipts prescribed by § 58-638 of the
Code, engaged therein or offering to do business within the boundaries of
the town, whose principal office is or is not located in said town, except
when in conflict with 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.

§ 15. The town is empowered (a) to provide a building code for
the town; to provide for the orderly and safe construction of houses and
other buildings; to prescribe 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 comprehensive plan concerning the subdivision of lands within
the corporate limits of the town or within two miles thereof; to require
that plats of all such subdivisions shall, after having been approved by
the council as hereinafter provided, be recorded in the clerk’s office of
Charlotte 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.

§ 16. The town is empowered (a) to prohibit, and to punish 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 punishment 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 town.

§ 17. The town is empowered to prohibit encroachment 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 encroachment made without such consent shall be deemed a
nuisance, 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.

§ 18. 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 require the owners or operators of any such electric light,
telephone 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 incon-
sistent with the provisions of any franchise granted by the town.

§ 19. The town is empowered to exercise all such police powers as
the council deems reasonably necessary for the promotion 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 preser-
vation of peace and good order, and for the general welfare; and the
council is empowered 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 punishment 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.

§ The town is empowered to require every owner of motor
vehicles residing in the said 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 such person as may be designated by
the council of said town to issue said license, and to require the said owner
to pay an annual license fee therefor to be fixed by the council; provided
that such license fee shall not exceed that charged by the State on such
machines.

§ 21. Town manager.—(a) The council may appoint a town man-
ager who shall be the chief administrative officer of the town and shall
be chosen solely on the basis of his executive and administrative qualifi-
cations. 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 appointment. 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 removing 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 employment 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.

§ 22. Subdivisions—No plat of any subdivision within the cor-
porate limits of the town or within two miles thereof shall be recorded
in the clerk’s office of Charlotte 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 pro-
vided 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 reason-
ably 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 perform-
ance 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 interest and general welfare of the town and
its inhabitants.

§ 238. All ordinances now in force in the town of Keysville not incon-
sistent with this charter, shall be and remain in full force and effect until
altered, amended or repealed by the council of the town, after the effective
date of this act.

2. Chapter 427 of the Acts of Assembly of eighteen eighty-seven, ap-
proved May twenty-four, eighteen eighty-seven, which provided a new
charter for the town of Keysville, and all acts amendatory thereof, are
hereby repealed; and all other acts and parts of acts inconsistent with
any of the provisions of this act, are hereby repealed to the extent of such
inconsistencies.

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