CHAPTER 190

An Act to amend and reenact 8§ 3.01, 3.08, 8.04, 8.05 as amended, 4.01,
as amended, 16.06, 17.10 as amended, and 20.02 as amended of Chap-
ter 328 of the Acts of Assembly of 1950, approved April 4, 1950,
which provided a charter for the city of Falls Church; to amend said
chapter by adding a section numbered 8.06, the amended and new
sections relating, respectively, to the conduct of municipal elections,
vacancies in the office of councilman, election of certain city officers,
composition of council, the advisory board of recreation and parks,
zoning powers of council, the school board, and election of the city
attorney; and to repeal § 10.05 as amended of said chapter relating
to time and manner of eléction of the city attorney. CT 198]

1

Approved March 1, 1956

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That §§ 3.01, 3.03, 3.04, 3.05 as amended, 4.01 as amended, 16.06,
17.10 as amended, and 20.02 as amended, of Chapter 323 of the Acts of
Assembly of 1950, approved April 4, 1950, be amended and reenacted and
pnt the said chapter be amended by adding a section numbered 3.06 as
ollows:

§ 3.01. Election of Councilmen.—On the second Tuesday in June *
1957, there shall be held a general city election at which shall be elected
by the qualified voters of the city at large seven members of the council *.
The four candidates receiving the highest number of votes shall serve for
terms of four years and the three candidates receiving the next highest
number of votes shall serve for terms of two years.
In the regular municipal election to be held on the second Tuesday
in June, 1959, and every four years thereafter, three councilmen shall be
elected for terms of four years each. In the regular municipal election to
be held on the second Tuesday in June, 1961, and every four years there-
after, four councilmen shall be elected for terms of four years each. Terms
of office shall begin on the first day of September next following their
election.

§ 3.03. The ballots used in the election of councilmen shall be with-
out any distinguishing mark or symbol. * Each qualified voter shall be
entitled to cast one vote for each of as many councilmen as are to be
elected in that election and those candidates receiving the highest number
of votes shall be declared elected. In the event a vacancy or vacancies are
to be filled by election as provided in § 3.04, infra, the candidates receiving
the highest number of votes, other than the candidates who are elected for
a full term, shall be entitled to the unexpired term caused by such vacancy.
In counting the votes, any ballot found to have been voted for more than
the number of persons to be elected shall be void but no ballot shall be
void for having been voted for a less number. The general laws of the
Commonwealth relating to the conduct of elections, so far as pertinent,
shall apply to the conduct of the general municipal election.

§ 3.04. * When any vacancy shall occur in the membership of the
office of councilman, from any cause, and the term of the office wherein
the vacancy exists shall continue for one year or more after the next
succeeding regular June election, the vacancy shall be filled for the unex-
pired term by election in the next regular June election, the candidate
elected shall be installed in office immediately thereafter. The Council may
by a majority vote of all the remaining members, fill said vacancy untd
said election is held.

§ 3.05. All other city officers except the office of city attorney re-
quired by the laws of the Commonwealth to be elected by the qualified
voters of the city shall be elected on the first Tuesday following the first
Monday in November preceding the expiration of the terms of office of
their respective predecessors, for such terms as are prescribed by law.
All such elective officers shall be nominated and elected as provided in
the general laws of the Commonwealth. A vacancy in the office of com-
missioner of revenue, city treasurer, * justice of the peace, bailing justice
or city sergeant shall be filled by the council by majority vote of all its
members for the interim period until a successor is elected at the next
general election and takes office, as is provided in the Code of Virginia.
The officers so elected or appointed shall qualify in the mode prescribed
by law and shall continue in office until their successors are elected and
qualified.

§ 3.06. On the second Tuesday in June, 1957, and on the second
Tuesday in June of every fourth year thereafter, there shall be elected a
city attorney for a term of four years beginning on the first of September
next succeeding his election, and in case of vacancy thereafter occurring
in the office of city attorney, it shall be the duty of the council to certify
the same to the Judge of the Circuit Court, who shall issue his writ for
election to fill such vacancy in the manner prescribed by the general laws
of this State, and until such election is held the vacancy may be filled by
a majority vote of all members of the Council.

§ 4.01. The council shall consist of seven members elected as pro-
vided in Chapter 3. They shall each receive in full compensation for their
services the sum of * fifty dollars per month and shall not be entitled to
any other allowance of any kind except that the mayor or vice-mayor when
acting as mayor, or any member of the council, subject to the approval
of the council, may be allowed his actual] expenses incurred in representing
CH. 190] ACTS OF ASSEMBLY 191

the city. No member of the council shall during the term for which he
was elected and one year thereafter be appointed to any office of profit
under the government of the city.

§ 16.06. There shall be an advisory board of recreation and parks
consisting of five members, of whom one shall be a member of the school
board, appointed by the school board, and one a member of the city
planning commission, appointed by the city planning commission, for
terms of two years from the first Tuesday in September 1951 and every
two years thereafter, but in no case shall a member so appointed con-
tinue to be a member of the advisory board of recreation and parks
after the expiration of his term as a member of the school board or the
city planning commission, as the case may be; and of whom three shall be
appointed by the council for terms of three years, provided that the
members in office at the effective date of this charter are hereby continued
in office for the terms they were appointed, and new appointments shall
be made annually from the first Tuesday in September in such a manner
that one or more, but less than three, of the appointments expire annually.
Vacancies shall be filled by the Authority making the appointment, for
the unexpired portion of the term. The advisory board of recreation and
parks shall choose annually one of its own number to be chairman for
a term of one year and until his successor is chosen and qualified. An
employee of the department of recreation and parks shall be assigned by
the director of recreation and parks to act as secretary of the board. It
shall hold such regular meetings as it may determine. Special meetings
may be held at any time on the call of the director of recreation and parks
or of the chairman of the advisory board of recreation and parks. The
advisory board of recreation and parks shall advise with the director of
recreation and parks. * The members of the advisory board of recreation
and parks shall serve without compensation.

§ 17.10. In addition to the powers granted elsewhere in this charter,
the council shall have the power to adopt in the manner provided in
§ 17.13, a comprehensive zoning plan designed to lessen congestion in
streets; secure safety from fire, panic and other danger; promote health,
sanitation and general welfare; provide adequate light and air; prevent
the overcrowding of land; avoid undue concentration of population;
facilitate public and private transportation and the supplying of public
utility services and sewage disposal, and facilitate provision for schools,
parks, playgrounds and other public improvements and requirements. The
comprehensive zoning plan shall include the division of the city into
districts with such boundaries as the council deems necessary to carry
out the purposes of this chapter, and shall provide for the regulation and
restriction of the use of land, buildings, and structures in the respective
districts and may include, but shall not be limited to, the following:

(a) It may permit specified uses of land, buildings and structures
in the districts and prohibit all other uses.

(b) It may regulate the height, area, bulk, size, design and appear-
ance of buildings and structures and the appropriateness of their use in
the districts.

(c) It may establish setback building lines and prescribe the area
of land that may be used as front, rear and side yards and courts and
open spaces.

(d) It may restrict the portion of the area of lots that may be
occupied by buildings and structures.

(e) It may prescribe the area of lots and the space in buildings
that may be occupied by families.

(f) It may require that spaces and facilities deemed adequate by
the council shall be provided on lots for parking of vehicles in conjunc-
tion with permitted uses of land and that spaces and facilities deemed
192 ACTS OF ASSEMBLY [vA., 1956

adequate by the council shall be provided on lots for off-street loading
or unloading of vehicles. .

(g) It may permit the designed use and development of land * in
a manner varying in certain respects from the regulations and restrictions
prescribed for the district or districts in which such land is situated,
provided that it establishes a minimum area of not less than five acres
subject to such designed use and provided further that such designed use
shall be approved by the city planning commission and the council, and
adopted as a part of the master plan of the city.

(h) It may provide that land, buildings and structures and the uses
thereof which do not conform to the regulations and restrictions pre-
scribed for the district in which they are situated may be continued so
long as the then existing or more restricted use continues and so long as
the buildings or structures are maintained in their then structural con-
dition; and may require that such buildings or structures and the use
thereof shall conform to the regulations and restrictions prescribed for
the district or districts in which they are situated whenever they are
enlarged, extended, reconstructed or structurally altered; and may require
that such buildings or structures and the use thereof shall conform to
the regulations and restrictions prescribed for the district or districts in
which they are situated, in any event, within a reasonable period of time
to be specified in the ordinance.

From and after the adoption of a master plan or any amendment or
extension thereof as required by this chapter, or the land use portion
thereof, such zoning plan shall be made to conform substantially with the
master plan, and any amendments to the zoning plan shall be based upon
and in substantial accordance with the master plan.

§ 20.02. (a) The school board shall consist of seven trustees who
shall be qualified voters of the city actually residing within the city limits.
The trustees in office at the effective date of this charter are hereby con-
tinued in office for the terms for which they were elected.

(b) * At its first regular meeting in June, 1956, and every three
years thereafter, the council shall elect two trustees for a term of three
years from the first day of July following their election; and * at its first
regular meeting in June, 1957, and every three years thereafter, the
council shall elect two trustees for a term of three years from the first
day of July following their election. * At its first regular meeting in June,
1958, and every three years thereafter, the council shall elect three trus-
tees for a term of three years from the first day of July following their
election. Except as provided in this charter the school board shall have
all the powers and duties relating to the management and control of the
public schools of the city provided by the general laws of the Common-
wealth, including right of eminent domain within and without the city.
None of the provisions of this charter shall be interpreted to refer to or
include the school board unless the intention so to do is expressly stated
or is clearly apparent from the context.

c) The power conferred on the city by §§ 2.08 (f) and 2.03 (h)
shall be exercised by the school board with respect to property and build-
ings devoted to public school purposes. The title to property and buildings
devoted to public school purposes shall be in the school board.

In addition to the authority conferred upon the city by Chapter 7, the
school board may borrow from the Literary Fund of Virginia or from
such other sources as may be available to it by general law.

2. § 10.05, as amended, of Chapter 323 of the Acts of Assembly of 1950,
approved April 4, 1950, is hereby repealed.
8. An emergency exists and this act is in force from its passage.