Sec. 1-1.  How Code designated and cited.

 

All provisions embraced in the following chapters and sec­tions shall constitute and be designated “The Code of the City of Norfolk, Nebraska,” and may be so cited. 

 

Source:  Code 1962, § 1-1-1

State law reference--Revision of ordinances, R.R.S. 1943, 16-247.

 

Sec. 1-2.  Definitions and rules of construction.

 

In the construction of this Code and all other ordinances of the city, the following rules shall be observed, unless such construction would be inconsistent with the manifest intent of the council or the context clearly requires otherwise:

 

City:  The words “the city” or “this city” shall be construed as if followed by the words “of Norfolk, Nebraska.”

 

Code:  The words “the Code” or “this Code” shall mean The Code of the City of Norfolk, Nebraska.

 

Computation of time:  The time within which an act is to be done, is computed by excluding the first day and including the last, unless the last day falls upon any legal holiday or on Saturday or Sunday, in which case the last day is also excluded.

 

Council:  Whenever the word “council” is used, it shall be construed to mean the council of the City of Norfolk, Ne­braska.

 

County:  The words “the county” or “this county” shall mean Madison County, Stanton County or Pierce County, as appropriate.

 

Delegation of authority:  Whenever a provision appears in this Code requiring an officer of the city to do some act or make certain inspections, it is to be construed to authorize such officer to designate, delegate and authorize subordi­nates to perform the required act or make the required inspection unless the terms of the provision or section ex­pressly designates otherwise.

 

Gender:  A word importing the masculine gender only, shall extend and be applied to females and to firms, partnerships, associations and corporations as well as to males.

 

Joint authority:  Words purporting to give authority to three (3) or more officers or other persons shall be construed as giving such authority to a majority of such officers or other persons, unless it is otherwise specifically declared.

 

Law:  Any statute, ordinance or regulation promulgated by the United States, the state, the county, the city or any agency thereof, as well as the rules and regulations of other bodies politic that may be appropriate.

 

Month:  The word “month” shall mean a calendar month.

 

Number:  Any word importing the singular number shall include the plural, and any word importing the plural number shall include the singular.

 

Oath:  The word “oath” shall be construed to include an affirmation in all cases in which, by law, an affirmation may be substituted for an oath, and in such cases the words “swear” and “sworn” shall be equivalent to the words “affirm” and “affirmed.”

 

Officials, employees, boards, commissions, etc.:  Whenever reference is made to officials, employees, boards, commissions or other agencies of the city by title only, i.e., “mayor,” “clerk,” “manager,” “chief of police,” etc., they shall be deemed to refer to the officials, employees, boards, commissions or other agencies of this city.

 

Or, and:  “Or” may be read “and” and “and” may be read “or” if the context of the provision requires it.

 

Owner:  The word “owner” shall, when applied to a building or land, include any person, agent, operator, firm or corporation having a legal or equitable interest in the building or land; or recorded in the official records of the state, county, or municipality as holding title to the building or land; or otherwise having control of the building or land, including the guardian of the estate of any such person, and the executor or administrator of the estate of such person if ordered to take possession of building or land by a court.

 

Person:  The word “person” shall include and be applied to a firm, partnership, association, corporation, organization, club, society, group acting as a unit, or body politic and corporate, as well as to an individual.

 

Personal property:  The words “personal property” shall include money, goods, chattels, evidences of debt, things in action, and any other species of property, except real property.

 

Preceding, following:  The words “preceding” and “following” shall mean the next before and the next after, respectively.

 

Property:  The word “property” shall include real, personal and mixed property.

 

Public place:  Any public way, park, cemetery, school yard or open space adjacent thereto; any public lake or stream; and any place or business open to the use of the public in general, open to public view or to which the public has access.

 

Public way:  Any street, alley, boulevard, parkway, highway, sidewalk or other public thoroughfare.

 

Real property:  The words “real property” shall include lands, tenements and hereditaments.

 

Roadway:  That portion of a street improved, designed or ordinarily used for vehicular traffic.

 

Shall, may:  The word “shall” is mandatory, and the word “may” is discretionary.

 

Sidewalk:  The word “sidewalk” shall mean any portion of the street between the curb, or the lateral line of the roadway and the adjacent property line intended for the use of pedestrians.

 

Signature or subscription by mark:  “Signature” or “subscription by mark” includes a mark when the signer or subscriber cannot write, such signer's or subscriber's name being written near the mark by a witness who writes his own name near the signer's or subscriber's name; but a signature or subscription by mark can be acknowledged or can serve as a signature or subscription to a sworn statement only when one witness shall sign his own name thereto.

 

State:  The word “the state” or “this state” shall be con­strued to mean the State of Nebraska.

 

Street:  The word “street” shall mean and include public streets, avenues, boulevards, highways, roads, alleys, lanes, viaducts, bridges, public ways and approaches thereto and other public thoroughfares in the city devoted to public use.

 

Tenant, occupant:  The words “tenant” and “occupant,” applied to a building or land shall mean any person who occupies the whole or a part of such building or land, whether alone or with others.

 

Tense:  Words used in the past or present tense shall include the future as well as the past or present.

 

Week:  A week consists of seven (7) consecutive days.

 

Writing:  Writing includes any form of recorded message capable of comprehension by ordinary visual means.  Whenever any notice, report, statement or record is required or authorized by this Code, it shall be made in writing, in the English language, unless it is expressly provided otherwise.

 

Year:  The word “year” shall mean a calendar year, except where otherwise provided. 

 

Source:  Code 1962, §§ 1-1-4, 1-1-5; Ord. No. 3058, § l(l), 3-1-82; Ord. No. 5470, § 1, 5-1-17

 

Sec. 1-3.  Certain ordinances not affected by Code.

 

Nothing in this Code or the ordinance adopting this Code shall affect any ordinance:

 

(1)       Promising or guaranteeing the payment of money for the city, or authorizing the issuance of any bonds of the city or any evidence of the city's indebtedness, or any contract or obligations assumed by the city;

 

(2)       Which is general but not of a permanent nature;

 

(3)       Granting any right or franchise;

 

(4)       Dedicating, naming, establishing, locating, relocating, opening, paving, widening, vacating, etc., any street or public way in the city;

 

(5)       Making any appropriation;

 

(6)       Levying or imposing taxes;

 

(7)       Establishing or prescribing grades in the city;

 

(8)       Providing for local improvements and assessing taxes therefor;

 

(9)       Dedicating, accepting, rejecting or revoking any plat or subdivision in the city;

 

(10)     Extending or contracting the boundaries of the city;

 

(11)     Prescribing the number, classification benefits, pensions, or compensation of any city officers or employees, not inconsistent herewith;

 

(12)     Relating to the transfer or acceptance of any specific real or personal property by the city;

 

(13)     Relating to railroads or railroad crossings with streets and other public ways, or relating to the conduct, duties, service or rates of public utilities to the extent not embodied in such Code;

 

(14)     Pertaining to zoning, not contained in such Code;

 

(15)     Any taxation ordinance not inconsistent with this Code;

 

(16)     Any other ordinance, or part thereof, which is not of a general and permanent nature; and all such ordinances are hereby recognized as continuing in full force and effect to the same extent as if set out at length in this Code.  Such ordinances are on file in the city clerk's office. 

 

Source:  Code 1962, §§ 1-2-1, 1-2-2, 1-2-3

 

Sec. 1-4.  Code does not affect prior offenses, rights, etc.

 

(a)   Nothing in this Code or the ordinance adopting this Code shall affect any offense or act committed or done, or any penalty or forfeiture incurred, or any contract or right established or accruing before the effective date of this Code.

 

(b)   The adoption of this Code shall not be interpreted as authorizing or permitting any use or the continuance of any use of a structure or premises in violation of any ordinance of the city in effect on the date of adoption of this Code. 

 

Source:  Code 1962, § 1-2-3

 

Sec. 1-5.  Provisions considered as continuations of existing ordinances.

 

The provisions appearing in this Code, so far as they are the same as those of ordinances existing at the time of the effective date of this Code, shall be considered as continuations thereof and not as new enactments.

 

Sec. 1-6.  Parenthetical and reference matter.

 

The matter in parentheses at the ends of sections in this Code is for information only and is not a part of this Code.  Citations to the 1962 Code of the city (Code 1962) and to later ordinances indicate only the source of such section and the text may or may not be changed by this Code.  Reference matter not in parentheses is for information only and is not a part of this Code.

 

Sec. 1-11.  Extraterritorial jurisdiction of certain ordinances.

 

All existing or future planning and zoning ordinances, property use regulations, subdivision regulations, building codes, plumbing codes, electrical codes, fire prevention codes or any other code relating to building or relating to the erection, construction, reconstruction, alteration, repair, conversion, maintenance, placing or using any building, structure, automobile trailer, house trailer or cabin trailer, shall be applicable to and enforceable within that portion of the unincorporated area located within two (2) miles beyond and adjacent to the corporate limits of the city as delineated on the official Extraterritorial Zoning Jurisdiction Map of the city approved by ordinance, and shall have the same effect as if such unincorporated area were within the corporate limits of the city; provided, however, that this section shall not be interpreted, extended or applied so as to prohibit, prevent or intervene with the conduct or existing farming, livestock operations, businesses or industry. 

 

Source:  Code 1962, §§ 1-7-5, 4-7-1; 11-25-1; Ord. No. 2981, § 5, 5-4-81; Ord. No. 3429, § 1, 9-15-86; Ord. No. 4070, § 1, 11-7-94; Ord. No. 5207, § 1, 6-4-12

Cross references--Buildings and building regulations, Ch. 6; building code, § 6-16 et seq.; electrical code, § 6-51 et seq.; mechanical code, § 6-106 et seq.; plumb­ing code, § 6-121 et seq.; housing code, § 12-16 et seq.; mobile homes and mobile home parks, Ch. 15; subdivisions, Ch. 23; zoning, Ch. 27.

State law reference--Power of city to so provide, R.R.S. 1943, §§ 16-901, 19-922.

 

Sec. 1-12.  Amendments to Code.

 

(a)   Amendments to any of the provisions of this Code may be made by amending such provisions by specific reference to the section number of this Code in the following language: “That section ___________ of the _____________________, is hereby amended to read as follows: . . .”  The new provisions shall then be set out in full as desired.

 

(b)   In the event a new section not heretofore existing in the Code is to be added, the following language may be used:  “____________________, is hereby amended by adding a section, to be numbered ____________, which said section reads as follows: . . .”  The new section shall then be set out in full as desired.  

 

Source:  Code 1962, § 1-1-3

Cross reference--Amendments to zoning ordinances, § 27-6.

 

Sec. 1-13.  Supplementation of Code--Generally.

 

(a)   By contract or by city personnel, supplements to this Code shall be prepared and printed whenever authorized or directed by the city.  A supplement to the Code shall include all substantive permanent and general parts of ordinances adopted during the period covered by the supplement and all changes made thereby in the Code.  The pages of a supplement shall be so numbered that they will fit properly into the Code and will, where necessary, replace pages which have become obsolete or partially obsolete, and the new pages shall be so prepared that, when they have been inserted, the Code will be current through the date of the adoption of the latest ordinance included in the supplement.

 

(b)   In preparing a supplement to this Code, all portions of the Code which have been repealed shall be excluded from the Code by the omission thereof from reprinted pages.

 

(c)   When preparing a supplement to this Code, the codifier (meaning the person, agency or organization authorized to prepare the supplement) may make formal, nonsubstantive changes in ordinances and parts of ordinances included in the supplement, insofar as it is necessary to do so to embody them into a unified code.  For example, the codifier may:

 

(1)       Organize the ordinance material into appropriate subdivisions;

 

(2)       Provide appropriate catchlines, headings and titles for sec­tions and other subdivisions of the Code printed in the supplement, and make changes in such catchlines, head­ings and titles;

 

(3)       Assign appropriate numbers to sections and other subdivisions to be inserted in the Code and, where necessary to accommodate new material, change existing section or oth­er subdivision numbers;

 

(4)       Change the words “this ordinance” or words of the same meaning to “this chapter,” “this article,” “this division,” etc., as the case may be, or to “sections ___________ to ___________” (inserting section numbers to indicate the sections of the Code which embody the substantive sections of the ordi­nance incorporated into the Code); and

 

(5)       Make other nonsubstantive changes necessary to preserve the original meaning of ordinance sections inserted into the Code; but in no case shall the codifier make any change in the meaning or effect of ordinance material included in the supplement or already embodied in the Code. 

 

Source:  Code 1962, § 1-1-3

 

Sec. 1-14.  Same--Exclusion of special or temporary ordinances.

 

Ordinances hereafter adopted which are not of a general or permanent nature shall be numbered consecutively, authenti­cated, published and recorded in the book of ordinances, but shall not be prepared for insertion in this Code, nor be deemed a part hereof.

 

Sec. 1-15.  Altering Code.

 

It shall be unlawful for any person to change or amend by additions or deletions, any part or portion of this Code, or to insert or delete pages, or portions thereof, or to alter or tamper with such Code in any manner whatsoever which will cause the law of the city to be misrepresented thereby; provided, that supplementation of this Code by authorized persons shall be permitted.

 

Sec. 1-16.  General penalty; continuing violations.

 

Whenever in this Code or in any ordinance of the city an act is prohibited or is made or declared to be unlawful or an offense or a violation or whenever in such Code or ordinance the doing of any act is required or the failure to do any act is declared to be unlawful, or a violation or an offense, and no specific penalty is provided therefor, the violation of any such provision or the failure to perform any such act shall be punished by a fine not exceeding five hundred dollars ($500.00), and such violator may be committed to the city or county jail until such fine and costs of prosecution are paid.  Any person who violates a provision contained in Chapter 27 of this Code shall be subject to a fine not exceeding one hundred dollars ($100.00).

 

Each day such violation or failure to perform such act shall continue shall constitute a separate offense, unless otherwise specifically provided.

 

The imposition of a penalty under the provisions of this Code shall not prevent the revocation or suspension of any license, franchise or permit issued or granted under the provisions of this Code.

 

In all cases where the same offense is made punishable or is created by different clauses or sections of this Code the prosecuting officer may elect under which to proceed; but not more than one recovery shall be had against the same person for the same offense, provided, that the revocation of a license or permit shall not be considered a recovery or penalty so as to bar any other penalty being enforced. 

 

Source:  Code 1962, §§ 1-3-1, 1-3-4; Ord. No. 3058, § 1(2), 3-1-82; Ord. No. 3920, § 1, 1-4-93; Ord. No. 4121, § 1, 9-18-95

State law reference--Penalties for ordinance violations, R.R.S. 1943, 16-246, 24-517.

Cross-reference--Non-moving traffic violations, § 24-51 et seq.

 

Sec. 1-18.  Severability of parts of Code.

 

It is hereby declared to be the intention of the council that the sections, paragraphs, sentences, clauses and phrases of this Code are severable, and if any phrase, clause, sentence, paragraph or section of this Code shall be declared unconsti­tutional by the valid judgment or decree of a court of compe­tent jurisdiction, such unconstitutionality shall not affect any of the remaining phrases, clauses, sentences, paragraphs and sections of this Code.

 

Sec. 1-19.  Restitution; order; when.

 

A sentencing court may order the defendant to make restitu­tion for the actual physical injury or property damage or loss sustained by the victim as a direct result of the offense for which the defendant has been convicted.  Whenever the court believes that restitution may be a proper sentence or the victim of any offense or the prosecuting attorney requests, the court shall order that the presentence investigation report include documentation regarding the nature and amount of the actual damages sus­tained by the victim. 

 

Source:  Ord. No. 3700, § 1, 4-2-90

 

Sec. 1-20. Restitution; enforcement; by whom

 

An order of restitution may be enforced by a victim named in the order to receive the restitution or the personal representative of the victim's estate in the same manner as a judgment in a civil action. 

 

Source:  Ord. No. 4927, § 1, 2-5-07