[HISTORY: Adopted by the City Council of the City of Galax as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 11-13-1990]
Be it ordained by the Council of the City of Galax:
There is hereby adopted by the City Council of the City of Galax that certain Code entitled the "City Code of the City of Galax, Virginia," containing certain ordinances of a general and permanent nature as compiled, consolidated, codified and indexed in Chapters 1 to 165, both inclusive, of which Code not fewer than three copies have been and are now filed in the office of the City Clerk.
The provisions of such Code shall be in force on and after December 14, 1990, and all ordinances of a general and permanent nature adopted on final reading and passage on or before November 13, 1990, and not contained in such Code are hereby repealed from and after December 14, 1990, except as hereinafter provided.
The repeal provided for in § 1-2 above shall not affect the following, which are hereby expressly saved from repeal:
A. 
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 ordinance.
B. 
Any prosecution, suit or proceeding pending or any judgment rendered prior to the effective date of this ordinance.
C. 
Any ordinance or resolution promising or guaranteeing the payment of money for the City or authorizing the issue of any bonds of the City or any evidence of the City's indebtedness or any contract or obligation assumed by the City.
D. 
Any annual tax levy.
E. 
Any right or franchise conferred by ordinance or resolution of the City on any person or corporation.
F. 
Any ordinance adopted for purposes which have been consummated.
G. 
Any ordinance which is temporary, although general in effect, or special, although permanent in effect.
H. 
Any ordinance annexing territory to the City.
I. 
Any ordinance naming, renaming, opening, accepting or vacating streets or alleys in the City.
J. 
Any ordinance relating to the Zoning Map.
K. 
Any ordinance establishing fees for City services.
L. 
Any ordinance adopted on final reading and passage after July 1, 1990.
A. 
In compiling and preparing the ordinances for publication as the City Code, no changes in the meaning or intent of such ordinances have been made, except as provided for in Subsection B hereof. In addition, certain grammatical changes and other minor nonsubstantive changes were made in one or more of said pieces of legislation. It is the intention of the City Council that all such changes be adopted as part of the Code as if the ordinances had been previously formally amended to read as such.
B. 
In addition, the following changes, amendments or revisions to existing legislation and certain new chapters are adopted herewith, to become effective upon the effective date of this ordinance. (Chapter and section number references are to the ordinances as they have been renumbered and appear in the Code.)[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: In accordance with § 1-4B, the chapters, parts and sections which were added, amended, adopted or deleted by this ordinance are indicated throughout the Code by a footnote referring to Chapter 1, General Provisions, Article I. During routine supplementation, footnotes indicating amendments or additions will be replaced with the following history: "Amended (added) 11-13-1990." A complete description of all changes is on file in the City offices.
It is hereby declared to be the intention of the City Council that the sections, paragraphs, sentences, clauses and phrases of this ordinance and the Code hereby adopted are severable, and if any phrase, clause, sentence, paragraph or section of this ordinance or the Code hereby adopted shall be declared unconstitutional or otherwise invalid by the valid judgment or decree of a court of competent jurisdiction, such unconstitutionality or invalidity shall not affect any of the remaining phrases, clauses, sentences, paragraphs and sections of this ordinance or the Code hereby adopted.
[Adopted as Ch. 1 of the 1914 Code]
The ordinances embraced in this and the following chapters and sections shall constitute and be designated the "Code of the City of Galax, Virginia," and may be so cited. Such ordinances may also be cited as the "Galax City Code."
In the construction of this Code and of all ordinances, the following rules shall be observed, unless such construction would be inconsistent with the manifest intent of the City Council:
A. 
Definitions. As used in this Code and all ordinances, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
CITY OR THIS CITY
The City of Galax in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
COUNCIL; CITY COUNCIL
The Council of the City of Galax, Virginia.
MONTH
Unless otherwise expressed, a calendar month.
OATH
Includes an affirmation in all cases in which, by law, an affirmation may be substituted for an oath.
OWNER
Applied to any property, shall include any part owner, joint owner, tenant in common, tenant in partnership, joint tenant or tenant by the entirety of the whole or of a part of such property. It shall also include a trustee or fiduciary in possession of the property.
SIDEWALK
Any portion of the street between the curb and the adjacent property line, intended for the use of pedestrians.
SIGNATURE OR SUBSCRIPTION
Includes a mark when a person cannot write.
STREET
Embraces avenues, boulevards, highways, roads, alleys, lanes, viaducts, bridges and the approaches thereto and all other public thoroughfares in the City, and shall mean the entire width thereof between abutting property lines. It shall be construed to include a sidewalk or footpath, unless the contrary is expressed or unless such construction would be inconsistent with the manifest intent of the City Council.
SWEAR; SWORN
Equivalent to the words "affirm" and "affirmed" in all cases in which, by law, an affirmation may be substituted for an oath.
THE STATE, THIS STATE THE COMMONWEALTH OR THIS COMMONWEALTH
The Commonwealth of Virginia.
YEAR
A calendar year.
B. 
Word usage.
(1) 
Computation of time. The time within which an act is to be done shall be computed by excluding the first and including the last day, and if the last day is Sunday or a legal holiday, that day shall be excluded.
(2) 
Gender. A word importing the masculine gender only shall extend and be applied to females and to firms, partnerships and corporations, as well as to males.
(3) 
Joint authority. Words purporting to give authority to three or more public officers or other persons shall be construed as giving such authority to a majority of such officers or other persons.
(4) 
Number. A word importing the singular number only may extend and be applied to several persons or things as well as to one person or thing; a word importing the plural number only may extend and be applied to one person or thing, as well as to several persons or things.
(5) 
Person. The word "person" shall extend and be applied to associations, firms, partnerships and bodies politic and corporate, as well as to individuals.
(6) 
Preceding; following. The words "preceding" and "following" mean next before and next after, respectively.
(7) 
Shall; may. The word "shall" is mandatory, and the word "may" is permissive.
(8) 
Time. Words used in the past or present tense include the future as well as the past and present.
(9) 
Other words. The rules of construction given in the Code of Virginia, 1-13.1 to 1-13.36, shall govern, so far as applicable, the construction of all other words not defined in this section.
The catchlines of the several sections of this Code are intended as mere catchwords to indicate the contents of the section and shall not be deemed or taken to be titles of such sections nor as any part of the section, nor, unless expressly so provided, shall they be so deemed when any of such sections, including the catchlines, are amended or reenacted.
The provisions appearing in this Code, so far as they are the same in substance as those of the ordinances codified herein, shall be considered as continuations thereof and not as new enactments.
If any part or parts, section or subsection, sentence, clause or phrase of this Code is for any reason declared to be unconstitutional or invalid, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this Code.
No new ordinance shall be construed to repeal a former ordinance as to any offense committed against the former ordinance or as to any act done, any penalty, forfeiture or punishment incurred or any right accrued or claim arising under the former ordinance or in any way whatever to affect any such offense or act so committed or done or any penalty, forfeiture or punishment so incurred or any right accrued or claim arising before the new ordinance takes effect, save only that the proceedings thereafter had shall conform, so far as practicable, to the ordinance in force at the time of such proceedings.
When an ordinance which has repealed another shall itself be repealed, the previous ordinance shall not be revived without express words to that effect.
A. 
Wherever in this Code or in any ordinance of the City or in any rule, regulation, notice or order enacted or issued pursuant thereto any act is prohibited or is made or declared to be unlawful or a misdemeanor, or wherever in such Code, ordinance, rule, regulation, notice or order the doing of any act is required or the failure to do any act is declared to be unlawful or a misdemeanor, and no specific penalty is provided for, the violation of any such provision of this Code or any such ordinance, rule, regulation, notice or order shall be punished by a fine not exceeding $1,000 or by confinement in jail not exceeding 12 months, or both.
B. 
Any provision of this Code or any other ordinance of the City or any resolution of the City or any rule, regulation or order promulgated by any officer or agency of the City under authority duly vested in him or it to the contrary notwithstanding, no penalty, whether by fine or imprisonment, imposed for the violation of any provision of this Code or any other ordinance of the City or any resolution of the City or any rule, regulation or order promulgated by any officer or agency of the City under authority duly vested in him or it shall be in excess of the penalty established by the state for a similar offense under state law.
C. 
Each day any such violation shall continue shall constitute, except where otherwise provided, a separate offense.
[Amended 3-8-2021]
The City is hereby divided into two voting precincts, to be known, respectively, as "East Galax and West Galax Precincts," the boundaries of which shall be as shown on the Map of the City of Galax and new annexed areas which is on file in the office of the City Manager and is also recorded in the offices of the Clerks of the Circuit Courts of Carroll and Grayson Counties.
The place for holding the election in each precinct shall be selected by the City Council, and the voters in such precincts shall vote at such voting places respectively.
The City Seal shall be: