Town of Middletown, DE General Provisions

The ordinances of the Town of Middletown, County of New Castle, State of Delaware, of a general and permanent nature, adopted by the Town Council of the Town of Middletown, as revised, codified and consolidated into chapters and sections by General Code Publishers Corp. and consisting of Chapters 1 through 180, together with an Appendix, are hereby approved, adopted, ordained and enacted as the Code of the Town of Middletown, hereinafter known and referred to as the "Code."

§ 1-2 Continuation of existing provisions.

The provisions of the Code, insofar as they are substantively the same as those of ordinances in force immediately prior to the enactment of the Code by this ordinance, are intended as a continuation of such ordinances and not as new enactments, and the effectiveness of such provisions shall date from the date of adoption of the prior ordinance. All such provisions are hereby continued in full force and effect and are hereby reaffirmed as to their adoption by the Town Council of the Town of Middletown, and it is the intention of said Council that each such provision contained within the Code is hereby reaffirmed as it appears in the Code.

§ 1-3 Copy of Code on file.

A copy of the Code, in loose-leaf form, has been filed in the office of the Town Clerk of the Town of Middletown and shall remain there for use and examination by the public until final action is taken on this ordinance; and, if this ordinance shall be adopted, such copy shall be certified to by the Town Clerk of the Town of Middletown by impressing thereon the Seal of the town, and such certified copy shall remain on file in the office of said Town Clerk to be made available to persons desiring to examine the same during all times when said Code is in effect.

§ 1-4 Amendments to Code.

Any and all additions, deletions, amendments or supplements to the Code or any new ordinances, when enacted or adopted in such form as to indicate the intention of the Town Council to be a part thereof, shall be deemed to be incorporated into such Code so that reference to the Code shall be understood and intended to include such additions, deletions, amendments or supplements. Whenever such additions, deletions, amendments or supplements to the Code shall be enacted or adopted, they shall thereafter be printed and, as provided hereunder, inserted in the loose-leaf book containing said Code as amendments and supplements thereto.

§ 1-5 Code book to be kept up-to-date.

It shall be the duty of the Town Clerk or such other authorized person to keep up-to-date the certified copy of the book containing the Code of the Town of Middletown required to be filed in the office of the Town Clerk for use by the public. All changes in said Code and all ordinances adopted by the Town Council subsequent to the enactment of this ordinance in such form as to indicate the intention of said Council to be a part of said Code shall, when finally enacted or adopted, be included therein by temporary attachment of copies of such changes or ordinances until such changes or ordinances are printed as supplements to said Code book, at which time such supplements shall be inserted therein.

§ 1-6 Severability.

Each section of the Code and every part of each section is an independent section or part of a section, and the holding of any section or part thereof to be unconstitutional, void or ineffective for any cause shall not be deemed to affect the validity or constitutionality of any section or part thereof.

Each section of this ordinance is an independent section, and the holding of any section or part thereof to be unconstitutional, void or ineffective for any cause shall not be deemed to affect the validity or constitutionality of any other sections or parts thereof.

§ 1-7 Repeal of enactments not included in Code.

All ordinances of a general and permanent nature of the Town of Middletown in force on the date of the adoption of this ordinance and not contained in such Code or recognized and continued in force by reference therein are hereby repealed from and after the effective date of this ordinance.

§ 1-8 Enactments saved from repeal; matters not affected.

The repeal of ordinances provided for in § 1-7 of this ordinance shall not affect the following classes of ordinances, rights and obligations, which are hereby expressly saved from repeal:

Any right or liability established, accrued or incurred under any legislative provision of the Town of Middletown prior to the effective date of this ordinance or any action or proceeding brought for the enforcement of such right or liability.

Any offense or act committed or done before the effective date of this ordinance in violation of any legislative provision of the Town of Middletown or any penalty, punishment or forfeiture which may result therefrom.

Any prosecution, indictment, action, suit or other proceeding pending or any judgment rendered prior to the effective date of this ordinance brought pursuant to any legislative provision of the Town of Middletown.

Any franchise, license, right, easement or privilege heretofore granted or conferred by the Town of Middletown, including the Gas District Franchise of November 11, 1991.

Any ordinance of the Town of Middletown providing for the laying out, opening, altering, widening, relocating, straightening, establishing grade, changing name, improvement, acceptance or vacation of any right-of-way, easement, street, road, highway, park or other public place within the Town of Middletown or any portion thereof.

Any ordinance of the Town of Middletown appropriating money or transferring funds, promising or guaranteeing the payment of money or authorizing the issuance and delivery of any bond of the Town of Middletown or other instruments or evidence of the town's indebtedness.

Ordinances authorizing the purchase, sale, lease or transfer of property or any lawful contract or obligation.

The levy or imposition of special assessments or charges.

The annexation of land or dedication of property.

Any ordinance relating to salaries and compensation of municipal officials.

Any ordinance relating to or establishing a pension plan or pension fund for municipal employees.

Street vacation procedure adopted January 7, 1991.

The Charter of the town, adopted February 17, 1923, Laws of Delaware, Vol. 33, Ch. 128, as amended.

The Zoning Ordinance, adopted January 5, 1987, as amended, and any amendment to the Zoning Map.

Ordinance adopted April 3, 1995, transferring building inspection functions from New Castle County to the Town of Middletown.

An ordinance adopted October 3, 1994, governing auxiliary building setbacks.

An ordinance adopted July 5, 1977, pertaining to parking fines.

The Subdivision of Land Ordinance adopted November 2, 1981, and any amendment thereto.

The Electric Service Rules and Regulations adopted September 11, 1995, and any amendment thereto.

Any ordinance adopted subsequent to March 2, 1998.

§ 1-9 Changes in previously adopted ordinances.

In compiling and preparing the ordinances of the Town of Middletown for adoption and revision as part of the Code, certain grammatical and other minor changes were made in one or more of said ordinances. It is the intention of the Town Council that all such changes be adopted as part of the Code as if the ordinances so changed had been previously formally adopted to read as such.

In addition, the following changes, amendments or revisions are made herewith, to become effective upon the effective date of this ordinance as set forth in Schedule A attached hereto and made a part hereof (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 § 1-9B, 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, additions or deletions will be replaced with the following history: "Amended (added, deleted) 9-8-1998." Schedule A, which contains a complete description of all changes, is on file in the Town offices.

§ 1-10 Incorporation of provisions into Code.

The provisions of this ordinance are hereby made Article I of Chapter 1 of the Code of the Town of Middletown, and the sections shall be numbered §§ 1-1 through 1-11, inclusive.

§ 1-11 When effective.

All provisions of the Code shall be in full force and effect on and after the effective date of this ordinance, which shall take effect immediately upon its final adoption.

Article II Enforcement of Town Obligations

[Adopted 12-1-2014 by Ord. No. 14-11-01]

§ 1-12 Payment or resolution required.

Prior to the issuance of any Town services, utilities, permits, licenses or approvals, all outstanding payments owed to the Town of Middletown and/or outstanding violations of the Town of Middletown Code of Ordinances shall be paid in full or resolved in full.

§ 1-13 Obligations which must be current.

Applicants for Town services, utilities, permits, licenses or approvals shall be current on all of the following obligations to the Town of Middletown, prior to receiving such approvals:

Property taxes/transfer taxes.

Water, sewer and electric fees and/or usage charges.

Trash fees.

Application fees.

Permit fees, including building permits, plan review and inspection fees.

Costs associated with any work performed by Town of Middletown employees in association with the violation of an ordinance.

Interest, penalties, fines, court costs and attorney's fees associated with any of the above-listed obligations.

Documented Code violations.

Miscellaneous charges and fees.

§ 1-14 Enforcement.

The Town of Middletown department responsible for approving an applicant's request for any Town services, utilities, permits, licenses or approvals shall have the responsibility to determine if the applicant is delinquent on any Town obligations outlined in § 1-13. Upon the discovery of any outstanding obligations, the department supervisor shall notify the applicant that the request cannot be processed until the outstanding obligation is satisfied in full. Within 10 calendar days, the department supervisor shall provide the applicant with the reason for the denial in writing.

§ 1-15 Appeals.

Any person, business, or entity that has been denied a request for any Town service, utility, permit, license or approval may appeal that denial with a request for review to the Mayor and Council of Middletown within 20 calendar days after receipt of such denial. All requests for an appeal shall be in writing. The Mayor and Council shall thereafter hold a public hearing to offer the applicant an opportunity to provide evidence supporting the applicant's appeal.