[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Council of
the Town of West Hartford as indicated in article histories. Amendments
noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 6-28-1994; readopted 5-10-2005]
The compilation of the Town Charter and ordinances
of the Town of West Hartford, codified and consolidated into parts,
chapters and sections in the form attached hereto and made a part
hereof, is hereby approved, adopted, ordained and enacted, pursuant
to Section 9 of Chapter III of the Charter, as the "Code of the Town
of West Hartford, Connecticut," hereinafter called the "Code." All
provisions contained in the compilation provided for herein and known
as the "Code of the Town of West Hartford" shall be in force and effect
on and after the effective date of this ordinance.
A.
COUNCIL
COUNTY
DAY(S)
DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE
DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES
DIRECTOR OF FINANCE
DIRECTOR OF PARKS AND RECREATION
KEEPER or PROPRIETOR
OWNER
PERSON
PERSONAL PROPERTY
PROPERTY
PUBLIC PLACE
REAL PROPERTY
SIDEWALK
STATE
STATE LAW, GENERAL LAW, C.G.S. or GENERAL STATUTES
STREET
SUPERIOR COURT
TENANT or OCCUPANT
TOWN
UTILITY
Definitions. As used throughout the Code, and in all
ordinances, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated,
unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
The Town Council of the Town of West Hartford.
The County of Hartford, in the State of Connecticut.
Calendar day or calendar days, unless otherwise specified.
[Added 10-7-2019]
The Department of Financial Services.
The Department of Social Services.
[Amended 10-7-2019]
The Director of the Department of Financial Services.
The Director of Leisure Services.
Includes persons, firms, associations, corporations, clubs
and copartnerships, whether acting by themselves or through a servant,
agent or employee.
When applied to a building or land, includes any part owner,
joint owner, tenant in common, joint tenant or tenant by the entirety
of the whole or of a part of such building or land.
Shall extend and be applied to associations, communities,
firms, partnerships and bodies politic and corporate as well as to
individuals.
Includes every species of property except real property as
herein defined.
Includes real and personal property.
Includes any park, cemetery, schoolyard or open space adjacent
thereto and any lake or stream.
Includes lands, tenements and hereditaments.
Any portion of a street between the curbline and the adjacent
property line intended for the use of pedestrians, excluding parkways.
The State of Connecticut.
The General Statutes of Connecticut, as they may be amended
or recodified from time to time.
[Amended 10-7-2019]
Embraces streets, avenues, boulevards, roads, alleys, lanes,
viaducts and all other public ways in the Town, and may include private
ways over which the Town exercises jurisdiction.
Connecticut Superior Court, Hartford Judicial District.
[Added 10-7-2019]
When applied to a building or land, shall include any person
holding a written or oral lease of, or who occupies, the whole or
a part of such building or land, either alone or with others.
The Town of West Hartford, in the County of Hartford, State
of Connecticut.
[Amended 10-7-2019]
All utilities, whether public or private, including the Metropolitan
District Commission, and including but not limited to gas, water,
sewer, telephone, electric, cable, and communication conduits installed
above or below ground.
[Amended 10-7-2019]
B.
Word usage.
(1)
Construction of terms. In the construction of this
Code of ordinances, except as otherwise provided in this Code, words
and phrases shall be construed according to the common usage of the
language and according to the General Statutes; technical words and
phrases, and such as have acquired a peculiar and appropriate meaning
in the law, shall be construed and understood accordingly.
[Amended 10-7-2019]
(2)
Gender. A word importing the masculine gender shall
extend and be applied to females and to firms, partnerships and corporations
as well as to males.
[Amended 10-7-2019]
(3)
Joint authority. All words giving a joint authority
to three or more persons or officers shall be construed as giving
such authority to a majority of such persons or officers.
(4)
Number. A word importing the singular number may extend
and be applied to several persons and things as well as to one person
and thing.
[Amended 10-7-2019]
(5)
Titles of officers and employees. The title of any director, officer
or employee used herein shall be construed as if the words "of the
Town" followed it and shall include that director's, officer's
or employee's designee.
[Amended 10-7-2019]
(6)
Tense. Words used in the past or present tense include
the future as well as the past and present.
The catchlines of the several sections of this
Code, printed in boldface type, are intended as mere catchwords to
indicate the contents of the sections and shall not be deemed or taken
to be titles of such sections, nor as any part of the sections, nor,
unless expressly so provided, shall they be so deemed when any of
such sections, including the catchlines, are amended or reenacted.
A.
Any and all additions or amendments to such Code,
when passed in such form as to indicate the intention of the Town
Council to make the same a part thereof, shall be deemed to be incorporated
in such Code so that reference to the "Code of the Town of West Hartford"
shall be understood and intended to include such additions and amendments.
B.
All ordinances passed subsequent to this Code which
amend, repeal or in any way affect this Code may be numbered in accordance
with the numbering system of this Code and printed for inclusion herein.
In the case of repealed chapters, articles, parts, sections and subsections,
or any part thereof, by subsequent ordinances, such repealed portions
may be excluded from the Code by omission from reprinted pages affected
thereby.
C.
All ordinances which amend or repeal any provision
of this Code shall set forth in full the sections or subsections to
be amended or repealed and, if to be amended, shall indicate matter
to be omitted from the revised section or subsection by enclosing
the same in brackets and new matter by underscoring.
If any phrase, clause, sentence, paragraph or
section of this Code shall be declared invalid or unconstitutional
by the valid judgment or decree of any court, such invalidity or unconstitutionality
shall not affect any of the remaining provisions of this Code.
[Amended 10-7-2019]
It shall be unlawful for any person to change
or amend, by additions or deletions, any part of this Code of ordinances
or any ordinance of the Town or to insert or delete pages or portions
thereof or to alter or tamper with such Code in any manner whatsoever
with intent that any provision of this Code or other ordinance of
the Town shall be misrepresented or with intent to commit a fraud
thereby.
All ordinances or parts of ordinances of the
Town of West Hartford of a general and permanent nature in force on
the date of the adoption of this ordinance which are inconsistent
with any provisions of the Code and are not included in such Code
or recognized and continued in force by reference therein are hereby
repealed from and after the effective date hereof, except as hereinafter
provided.
A.
Whenever
in this Code or any other ordinance of the Town or rule or regulation
promulgated by any officer thereof under authority vested in that
officer by law or ordinance any act is prohibited or is declared to
be unlawful or any offense or the doing of any act is declared to
be unlawful, where no specific penalty is provided, the violation
of such ordinance, rule or regulation shall be punished by a fine
of $65. Each calendar day that any such violation shall continue shall
constitute a separate and punishable offense.
[Amended 10-7-2019]
B.
The imposition of any punishment hereunder shall not
prevent the enforced abatement of any unlawful condition by the Town.
A.
The repeal provided for in § 1-7 hereof shall not affect any of the following:
(1)
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 such Code.
(2)
Any ordinance promising or guaranteeing the payment
of money for the Town or authorizing the issuance of any bonds of
the Town or any evidence of the Town's indebtedness.
(3)
Any contract or obligation assumed by the Town.
(4)
Any right or franchise granted by the Town.
(5)
Any ordinance dedicating, naming, establishing, locating,
relocating, opening, paving, widening, vacating, etc., any park, playground
or recreational facility.
(6)
Any ordinance relating to specific public improvements
or assessments therefor.
(7)
Any ordinance establishing or prescribing grades for
streets.
(8)
Any appropriation ordinance or ordinance providing
for the levying of taxes or for an annual budget.
(9)
Any ordinance in effect which regulates Town elections
and voting district boundaries.
(10)
Any ordinance relating to the investment of municipal
funds.
(11)
Any ordinance or resolution affecting the Zoning Map
or the creation or amendment of special development districts.
(12)
Any ordinance establishing subdivision regulations
and amendments thereto or any ordinance dedicating or accepting any
plat or subdivision in the Town.
(13)
Any traffic regulation not inconsistent with this
Code.
(14)
Any ordinance establishing a branch library.
(15)
Any ordinance enacted after February 22, 1994.
(16)
Any property right, including any easements, granted
or conferred to the Town.
(17)
Any rules or regulations adopted by any Town commissions,
boards, committees, departments, etc.
B.
The repeal provided for in § 1-7 hereof shall not be construed to revive any ordinance or part thereof that has been repealed by a subsequent ordinance which is repealed by this ordinance.
C.
The repeal of an ordinance shall not affect any punishment
or penalty incurred before the repeal took effect, nor any suit, prosecution
or proceeding pending at the time of the repeal, for an offense committed
under the ordinance repealed.
[Amended 10-7-2019]
A.
Pursuant
to C.G.S. § 7-152b and § 7-152c, the Town Manager
shall appoint one or more individuals who shall serve as hearing officers
to conduct hearings into the violation of ordinances, rules or regulations
of the Town of West Hartford. Said hearing officers shall be electors
of the Town of West Hartford, but no member of the West Hartford Police
Department, member of the Corporation Counsel's office or any
employee empowered or authorized to issue citations for the violation
of any ordinance of the Town of West Hartford shall be permitted to
serve as a Hearing Officer pursuant to this subsection.
B.
Within 12 months from the expiration of the final period for the uncontested payment of any fine, penalty, cost or fee levied as the result of a violation of any provision of the Code of the Town of West Hartford or any regulation adopted pursuant to Chapter 34, Rules and Regulations, of the Code of the Town of West Hartford, except for violations of § 168-13, thereof which shall be enforced in the manner set forth in § 168-17 of the Code of the Town of West Hartford, notice shall be sent to the owner of the property which is the subject of the violation in question or such other person as may be appropriate. Such notice shall inform the owner and/or other person:
(1)
Of the allegations of the citation.
(2)
Of the right to contest liability at a hearing before a citation
Hearing Officer by delivering, in person or by mail, written notice
of such intent within 10 days of the date thereof.
(3)
That a failure to request such hearing will result in the prompt
entry of an assessment and judgment against the person or persons
named in the citation.
(4)
That such judgment may issue without further notice.
(5)
That failure to respond to this notice shall result in the issuance
of an infraction citation to the violator.
C.
Admission
of liability; infraction citation.
(1)
If any person who is sent notice pursuant to this section wishes
to admit liability for any alleged violation, that person may, without
requesting a hearing, pay the full amount of the fines, penalties,
costs or fees admitted to in person or by mail at the address specified
in the notice.
(2)
Any person who does not respond to the notice provided in Subsection B of this section by paying the fines and penalties set forth therein or by requesting a hearing within seven days thereafter may be issued an infraction citation by a duly authorized individual based upon the original municipal ordinance violation.
D.
Hearing
procedure.
(1)
Any person who requests a hearing pursuant to Subsection B of this section shall be given written notice of the date, time and place of the hearing. Such hearing shall be held not less than 15 days nor more than 30 days from the date of the mailing of the notice, provided that the Hearing Officer shall grant, upon good cause shown, any reasonable request by an interested party for postponement or continuance. The Hearing Officer may accept from any person contesting liability copies of police reports, investigatory and citation reports and other official documents by mail and may determine thereby that the appearance of such person at a hearing is unnecessary. If the person or persons cited otherwise fail to appear, the hearing officer may enter an assessment by default against them upon a finding of:
(2)
An original or certified copy of the initial notice of violation
issued by the issuing official or police officer shall be filed and
retained by the municipality and shall be deemed to be a business
record and evidence of the facts contained therein. The presence of
the issuing official or police officer shall be required at the hearing
if any interested party so requests.
(3)
A person wishing to contest liability shall appear at the hearing,
unless excused from so doing by the hearing officer, and may present
evidence. The Corporation Counsel shall present evidence on behalf
of the Town. The Hearing Officer shall conduct the hearing in the
order and form and with such methods of proof as that officer deems
fair and appropriate. The rules regarding the admissibility of evidence
shall not be strictly applied, but all testimony shall be given under
oath or affirmation.
(4)
The Hearing Officer shall announce the decision at the end of the
hearing. If the Hearing Officer determines that the person is not
liable, the matter shall be dismissed and the determination entered
in writing accordingly. If the Hearing Officer determines that the
person is liable for the violation, the appropriate fines, penalties,
costs or fees shall promptly be entered and assessed against such
person as provided by the applicable ordinances. The Hearing Officer
shall have the authority to modify the violation or reduce the penalty
and/or fee assessable against any person if, in the Hearing Officer's
discretion, such modification is warranted based upon the facts elicited
during the hearing process.
(5)
If any Hearing Officer has entered an assessment by default against
any person with respect to any matter, no Hearing Officer shall reconsider
that matter until the person against whom such assessment has been
imposed has submitted a written request to open said assessment by
default explaining the basis for the person's failure to appear
at the scheduled hearing and paid a nonrefundable fee for said request
in the amount of $10 to the Town of West Hartford; and said request
has been considered on its merits and granted by a Hearing Officer.
The decision to grant or deny such a request shall rest in the sole
discretion of the Hearing Officer.
E.
If
such assessment is not paid on the date of its entry, the Hearing
Officer shall send by first class mail, postage prepaid, a notice
of the assessment to the person found liable and shall file, not less
than 30 days nor more than 12 months after such mailing, a certified
copy of the notice of assessment against such person in favor of the
municipality with the Clerk of the Superior Court, together with such
entry fee as may be required by the Superior Court. Notwithstanding
any other provisions, the Hearing Officer's assessment, when
so entered as a judgment, shall have the effect of a civil money judgment,
and a levy of execution on such judgment may issue without further
notice to such person.
F.
A
person against whom an assessment has been entered pursuant to this
section is entitled to judicial review by way of appeal. An appeal
shall be instituted within 30 days of the mailing of notice of such
assessment by filing a petition to reopen assessment, together with
such entry fee as may be required by the Superior Court, which shall
entitle such person to a hearing in accordance with the rules of the
Judges of the Superior Court.
[Amended 10-7-2019]
A copy of such Code shall be kept on file in
the office of the Town Clerk, preserved in such form as the Town Clerk
considers most expedient. It shall be the express duty of the Town
Clerk to insert in their proper places all amendments or ordinances
which indicate the intention of the Town Council to make the same
a part of such Code when the same have been printed or reprinted in
page form and to extract from such Code all provisions which may be
from time to time repealed by the Town Council. This copy of such
Code shall be available for all persons desiring to examine the same
and shall be considered the official Code of the Town of West Hartford,
and any copy of such Code certified by the Town Clerk shall be the
official Code of the Town of West Hartford at the date of such certification.
It shall be unlawful for any person, firm or corporation in the Town to change or amend, by additions or deletions, any part or portion of such 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 Town of West Hartford to be misrepresented thereby. Any person, firm or corporation violating this section shall be punished as provided in § 1-8 of this ordinance.
A.
In compiling and preparing the Charter and ordinances
for publication as the Code of the Town of West Hartford, no changes
in the meaning or intent of such Charter or ordinances have been made.
Certain grammatical changes and other minor nonsubstantive changes
were made in one or more of said ordinances, as authorized by the
Town Council. It is the intention of the Town 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.
The following changes, amendments or revisions are
made throughout the Code, to become effective upon the effective date
of this ordinance:
(1)
Gender neutral language has been used. References
to "he" or "she" have been revised to refer back to the noun or have
been eliminated altogether. Such gender-neutral terms as Chair and
Councilor have been used to replace Chairman or Councilman.
(2)
Consistent reference to Plan and Zoning Commission
has been used.
(3)
References to the General Statutes are standardized
using the following form: C.G.S. § ____. References to the
1958 Revision of the statutes have been similarly revised.
C.
The following changes have been made in the ordinances included in the Code. Pursuant to § 1-4C, matter to be omitted from the revised section or subsection is indicated by enclosing the same in brackets and new matter by underscoring.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: The sections amended by this ordinance pursuant to § 1-13C are set forth in the complete copy of the 2019 Code Adoption Ordinance, adopted 10-7-2019, on file in the office of the Town Clerk. Sections and subsections amended throughout the Code are indicated by the following history: "[Added/Amended/Deleted 10-7-2019]".
All ordinances or parts of ordinances in conflict
herewith are, to the extent of such conflict, hereby repealed, as
of the operative date of this ordinance, but shall remain in full
force and effect until such date.
[Amended 10-7-2019]
This ordinance shall become effective October
20, 2019.
The Town Clerk shall certify to the adoption
of this ordinance and shall, within 15 days after the passage and
adoption thereof, cause notice of the same to be published once in
a newspaper of general circulation in the Town of West Hartford.