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

The ordinances and resolutions embraced in this and the following chapters and sections shall constitute and be designated the "Wilmington City Code" and may be so cited.

(Ord. No. 92-053(sub 1), § 2(a)(19-1), 7-2-92)

Charter reference— Ordinance codification, § 2-304(2).

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

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

Generally. All general provisions, terms, phrases and expressions contained in this Code shall be liberally construed in order that their true intent and meaning may be fully carried out.

In the interpretation and application of any provisions of this Code, they shall be held to be the minimum requirements adopted for the promotion of the public health, safety, comfort, convenience and general welfare. Where any provision of the Code imposes greater restrictions upon the subject matter than the general provision imposed by the Code, the provision imposing the greater restriction or regulation shall be deemed to be controlling.

In the case of any different meaning or implication between text and any caption, illustration, summary table or illustrative table, the text shall control.

Words and phrases shall be read with their context and shall be construed according to the common and approved usage of the English language. Technical words and phrases, and such others as may have acquired a peculiar and appropriate meaning in the law, shall be construed and understood according to such peculiar and appropriate meaning.

Central business district means the area of the city bounded by the area beginning at the intersection of Martin Luther King Boulevard and Walnut Street; thence along Martin Luther King Boulevard from Walnut to Washington Streets; thence along Washington Street from the Boulevard to 9th Street; thence along 9th Street to Jefferson Street; thence along Jefferson Street to 11th Street; thence along 11th Street to Adams Street; thence along Adams Street to Delaware Avenue; thence along Delaware Avenue and 12th Street to Orange Street; thence along Orange Street and the line of Orange Street extended to Park Drive; thence along Park Drive and 16th Street to North Walnut Street; thence along North Walnut Street to Martin Luther King Boulevard, the point of beginning, unless otherwise specifically defined for purposes of a particular section of this Code.

Charter. "Charter" means the charter of the City of Wilmington, New Castle County, Delaware.

City. "City" means the City of Wilmington, New Castle County, Delaware.

Code. "Code" means the Wilmington City Code as designated in section 1-1, revised.

Computation of time. In computing any period of time prescribed or allowed by this Code, city ordinance or by order of any city officer or city employee, the day of the act, event or default from which the designated period of time begins to run shall not be included. The last day of the period so computed shall be included unless it is a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday in which event the period shall run until the end of the next day which is neither a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday. When the period of time prescribed or allowed is less than 11 days, intermediate Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays shall be excluded in the computation.

Conjunctions. Where a provision involves two or more items, conditions, provisions, or events connected by the conjunction "and," "or" or "either…or," the conjunction shall be interpreted as follows:

(1)

And indicates that all the connected terms, conditions, provisions or events shall apply.

(2)

Or indicates that the connected items, conditions, provisions or events may apply singly or in any combination.

(3)

Either…or indicates that the connected items, conditions, provisions or events shall apply singly but not in combination.

Council, city council. "Council" or "city council" means the council of the city.

County. "County" means New Castle County, Delaware.

Del. C. "Del. C." means the Delaware Code and includes all amendments thereto. A number appearing before "Del. C." refers to a title of the Delaware Code.

State law reference— Citation of state code, 1 Del. C. § 101.

Delegation of authority. Whenever a provision appears requiring the head of a department or some other city officer to do some act or perform some duty, it is to be construed to authorize the head of the department or other officer to designate, delegate and authorize subordinates to perform the required act or perform the duty.

Gender. Words importing the masculine gender shall include the feminine and neuter.

Includes. "Includes" does not limit a term to the specific example but is intended to extend its meaning to all other instances or circumstances of like kind or character.

Joint authority. Words purporting to give authority to three or more officers or other persons shall be construed as giving such authority to a majority of such officers or other persons.

May. "May" is to be construed as being permissive.

May not. "May not" has a prohibitory effect and shall state a prohibition.

Month. "Month" means a calendar month.

Municipal court means the State Justice of the Peace Court(s) that are located in Wilmington and the New Castle County Court of Common Pleas, as appropriate and in accordance with the provisions of 71 Del. Laws, C. 176.

Must. "Must" is to be construed as being mandatory.

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.

Oath. "Oath" includes affirmation in all cases where an affirmation may be substituted for an oath, and "sworn" includes affirmed; and the forms shall be varied accordingly.

Officers, departments and employees, generally. Whenever any department, officer or employee is referred to by title, such as "city solicitor" or "chief of police," such references are to be construed as if followed by the words "of the City of Wilmington." The following titles are synonymous:

(1)

"Division of procurement and records" and "procurement and records division."

(2)

"Finance department" and "department of finance."

(3)

"Department of police" and "police department."

(4)

"Chief of the department of fire," "fire chief," and "chief of fire."

(5)

"Police chief," "chief of the department of police," and "chief of police."

(6)

"Department of real estate and housing" and "real estate and housing department."

(7)

"Commissioner of public works," "public works commissioner," and "chief engineer."

(8)

"Office of planning," "planning department," and "department of planning."

Owner. The word "owner," applied to a building or land, shall include an owner of the freehold of the premises or any lesser estate therein, an equitable owner, a mortgagee, vendee-in-possession, assignee of rents, receiver, executor, trustee, lessee, agent, or any other person, firm or corporation that is directly or indirectly in control of a building or structure or land, including any vacant lot. If the owner is a corporation, the term "owner" shall be deemed to include, in addition to those mentioned hereinabove, all officers, all directors, and all persons having an interest in ten percent or more of the issued and outstanding stock of the owner as hereinabove defined, as holder or beneficial owner thereof.

Person. "Person" and "whoever" include corporations, companies, associations, trustees, business trusts, firms, partnerships, societies and joint stock companies, as well as individuals.

Preceding, following. "Preceding" and "following" mean next before and next after, respectively.

Probable cause. Probable cause shall be deemed to exist if either reasonable legislative or administrative standards for conducting a routine or area-inspection are satisfied with respect to the particular place, dwelling, building, structure, premises or vehicles, or if there is reason to believe that a condition of nonconformity exists with respect to the particular place, dwelling, building, structure, premises or vehicle.

Property. "Property" includes real and personal property.

Real estate or real property. "Real estate" or "real property" is synonymous with the phrase tenements and hereditaments.

Shall. "Shall" is to be construed as being mandatory.

Sidewalk. "Sidewalk," (including footways), means any portion of a street between the curb line, or the lateral lines of a roadway where there is no curb, and the adjacent property line, intended for the use of pedestrians.

State. "State" means the State of Delaware.

Street. "Street" includes avenues, boulevards, highways, roads, squares, 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; and 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 council. The word "street" shall not include "freeways," "throughways," "expressways," or any other "controlled-access facility" as authorized by 17 Del. C. §§ 171—180.

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

Written and writing. "Written" and "writing," respectively, include printing and typewriting and reproductions of visual symbols by photographing, lithographing, multigraphing, multilithing, mimeographing, manifolding or otherwise, but in all cases where the written signature of any person is by law required, it shall be the proper handwriting of such person, or if he cannot write his name, his mark.

Year. "Year" means a calendar year, and is equivalent to the words "year of our Lord."

(Code 1968, §§ 19-3, 20-1; Ord. No. 92-053(sub 1), § 2(b)(19-2), 7-2-92; Ord. No. 94-002, § 1, 2-24-94; Ord. No. 97-015, § 1, 4-3-97; Ord. No. 97-027, § 1, 5-1-97; Ord. No. 98-052(sub 1), § 1, 4-23-98)

Editor's note—

By council bill #9657 adopted during final proofing and printing of the code the planning department was reestablished to succeed the office of planning. The ordinance also provided that the head of the new department would be the director of planning and that such officer and others, as designated by the mayor, would exercise all powers of the planning director and office of planning.

State law reference— General definitions and rules of construction for state statutes, 1 Del. C. § 301 et seq.

Sec. 1-3. - Catchlines of sections; effect of history notes, cross references, etc.

(a)

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.

(b)

The history or source notes appearing in parentheses after sections in this Code are not intended to have any legal effect, but are merely intended to indicate the source of matter contained in the section. Cross references, charter references, and state law references which appear after sections or subsections of this Code or which otherwise appear in footnote form are provided for the convenience of the user of this Code and have no legal effect.

(c)

All references to chapters, articles or sections are to the chapters, articles and sections of this Code unless otherwise specified.

(Ord. No. 92-053(sub 1), § 2(c)(19-4), 7-2-92)

Sec. 1-4. - Designation of legal holidays.

(a)

The following days shall be legal holidays in this city: New Year's Day; the third Monday in January, known as Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Birthday; the 12th day of February, known as Lincoln's Birthday; the 22nd day of February, known as Washington's Birthday; Good Friday; the 30th day of May, known as Memorial Day; the fourth day of July; the first Monday in September, known as Labor Day; the 12th day of October, known as Columbus Day; the 11th day of November, known as Armistice or Veterans' Day; Thanksgiving Day, whenever proclaimed; Christmas; Saturdays; and the day of the general election as it biennially occurs. Any of such holidays may be observed on a day designated by proclamation of the mayor or pursuant to city collective bargaining agreement.

(b)

If any of the legal holidays falls on Sunday, the Monday following shall be a legal holiday. If any of the legal holidays other than Saturday falls on Saturday, the Friday preceding shall be a legal holiday.

(Ord. No. 92-053(sub 1), § 2(d)(19-8), 7-2-92)

State law reference— Legal holidays generally, 1 Del. C. § 501. Saturday to be legal holiday for certain city officers and employees, 9 Del. C. § 9106.

Sec. 1-5. - General penalty; continuing violations.

(a)

In this section, "violation of this Code" shall mean:

(1)

Doing an act that is prohibited or made or declared unlawful, an offense or a misdemeanor, either by ordinance or by rule or regulation authorized by ordinance;

(2)

Failure to perform an act that is required to be performed, either by ordinance or by rule or regulation authorized by ordinance; or

(3)

Failure to perform an act, if the failure is declared a misdemeanor or an offense or unlawful, either by ordinance or by rule or regulation authorized by ordinance.

(b)

In this section, "violation of this Code" does not include the failure of a city officer or city employee to perform an official duty unless it is provided that failure to perform the duty is to be punished as provided in this section.

(c)

Except as otherwise provided, each person convicted of a violation of this Code shall be punished by a fine not exceeding $2,500.00, except that a corporation shall be punished by a fine not exceeding $5,750.00, or by confinement for a term not exceeding 12 months, or any combination thereof. With respect to any violation of this Code that is continuous with respect to time, each day the violation continues shall be a separate offense unless stated otherwise.

(d)

The imposition of a penalty does not preclude revocation or suspension of a license, permit or franchise in a noncriminal proceeding.

(e)

Violations of this Code that are continuous with respect to time may be abated by mandamus, injunction or other equitable relief. The imposition of a penalty does not preclude equitable relief or civil enforcement of a violation of this Code.

(Ord. No. 92-053(sub 1), § 2(f)(19-10), 7-2-92; Ord. No. 97-013, § 2, 4-3-97)

Sec. 1-6. - Complaint and summons form.

The form of the complaint and summons shall be as prescribed by court rule.

(Code 1968, § 19-12; Ord. No. 92-053(sub 1), § 2(g)(19-12), 7-2-92)

Sec. 1-7. - Revision of Code—Powers and duties of city solicitor.

(a)

The city solicitor shall prepare or cause to be prepared supplements or otherwise revise this Code, noting the sections that have been repealed, generally updating this Code, and including, in the discretion of the city solicitor, updated annotations of court decisions or citations to other laws.

(b)

The city solicitor may make and enter into all contracts and execute, acknowledge, and deliver all instruments necessary or incidental to the performance of his duties under this section.

(Code 1968, § 19-13)

Sec. 1-8. - Same—Scope of editorial revision; omissions.

(a)

In performing his duties and powers as Code revisor, the city solicitor shall not alter the sense, meaning or effect of any act of the council, but he may:

(1)

Renumber and rearrange sections or parts of sections;

(2)

Transfer sections or divide sections so as to give distinct subject matters a separate section number, but without changing the meaning;

(3)

Insert or change the wording of headnotes;

(4)

Change reference numbers to agree with renumbered chapters or sections;

(5)

Substitute the proper section or chapter number for the terms "this act," "the preceding section," and the like;

(6)

Strike out figures where they are merely a repetition of written words and vice versa;

(7)

Change capitalization for the purpose of uniformity;

(8)

Correct manifest typographical and grammatical errors; and

(9)

Make any other purely formal or clerical changes in keeping with the purpose of the revision.

(b)

The city solicitor shall omit all titles of acts, all enacting, resolving and repealing clauses, all appropriation measures, all temporary ordinances, all declarations of emergency, and all validity, declaration of policy, and construction clauses, except when the retention thereof is necessary to preserve the full meaning and intent of the law.

(Code 1968, § 19-14)

Sec. 1-9. - Severability of parts of Code.

It is hereby declared to be the intention of the city 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 or 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 Code.

(Code 1968, § 19-7)

Sec. 1-10. - Provisions continuations of existing ordinances, resolutions.

The provisions appearing in this Code, so far as they are in substance the same as those of all ordinances and resolutions heretofore adopted and included in this Code, shall be considered as continuations thereof and not as new enactments.

(Code 1968, § 19-5)

Sec. 1-11. - Continuation of existing institutions, rights and liabilities.

(a)

The repeal of prior ordinances, resolutions, rules and regulations, provided for in the ordinance adopting this Code, shall not affect any act done, or any cause of action accruing or accrued, or established, or any suit or proceeding had or commenced in any civil action, nor any plea, defense, bar or matter subsisting before the time when such repeal shall take effect; but the proceedings in every such case shall conform with the provisions of this Code.

(b)

All the provisions of ordinances, resolutions, rules and regulations repealed by the ordinance adopting this Code shall be deemed to have remained in force from the time when they began to take effect, so far as they may apply to any department, agency, office or trust, or any transaction, or event, or any limitation, or any right, or obligation, or the construction of any contract already affected by such ordinances, resolutions, rules and regulations, notwithstanding the repeal of such provisions.

(c)

No offense committed, and no penalty or forfeiture incurred, under any of the ordinances, resolutions, rules and regulations, repealed by the ordinance adopting this Code, and before the time when such repeal shall take effect, shall be affected by such repeal.

(d)

No action or prosecution, pending on the effective date of the repeal provided in the ordinance adopting this Code, for any offense committed or for the recovery of any penalty or forfeiture, incurred under any of the ordinances, resolutions, rules and regulations repealed by such section, shall be abated or affected by such repeal; except, that the proceedings in such action or prosecution shall conform with the provisions of this Code.

(Code 1968, § 19-6)

Sec. 1-12. - Certain ordinances not affected by Code.

Nothing in this Code or the ordinance adopting this Code shall affect any ordinance not in this Code:

(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 obligation assumed by the city.

(2)

Granting any right or franchise.

(3)

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

(4)

Making any appropriation.

(5)

Adopting a budget or amending same.

(6)

Levying or imposing taxes not codified.

(7)

Establishing or prescribing grades of any street.

(8)

Providing for local improvements and assessing taxes therefor.

(9)

Dedicating or accepting any plat or subdivision in the city.

(10)

Extending or contracting the boundaries of the city.

(11)

Prescribing the number, classification, benefits or compensation of any city officers or employees not codified.

(12)

Adopting or amending zoning maps or master plans.

(13)

Prescribing traffic regulations for specific locations.

(14)

Amending any part of the related laws portion of this volume (i.e., part I, subpart B).

(15)

Amending the charter.

(16)

Which is temporary, although general in effect.

(17)

Which is special, although permanent in effect.

(18)

The purpose of which has been accomplished.

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.

Sec. 1-13. - Transfer of municipal court jurisdiction to the court of common pleas and the justice of the peace courts, as applicable.

(a)

Transfers of jurisdiction. Pursuant to the provisions of 71 Del. Laws c. 176, (S.B. No. 204), as enacted by the Delaware General Assembly and approved by the governor in 1997, from and after May 1, 1998, the jurisdiction of the City Code provisions and of the provisions of city ordinances that are not set forth in the City Code, shall be transferred to and thereafter enforceable in the court of common pleas and in the justice of the peace courts in accordance with the provisions of said state legislation and this section.

(b)

Court of common pleas. The provisions of the City Code and any other ordinance, rule or regulation heretofore enforceable in the municipal court, beginning May 1, 1998, shall be fully enforceable in the court of common pleas, particularly if said Code or other provision or provision of state law involves a jury trail or a matter of concurrent jurisdiction with the justice of the peace court.

(c)

Justice of the peace courts. The provisions of the City Code and any other ordinance, rule or regulation heretofore enforceable in the municipal court, beginning May 1, 1998, shall be fully enforceable in the justice of the peace courts, particularly if said Code or other provision or provision of state law involves a violation or offense which does not involve a jury trail and is not clearly provided to be in the jurisdiction of a court other than a justice of the peace court.

(Ord. No. 98-052(sub 1), § 1, 4-23-98)