Sec. 1-1. How code designated and cited.
Sec. 1-2. Definitions and rules of construction.
Sec. 1-3. Catchlines of sections.
Sec. 1-5. Supplementation of code.
Sec. 1-8. Severability of parts of code.
Sec. 1-9. General penalty; violations.
Sec. 1-10. Municipal official; enforcement of municipal ordinances.
Sec. 1-1. How code designated and cited.
The ordinances embraced in the following chapters and sections shall constitute and be designated the "Code of Ordinances of the Town of Colchester, Vermont," and may be so cited.
Sec. 1-2. Definitions and rules of construction.
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 Selectboard:
County. The term "County" or "this County" shall mean the County of Chittenden, Vermont.
Computation of time. Whenever a notice is required to be given or an act to be done a certain length of time before any proceeding shall be had, the day on which such notice is given, or such act is done, shall not be counted in computing the time, but the day on which such proceeding is to be had shall be counted.
Delegation of authority. Whenever a provision appears requiring the head of a department or some other Town officer or employee to do some act or perform some duty, it shall be construed to authorize the head of the department or other officer or employee to designate, delegate and authorize subordinates to perform the required act or perform the duty unless the terms of the provision or section specify otherwise.
Gender. A word importing either the masculine or feminine gender shall extend and be applied to both the masculine and feminine genders, and to firms, partnerships and corporations.
Highway. The term "highway" shall include any street, alley, highway, avenue or public place or square, bridge, viaduct, tunnel, underpass, overpass or causeway in the Town dedicated as a public highway by the United States Department of Transportation.
Keeper and proprietor. The words "keeper" and proprietor" shall mean and include persons, firms, associations, corporations, clubs and co-partnerships, whether acting by themselves or through a servant, agent or employee.
Number. A word importing the singular may extend and be applied to the plural, and vice versa.
Oath. The word "oath" shall 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."
Or, and. "Or" may be read "and," and "and" may be read "or" if the sense requires it.
Owner. The word "owner," applied to a building or land, 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 building or land.
Person. The word "person" shall extend and be applied to associations, clubs, societies, firms, partnerships and bodies politic and corporate as well as to individuals.
Personal property includes every species of property except real property as herein defined.
Property. The word "property" shall include real, personal and mixed property.
Real property shall include lands, tenements and hereditaments.
Sidewalk. The word "sidewalk" shall mean any portion of a street between the curbline and the adjacent property line, intended for the use of pedestrians, excluding parkways.
Signature or subscription includes a mark when the person cannot write.
State. The words "the State" or "this State" shall mean the State of Vermont.
Street. The word "street" shall embrace streets, avenues, boulevards, roads, alleys, lanes, viaducts and all other public ways in the Town.
Tenant, occupant. The words "tenant" or "occupant" 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.
Tense. Words used in the past or present tense include the future as well as the past and present.
Town. The words "the Town" or "this Town" shall mean the Town of Colchester, and shall extend to and include its several officers, agents and employees.
Town Board, Board, Selectboard. The term "Town Board," "Board," or “Selectboard” shall mean the Selectboard of the Town of Colchester, Vermont.
Written or in writing shall include any representation of words, letters or figures, whether by printing or otherwise.
Sec. 1-3. Catchlines of sections.
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 section; nor, unless expressly so provided, shall they be so deemed when any of such sections, including the catchlines, are amended or reenacted.
(a) Amendments to any of the provisions of this Code should be made by amending such provisions by specific reference to the Section of this Code in substantially the following language: "That section ___ of the Code of the Town of Colchester, Vermont, is hereby amended to read as follows:… (Set out new provisions in full).…"
(b) In the event a new Section not heretofore existing in the Code is to be added, the following language may be used: "That the Code of the Town of Colchester, Vermont, is hereby amended by adding a section (or article, chapter or other designation as the case may be), to be numbered ___, which reads as follows:… (Set out new provisions in full).…"
Sec. 1-5. Supplementation of code.
(a) By contract or by Town personnel, supplements to this Code shall be prepared and printed whenever authorized or directed by the Selectboard. A supplement to the Code shall include all substantive permanent and general parts of ordinances passed by the Selectboard or adopted by initiative and referendum during the period covered by the supplement and all changes made thereby in the Code, and shall also include all amendments to the Charter during the period. 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.
The repeal of an ordinance or portion of this Code shall not revive any ordinance or portion of this Code in force before or at the time the provision repealed took effect. The repeal of an ordinance or a portion of this Code 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 provisions repealed.
It shall be unlawful for any person to amend or alter any part or portion of this Code or to insert or delete any page or portion thereof, or to alter or tamper with this Code in any manner whatsoever which will cause the law of the Town of Colchester, Vermont, to be misrepresented thereby.
Sec. 1-8. Severability of parts of code.
It is hereby declared to be the intention of the Selectboard 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, invalid or unenforceable, such unconstitutionality, invalidity or unenforceability shall not affect any of the remaining phrases, clauses, sentences, paragraphs and sections of this Code.
Sec. 1-9. General penalty; violations.
Except for violations of Chapter 12 of this Code that fall under 23 V.S.A. §§ 1007 and 1008, whenever in this Code, or in any ordinance of the Town, any act is prohibited; or is made or declared to be unlawful, an offense, or a misdemeanor; 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; and where no specific penalty is provided therefore; the violation of any such provision of this Code or ordinance shall be punished as outlined below.
This section shall be known and may be cited and referred to as "Civil Enforcement Ordinance of the Town of Colchester."
(a) Civil ordinance violations jurisdiction; enforcement of civil ordinance violations:
(1) A civil penalty (a fine not more than that allowed by law) may be imposed for a violation of a civil ordinance. Each day the violation continues shall constitute a separate violation. The following penalties may be assessed for all municipal complaints:
First offense ..... $50.00
Second offense ..... 100.00
Third and subsequent offenses ..... 150.00
Waiver fee (first offense) ..... 25.00
Waiver fee (second offense) ..... 50.00
Waiver fee (third and subsequent offenses) ..... 100.00
(2) All civil ordinance violations, except municipal parking violations, and all continuing civil ordinance violations, where the penalty is five hundred dollars ($500.00) or less, shall be brought before the Vermont Judicial Bureau pursuant to Chapter 24 of Title 23 [of Vermont Statutes Annotated].
(b) Civil ordinance violation complaint; complaint for municipal civil ordinance violations:
(1) The summons and complaint shall be a form known as the "municipal complaint."
(2) The complaint shall be signed by the issuing municipal official. The original copy shall be filed with the Vermont Judicial Bureau, a copy shall be retained by the issuing municipal official and two (2) copies shall be given to the defendant.
(3) The municipal official may void or amend the municipal complaint issued by that official by so marking the complaint and sending it to the Vermont Judicial Bureau.
(4) The complaint shall contain a description of the ordinance allegedly violated, the allegations, the amount of the penalty and an explanation of rights and instructions on answering the allegations. The complaint shall contain, in boldface print, the following:
"IF YOU ADMIT TO A VIOLATION OF THE ORDINANCE OF THE TOWN/CITY/VILLAGE OF OR IF YOU DO NOT CONTEST THE ALLEGATIONS, SIGN THE COMPLAINT ADMITTING THE VIOLATION OR STATING THAT THE ALLEGATIONS ARE NOT CONTESTED AND SEND IT TO THE VERMONT JUDICIAL BUREAU WITHIN 21 DAYS.
"IF YOU WANT TO DENY THE ALLEGATIONS IN THIS COMPLAINT, YOU MUST SEND A SIGNED DENIAL TO THE VERMONT JUDICIAL BUREAU WITHIN 21 DAYS.
"IF YOU DO NOT ANSWER THIS COMPLAINT WITHIN 21 DAYS, A DEFAULT JUDGEMENT WILL BE ENTERED. THE FAILURE TO PAY THE PENALTY ASSESSED WILL RESULT IN FURTHER LEGAL ACTION AGAINST YOU.
"IF YOU ADMIT OR DO NOT CONTEST OR DO NOT ANSWER, YOU WILL BE LIABLE FOR THE AMOUNT INDICATED IN THE COMPLAINT."
(c) Civil ordinance violation response; answer to municipal complaint; default:
(1) A person who is charged with a municipal civil ordinance violation shall have twenty one (21) days from the date the municipal complaint is issued to admit or deny the allegations or to state that he or she does not contest the allegations in the complaint.
(2) A person who admits or does not contest the allegations may so indicate and sign the complaint. The Vermont Judicial Bureau shall accept the admission or statement that the allegations are not contested and accept payment of the waiver fee.
(3) If the person sends in the amount of the penalty without signing the complaint, the Vermont Judicial Bureau shall accept the payment indicating that payment was made and that the allegations were not contested. If the person who admits the violation fails to pay the waiver fee, the Vermont Judicial Bureau shall enter a default judgement against the person.
(4) A person who denies the allegations may so indicate and sign the complaint. Upon receipt, the Vermont Judicial Bureau shall schedule a hearing.
(5) If a person fails to appeal or answer a municipal ordinance complaint or fails to appear at a municipal ordinance hearing, the Judicial Bureau shall enter a default judgement against the person if the penalty does not exceed one hundred seventy-five dollars ($175.00). No default judgment shall be entered until the filing of a declaration by the issuing officer or State’s Attorney, under penalty of perjury, setting forth facts showing that the defendant is not a person in military service as defined in 50 U.S.C. § 3911 (Servicemembers Civil Relief Act definitions), except upon order of the hearing officer in accordance with the Act. The bureau shall mail a notice to the person that a default judgement has been entered. A default judgement may be set aside by the hearing officer for good cause shown.
(d) Civil ordinance violation hearing:
(1) The Vermont Judicial Bureau shall notify the person charged and the issuing official of the time and place for the hearing.
(2) The hearing shall be held before a hearing officer and conducted in an impartial manner. The hearing officer may, by subpoena, compel the attendance and testimony of witnesses and the production of books and records. All witnesses shall be sworn. The burden of proof shall be on the municipality to prove the allegations by clear and convincing evidence. As used in this section, "clear and convincing evidence" means evidence which establishes that the truth of the facts asserted is highly probable.
(3) The municipality may be represented by a municipal official. "Municipal Official" shall be defined as being any Colchester Police Officer, the Fire Chief, the Zoning Administrator, the Building Inspector, the town planner, the development review coordinator, the life safety inspector, the Town Health Officer, the sign administrator, and the designated animal control officer.
(4) At the hearing, the Municipal Official may dismiss or amend the complaint, subject to the approval of the hearing officer.
(5) The hearing officer shall make findings which shall be stated on the record or, if more time is needed, shall make written findings at a later date. The hearing officer may make a finding that the person has committed a lesser-included violation.
(e) Civil ordinance violation appeals:
(1) A decision of the hearing officer may be appealed to the Vermont Superior Court, Criminal Division. The proceeding before the Vermont Superior Court, Criminal Division shall be on the record, or at the option of the defendant, de novo. If the appeal is de novo, the defendant shall have the right to trial by jury. An appeal shall stay payment of a penalty.
(2) If a decision is appealed, the municipal attorney shall represent the municipality.
(3) No appeal as of right exists to the Supreme Court. On motion made to the Supreme Court by a party, the Supreme Court may allow an appeal to be taken to it from the Vermont Superior Court, Criminal Division.
(4) If an appellant prevails on an appeal to the Vermont Superior Court, Criminal Division, the Town will reimburse the filing fee paid.
(Ord. of 9-10-96; Ord. of 9-27-97; Ord. of 7-14-98; Ord. of 2-24-04; Ord. of 2-9-10; Ord. of 5-14-13; Ord. of 8-9-16; Ord. of 4-14-20)
Sec. 1-10. Municipal official; enforcement of municipal ordinances.
In accordance with and pursuant to 24 V.S.A. Chapter 59, all Colchester Police Officers are hereby designated to enforce the provisions of the Code of Ordinances. In accordance with and pursuant to 24 V.S.A. Chapter 59, the following Town officers are hereby designated and appointed as "Municipal Officials," as that term is used in Chapter 59; and as such each is hereby granted the authority, subject to the direction of the Town Manager, to enforce the provisions of the Code of Ordinances, as specified below, and specifically to issue municipal civil complaints alleging violations of said Code of Ordinances:
| Ordinance Provision | Designated Municipal Official |
| Development Regulations | Zoning Administrator, Director of Planning and Zoning, Building Inspector, and Assistant Zoning Administrator |
| Building Code and Building Code Construction Ordinance | Building Inspector and Assistant Building Inspector |
| Fire prevention and protection | Building Inspector and Assistant Building Inspector. Section 7-14 shall also be extended to the Fire Chief and all law enforcement officers |
| Onsite sewage disposal regulations | Wastewater Official |
| Chapter 18—Stormwater | Building Inspector and Assistant Building Inspector |
(Ord. of 2-24-04; Ord. of 9-13-05(1); Ord. of 2-9-10; Ord. of 6-22-10; Ord. of 5-14-13; Ord. of 12-8-15; Ord. of 4-14-20)