CHAPTER V
LEGISLATION
Section 5.1 Ordinances, Resolutions and Motions.
a. In all official matters coming before it, the Council shall act only by ordinance, resolution or motion. In addition to such acts of the Council as are required by this Charter to be by ordinance, every act making an appropriation to a City fund, authorizing borrowing of money, levying a tax or establishing any rule or regulation for the violation of which a penalty is imposed, shall be by ordinance; provided, however, this Section shall not apply to the adoption of the budget and levying of an ad valorem tax, which are governed by the provisions of Chapter XII.
b. All legislative acts of a permanent nature shall be by ordinance and all other actions, except as provided in this Charter, may be in the form of resolution or motions. All ordinances, resolutions and motions shall be confined to one (1) subject, except ordinances repealing other ordinances may include repeal of more than one (1) ordinance and ordinances making appropriations may include more than one (1) appropriation.
Section 5.2 Form of Ordinances.
All ordinances shall be introduced in written form and no ordinance or section thereof shall be amended or repealed except by an ordinance regularly adopted. The enacting clause of all ordinances shall be: “Be it ordained by the City Council of the City of Glendale, Colorado.”
Section 5.3 Procedure for Passage of Ordinances.
Except for emergency ordinances, ordinances adopting by reference general codifications of existing ordinances, and ordinances adopting by reference standard codes, the following procedure for enactment of ordinances shall be followed:
a. An ordinance may be introduced at any regular or special meeting and shall be read in full at the time it is introduced, except in cases where copies of the ordinance are available to the Council and to those persons in attendance at the said Council meeting, the said ordinance may be read by title only unless a reading in full is required by any Council member.
b. With the exception of a zoning ordinance governed by Section 10.11 and a tax ordinance governed by Section 13.3, an ordinance may be passed on first reading by the affirmative vote of a majority of the members of the Council present at the meeting at which the ordinance is introduced.
c. After the passage of an ordinance on first reading, the ordinance shall be posted and published as required in this Chapter.
d. No ordinance may be passed on second and final reading earlier than ten (10) days after. the fast reading, provided this provision shall not apply to emergency ordinances.
e. With the exception of a zoning ordinance governed by Section 10.11 or a tax ordinance governed by Section 13.3, an ordinance may be passed on second and final reading at a regular meeting or at a regular or special meeting if the first passage was at a regular meeting, by the affirmative vote of not less than a majority of the members of the Council in office at the time the vote was taken. Provided, however, such second reading shall be no earlier than seven (7) days after the first publication and posting of the ordinance. An ordinance may be read by title only on its second and final reading.
A Council member shall be excused from voting on any question in which he has a financial interest, other than the common public interest, his own conduct is involved, or any other good cause is shown for his being excused from voting. Council by majority vote of those present, shall determine when a member shall be excused from voting. Should any Council member, being present, refuse to vote on any measure and not be excused by Council from doing so, his vote shall be recorded in the affirmative.
f. An ordinance may be amended after first reading and passage and before final passage on second reading, provided the said amendment or amendments do not change the general purpose of the ordinance. The text of any such amendment or amendments shall be read in full. In the event such amendment or amendments constitutes a complete change in the general purpose of the ordinance, the reading of the ordinance as amended shall be treated as the first reading.
g. With the exception of emergency ordinances, the effective date of all ordinances shall be five (5) days after both final posting and publication have been accomplished as provided in Section 5.6 unless another date is prescribed in the ordinance.
h. A roll call vote by “Yes” or “No” shall be taken upon the passage of all ordinances and entered upon the minutes of the Council proceedings.
i. After the final passage of an ordinance, the ordinance shall be posted and published as required in this Chapter. (Ord. 2022-1 § 3)
Section 5.4 Passage of Emergency Ordinances.
An ordinance which is declared therein to be an emergency ordinance and which is immediately necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health, safety or welfare may be enacted at the regular or special meeting at which it is introduced by four (4) affirmative votes without any requirement of prior posting or publication and without any requirement of a second reading and passage. Such emergency ordinances, after passage, shall take effect immediately, but shall, for informational purposes, be posted and published as required in Section 5.6 for ordinances after final passage.
Section 5.5 Passage of Resolutions and Motions.
a. A resolution may be introduced at any regular or special meeting and shall be read in full at the time it is introduced, except in cases where copies of the resolution are available to the Council and to those persons in attendance at the said Council meeting, the said resolution may be read by title only unless a reading in full is requested by any Council member.
b. Passage of resolutions and motions shall require the affirmative vote of a majority of the members of the Council present at the time the vote is taken except as is otherwise provided in this Charter.
c. A voice vote shall be taken upon the passage of all resolutions and motions unless any member of the Council requests a roll call vote, in which event a roll call vote shall be taken.
Section 5.6 Posting and Publication.
With the exception of emergency ordinances and codes adopted by reference, the full text of each ordinance, including ordinances adopting codes by reference, shall, after passage on first reading and before second reading and final passage, be posted in the City Hall only or as such places designated by Council. The title of each ordinance and a statement that the ordinance is on file in the City Clerk’s office for public inspection or the full text of each ordinance, at the discretion of Council, shall be published in a newspaper legally qualified for City publications as provided in this Charter within ten (10) days, or as soon thereafter as possible, after second and final passage.
Section 5.7 Amendment or Repeal.
a. No ordinance, section or subsection thereof shall be amended, superseded, or repealed except by an ordinance regularly adopted.
b. No ordinance shall be amended by reference to its title only, but the revised section or subsection of the ordinance, as amended shall be reenacted. However, an ordinance, section or subsection thereof may be repealed by reference to its title and ordinance or code number only.
Section 5.8 Disposition of Ordinances and Resolutions.
a. All ordinances shall be numbered and filed by the Clerk in the official records of the City, and it shall be the duty of the Mayor and Clerk to authenticate such records by their official signatures thereon, but the failure to so file and authenticate such ordinance shall not invalidate it or suspend its operation.
b. All resolutions shall be numbered and filed by the Clerk in the official records of the City.
Section 5.9 Penalties for Violation of Ordinances.
Any ordinance may provide for the punishment of those who violate its provisions.
Section 5.10 Codification of Ordinances.
a. The Council having caused the ordinances of the City to be codified, shall cause them to be maintained in current force. Revisions of the Code of Ordinances of the Town of Glendale may be accomplished by reference as provided in Section 5.11.
b. Copies of the Code of Ordinances of the Town of Glendale and amendments and revisions thereof adopted in accordance with Section 5.11, when duly certified by the City Clerk, shall be received without further proof as prima facie evidence of the provisions of such Code in all Courts and administrative tribunals and boards in this State.
Section 5.11 Adoption of Codes by Reference.
a. The City is hereby authorized to enact any ordinance which adopts any code by reference, in whole or in part; and such primary code, thus adopted, may in turn adopt by reference, in whole or in part, any secondary codes duly described therein. However, the title of every primary code and every secondary code which is incorporated in any such adopting ordinance, shall be specified in the title of the adopting ordinance.
b. After the first reading of the adopting ordinance, the Council shall schedule a public hearing concerning the adopting ordinance, and of the code and any secondary codes to be adopted thereby. Notice of the hearing shall be published once in a newspaper which meets the requirements for publication of ordinances at least seven (7) days preceding the hearing. The notice shall state the time and place of the hearing, that copies of the adopting ordinance, of the primary code and also copies of the secondary codes, if any, being considered for adoption, are on file with the City Clerk and are open to public inspection. The notice shall also contain a description sufficient to give notice to interested persons of the purpose of the code and of any secondary code incorporated therein by reference, and the subject matter of each such code.
c. After the public hearing, the Council may amend, adopt or reject the adoption ordinance in the same manner as it is empowered to act in the case of other ordinances; provided, nothing in this Charter shall be deemed to permit the adoption by reference of any penalty clause which may appear in any code which is adopted by reference. Any such penalty clause may be enacted only if set forth in full in the adopting ordinance. It is further provided that all changes or additions to any code made by the Council shall be set out in full in the adopting ordinance.
d. The adopting ordinance shall be posted and published as is provided in this Chapter for any other ordinance. No less than three (3) copies of the adopting ordinance together with three (3) copies of each primary code, and of each secondary code pertaining thereto, shall be on file in the office of the City Clerk prior to passage of the adopting ordinance on first reading and shall remain on file both prior to the public hearing, and after the public hearing and final passage.
e. Following the adoption of any code, the City Clerk shall at all times maintain a reasonable supply of copies of the primary code and of any secondary code incorporated therein by reference, available to the public at a moderate price.
f. The Council shall not be required to read the code text at the meeting at which the adopting ordinance is passed either on first or second readings, provided said codes, primary codes and secondary codes, if any, are on file in the office of the City Clerk, as herein provided. Provided further, however, at the request of any Council member any portion of the code text shall be read prior to passage of the adopting ordinance.
g. If, at any time, any code which the City has previously adopted by reference, shall be amended by the agency or municipality which originally promulgated, adopted, or enacted it, then Council may adopt such amendments by reference through the same procedure as required for the adoption of the original code; or an ordinance may be enacted in the regular manner setting forth the entire text of such amendment.
h. Copies of such codes in published form, duly certified by the City Clerk, shall be received without further proof as prima facie evidence of the provisions of such codes in all Courts and administrative tribunals and boards in this State.
i. DEFINITIONS. As used in the text of this Chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated, unless the context requires otherwise:
(1) “Code” shall mean any published compilation of statutes, ordinances, rules, regulations, adopted by the Federal government or the State of Colorado, or by an agency of either of them, or by any municipality within the State of Colorado, or by any state or nationally recognized organization, institution or agency, such as, but not limited to the Uniform Building Code, as amended, and the National Fire Protection Association. It shall include any codification or compilation of existing ordinances of the City.
(2) “Primary Code” shall mean any code which is directly adopted by reference in whole or in part by any ordinance passed pursuant to this Chapter.
(3) “Secondary Code” shall mean any code which is incorporated by reference, directly or indirectly, in whole or in part, in any primary code or in any secondary code.
Section 5.12 Severability of Ordinances.
a. If any provision of an ordinance or the application thereof to any person or circumstances shall be found to be invalid by a Court, such invalidity shall not affect the remaining portions or applications of the ordinance which can be given effect without the invalid portion or applications, provided such remaining portions or applications are not determined by the Court to be inoperable, and to this end ordinances are declared to be severable.
b. Each ordinance shall be deemed to have included as a part of it, this severability provision, even though this severability provision is not set out in the ordinance, unless an ordinance shall expressly provide that this severability provision is not applicable.