Minutes 12/09/1969 - Laserfiche WebLink

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December 9~ 1969 § 10.02. Petition for Referendum. (a) At any time within thirty days following the adoption of an ordinance, except an emergency ordinance, a petition signed by at least thirty per centum of the electors eligible to vote in the last preceding general election protesting against the enactment of such ordinance and requesting its repeal, may be presented to the council. Such petition need not contain the text of the ordinance sought to be repealed, but it shall be sufficient ~o refer to it by ordinance number or code section number. (b) The petition shall be substantially in the following form: To the Council of the City of Portsmouth, Virginia: We, the undersigned, honorable body to repeal the Signature of Elector qualified electors of this following ordinance: Street Address city, respectfully petition your Date Si~ned (c) The execution of the petition by an elector shall be acknowledged by him, or it may be proved by the oath of a witness who shall swear that he knows the elector and that the petition was signed by the elector in the presence of the witness. The separate sheets, each sheet containing at the top thereof the petition as set forth above, and when bound together and offered for filing, shall be deemed to constitute one petition. § 10.03. Time of Filing. All papers comprising a petition for initiative or referendum shall be filed with the city clerk thirty days from the date of the first signature thereon, and when so filed, the clerk ~hall submit the same to the council at its next regular meeting. § 10.04. Duty of City Attorney. Before any ordinance proposed by petition in accordance with section 1001 hereof, shall be submitted to the council, it shall first be approved as to form by the city attorney. If he shall disapprove of the proposed ordinance or amendment, he shall state his reasons therefor in writing to the person sub~tting the proposal to him for his examination. § 10.05. Duty of the Council. Upon the presentation of a petition as provided in this article, it shall be the duty of the council either to pass such proposed ordinance without alteration or repeal such existing ordinance within sixty days after determining the sufficiency of the petition, or submit the question of the adoption or repeal of the ordinance, as the case may be, to the electorate at the next general election occuring more than sixty days after deter- mining the sufficiency of the petition. § 10.06. Elections. (a) All initiative and referendum elections shall be conducted, and the result canvassed and certified by the regular election officials provided by the general laws of the sta~e'; ande~ot as otherwise provided in this article, all such elections shall be governed by the said general election laws. (b) If a majority of the qualified electors voting on a proposed ordinance shall vote in favor thereof, it shall thereupon become a valid and binding ordinance of the city, and the same shall not be repealed or amended, except by a vote of the electors within two years thereafter. (c) If a majority of the qualified electors voting on the repeal of an existing ordinance shall vote in favor of its repeal, it shall thereupon stand repealed and be of no force and effect. (d) Where an election has been held upon the question of the adoption or repeal of any ordinance in accordance with this article, then no election may be held upon a substantially similar question for two years following such election, except that the council may submit the repeal, amendment or modification of any ordinance adopted under subsection (b) above, ~o be voted upon at any general election succeeding its adoption. 10.07. Publication of Ordinance. Whenever an ordinance is required under the provisions of this article, to be submitted for adoption or repeal to the electors of the city, the city clerk shall cause the ordinance To be published once in a daily newspaper published in or having a general circulation in the City of Portsmouth. Such publication shall occur not more than sixty days nor less than thirty days prior to the date of such election.