ALEXANDER COUNTY STATE OF EMERGENCY ORDINANCE
ALEXANDER COUNTY EMERGENCY OPERATIONS PLAN
AN
ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING THE PROCLAMATION OF A STATE OF EMERGENCY AND THE
IMPOSITION OF PROHIBITIONS AND RESTRICTIONS DURING A STATE OF EMERGENCY |
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Under the authority of Article 36A of Chapter 14,
Chapter 166A, and
Chapter 153A of the North Carolina General Statutes, the County of
Alexander ordains: |
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Section 1. State of Emergency; Restrictions Authorized |
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(a) |
A State of Emergency shall be deemed to exist whenever
during times of public crisis, disaster, rioting, catastrophe, or similar
public emergency, for any reason, public safety authorities are unable to
maintain public order or afford adequate protection for lives, safety or
property, or whenever the occurrence of any such condition is imminent. |
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(b) |
In the event of an existing or threatened State of
Emergency endangering the lives, safety, health and welfare of the people
within Alexander County or any part thereof, or threatening damages to or
destruction of property, the Chairman of the Board of Commissioners of
Alexander County is hereby authorized and empowered under Section
14-288.13 and 166A-8 to issue a public proclamation declaring to all
persons the existence of such a State of Emergency, and, in order to more
effectively protect the lives and property of people within the county, to
place in effect any or all of the restrictions hereinafter authorized. |
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(c) |
The Chairman is hereby authorized and empowered to limit by
the proclamation the application of all or any part of such restrictions
to any area specifically designated or described within the county and to
specific hours of the day or night; and to exempt from all or any part of
such restrictions, while acting in the line of and within the scope of
their respective duties, law enforcement officers, firemen and other
public employees, rescue squad members, doctors, nurses, employees of
hospitals and other medical facilities; on-duty military personnel,
whether state or federal; on-duty employees of public utilities, public
transportation companies, and newspaper, magazine, radio broadcasting, and
television broadcasting corporations operated for profit; and such other
classes of persons as may be essential to the preservation of public order
and immediately necessary to serve the safety, health, and welfare needs
of people within the county. |
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Section 2. Proclamation
Imposing Prohibitions and Restrictions |
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(a) |
The Chairman of the Board of Commissioners of Alexander
County by proclamation may impose the prohibitions and restrictions
specified in sections 3 through 8 of this ordinance in the manner
described in those sections. The Chairman may impose as many of those
specified prohibitions and restrictions as he finds are necessary, because
of an emergency, to maintain an acceptable level of public order and
services, and to protect lives, safety, and property. The Chairman shall
recite his findings in the proclamation. |
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(b) |
The proclamation shall be in writing. The Chairman shall
take reasonable steps to give notice of the terms of the proclamation to
those affected by it and shall post a copy of it in the County
Courthouse. The Chairman shall send reports of the substance of the
proclamation to the mass communications media, which serves the affected
area. The Chairman shall retain a text of the proclamation and furnish
upon request certified copies of it. |
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Section 3. Evacuation |
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The Chairman may direct and compel the evacuation of all or
part of the population of the County, to prescribe routes, modes
of transportation, and destination in connection with evacuation; and to
control access and egress of a disaster area, the movement of
persons within the area, and the occupancy of premises therein. Details
of the evacuation may be set forth or amended in a subsequent
proclamation, which shall be well publicized. |
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Section 4. Curfew |
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(a) |
The proclamation may impose a curfew prohibiting in certain
areas and during certain periods the appearance in public of anyone who is
not a member of an exempted class. The proclamation shall specify the
geographical area or areas and the period during each 24-hour day to which
the curfew applies. The Chairman may exempt from some or all of the
curfew restrictions classes of people whose exemption the Chairman finds
necessary for the preservation of the public health, safety, and welfare. The proclamation shall state the exempted classes and the restrictions
from which each is exempted. |
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(b) |
Unless otherwise specified in the proclamation, the curfew
shall apply during the specified period each day until the Chairman by
proclamation removes the curfew. |
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Section 5. Restrictions on
Possession, Consumption, or Transfer of Alcoholic Beverages |
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The proclamation may prohibit the possession or consumption
of any alcoholic beverage, including beer, wine, and spirituous liquor
other than on one's own premises; and may prohibit the transfer,
transportation, sale or purchases of any alcoholic beverage within the
area of the County described in the proclamation. The prohibition, if
imposed, may apply to transfers of alcoholic beverages by employees of
Alcoholic Beverage Control stores as well as by anyone else within the
geographical area described. |
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Section 6. Restriction on
Possession, Transportation, and Transfer of Dangerous Weapons and
Substances |
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(a) |
The proclamation may prohibit the transportation or
possession off one's own premises, or the sale or purchase of any
dangerous weapon or substance. The Chairman may exempt from some or all of
the restrictions classes of people whose possession, transfer, or
transportation of certain dangerous weapons or substances is necessary to
the preservation of the public's health, safety, or welfare. The
proclamation shall state the exempted classes and the restrictions from
which each is exempted. |
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(b) | "Dangerous weapon or substance" means: | ||||||
(1) | Any deadly weapon, ammunition, explosive, incendiary device, radioactive material or device as defined in G.S. 14-288.8 (c)(5), gasoline, or other instrument or substance designed for a use that carries a threat of serious bodily injury or destruction of property. | ||||||
(2) | Any other instrument or substance that is capable of being used to inflict serious bodily injury or destruction of property, when the circumstances indicate that there is some probability that such instrument or substance will be so used. | ||||||
(3) |
Any part or ingredient in any instrument or substance
included above when the circumstances indicate a probability that such a
part or ingredient will be so used. |
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(c) |
If imposed, the restrictions shall apply throughout the
jurisdiction of the County or such part thereof as designated in the
proclamation. |
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(d) |
A violation of this section shall be punishable as provided
in G.S. 14-288.7. |
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Section 7. Restrictions on
Access to Areas |
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(a) |
The proclamation may prohibit obtaining access or
attempting to obtain access to any area, designated in the manner
described in this section, in violation of any order, clearly posted
notice, or barricade indicating that access is denied or restricted. |
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(b) |
Areas to which access is denied or restricted shall be
designated by the Sheriff and his subordinates or other law enforcement
officer when directed in the proclamation to do so by the Chairman. When
acting under this authority, the Sheriff and his subordinates when
directed in the proclamation to do so by the Chairman. When acting under
this authority, the Sheriff and his subordinates may restrict or deny
access to any area, street, highway or location within the County if that
restriction or denial of access or use is reasonably necessary to promote
efforts being made to overcome the emergency or to prevent further
aggravation of the emergency. |
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Section 8. The
Proclamation may prohibit or restrict: |
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(a) |
Movements of people in public places; |
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(b) |
The operation of offices, business establishments, and
other places to or from which people may travel or at which they may
congregate; and |
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(c) |
Other activities or conditions the control of which may be
reasonably necessary to maintain order and protect lives or property
during the state of emergency within the area designated in the
proclamation. |
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Section 9. Removal of
Prohibitions and Restrictions |
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The Chairman shall by proclamation terminate the entire
declaration of emergency or remove any of the prohibitions and
restrictions when the emergency no longer requires them, or when directed
to do so by the Board of Commissioners. |
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Section 10. Superseding
and Amendatory Proclamations |
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The Chairman in his/her discretion may invoke the
restrictions authorized by this ordinance in separate proclamations, and
may amend any proclamation by means of a superseding proclamation in
accordance with the procedures set forth in Section 2. |
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Section 11. Termination of
Proclamation |
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Any proclamation issued under this ordinance shall expire
five days after its last imposition unless sooner terminated in writing
under the same procedures set forth in Section 2 for proclamations. |
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Section 12. In Case of
Absence or Disability of Chairman |
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In case of the absence or disability of the Chairman, the
Vice-Chairman of the Board of Commissioners, or such other person as may
be designated by the Board of Commissioners, shall have and exercise all
of the powers herein given the Chairman. |
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Section 13. Penalty for
Violation |
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Except as provided in section 6, any person violating any
prohibition or restriction imposed by a proclamation authorized by this
ordinance shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable upon conviction by
a fine not exceeding fifty dollars ($50.00) or imprisonment not exceeding
30 days, as provided by G.S. 14-4. |
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Section 14. Repeal of
Conflicting Ordinances |
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All ordinances in conflict with the provisions of this
ordinance are hereby repealed. |
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Section 15. Territorial
Applicability |
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This ordinance shall NOT apply within the corporate limits
of any municipality, or within any area of the County over which the
municipality has jurisdiction to enact general police-power ordinances,
unless the municipality by resolution consents to its application or the
Mayor of the municipality has requested its application, in which event it
shall apply to such areas fully and to the same extent as elsewhere in
the County. |
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Section 16. Validity |
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If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase of
this ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid, such decision shall
not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this Ordinance. The
Board of Commissioners hereby declares that it would have passed this
Ordinance and each section, subsection, clause, and phrase thereof,
irrespective of the fact that any one or more sections, subsections,
sentences, clauses, or phrases be declared invalid. |
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Section 17. Effective Date
of Ordinance |
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