The following rules of construction shall apply to this chapter:
(A) The particular shall control the general.
(B) Unless the context clearly indicates to the contrary, where a regulation involves 2 or more items, conditions, provisions or events connected by a conjunction, the conjunctions shall have the following meaning:
(1) AND indicates that all connected items, conditions, provisions or events shall apply.
(2) OR indicates that all connected items, conditions, provisions or events may apply singly or in any combination (i.e. “or” also means “and/or”).
(3)
EITHER indicates that the connected items, conditions, provisions or events shall apply singly but not in combination.
(C) The phrase
SUCH AS shall mean “such as, but not limited to.”
(D) The phrase
INCLUDING shall mean “including, but not limited to.”
(E) Use of
INCLUDING, INCLUDES, SUCH AS, ADDITIONAL or SUPPLEMENTAL means that the examples provided are illustrative and not an exhaustive listing, unless the context clearly indicates to the contrary.
(F) Where an illustration accompanies any provision in this chapter, the written text shall have precedence over the illustration, unless the context indicates to the contrary.
(G) References to departments, commissions, boards and other offices are to those of the Charter Township of Clayton, unless otherwise indicated.
(H) A reference to a public official or staff person of the township is to that person who performs the function referred to, and may include a designee of the public official or staff person.
(I) A reference to days is to calendar days unless otherwise indicated in this chapter or specified by state law. If a deadline falls on a weekend or township holiday, the deadline shall be extended to the next working day. A
WORKING DAY is defined as normal business hours of any day that is not a Saturday, Sunday or official township holiday.
(J) In computing a period of days, the day of the act or event from which the designated period of days begins to run shall be excluded, and the last day of the period is included, unless the last day is not a working day. If the last day is not a working day, the period runs until the end of the next working day.
(K) (1) Use of
SHALL,WILL or MUST is mandatory;
(2) Use of
MAY is permissive, with the decision made by the township.
(L) Words in the present tense include the future tense, words used in the plural include the singular, and the singular plural, unless the context clearly indicates to the contrary.
(M) The word
PERSON includes a firm, association, organization, partnership, trust, company, or corporation, as well as an individual.
(N) ACROSS or ACROSS FROM shall mean “on the opposite side” and shall not be interpreted as having the same meaning as “adjacent” or “contiguous” unless the context clearly indicates to the contrary.
(O) All measurements shall be to the nearest integer unless otherwise specified.
(P) Singular words shall include the plural and masculine words shall include the feminine and neuter.
(Q) Words or terms not defined herein shall have the meaning customarily assigned to them.
(Ord. 372.1 § 200, passed 6-10-1999)