Sec. 8. Powers of City generally.
   The municipal authorities of said City, acting under the powers and in the manner herein specified, shall have and are hereby granted power:
      (1)   Resurvey of City. To have said City resurveyed;
      (2)   Opening, etc., streets and alleys. To open, vacate, broaden, widen and repair streets and alleys; and in so doing to exercise the right of eminent domain to the fullest extent, including the right to condemn across the property of common carriers, including railroad yards;
      (3)   Curbing and paving, etc., streets, etc., generally. To curb and pave streets, sidewalks and gutters for public use, and to alter, improve, repair and light the same;
      (4)   Construction, etc., of public sewers and laterals. And to construct and maintain public sewers and laterals and shall in all cases have power to assess upon and collect from the property benefited thereby such part of the expense thereof as shall be fixed by ordinance, except as hereinafter provided;
      (5)   Control and care of streets, etc., generally. To have control of all streets, avenues, roads and alleys for public use in said City and to have the same kept in good order, free from obstruction on or over them;
      (6)   Control of bridges and traffic thereon. To have the right to control all bridges within said City and traffic passing thereover;
      (7)   Width of streets, etc. To regulate and determine the width of streets, sidewalks, roads and alleys;
      (8)   Curbing and paving of sidewalks, etc. To order and direct the curbing and paving of sidewalks and footways for public use in said City, to be done and kept in good order by the owners of adjacent property;
      (9)   Construction, etc., of buildings, etc., generally. To control the construction and repairing of all houses, bridges, culverts, sewers and to prescribe and enforce all regulations affecting the erecting, repairing or removal of all buildings and structures and to require permits to be obtained for such buildings, and plans and specifications thereof to be first submitted to the Building Inspector, and to prescribe and enforce regulations controlling the erection of such buildings, and to secure the safety and health of the public;
      (10)   Opening, etc., of ditches, etc. To control the opening and construction of ditches, drains, sewers, cesspools and gutters; to deepen, widen and clear the same of stagnant water and filth, and to determine at whose expense the same shall be done;
      (11)   Building, etc., station houses, etc. To build and maintain station houses, police stations and police courts, and regulate the management thereof;
      (12)   Purchase, etc., of public grounds, squares and parks. To purchase, lay off, appropriate and control public grounds, squares and parks, either within or without the City limits as hereinafter defined, and when the Council determines that any real estate is necessary to be acquired by said City for any such purpose or for any public purpose, the power of eminent domain is hereby conferred upon said City; and it shall have the right to institute condemnation proceedings against the owners in the same manner and to the same extent and upon the same conditions as such power is conferred upon public corporations by Chapter 48 of the Code of West Virginia of the Edition of 1906;
      (13)   City buildings. To provide, contract for and take care of all buildings and structures deemed proper for the use of said City;
      (14)   Set back, etc. To provide for and regulate the building of all houses or other structures and to determine the distance that they shall be built from the street or alley;
      (15)   Unsafe walls, etc. To cause the removal of unsafe walls or buildings;
      (16)   Injury or annoyance from dangerous, etc., things. To prevent injury or annoyance to the business of individuals from anything dangerous, offensive or unwholesome;
      (17)   Abatement of nuisances. To abate or cause to be abated all nuisances;
      (18)   Keeping of gunpowder, etc. To regulate the keeping of all gunpowder and all other combustibles;
      (19)   Cemeteries; interments. To provide and maintain proper places for the burial of the dead; to regulate interments therein upon such terms and conditions as to price and otherwise as may be determined;
      (20)   Shade, etc., trees. To provide for shade and ornamental trees and the protection or removal of the same;
      (21)   Draining of lots. To provide for draining of lots by proper drains and ditches;
      (22)   Fire protection regulations. To make proper regulations for guarding against danger or damage from fire;
      (23)   Poor. To provide for the poor of the City;
      (24)   Fire companies and equipment. To organize and maintain fire companies and to provide necessary apparatus, engines and implements for the same, to levy taxes on persons, property and licenses;
      (25)   Revenue and expenses. To provide revenue for the City and appropriate the same to its expenses;
      (26)   Valuation and assessment of property, etc. To provide for the valuation of property as often as may be deemed proper and for the assessment of taxable persons and property;
      (27)   Rules for transaction of business, etc. To adopt rules for the transaction of business and for the government and regulation of its corporate bodies;
      (28)   Promotion of welfare, etc. To promote the general welfare of the City and to protect the person and property of citizens therein;
      (29)   Appointment and bonding of officers. To appoint such officers as they may deem proper and require and take from them bonds with such security and in such penalty as may be determined, conditioned for the faithful discharge of their duties;
      (30)   Weighing and transportation of produce, etc. To regulate and provide for the weighing of produce and other articles sold in said City; to regulate the transportation thereof through the streets;
      (31)   Markets. To establish and regulate markets; to prescribe the time for holding the same and what shall be sold only in such markets, and to acquire and hold property for market purposes if deemed proper;
      (32)   Signs, etc., in, on or over streets, etc. To regulate the placing of signs, billboards, posters and advertisements, and other obstructions, in, on, or over the streets, alleys and sidewalks of said City;
      (33)   Preservation of the peace, etc. To preserve and protect the peace and order and health of the City and its inhabitants;
      (34)   Places for holding elections. To appoint and fix places for holding City elections;
      (35)   Gas works and electric light works. To erect, own, lease, regulate, authorize or prohibit the erection of gas works, electric light works in or near the City, and to operate the same and to sell the products thereof, and to do all things necessary and incident to the conduct of such business;
      (36)   Preservation of purity of water, etc. To provide for and preserve the purity of the water and the health of the City;
      (37)   Ordinances for protection of health, decency, morality and order. To prescribe and enforce ordinances for the purpose of protecting the health, decency, morality and order of the City and its inhabitants, and to punish violations of such ordinances, even if the offenses under and against such ordinances shall also constitute offenses under the laws of the State of West Virginia or the common law;
      (38)   Rights, etc., under certain statutes. To have and exercise all the rights, privileges, and powers provided by Chapter 47 of the Code of West Virginia of the Edition of 1906, and amendments thereof not inconsistent with this Act [Charter], and shall retain, keep and succeed to all rights, privileges, property, interest, claim and demands, heretofore acquired by, vested in or transferred to the said City of Martinsburg, or heretofore to the Corporation of Martinsburg. (Acts 1915, Municipal Charters, ch. 6, Sec. 12; Acts 1921, Municipal Charters, ch. 14)