A. The provisions of this Chapter apply to all regulations, unless otherwise provided.
B. Regulations promulgated by the Police Chief may be exempted from this Chapter at the sole discretion of the City Manager upon consultation with the Police Chief.
C. The Council is not an agency, and actions of the Council are not subject to the requirements of this Chapter. (Ord. 2004-3 (part), 2004)

“Agency” means the City of Takoma Park, Maryland, or any of its subdivisions, including but not limited to any City board, commission, committee, officer or department
“External regulations” mean regulations that pertain to procedures and policies that directly affect the citizens of the City.
“Internal regulations” mean regulations that specifically pertain to the procedures, policies or the implementation of legislation relating to the City government’s internal matters. Such matters include but are not limited to office procedures of the Mayor, the Council, the City Manager or any City agency or subdivision thereof and to certain personnel procedures or policies.
“Regulation” means any agency order, directive or statement of general or particular applicability and future effect designed to implement or interpret law or policy, including an amendment or repeal of a prior regulation. (Ord. 2004-3 (part), 2004)

A. Express and Implied Authority. If an agency is authorized to implement or enforce an ordinance or law, the agency may adopt regulations to implement or enforce that ordinance or law, even if the authority to adopt the regulations is not expressly stated.
B. Department and City Manager Approval. All proposed regulations and proposed final regulations shall have the approval of the appropriate agency official, as well as the approval of the City Manager. For proposed regulations, such approval must be obtained prior to issuance of public notice. A regulation shall not be invalid because the City Manager or appropriate agency official has not indicated his or her approval in writing. (Ord. 2004-3 (part), 2004)

A regulation should pertain to only one subject. A regulation should be written in plain language. (Ord. 2004-3 (part), 2004)

A. Publication of Notice. An agency shall publish notice in the Takoma Park Newsletter prior to the adoption, amendment or repeal of any regulation. The agency shall distribute the notice to the Council no later than one week prior to the date of publication.
B. Publication of Additional Notice. An agency, exercising its discretion, may also publish additional notice in any neighborhood, civic, professional, trade or industrial publication or in any newspaper of general circulation.
C. Comment Period. Following notice of a proposed regulation, there shall be a minimum period of 21 days for comment on the proposed regulation. Council members may comment on any proposed regulation during the comment period provided in the public notice. At any time before the expiration of the comment period established by the notice, the Council may elect to hold a public hearing on a proposed regulation. The hearing shall be held within 30 days of the end of the comment period, unless the comment period ends while the Council is in recess, in which case, the hearing shall be held within 30 days of the end of the recess. If the Council schedules a public hearing, the public comment period is extended until the date of the public hearing. Based on information from the public hearing or other public or Council comments, the Council may direct the agency to withdraw or modify the proposed regulation.
D. Publication of Notice, Exception. Notice does not have to be published in the Takoma Park Newsletter if all persons subject to the proposed regulation are named and either personally served or otherwise given actual notice in accordance with law. The agency shall distribute the notice to the Council no later than one week prior to the date of service of the notice on any person subject to the proposed regulation.
E. Content of Notice. In the original published notice, an agency shall either accurately summarize the substance of the proposed regulation and the subject and the issues involved or set forth the full text of the proposed regulation. If the proposed regulation is summarized, an agency shall state the place where the full text is available. If a hearing will be held, the place, date and time of the hearing shall be stated. The notice shall solicit public comment. The notice shall also contain the requirements or procedure for submitting any written comments; the name, address and telephone number of a contact person who can provide further information; the deadline for receipt of comments and the name, address and telephone number of the person to whom comments may be directed; any other pertinent deadlines; and the citation of the authority to promulgate the proposed regulation. (Ord. 2004-3 (part), 2004)

An agency shall consider the comments submitted in response to the notice in Section 2.12.050. The weight given to the various comments is within the discretion of the agency. The Agency will revise the proposed regulation in accordance with the Council’s directions pursuant to Section 2.12.050(C). (Ord. 2004-3 (part), 2004)

A. After consideration of any comments upon a proposed regulation and compliance with the directions of the Council, an agency may adopt proposed final regulations. The agency shall issue a copy of the proposed final regulation to the City Manager for approval. Upon approval, the City Manager shall issue the proposed final regulations to the Council.
B. The Council may modify or withdraw a proposed final regulation at the next Council meeting, work session, or special session following the issuance of the proposed final regulation. The Council’s modification or withdrawal of the proposed final regulation shall be the final action on the regulation.
C. If the Council takes no action on the proposed final regulation, the proposed final regulation shall become the final action on the regulation. (Ord. 2004-3 (part), 2004)

A. In the issue of the Takoma Park Newsletter that follows the final action taken on a proposed regulation, an agency shall publish notice of the final action taken on the proposed regulation. The notice of the final action taken is published at least 10 days before the effective date of the final regulation.
B. If the proposed regulation becomes final, an agency may publish or make available a summary response to public comments received.
C. If the proposed regulation becomes final, an agency shall:
1. Cite the issue of the Takoma Park Newsletter that contains the notice of the proposed regulation, if there is no substantive difference between the proposed regulation and the final regulation.
2. If the agency makes any substantive change to the proposed regulation before it is final, the agency shall publish either a summary of the changes and state the place where the full text is available, or it may set forth the full text of the final regulation with a summary of the changes.
D. An agency may withdraw the proposed regulation any time before the regulation becomes final. (Ord. 2004-3 (part), 2004)

A. The provisions of the Administrative Regulations Ordinance shall apply to all internal regulations except that:
1. Internal regulations do not require prior notice to the public.
2. An agency may solicit comments from the staff members who will be affected by the proposed internal regulations.
B. There is a 30 day waiting period from the date an internal regulation is proposed until it becomes effective.
C. Internal regulations will be made available to all affected personnel but need not be published in Takoma Park Regulations, established by Section 2.12.130 of this Chapter. (Ord. 2004-3 (part), 2004)

A. If the City Manager determines that an emergency exists, a regulation need not meet the prior publication and consideration requirements of Sections 2.12.050, 2.12.060 and 2.12.080.
B. An emergency regulation is effective immediately upon approval by the City Manager and will remain in effect for a period of 45 days. The City Manager shall send to the Council a copy of the regulation and a statement giving the reason for the emergency regulation. The City Manager’s statement shall specify the likely consequences of the emergency situation in the absence of the emergency regulation.
C. The City Manager may ask the Council to extend by resolution the effective period of an emergency regulation. The City Manager shall provide the Council with a written statement of the reasons for the extension request.
D. The Council may repeal an emergency regulation at any time according to the provisions of Section 2.12.110 of this Chapter.
E. Notice of the approval of an emergency regulation, its repeal, extension or any other final action taken regarding the emergency regulation shall be given in the next Takoma Park Newsletter and in Takoma Park Regulations, if appropriate.
F. Emergency regulations must pertain to situations presenting a clear and present danger to the public health, safety and general welfare. (Ord. 2004-3 (part), 2004)

A. The Council may, by resolution, repeal any final or emergency regulation.
B. The Council may, by resolution, instruct the City Manager to modify the final regulation as the Council deems necessary. (Ord. 2004-3 (part), 2004)

In lieu of enacting an ordinance, the Council may delegate by resolution to the City Manager the function of promulgating regulations designed to implement an action authorized by an ordinance or law, provided, however, that the Council shall delegate only executive functions and shall not attempt to delegate its legislative power to an agency. Following final adoption of any regulations, the Council may repeal any ordinance or Code provisions that duplicate the final regulations. (Ord. 2004-3 (part), 2004)

A. Takoma Park Regulations Established. The Takoma Park Regulations is established and includes:
1. Each regulation of the City;
2. Any document that the City Manager determines should be included;
3. Any explanatory annotation; and
4. An index by agency and subject matter.
B. Duties of City Manager.
1. The City Manager, with the assistance of the City Clerk, shall compile, codify, edit, index, publish and supplement the Takoma Park Regulations. The City Manager may procure a contract to meet the requirements of this subsection.
2. The City Manager may remove a regulation or a part of a regulation from the Takoma Park Regulations if the regulation is declared unconstitutional or otherwise illegal by a court after final appeal or if the agency that enforced or administered the regulation ceases to exist and the functions and responsibilities of the agency are not transferred to a successor.
3. At least once a year, each regulation adopted during the year and any document that the City Manager determines should be included shall be published in a supplement to the Takoma Park Regulations.
4. City Manager shall set a reasonable price for each copy of the Takoma Park Regulations and its supplements for sale to the public.
5. A free copy of the Takoma Park Regulations and its supplements is distributed to appropriate public officials and public institutions and to any person the City Manager designates.
6. Failure to include a regulation in the Takoma Park Regulations or its supplements shall not affect the validity of the regulation. (Ord. 2004-3 (part), 2004)

If deemed necessary, the City Manager may conduct a review of the regulations for the purpose of determining whether the regulations should be repealed or amended. (Ord. 2004-3 (part), 2004)