Rules of construction and definitions.
Dayton City Code § 10.03
in effectSec. 10.03. - Rules of construction and definitions.
In the construction of the provisions of this Code and all ordinances, the following rules of construction and definitions shall be observed unless inconsistent with the manifest intent of the City Commission or unless the context clearly requires otherwise.
(A) Definitions.
Administrative regulations. Written orders which are issued by the Mayor or chief administrative officer of the city.
And, or, and may be read "or" and "or" may be read "and" if the sense requires it.
Bond. An obligation in writing, binding the signatory to pay a sum certain upon the happening or failure of an event.
Building. Any structure intended to have walls and a roof.
Business. Any profession, trade, occupation and any other commercial enterprise conducted for monetary reward.
Charter. The Charter of the City of Dayton.
City. The City of Dayton, in the County of Montgomery and State of Ohio.
Commission or City Commission. The governing body of the city.
City limits or corporate limits. Within the city and including not only the corporate limits of the city, but also any property which the city owns or which is under its jurisdiction.
City Manager. The chief administrative officer of the city, appointed by the commissioners of the city as provided for in the Charter.
Clerk or City Clerk. The Clerk of the City Commission.
County. Montgomery County, Ohio.
Health officer. The head of the division of housing and health of the department of human resources or any person designated by the city commission to perform the city health functions and duties.
Joint authority. That authority given to several persons or officers. Such authority vests in a majority of such persons or officers.
May. The word "may" is permissive and discretionary.
Mayor. The Mayor of the city.
Month. A calendar month.
Oath. Any form of attestation by which a person signifies that he is bound in conscience to perform an act or to speak faithfully and truthfully, and includes an affirmation or declaration in cases where by law an affirmation may be substituted for an oath.
Owner. One who has complete dominion over a particular property and who is the one in whom legal or equitable title rests. When applied to a building or land, "owner" means any part owner, joint owner, owner of a community or partnership interest, life tenant, tenant in common, or joint tenant, of the whole or part of such building or land.
Person. Any individual, natural person, joint stock company, partnership, voluntary association, society, club, firm, company, corporation, business trust, organization, or any other group acting as a unit, or the manager, lessee, agent, servant, partner, member, director, officer, or employee of any of them including an executor, administrator, trustee, receiver, or other representative appointed according to law.
Personal property. Any money, goods, movable chattels, things in action, evidence of debt, all objects and rights which are capable of ownership, and every other species of property except real property.
Preceding and following. Next before and next after, respectively.
Public place. Includes any public street, road, or highway, alley, lane, sidewalk, crosswalk, or other public way, or any public resort, place of amusement, stadium, athletic field, park, playground, public building, or grounds appurtenant thereto, school building or school grounds, public parking lot or any vacant lot, the elevator, lobby, halls, corridors, and areas open to the public of any store, office, or apartment building or any other place commonly open to the public.
Real property. Land, together with all things attached to the land so as to become a part thereof.
Revised Code or R.C. The Ohio Revised Code.
Shall. The word "shall" is mandatory.
Sidewalk. That portion of a street between the curb line and the adjacent property along the margin of a street or other highway, designed, constructed, and intended for the use of pedestrians to the exclusion of vehicles.
Signature and subscription. The name of a person, mark, or symbol appended by him to a writing with intent to authenticate the instrument as one made or put into effect by him.
State. The State of Ohio.
Street. All streets, highways, avenues, boulevards, parkways, roads, lanes, viaducts, bridges, and the approaches thereto, docks built on public streets, alleys, courts, places, squares, curbs, sidewalks, recreation and park lands used for vehicular traffic, or other public ways or thoroughfares in this city, over which it has jurisdiction, which have been or may hereafter be dedicated and open to public use, or such other public property so designated by any law of this state.
Tenant, occupant. Applied to a building or land, shall include any person who occupies the whole or part of such building or land, whether alone or with others.
Time. An hour of the day according to the official time of the city.
Time of performance. The time within which an act is to be done as provided in any section or any order issued pursuant to any section, when expressed in days, and is computed by excluding the first and including the last day. If the last day is Sunday or a legal holiday, that day shall not be counted in the computation. When the time is expressed in hours, the whole of Sunday or a legal holiday from midnight to midnight is excluded.
Treasurer. The City Treasurer.
Watercourse. Any drain, ditch, and stream, flowing in a definite direction or course in a bed with banks.
Week. Seven days. However, publication in a newspaper or other required paper of any notice or other matter indicated to be for a stated number of weeks shall be construed to mean one insertion in each week, unless specifically stated to be for each day of the week or for more than one day in each week.
Writing and written. Any representation of words, letters, or figures, whether by printing or otherwise, capable of comprehension by ordinary visual means.
Year. A calendar year.
(B) Rules of construction.
(1) Definitions given within a chapter apply only to words or phrases used in the chapter unless otherwise provided.
(2) Words and phrases shall be construed according to the common and approved usage of the language, but technical words and phrases and others that have acquired a peculiar and appropriate meaning in the law, shall be construed and understood according to such meaning.
(3) Words in any section importing the masculine gender shall include the feminine and neuter as well as the masculine.
(4) Words used in the singular include the plural and the plural includes the singular.
(5) Words used in the past or present tense include the future, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.
Source: City of Dayton, Ohio, Code of Ordinances and Charter (Municode Library, library.municode.com)URL: https://library.municode.com/oh/dayton/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=TITIGEPR_CH10INGE_S10.03RUCODEFetched: 11/8/2026