Wallingford, Conn., Code of Ordinances ch. 167 (2026) § 167-2

A. As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated: ACCESSORY STRUCTURE A detached structure which is not used or not intended to be used for living or sleeping by human occupants, and which is located on the same premises with a dwelling. BASEMENT A portion of a building located partly underground, but having less than half its clear floor-to-ceiling height below the average grade of the adjoining ground. CENTRAL HEATING SYSTEM A single system supplying heat to one or more dwelling unit(s). CODE ENFORCEMENT OFFICER The official charged with the administration and enforcement of this chapter, or his authorized representative. DWELLING Any building which is wholly or partly used or intended to be used for living or sleeping by human occupants, provided that temporary housing, as hereinafter defined, shall not be regarded as a dwelling. DWELLING UNIT Any room or group of rooms located within a dwelling and forming a single habitable unit with facilities which are used or intended to be used for living, sleeping, cooking, bathing and eating. EGRESS WINDOW Every sleeping room shall have at least one operable window or exterior door approved for emergency egress or rescue. EXTERMINATION The control and elimination of insects, rodents or other pests by eliminating their harborages; by removing or making inaccessible materials that may serve as their food; by poisoning, spraying, fumigating or trapping or by any other recognized and legal pest elimination methods approved by the Health Officer. FLUSH WATER CLOSET A toilet bowl flushed with water under pressure with a water-sealed trap above the floor level. FOOTCANDLE A unit for measuring light or illumination. This measurement is done by a light meter. GARBAGE The animal and vegetable waste resulting from the handling, preparation, cooking, serving and non-consumption of wasted or spoiled food and other refuse, as from a kitchen or household. GROUND FAULT CIRCUIT INTERRUPTER (GFCI) The ground fault circuit interrupter, or GFCI, is a fast-acting circuit breaker designed to shut off electric power in the event of a ground fault. HABITABLE ROOM A room or enclosed floor space used or intended to be used for living, sleeping, cooking or eating purposes, excluding bathrooms, water closet compartments, laundries, furnace rooms, pantries, kitchenettes and utility rooms of less than 50 square feet, foyers or communicating corridors, stairways, closets, storage spaces and workshops, hobby and recreation areas in unsealed or uninsulated parts of a structure below ground level or in attics, or hobby and recreation areas for communal use in buildings containing several dwelling units. HEALTH OFFICER The legally designated health authority of the Town of Wallingford, or his authorized representative. HEATED WATER Water heated to a temperature of not less than 110° F. at the outlet. HOUSING CODE ENFORCEMENT OFFICER The official charged with the administration and enforcement of this chapter, or his authorized representatives. INFESTATION The presence within or around a dwelling or other structure in large numbers of insects, rodents or other pests. KITCHEN or KITCHENETTE Any room containing any or all of the following equipment, or area of a room within three feet of such equipment: sink and/or other device for dish washing, stove or other device for cooking, refrigerator or other device for storage of food. LAVATORY A bowl or basin for washing the face and hands, or a room equipped with such a basin. LEAD PAINT Any pigmented, liquid substance applied to surfaces by brush, roller or spray, in which the total nonvolatile ingredient contains more than 1% of lead, by weight, calculated as metallic lead. LET The act of renting or leasing out real property to another person. MULTIPLE DWELLING Any dwelling containing more than one dwelling unit. OCCUPANT Any person, over one year of age, living, sleeping, cooking or eating in, or actually having possession of, a dwelling unit or a rooming unit, except that in dwelling units a guest will not be considered an occupant. OPERATOR Any person who has charge, care or control of a building, or part thereof, in which dwelling units or rooming units are let. OWNER Any person who, alone or jointly or severally with others: (1) Shall have legal title to any dwelling or dwelling unit, with or without accompanying actual possession thereof; or (2) Shall have charge, care or control of any dwelling or dwelling unit as owner or agent of the owner, or an executor, administrator, trustee or guardian of the estate of the owner. Any such person thus representing the actual owner shall be bound to comply with the provisions of this chapter and of rules and regulations adopted pursuant thereto to the same extent as if he were the owner. PERMISSIBLE OCCUPANCY The maximum number of persons permitted as occupant to reside in a dwelling unit or rooming unit based on the required square footage per person in habitable rooms. PERSON Includes any individual, firm, corporation, association or partnership. PLUMBING Includes all of the following supplied facilities and equipment: gas pipes, gas-burning equipment, water pipes, garbage disposal units, waste pipes, toilets, sinks, installed dishwashers, lavatories, bathtubs, shower baths, installed clothes washing machines, catch basins, drains, vents and other similar supplied fixtures, together with all connections to water, sewer, septic tank or gas lines. PREMISES A plotted lot or part thereof or unplotted lot or parcel of land or plot of land, either occupied or unoccupied by any dwelling or non-dwelling structure, and includes any such building or other structure thereon. PRIVACY The ability of a person or persons to carry out an activity commenced without observation, unwarranted interruption or unwarranted interference, either by sight or sound, by unwanted persons. RODENT PROOFING A form of construction which will prevent the ingress or egress of rodents to or from a given space or building, or gaining access to food, water or harborage. It consists of the closing and keeping closed of every opening in foundations, basements, cellars, exterior and interior walls, ground or first floors, roofs, sidewalk gratings, sidewalk openings and other places that may be reached and entered by rodents by climbing, burrowing or other methods, by the use of materials impervious to rodents gnawing and other methods approved by the appropriate authority. SAFETY The condition of being free from danger and hazards which may cause accidents or disease. SEPTIC TANK A septic tank is an underground chamber made of concrete, fiberglass or plastic through which domestic wastewater (sewage) flows for basic sewage treatment. SPACE HEATER A self-contained, automatically controlled, vented, fuel-burning appliance of either the circulating type or the radiant type. SUPPLIED Paid for, furnished, provided by or under the control of the owner or operator. TEMPORARY HOUSING Any tent, trailer, mobile home or any other structure used for human shelter which is designed to be transportable and is not attached to the ground, to another structure or to any utility system on the same premises for more than 30 consecutive days. TOILET A toilet bowl flushed with water under pressure with a water-sealed trap above the floor level. TRASH (RUBBISH) Nonputrescible solid wastes (excluding ashes) consisting of both: (1) Combustible wastes, such as paper, cardboard, plastic containers, yard clippings and wood; and (2) Noncombustible wastes, such as tin cans, glass and crockery. VENTILATION The process of supplying or removing air by natural or mechanical means to or from any space. Such air may or may not have been conditioned. YARD An open unoccupied space, on the same lot with a building, extending along the entire length of a street or rear or interior lot line, or other unoccupied space on a lot with a building. B. Meaning of certain words. (1) Wherever the words "dwelling," "dwelling unit," "premises," and "structure" are used in this chapter, they shall be construed as though they were followed by the words "or any part thereof." Words used in the singular include the plural and the plural the singular; the masculine gender includes the feminine and the feminine includes the masculine. (2) Workmanlike. Whenever the words "workmanlike state of maintenance and repair" are used in this code, they shall mean that such maintenance and repair shall be made in a reasonably skillful manner.