Richmond Municipal Code Art. II Powers (CA)

Sec. 1. The City of Richmond shall have and exercise the following powers:

To have perpetual succession.
To have and use a corporate seal and alter it at pleasure.
To sue and be sued in all courts and places, and in all actions and proceedings whatsoever.
To purchase, receive, have, take, hold, lease, use and enjoy property of every kind and description, both within and without the limits of said City, proper for municipal purposes, and to control and dispose of the same for the public benefit.
To receive bequests, devises and donations of property of every kind, either absolutely or in trust for any purpose, and to do acts necessary to carry out the purposes of such bequests, devises and donations, and to manage, control, sell or otherwise dispose of such property in accordance with the terms of such bequests, devises or donations.
To exercise police powers and make all necessary police and sanitary regulations, and to adopt ordinances and prescribe penalties for the violation thereof.
To levy and collect taxes and assessments, impose license fees for revenue or regulation, and provide all means for raising the revenue necessary for the City.
To borrow money, incur municipal indebtedness and provide for the issuance of bonds or other evidences of such indebtedness for any purpose authorized by the electors voting on the proposition to incur such indebtedness; to invest the proceeds arising from the sale of bonds in street improvement bonds issued under any act of the legislature.
To construct, maintain and operate all necessary works for the supplying of the City and its inhabitants with water, light, heat and power, and to dispose of commodities produced or render service in connection with such works outside the boundaries of said City.
To control the bays, inlets and channels flowing through the City or adjoining the same, to widen, straighten and deepen the same where such work is necessary for the purposes of sanitation, drainage or removal of sewage; to fill the same when they are obstructions to proposed streets or roads; to control and improve the water front of the City and to maintain embankments and other works necessary to protect the City from overflow; to construct and maintain wharves, chutes, piers, and breakwaters within the limits of the City.
To establish and change the grade and lay out, open, extend, widen, change, vacate, pave, repave or otherwise improve all public streets and highways and public places, construct sewers, drains, bridges, conduits, culverts and subways thereon or thereunder, to plant trees, construct parking, and to remove weeds; to levy special assessments to defray the whole or any part of the cost of such works or improvements. Also to provide for the repair, cleaning and sprinkling of such streets and public places.
To construct and maintain all works necessary for the disposition of the sewage, garbage and waste within the City, and to define and abate nuisances.
To establish and maintain hospitals, indigent homes and all other charitable institutions.
To acquire and maintain parks, playgrounds and places for recreation.
To acquire and maintain markets, baths and public halls.
To establish and maintain schools, libraries, museums, gymnasiums, and to do all things to promote the education of the people.
To equip and maintain a fire department and to make all necessary regulations for the prevention of fires.
To acquire, construct and maintain all buildings necessary for the transaction of public business.
To exercise the right of eminent domain for the purpose of acquiring real and personal property of every kind for any public use.
To grant franchises to use the streets or public property, and impose conditions in connection therewith.
To exercise any power conferred upon municipalities by the constitution and laws of the state to fix and establish rates to be charged by any corporation for any public service and to regulate the quality of such service.
To exercise such other powers as may be hereafter granted by the legislature to municipalities within the state.
To exercise all other needful powers for the efficient administration of the municipal government, whether such powers are herein expressly enumerated or not.
Lastly, this grant of power is to be liberally construed for the purpose of securing the well being of the municipality and its inhabitants.