(a)

The following general rules of interpretation shall apply:

(1)

The present tense includes the future.

(2)

The singular number includes the plural, and vice versa, so long as the substitution of either the plural or the singular, as the case may be, cannot change the meaning of any provision being interpreted.

(3)

The word shall is mandatory; the word may is permissive.

(4)

Reference in one section of this chapter to another section of this chapter by section number shall include all subsections within that section.

(5)

Any terms defined in the Florida Statutes or the Florida Administrative Code shall be given the same meaning unless a different definition is specifically provided herein. Any other terms shall be given their plain meanings examples of which may be found in Webster's II New Collegiate Dictionary (Houghton Mifflin Company, 1995) and The Zoning Dictionary (Lehmann & Associates, 1996).

(Ord. No. 19-2011, § 1(Exh. A), 11-7-2011)