[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Supervisors of the Township
of Perkiomen 6-6-2006 by Ord. No. 194. Amendments noted where
applicable.]
A.
LOT
PERSON
The following words or phrases, unless the context clearly indicates
otherwise, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section:
A designated parcel, tract, premises or area of land established
by a plat or otherwise as permitted by law to be used, developed or
built upon as a unit, whether or not improved.
Includes any natural person, partnership, association, firm,
corporation or other separate legal entity.
B.
The singular shall include the plural, the plural shall include the
singular, and the masculine shall include the feminine and the neuter.
Subject to the lot size provisions set forth in Subsections
A and B below, no person, owning or occupying any property in Perkiomen
Township shall permit any brush, grass, weed or other vegetation whatsoever,
not edible or planted for some useful or ornamental purpose, to grow
or remain upon such premises so as to exceed a height of 12 inches
or to throw off any unpleasant or noxious odor or to conceal any filthy
deposit.
A.
Lots of one gross acre or less: The growth restrictions set forth
above shall apply to the entire lot.
B.
Lots of one gross acre or more:
(1)
The growth restrictions set forth above shall apply only to a twenty-foot-wide
area along the front edge of the property adjacent to any road or
street, whether public or private, and regardless of whether or not
the property is developed;
(2)
In areas of recreational open space, the growth restrictions set forth above shall apply only to a twenty-foot-wide area surrounding the perimeter of the active recreation facilities (i.e., tot-lot, etc.). The remainder of the passive open space area shall be exempt from the growth restrictions set forth herein, in accordance with § 111-4 below; and
(3)
Walking trails in passive open space areas, whether public or private,
shall be subject to the growth restrictions set forth above, but only
to the extent of an area 10 feet wide on each side of said walking
trail.
Any brush, grass, weed or other vegetation growing upon any
premises in Perkiomen Township in violation of any of the provisions
of this section is hereby declared to be a nuisance and detrimental
to the health, safety, cleanliness and comfort of the inhabitants
of the Township.
The growth restrictions set forth in § 111-2 above shall not apply to agricultural lands, detention basins, floodplains, open space areas [except as otherwise provided in § 111-2B(2)], riparian corridors, steep slopes, wetlands or woodlands. Further, said growth restrictions shall not apply to areas where, in the discretion of the Township Code Enforcement Officer, imposition of said growth restrictions would be impractical, unnecessary or imprudent.
The owner of any premises, whether or not improved or occupied,
shall remove, trim or cut all brush, grass, weeds or other vegetation
growing or remaining upon such premises in violation of any of the
provisions of this chapter. As to premises occupied by a person other
than the owner thereof, upon notice the occupant or the owner shall
remove, trim or cut all brush, grass, weeds or other vegetation growing
or remaining upon such premises in violation of this chapter.
The owner of any premises in the Township upon which the construction
of residential dwellings or commercial buildings is taking place shall
comply with the requirements of this chapter upon said construction
reaching 75% completion.
A.
The Township Code Enforcement Officer is hereby authorized to enforce this chapter. The Township Code Enforcement Officer shall so give notice, by personal service or by United States First Class Mail, to the owner or occupant, as the case may be, of any premises where brush, grass, weeds or other vegetation shall be growing or remaining in violation of any provision of § 111-2 of this chapter, directing and requiring such owner or occupant to remove, trim or cut such grass, brush, weeds or other vegetation so as to conform with the requirements of this chapter within seven days after issuance of such notice, weather permitting. In the event that any person shall neglect, fail or refuse to timely comply with such notice, the Township may remove, trim or cut such brush, grass, weeds or other vegetation, and the cost thereof, with any additional penalty authorized by law, may be collected by the Township from such person in default in the manner and in the amount provided for herein or as otherwise provided by law.
B.
If a Township resident believes that a violation of this chapter
exists, that resident shall complete and file a citizen's complaint
on a form provided by the Township. Completed citizen's complaint
forms shall be delivered to the Township Code Enforcement Officer,
who shall have the responsibility for investigating the alleged violation
and, if appropriate, proceeding in accordance with the terms set forth
herein.
Any person who violates or permits a violation of this chapter,
upon being found guilty therefor in a summary proceeding before a
Magisterial District Judge pursuant to the Pennsylvania Rules of Civil
Procedure, shall pay a fine of not more than $1,000 plus court costs
and, in default of payment, imprisonment for not more than 90 days.
Each day a violation exists shall constitute a separate offense. In
addition to any other remedies provided hereby to the Township, the
Township is hereby authorized to seek equitable relief, including
injunction, to enforce compliance herewith.
Any unpaid fine, together with any expense incurred by the Township
for any abatement or removal in accordance with this chapter, shall
be a lien upon the lands upon which the nuisance was maintained, for
which a lien may be filed by the Board of Supervisors in the name
of the Township in the Court of Common Pleas of Montgomery County,
Pennsylvania, within six months from the date of completion of the
work or abatement or removal, subject to the same proceedings for
entry and revival of judgment and execution as are provided by law
for other municipal liens. Said Board of Supervisors may also maintain
an action against such owner or occupant in the name of the Township
to recover the amount of such expense in the same way as debts of
like amount are receivable by law, and the same, when recovered either
by enforcement of the lien or by personal action, shall be paid to
the Township Treasurer to be held and used for Township purposes,
but a final recovery of the amount in one proceeding shall be a bar
to the further continuance of the other.
