[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Supervisors
of the Township of Washington 9-15-1997 by Ord. No. 141. Amendments noted where
applicable.]
This chapter shall be known as the "Ordinance
Enforcement Proceedings Ordinance of Washington Township" and shall
govern the imposition of civil penalties not to exceed $600 per violation
for certain Township ordinances and criminal fines not to exceed $1,000
per violation and/or imprisonment for the criminal violation of certain
other ordinances.
Portions of the following ordinances are repealed
as set forth and the civil penalties and criminal fines for violation
of each ordinance are hereby established as follows.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: The specific amendments have been incorporated
in their respective chapters.
The Washington Township Code Enforcement Officer
or, in his absence, his designee, any officer of the Washington Township
Police Department and the Township Manager are hereby nominated and
appointed enforcement officers for each of the ordinances referred
to above; and every enforcement officer is authorized and directed
to provide notices as required, issue civil citations as required,
institute civil enforcement proceedings or summary offense proceedings
as required to achieve compliance with each ordinance above referred
to consistent with the provisions of this chapter.
An enforcement officer shall determine, in each instance, whether a violation has occurred under this chapter or under any ordinance amended by this chapter. Upon determining that a violation has occurred, the enforcement officer shall issue the required notice or, if indicated, may impose a civil penalty upon each violator in the amount set forth in § 224-2 above. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent any enforcement officer from issuing a warning.
Upon determination that a violation has occurred,
and where a violator has not complied with conditions set forth in
any notice which may have been given, an enforcement officer shall
issue a civil citation on a form to be provided by the Township. Each
civil citation shall notify the violator of the ordinance under which
the citation is being issued, the specific violation for which the
citation is being issued, the amount of the civil penalty, the fact
that any proceeding necessitated by failure to pay the civil penalty
will be a civil proceeding; the time within which the civil penalty
must be paid; and the consequences of failure to pay the civil penalty
by the date indicated on the civil citation.
Upon determination in each instance that a civil
violation has occurred under this chapter or under any ordinance amended
by this chapter, for any person not in compliance, each continuing
day of violation or noncompliance after the first day of violation
shall be a separate offense for which an enforcement officer may seek
separate civil penalties in the same or separate proceedings.
In any case where a civil penalty has not been
paid by its due date, the enforcement officer shall commence a civil
enforcement proceeding before the Magisterial District Judge. In any
such proceeding, the enforcement officer shall include a request for
attorneys fees and costs and the court shall enter the Township's
legal fees and court costs in any judgment entered in favor of the
Township pursuant to the authority of this chapter and the authority
of the Second Class Township Code, 53 P.S. § 66601(c.1)(1).
The amounts of any civil penalties set forth in this chapter shall
conclusively be presumed to be reasonable and shall be binding upon
the District Justice Court and the Court of Common Pleas.
In any case where an ordinance is enforceable
as a summary offense, enforcement shall be by action brought before
a Magisterial District Judge in the same manner provided for the enforcement
of summary offenses under the Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal Procedure.
Pursuant to 53 P.S. § 66601(c.1)(2), the Municipal Solicitor
may assume charge of the prosecution without the consent of the District
Attorney as required under Pennsylvania Rule of Criminal Procedure
83(c) (relating to trial in summary cases).
Nothing contained in this chapter shall prohibit
a Township from enforcing any ordinance through an action in equity
brought in the Court of Common Pleas of Franklin County, Pennsylvania.
Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to
prohibit the finding of a separate offense for each day or portion
thereof in which a civil violation is found to exist or for each section
of the ordinance which is found to have been violated.
If the defendant in any civil enforcement proceeding
fails to pay a final judgment or fails to timely appeal the civil
penalty imposed, the Township may enforce the judgment pursuant to
applicable Rules of Civil Procedure.
An enforcement officer may seek the assistance
of the Township Solicitor in connection with the imposition of any
civil penalty or the commencement of any civil enforcement proceeding.
In addition, the Township Solicitor is hereby directed and authorized
to establish a civil citation form or notice for use by the Township
and its enforcement officers. Notices and/or civil citations, as the
case may be, shall be served upon violators by an enforcement officer
upon determination in each instance that violation has occurred.
Civil citations and notices may be served upon
violators by any form of United States mail requiring a return receipt;
or, if returned marked "refused" or "unclaimed", by regular first-class
mail; or by personal delivery upon the violator, or if service cannot
be made by mail or by personal service, by advertisement one time
in the Waynesboro Record Herald.
Any enforcement officer identified in this chapter
or named by resolution of the Board of Supervisors shall be authorized
to investigate and gather evidence to assist in connection with civil
and criminal enforcement procedures described herein.
The Washington Township Police Department, municipal volunteer fire departments, the Zoning Officer, the Township Secretary, and any other municipal officials are hereby authorized to cooperate with any enforcement officer in connection with an investigation of a violation or series of violations of this chapter or of any ordinance referred to in § 224-2 above.
Civil penalties may be paid by personal check
or money order made payable to the Washington Township Treasurer or
by cash and delivered to the Washington Township Treasurer or his
designee. Civil penalties may be paid by mail. Civil penalties paid
by mail will be considered to have been paid on time if the envelope
is postmarked not later than the due date shown on the citation. Criminal
fines may be paid by personal check or money order made payable to
the Washington Township Treasurer or by cash. All criminal fines must
be personally delivered to the Washington Township Treasurer or his
designee.
If, in the construction and interpretation of this chapter, or of any ordinance referred to in § 224-2 above, there appears to be a conflict or an ambiguity, every effort shall be made to read and interpret the conflicting or ambiguous provisions in a manner which permits the fair application of the ordinances of Washington Township. It is the intention of the Board of Supervisors that any court construing or interpreting this and other Washington Township ordinances will make every reasonable attempt to allow their enforcement.
