[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Commissioners
of the Township of Rostraver 9-5-1989 as Part 6, Ch. 1, Art. B, of the 1989 Code. Amendments noted where
applicable.]
The following words, as used in this chapter,
shall have the meanings hereby ascribed:
A combination of materials to form a permanent structure
having walls and a roof; included shall be all mobile homes and trailers
used or intended for use for human habitation or office purpose.
Anything constructed or erected on the ground or attached
to the ground, including but not limited to buildings, sheds, mobile
homes and other similar items.
When applied to any building or structure, includes any of
the following: a building or structure or part thereof that is structurally
unsafe, unstable, unsanitary, inadequately provided with exit facilities;
constituting a fire hazard; unsuitable or improper for the use or
occupancy to which it is put; constituting a health or safety hazard
because of inadequate maintenance, dilapidation, obsolescence or abandonment;
otherwise dangerous to life or property; vacant buildings or structures
or portions thereof deemed to constitute a hazard.
[Amended 2-23-2000 by Ord. No. 421]
Whenever it is reported to the Code Enforcement
Officer that any building or structure, completed or in the process
of construction, or any portion thereof, is in an unsafe condition,
the Code Enforcement Officer shall cause an investigation and examination
to be made of that building or structure. If that investigation indicated
the building or structure to be unsafe in any respect, the individual
who made the investigation and examination shall make a report in
writing to the Code Enforcement Officer, specifying the exact condition
of the building or structure, and setting forth whether the building
or structure is capable of being properly repaired or whether it should
be removed as an unsafe structure.
[Amended 2-23-2000 by Ord. No. 421]
If any building or structure is reported to the Code Enforcement Officer as provided in § 80-2 to be in an unsafe condition, the Code Enforcement Officer shall cause written notice to be served upon the owner or occupant of the premises directing the correction or the removal of the dangerous building or structure within such time as the Code Enforcement Officer, at his sole discretion, considers to be reasonable under the circumstances. In any case where the notice directs the repair of a building or structure, the owner thereof shall have the option to remove the building or structure instead of making repairs to it within the time limit.
The notice required by § 80-3 shall be served personally by the owner of the building or structure to which such notice refers, if that owner is a resident of the Township. If the owner is not a resident, then the notice may be served upon the agent of the owner, if that agent has a residence or place of business within the Township, or the notice may be served upon a tenant or occupant of the structure. If the owner has no agent or tenant or if there is no occupant of the building or structure, the service shall be by notice posted upon the building or structure and, in addition, a copy of the notice shall be sent to the owner of the building or structure, by certified mail, at his last known address.
If the owner of any unsafe building or structure, to whom or which a notice to repair or remove the building or structure shall have been sent under the provisions of this chapter, fails to commence or to complete, as the case may be, the repair or removal within the time limit stated in the notice, he shall be guilty of a violation of this chapter and shall be subject to the penalty prescribed in § 80-8, and that penalty and costs of prosecution may be in addition to costs and expenses collected under § 80-7.
The owner or occupant of the premises on which an unsafe building or structure is located may, within three days after receipt of the notice referred to in § 80-3, appeal to the Board of Commissioners. If the Board of Commissioners confirms the notice or order, the person on whom it was served shall comply with the terms of the notice within 30 days after the date of confirmation by the Board of Commissioners. The Board of Commissioners may initiate an appropriate action in court to compel compliance.
If the owner of any unsafe building or structure, to whom or which a notice to repair or remove the building or structure shall have been sent under the provisions of this chapter, shall fail to commence or to complete the repair or removal within the time limit prescribed by the notice, the Board of Commissioners shall have authority to cause the work of repair or removal, as the case may be, to be done by the Township, and the cost and expense thereof, with a penalty of 10%, shall be collected from the owner of the building or structure in the manner provided by law. The recovery of the costs and expenses, together with the penalty, may be in addition to the penalty imposed for violation of this chapter as provided by § 80-8.
Any person who violates any provision of this
chapter shall, for every such violation, upon conviction, be sentenced
to pay a fine of not less than $100 or more than $1,000 and costs
of prosecution and, in default of payment of fine and costs, to undergo
imprisonment for not more than 30 days. Each violation of any provision
of this chapter, and each day on which any such violation is continued,
shall constitute a separate offense.
