[HISTORY: Adopted by the Borough Council of the Borough of Indiana as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Police Department — See Ch. 28.
Disorderly conduct — See Ch. 184.
Littering — See Ch. 263.
Noise — See Ch. 275.
Property maintenance — See Ch. 327.
Solid waste — See Ch. 388.
Streets and sidewalks — See Ch. 400.
Urination in public — See Ch. 434.
[Adopted 10-7-2008 by Ord. No. 2008-07]
The Borough Council of the Borough of Indiana determines as follows:
A. 
That certain private properties require a disproportionate amount of attention from the Police Department and/or Code Enforcement Department in order to properly protect the peace, health, safety, and general welfare of the public.
B. 
That the municipal services of Indiana Borough are being strained and the citizens of the Borough of Indiana are being unfairly burdened by the conduct or misconduct occurring on certain properties by the residents and/or visitors to those properties.
C. 
That the host of a disorderly party or other social event and those persons attending such party or event should be held criminally responsible for any public disturbances or other acts of disorderly conduct.
D. 
The intent of this article is to gain a cooperative effort among property owners in controlling adverse activities affecting the Borough citizens that occur or may occur on their properties. The owners of private properties are expected to minimize required police and code enforcement services to maintain order and public peace and safety and to stop public disturbances by diligent and strict management and regulation of their properties.
[Amended 9-2-2014 by Ord. No. 2014-02]
E. 
The owners of private properties are expected to minimize required police and code enforcement services to maintain order and public peace and safety and to stop public disturbances by diligent and strict management and regulation of their properties.
F. 
The Borough of Indiana desires to minimize threats to the peace, health, safety, and general welfare of the public.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the following meanings unless the context clearly indicates that a different meaning is intended:
CODE ENFORCEMENT SERVICES
Services rendered by the Code Enforcement Department of the Borough of Indiana in connection with inspections, violations of Borough ordinances, and/or violations of the Property Maintenance Code.[1]
DISORDERLY GATHERING
A gathering at which any public disturbance occurs.
GATHERING
A party or event involving a group of persons who have assembled or are assembling for a social occasion or activity on private property.
HOST
The person who is in possession or control of the private property where the gathering takes place by virtue of owning the property, having a lease on the property, or otherwise being in possession of the property and/or who organized, sponsored, conducted, hosted, or permitted such gathering, invited persons to attend such gathering, or was otherwise in charge of such gathering.
OWNER
Any person, partnership, corporation, or similar entity that holds record title to the private property.
POLICE SERVICE
Police service rendered in responding to a call at a disorderly gathering or otherwise to maintain order, the public peace, or public safety, as well as stopping a public disturbance at a disorderly gathering.
PRIVATE PROPERTY
Any land, building, or other structure not owned by a public entity.
PUBLIC DISTURBANCE
Includes instances where police and/or code enforcement services are needed to respond to a public disturbance and/or to the effects of a public disturbance. Any act by a host or those persons attending a gathering, including, but not limited to, public drunkenness, violation of the open container ordinance, underage drinking, public urination or defecation, unlawful deposit of trash or litter on public or private property, damage to or destruction of public or private property, obstruction of public roads, highways, or sidewalks, interfering with emergency or police services, violation of Chapter 275, Noise, of the Code of the Borough of Indiana, indecent exposure, fighting, or violations of any other Borough ordinance. As used in this article, a public disturbance shall also include violations of the Property Maintenance Code[2] caused by any act by a host or those persons attending a gathering including, but not limited to, those acts referred to herein.
[Amended 9-2-2014 by Ord. No. 2014-02]
[1]
Editor's Note: See Ch. 327, Property Maintenance.
[2]
Editor's Note: See Ch. 327, Property Maintenance.
[Amended 9-2-2014 by Ord. No. 2014-02]
A. 
No host or person attending a gathering shall commit any act constituting a public disturbance. No host shall hold, conduct, or have a gathering where any act of public disturbance has occurred or is occurring.
B. 
No property owner shall permit a disorderly gathering to occur on his or her or its private property after being notified pursuant to § 314-4 of an offense of disorderly gathering on that property.
[Amended 9-2-2014 by Ord. No. 2014-02]
In an effort to inform the owners of private property of public disturbances on their property and to hold owners accountable for repeating violations of this article that occur on their property, whenever a person other than the property owner is cited under the provisions of this article the owner will be notified that a violation of this article occurred on their property.
[Amended 9-2-2014 by Ord. No. 2014-02]
A. 
Any host or person who violates § 314-3A of this article shall, upon conviction in a summary proceeding brought before a Magisterial District Judge under the Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal Procedure, be guilty of a summary offense and upon first conviction shall be punishable by a fine of not less than $300 and not more than $600 plus court costs and reasonable attorneys' fees incurred by the Borough in the enforcement proceedings. Upon conviction of any subsequent offense of disorderly gathering, the host or person shall be subject to a fine of not less than $600 and not more than $1,000 plus court costs and reasonable attorneys' fees incurred by the Borough in the enforcement proceedings. Upon judgment against any host or person by summary conviction, or by proceedings by summons on default of the payment of the fine or penalty imposed and the costs, the defendant may be sentenced and committed to the Borough lockup for a period not exceeding 10 days or to the county jail for a period not exceeding 30 days.
B. 
Any owner who after being notified of an offense of disorderly gathering pursuant to § 314-3B and on whose property occurs another offense within six months of a notification of disorderly gathering pursuant to § 314-3B, shall be subject to the fines of not less than $300 and not more than $1,000 plus court costs and reasonable attorneys' fees incurred by the Borough in the enforcement proceedings. Upon judgment against any host or person by summary conviction, or by proceedings by summons on default of the payment of the fine or penalty imposed and the costs, the defendant may be sentenced and committed to the Borough lockup for a period not exceeding 10 days or to the county jail for a period not exceeding 30 days. The six-month time period is calculated from the date of the violation looking back six months.
[Adopted 10-7-2008 by Ord. No. 2008-08]
The Council of the Borough of Indiana determines as follows:
A. 
That certain private properties require a disproportionate amount of attention from the Code Enforcement Department and Police Department in order to properly protect the Borough citizens' health, safety, sanitation, and general welfare.
B. 
That the municipal services of Indiana Borough are being strained and the citizens of the Borough of Indiana are being unfairly burdened by repeated violations of the Property Maintenance Code[1] and/or local and state criminal statutes occurring on certain properties.
[1]
Editor's Note: See Ch. 327, Property Maintenance.
C. 
That the owners of private properties have the responsibility to minimize required code enforcement and police services and to reduce the burden on the citizens of Indiana Borough of the nuisances created by Property Maintenance Code violations and/or public disturbances originating from their properties.
D. 
"Property," as it pertains herein, shall include a specific address regardless of the number of living units within the property.
Violations of certain sections of the Property Maintenance Code and local ordinances and state criminal statutes directly affect the safety, welfare, and quality of life of the citizenry. Violations of the following sections shall be utilized to determine whether a property is a nuisance property:
Indiana Borough Property Maintenance Code:[1]
PM-302.1
Sanitation
PM-302.3
Sidewalks
PM-302.4
Weeds
PM-302.9
Defacement of Property
PM-304.1
General
PM-305.1
General
PM-306.1
Accumulation of Rubbish and Garbage
PM-306.2
Disposal of Rubbish and Garbage
PM-306.3
Rubbish and Garbage Storage Facilities
PM-307-1
Accumulation of Rubbish and Garbage
PM-307.2
Disposal of Rubbish
PM-307.2.1
Rubbish Storage Facilities
PM-307.3
Disposal of Garbage
Chapters of the Code of the Borough of Indiana
Chapter 314, Article I
Disorderly Gatherings on Private Property
Chapter 434
Urination in Public
Chapter 275
Noise
Statutes
Title 18 Section 5505[2]
Public drunkenness
Title 18 Section 5503[3]
Disorderly conduct
Title 18 Section 5502[4]
Failure to disperse
Title 18 Section 6308[5]
Underage drinking
[1]
Editor's Note: See also Ch. 327, Property Maintenance.
[2]
Editor's Note: See 18 Pa.C.S.A. § 5505.
[3]
Editor's Note: See 18 Pa.C.S.A. § 5503.
[4]
Editor's Note: See 18 Pa.C.S.A. § 5502.
[5]
Editor's Note: See 18 Pa.C.S.A. § 6308.
[Amended 9-2-2014 by Ord. No. 2014-02]
It shall be a violation of this article if a property owner has four or more violations listed in § 314-7, or a combination thereof, within a twelve-month period.
[Amended 9-2-2014 by Ord. No. 2014-02]
Any property owner who violates § 314-8 of this article shall, upon conviction in a summary proceeding brought before a Magisterial District Judge under the Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal Procedure, be guilty of a summary offense and shall be punishable by a fine of not more than $1,000 plus court costs and attorneys' fees incurred by the Borough in the enforcement proceedings. Upon judgment against any person by summary conviction, or by proceedings by summons on default of the payment of the fine or penalty imposed and the costs, the defendant may be sentenced and committed to the Borough lockup for a period not exceeding 10 days or to the county jail for a period not exceeding 30 days. Each day or portion thereof that such violation continues or is permitted to continue shall constitute a separate offense, and each section of this chapter that is violated shall also constitute a separate offense.
[Amended 9-2-2014 by Ord. No. 2014-02]
Upon the third incident involving any of the violations enumerated under § 314-7, the property owner shall be notified, in writing, by the Borough Manager or his designee. Upon a subsequent incident involving a violation of any of the enumerated violations under § 314-7, the property owner shall be charged in accordance with § 314-8 of this article. The property owner shall also be notified of the penalties for subsequent violations, and shall be informed that no further notifications will be sent. The Chief of Police and Code Enforcement Office Director will provide information to the Manager pertaining to repeated responses to a property under the provisions of this article.