Township of Lancaster, PA Property Maintenance

The "2009 International Property Maintenance Code (IPMC)," as published by the International Code Council, is adopted as the Property Maintenance Code of Lancaster Township to create a comprehensive and uniform code of regulations for the protection of the public health, safety and welfare of the residents of the Township. Each of the sections of the 2009 IPMC, except as otherwise provided in § 204-3 below, are hereby adopted and made a part of this chapter as if fully set out herein, with the additions, deletions and changes as enumerated in § 204-3 below.

§ 204-3 Deletions, additions and changes.

Additions, deletions and changes from the IPMC adopted as the Property Maintenance Code of Lancaster Township are as follows:

Section 101.1 shall be amended by inserting "Township of Lancaster, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania."

Section 103.5 shall be deleted in its entirety.

Section 106.3 shall be deleted in its entirety.

§ 204-4 Fees.

The fees for activities and services performed by the Code Official in carrying out his responsibilities under this code shall be established by resolution as enacted or adopted by the Board of Supervisors from time to time.

§ 204-5 Violations and penalties.

Any person, partnership or corporation who shall neglect, fail or refuse to comply with any provision of this chapter or applicable standard codes incorporated by this chapter, or which has permitted the violation of any of the provisions of this chapter or applicable standard codes incorporated by this chapter shall, upon conviction thereof before a District Justice, be sentenced to pay a fine or penalty of not more than $1,000 and all costs of prosecution, such fine and penalty to be paid over to the Township treasury. In default of payment of such fine or penalty, such person shall be sentenced and committed to the county jail for a period not to exceed 30 days. Each day that the violation of this chapter continues shall constitute a separate offense, unless the district justice determining that there has been a violation further determines that there was a good faith basis for the person, partnership or corporation violating the ordinance to have believed that there was no such violation, in which event there shall be deemed to have been only one such violation until the fifth day following the date of the determination of the violation by the district justice and thereafter each day that a violation continues shall constitute a separate violation. All judgments, costs and reasonable attorney fees collected for the violation of this chapter shall be paid over to the Township. This Code may also be enforced by an action in equity brought in the Lancaster County Court of Common Pleas or by the institution of proceedings to place a lien upon the premises for which a violation of this code has been determined. In the event that any uniform code incorporated by this chapter prescribes different penalties from those imposed herein, the penalty contained in the uniform code shall not apply.

Nothing contained in this section shall be construed or interpreted to grant to any person or entity other that the Township the right to commence any action or enforcement pursuant to this section.

Abatement of violation. The imposition of the penalties herein prescribed shall not preclude the Township from instituting appropriate action to prevent unlawful erection or construction or to restrain, correct or abate a violation or to prevent illegal use or occupancy of any structure, building, sign, fence, parking lot, driveway, land or premises or to stop an illegal act, conduct business, use or occupancy of a structure, building, sign or land in and about any premises.