[Adopted 2-16-2004 by Ord. No. 388 (Ch. 109, Art. III, of the 1982 Code)]
A.
CODE ENFORCEMENT OFFICER
NATURAL LANDSCAPES or NATURAL LANDSCAPING
NOTICE
OCCUPANT
OWNER
PERSON
PROPERTY
SIDEWALK AREA
STREET
TOWNSHIP
Whenever the
following words and phrases appear in this article they shall be attributed
the following meanings:
The person designated as such by the Board of Commissioners
of the Township of Muhlenberg.
The practice of cultivating plants which are native to the
bioregion without resort to artificial methods of planting and care
such as chemical and fertilizer applications, mowing, or watering
other than by natural processes (rain), with the goal of harmonizing
the landscape with the larger biotic environment and ecosystem of
the immediate and surrounding bioregion. "Natural landscape," as used
in this article, shall include common species of grass and wild flowers
native to this region and/or ornamental plantings which are designed
and purposely cultivated.
[Added 10-18-2010 by Ord. No. 492]
The notice of any violation of this article which is provided for in § 265-19.
Any person other than the owner who resides upon a property
and has control of the same.
Any person who, alone or jointly or severally with others:
Includes any individual, firm, corporation, association,
partnership, trust or other entity.
Any lot or part thereof or any land or part thereof located
within the Township of Muhlenberg, whether public or private.
The area within the street right-of-way between the curb
or edge of paving and the right-of-way line of the street.
A public or private right-of-way intended for use as a means
of vehicular and pedestrian circulation, which provides a means of
access to abutting property. The word "street" includes thoroughfare,
avenue, boulevard, court, drive, expressway, highway, service street
or alley, lane and road or similar terms.
The Township of Muhlenberg, Berks County, Pennsylvania.
B.
Words used in
the present tense include the future; words in the masculine gender
include the feminine and the neuter; and the singular number includes
the plural, and the plural the singular. When terms, phrases or words
are not defined, they shall have their ordinarily accepted meanings
or such as the context may imply.
[Amended 3-17-2008 by Ord. No. 447; 10-18-2010 by Ord. No. 492]
No person, firm or corporation owning or occupying any property within the Township of Muhlenberg shall permit any grass or weeds or any 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 10 inches or to throw off any unpleasant or noxious odor or to conceal any filthy deposit or to create or produce seeds or pollen. Natural landscapes as provided for in § 265-15 shall be an exception to the height limitation (but not the other requirements) in this section. Any grass, weeds or other vegetation growing upon any premises in the 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.
[Added 10-18-2010 by Ord. No. 492]
A.
Any owner of a parcel of land greater than or equal to five acres, agricultural land, forests or public parks of any size in Muhlenberg Township and owners of riparian buffers less than 20 feet from streams, steep slopes utilizing natural landscaping for erosion control, and rain gardens or other stormwater best management practices (BMPs) approved by the Township may by right use natural landscaping, wherein native herbaceous perennials and grasses may exceed the height limitations in § 265-14.
B.
Approved building lots, whether developed or not, shall not be permitted to utilize the natural landscaping practice and must comply with the maximum height limitations for grass, weeds, or vegetative growth in § 265-14.
C.
All natural landscaping vegetation is required to
maintain a setback distance of at least 10 feet from the property
line. No setback is required where adjacent land owners mutually agree
to continuous natural landscaping across adjacent property lines.
D.
All natural landscapes are subject to federal and
state prohibitions of noxious plants (Noxious Weed Control Law, 3
P.S. § 255.1 et seq.[1]) and enforcement provisions of this article. The Board
of Commissioners may from time to time identify such noxious weeds
by resolution.
[1]
Editor's Note: The Noxious Weed Control Law was repealed by
Act No. 46 of 2017. See now the Controlled Plants and Noxious Weeds
Law, 3 Pa.C.S.A. § 1501 et seq.
A.
No person owning
or occupying any property shall permit any hedges or brush to grow
or remain upon any property which obstructs any street, sidewalk,
fire hydrant or traffic control device.
B.
Any property utilized for agricultural purposes or property which consists of wooded areas shall be maintained in compliance with Subsection A of this section and within the street right-of-way, but in no case shall such maintenance be less than 10 feet from the edge of the street paving.
C.
Any hedges, brush, grass, weeds or other vegetation growing upon any property in violation of any of the provisions of Subsection A or B of this section are hereby declared to be a nuisance and detrimental to the health, safety, cleanliness and comfort of the inhabitants of the Township of Muhlenberg.
D.
The owner of any property, whether or not vacant, and/or the occupant of any property, in cases of property occupied by any person other than the owner thereof, shall remove, trim or cut all hedges, brush, grass, weeds or other vegetation growing or remaining upon such property in violation of the provisions of Subsection A or B of this section.
A.
All trees within
the Township shall be kept trimmed by the owner or occupant of the
property on or in front of which they are located so that the minimum
clearance of any overhanging portion thereof shall not be less than
15 feet above the cartway of any street and not less than eight feet
above the sidewalk area of any street.
B.
Any tree upon
a property or sidewalk area which is dead or substantially diseased
shall be removed by the owner of the property on which the same is
located.
A.
No person shall
place and maintain upon any of the streets or sidewalks any leaves,
grass, brush, weeds, tree limbs, and any other vegetation. However,
leaves may be placed only in the street adjacent to the curb or edge
of cartway during the Township's annual scheduled leaf collection
period.
B.
Clear-sight triangles
are required at all street intersections. Within such triangles, no
vision-obstructing object other than utility poles, streetlights,
street signs or traffic signs shall be permitted which obscures vision
above the height of 30 inches and below 12 feet measured from the
center-line grade of intersecting streets. Such triangles shall be
established from a distance of 75 feet from the point of intersection
of the center lines, except that clear-sight triangles of 150 feet
shall be provided for all intersections with major streets.
C.
Any shrub, bush
or hedge which overlaps any sidewalk, sidewalk area, street or other
public place in such a way as to impede or interfere with traffic
or travel, or which obstructs the vision of any motorist legally upon
a street or highway, or which obstructs the vision of the street or
highway from a motorist attempting to enter the street or highway
from any other street, highway or road or from a public or private
dwelling shall be trimmed by the owner of the premises abutting or
of the premises on which such shrub grows so that the obstruction
shall cease, as determined by the Township Engineer, Code Enforcement
Officer or other designated agent of the Township.
A.
The Township
police officers, Code Enforcement Officer and any other designated
agent of the Township are hereby authorized to give notice, by United
States Mail, to the owner or occupant, as the case may be, of any
premises whereon grass, weeds or other vegetation is growing or remaining
in violation of the provisions of this article, directing and requiring
such occupant to remove, trim or cut such grass, weeds or vegetation
so as to conform to the requirements of this article within five days
after issuance of such notice. In case any person, firm or corporation
shall neglect, fail or refuse to comply with such notice within the
period of time stated, the Township may trim or remove any such grass,
weeds, trees or vegetation or any part thereof at the sole cost of
the owner or occupant. Said costs shall constitute a charge and lien
against the property affected, and such lien shall continue in force
until the full amount thereof, together with interest at the rate
of 6% per annum, is paid in full.
B.
The Township
police officers, Code Enforcement Officer and any other designated
agent of the Township are hereby authorized and empowered to enforce
the provisions of this article.
Any person, firm or corporation who or which
shall violate any provision of this article shall, upon conviction
thereof, be sentenced to pay not less than $100 but not more than
$1,000 plus costs of prosecution and restitution for monies paid for
weed removal and, in default of payment of such fine, costs and restitution,
to undergo imprisonment for not more than 30 days, provided that each
day's violation shall constitute a separate offense and notice to
the offender shall not be necessary in order to constitute an offense.