[Adopted 2-23-1988 by Ord. No. 1988 (Ch. 10, Part 2, of the 1988 Code
of Ordinances)]
This article shall be known and cited as the "Township of North
Franklin Property Maintenance Ordinance."
Recognizing the need within the Township of North Franklin to
establish certain minimum health and safety requirements for those
buildings, structures, or properties which are used or associated
with human occupancy; this article hereby establishes standards which
the Board of Supervisors considers to be fair and effective in meeting
those minimum requirements.
This article, and the objectives leading to its enactment, are
authorized by the following provisions of the Township Code, to wit:
53 P.S. § 56519.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
A roofed structure, enclosed by one or more walls, for the
shelter, housing, storage or enclosure of persons, goods, materials,
equipment or animals.
An open and unoccupied space on a lot enclosed on at least
three sides by the walls of a building.
Putrescible animal and vegetable wastes resulting from the
handling, preparation, cooking and consumption of food.
The presence of insects, rodents, vermin and/or other pests.
Plot, tracts, premises or parcel of land, with or without
improvements thereto.
Any person or persons, jointly or severally, firm, corporation
or other entity which, either by conveyance or inheritance or otherwise,
is vested with the title to a lot and/or improvements thereto or who
retains the exclusive control of such a lot and/or improvements thereto
in his capacity as a legal representative, such as an administrator,
trustee, executor, etc.
All putrescible and nonputrescible solid wastes, including
garbage, rubbish, ashes, dead animals and market and industrial wastes.
Any building or part thereof, or man-made structure, which
remains unoccupied for a period of more than six months, with either
doors, windows, or other openings broken, removed, boarded or sealed
up, or any building under construction upon which little or no construction
work has been performed for a period of more than six months.
Any open space on the same lot with a building and, for the
most part, unobstructed from the ground up.
The provisions of this article shall supplement local laws,
ordinances or regulations existing in the Township of North Franklin
or those of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Where a provision of
this article is found to be in conflict with any provision of a local
law, ordinance, code or regulations or those of the Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania, the provision which is more restrictive or which establishes
the higher standard shall prevail.
A.
No owner of any building or structure shall fail to take steps and
perform such maintenance thereto, as may be required from time to
time, to ensure the property is safe, sound, sanitary and secure and
does not present a health and/or safety hazard to surrounding properties
and to the general populace.
B.
No owner of any unoccupied building or structure shall fail to take
such steps as may be required to insure that these are securely closed
so as to prohibit and deter entry thereto and to insure that no health
and/or safety hazard, or threat thereof, is precipitated due to a
lack of maintenance or due to neglect.
C.
Owners of any and all unoccupied buildings and/or structures which,
through neglect, have deteriorated to the point of being classified
as unoccupied hazards and therefore constitute a severe health and/or
safety hazard shall, upon direction of the Board of Supervisors, remove,
or cause the removal of, the building and/or structure.
No person shall permit:
A.
Fences and/or minor structures to be constructed and maintained so
as to present a safety or health hazard to persons and/or property;
B.
The development of accumulation of hazards, rodent harborage and/or
infestation upon yards, courts, lots;
C.
Objectionable materials to accumulate and to be blown about the surrounding
neighborhood;
D.
Wells, cesspools, cisterns, sedimentation ponds, stormwater management
impoundment ponds and/or ponds of a similar nature to remain open
without adequate fencing or barricades to prevent access thereto by
the general public;
E.
The accumulation of heavy undergrowth and/or vegetation which would
impair the health and/or safety of the neighborhood; nor shall they
permit any trees, plants or shrubbery, or any portion thereof, to
grow on their property and which constitute a safety hazard to pedestrian
and/or vehicular traffic.
A.
Grounds, buildings and structures shall be maintained free of insect,
vermin and rodent harborage and infestation.
B.
Adequate sanitary facilities and methods shall be used for the collection,
storage, handling and disposal of garbage and refuse.
C.
Where there exists rodent and vermin infestation, corrective measures
shall be undertaken by the property owner and/or occupant to alleviate
the existing problem(s), to include screening, extermination and/or
garbage and refuse control. Methods employed for extermination shall
conform with generally accepted practices.
No person shall permit:
A.
Roof, surface and/or sanitary drainage to create a safety and/or
health hazard to persons and/or property by reason of inadequate and/or
improper construction or maintenance or manner of discharge;
B.
Roof gutters, drains, or any other system designed and constructed
to transport stormwater to be discharged into any sanitary sewage
system and/or any part thereof;
C.
Any refrigerator, freezer and/or other similar storage chest to be
discarded, abandoned or stored in any place or location which is accessible
to the general public without first completely removing any and all
locking devices and/or doors.
Any occupant of a premises shall be responsible for compliance
with the provisions of this article with respect to the maintenance
of that part of the premises which he occupies and/or controls in
a safe, sound and/or sanitary condition pursuant to the terms of the
contract/agreement under which he exercises occupancy and/or control
thereof.
A.
Owner of premises shall comply with the provisions of this article
as well as operators and occupants, regardless of any agreements between
owners and operators or occupants as to which party shall assume such
responsibility.
B.
In instances where an occupant is responsible or shares responsibility
with an owner for the existence of one or more violations of this
article, said occupant shall be deemed responsible and treated as
if an owner within the true intent and meaning of this article.
Upon failure to comply with any terms or conditions of this
article, the owner and/or occupant shall be notified by the Board
of Supervisors or its authorized representative, by certified mail
or through personal service, of said violation or violations. Such
notification shall be in writing and shall identify the premises and
shall cite the specific violation or violations, shall direct the
owner and/or occupant to correct the deficiency and/or deficiencies
within a period of 30 days from the receipt of such notice and shall
inform the owner and/or occupant of the fines and penalties which
would accrue for the failure to comply. The notice shall also advise
that, in lieu of or in addition to fines and penalties and subsequent
to the thirty-day period for voluntary compliance, the Township may
itself correct the deficiencies or contract for the correction thereof
and assess the cost thereof as a lien against the premises and/or
recover the expenses so incurred in a manner as prescribed by law.
In the event the owner and/or occupant cannot be ascertained or is
not able to be located, a notice, containing the above-required information
in summary form, shall be published once in each of two consecutive
weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the Township, advising
of the existence of the violation and requiring correction thereof
in accordance with the terms and conditions herein established; detailed
notice thereof shall be posted on the subject premises and at the
Municipal Building.
The owner and/or occupant shall have 30 days from the receipt
of a notice of violation or, alternatively, from the date of the second
appearance of the published notice of violation, to correct any and
all stipulated deficiencies. Extensions to the thirty-day period in
which deficiencies must be corrected may be granted by the Township
upon demonstration by the owner and/or occupant that such an extension
thereto is warranted and justified. Failure to comply shall constitute
a violation of this article. A conviction of an owner and/or occupant
shall not ban further prosecutions for noncompliance with this article
subsequent to such conviction.
Any person, firm or corporation who shall violate any provision
of this article shall, upon conviction thereof, be sentenced to pay
a fine not exceeding $300, together with costs of prosecution, or
to imprisonment for a term not to exceed 30 days. Each day a conviction
in violation of this article exists beyond the thirty-day voluntary
compliance period shall constitute a separate violation of this article.
If the premises are owned by more than one owner, each owner
shall severally be subject to prosecution for the violation of this
article.
The Board of Supervisors may, or may cause through an authorized
representative of the Township, entry onto premises for the purpose
of inspection of any and all premises, properties, buildings and/or
structures located within the Township for ascertaining the existence
of violations. In those matters where the nature of an alleged violation
is such that an inspection of the interior of a building or structure
is necessitated, prior arrangements must be made with the owner, or
his agent, to secure access thereof.
