This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Foreclosing Mortgaged Property and Vacant Property Registration" regulations.
The Board of Supervisors of the Township of Derry finds that:
A. 
Mortgage foreclosures and vacant properties have a negative impact on all communities trying to manage the consequences of property vacancies and abandoned real properties.
B. 
The Township has recognized an increase in the number of foreclosed properties located throughout the Township.
C. 
The Township finds that the presence of foreclosed, vacant, and/or abandoned properties can lead to a decline in property value, create attractive nuisances, and lead to a general decrease in neighborhood and community maintenance and aesthetics as a result of blighted foreclosed properties.
D. 
The Township has already adopted property maintenance codes to regulate building standards for the exterior of structures and the condition of the property as a whole.
E. 
The Township is sometimes challenged to identify and locate owners or foreclosing parties who can maintain the properties that are in the foreclosure process, that have been foreclosed, or that are vacant.
F. 
The Township has a vested interest in protecting neighborhoods against decay caused by foreclosed, vacant, and/or abandoned properties and concludes that it is in the best interests of the health, safety, and welfare of its citizens and residents to impose the registration and certification requirements on foreclosed and vacant properties located within the Township.
G. 
The Township desires to amend the Township's Code in order to establish a vacant and/or foreclosed property registration process for the identification of a contact person to address safety and aesthetic concerns to minimize the negative impacts and blighting conditions that occur as a result of the vacancy and/or abandonment of foreclosed properties and vacant properties.
It is the purpose and intent of the Township to establish a process to address the deterioration and blight of properties within the Township that is caused by an increasing amount of foreclosed real property and vacant property as defined hereinafter, and to identify, regulate, limit, and reduce the number of vacant and/or abandoned foreclosed properties. It is also the Township's intent to maintain a registration program as a mechanism to protect neighborhoods from becoming blighted due to the lack of adequate maintenance and security of such foreclosed and vacant properties.
The Township is empowered to regulate land use activities that affect building and housing regulations by the authority of Section 1527 of the Second Class Township Code of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, 53 P.S. § 65101, et. seq.
This chapter applies to any foreclosed real property or vacant property within the Township.
Any ordinance provision(s) or regulation of the Township inconsistent with any of the provisions of this chapter is hereby repealed to the extent of the inconsistency only.
In the event that any section or provision of this chapter is declared invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of any of the remaining provisions of this chapter.
A. 
Actions taken under this chapter do not relieve the registrant of the responsibility to secure required permits or approvals for activities regulated by any other code, law, regulation, or ordinance.
B. 
This chapter shall be considered cumulative and not superseding or subject to any other law or provision for the same, but rather is an additional remedy available to the Township above and beyond any other state, county, or local provisions.