Township of Falls, PA General Provisions

The codification of a complete body of ordinances for the Township of Falls, County of Bucks, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, as revised, codified and consolidated into titles, chapters and sections by General Code Publishers Corp. and consisting of Chapters 1 through 209, together with an Index, is hereby approved, adopted, ordained and enacted as the Code of the Township of Falls, hereinafter known and referred to as the "Code," pursuant to § 702, cl. XLI.1, of the Second Class Township Code, 53 P.S. § 65741.1.

§ 1-2 Effective date.

All provisions of this Code shall be in full force and effect on and after November 29, 1977.

§ 1-3 Repeal of ordinances not contained in Code.

All ordinances or parts of ordinances of a general and permanent nature adopted by the Township of Falls and in force on the date of the adoption of this ordinance and not contained in the Code are hereby repealed as of the effective date of this ordinance, except as hereinafter provided.

§ 1-4 Ordinances saved from repeal; matters not affected by repeal.

The adoption of this Code and the repeal of ordinances provided for in § 1-3 of this ordinance shall not affect the following ordinances, rights and obligations, which are hereby expressly saved from repeal:

Any ordinance adopted subsequent to March 24, 1977.

Any right or liability established, accrued or incurred under any legislative provision of the township prior to the effective date of this ordinance, or any action or proceeding brought for the enforcement of such right or liability.

Any offense or act committed or done before the effective date of this ordinance in violation of any legislative provision of the township, or any penalty, punishment or forfeiture which may result therefrom.

Any prosecution, indictment, action, suit or other proceeding pending or any judgment rendered prior to the effective date of this ordinance, brought pursuant to any legislative provision of the township.

Any franchise, license, right, easement or privilege heretofore granted or conferred by the township.

Any ordinance providing for the laying out, opening, altering, widening, relocating, straightening, establishing of grade, changing of name, improvement, acceptance or vacation of any right-of-way, easement, street, road, highway, park or other public place.

Any ordinance or resolution appropriating money or transferring funds, promising or guaranteeing the payment of money or authorizing the issuance and delivery of any bond of the township, or other instruments or evidence of the township's indebtedness.

Any ordinance authorizing the purchase, sale, lease or transfer of property or any lawful contract or obligation.

Any ordinance annexing land to the township.

Any ordinance designating the boundaries of sewer, water or lighting districts.

The levy or imposition of taxes, special assessments or charges.

The dedication of property.

Any currently effective ordinance or resolution establishing the salaries or compensation of officers and employees of the township.

Any ordinance amending the Zoning Map, which shows the boundaries of zones created by the Zoning Ordinance.

§ 1-5 Inclusion of new legislation prior to adoption of Code.

All ordinances of a general and permanent nature adopted subsequent to the date given in § 1-4A and/or the date of adoption of this ordinance are hereby deemed to be a part of the Code and shall, upon being printed, be included therein. Attested copies of all such legislation shall be temporarily placed in the Code until printed supplements are included

§ 1-6 Changes in previously adopted ordinances.

In compiling and preparing the ordinances of the Township of Falls for adoption and revision as part of the Code, certain grammatical changes and other minor changes were made in one or more of said ordinances. It is the intention of the Board of Supervisors that all such changes be adopted as part of the Code as if the ordinances so changed had been previously formally amended to read as such.

Certain changes of a substantive nature were made to various ordinances found within the Code. These changes were made to bring the provisions into conformity with the desired policies of the Board of Supervisors, and it is the intent of the Supervisors that all such changes are adopted as part of the Code as if the ordinances so changed had been previously formally amended to read as such. Such changes are cited within the historical statements by the term "amended at time of adoption of Code" or "adopted at time of adoption of Code" and are as follows.[1]

(1)

The following sections of the Code of the Township of Falls are revised and amended to provide, in substance, that any person, firm or corporation who violates any provision of the chapter or Article involved shall, upon conviction in a summary proceeding before any District Justice of Bucks County, be punishable by a fine of not more than $300 and costs of prosecution for each and every offense or, upon default in payment of the fine and costs not caused by indigence or lack of sufficient assets, by imprisonment in the Bucks County Prison for a period not to exceed 30 days, and to provide further that each day that such violation is continued after notice shall constitute a new and separate offense, punishable by a like fine, penalty or imprisonment and that further notices to the offender shall not be necessary in order to constitute such continuance as an additional offense or offenses: §§ 96-8, 120-3, 125-6, 129-5, 133-7, 138-18, 145-11, 150-19, 155-4, 166-3, 170-3, 173-9, 177-127, 184-2, 184-16, 188-18, 188-25, 194-20, 198-15.

[1]

Editor's Note: Pursuant to § 1-6B, the following Code sections and chapters were amended or added. A complete description of these revisions is on file in the office of the Township Secretary. See also § 1-6B(1) for amendments to penalty provisions. Sections amended or added: §§ 58-2, 58-9B, 58-11, 65-2, 69-1, 69-3, 69-6, 92-1, 101-4A, 101-12, 105-5, 105-6, 109-1, 109-2D, G and H, 116-3A, 116-5C, 116-8A, 120-6, 120-7, 129-1, 129-6H, 150-4, 150-5, 155-1, 155-2, 155-3, 162-1, 162-5, 162-7, 173-8D, 177-101B, 184-4, 184-5A(1) and (3), 184-8, 184-10, 184-11, 184-12, 184-29, 188-2, 188-4A and B, 194-10A and 198-7. Chapters amended or added: Chs. 159 and 203.

§ 1-7 Copy of Code on file.

A copy of the Code in a post-bound volume has been filed in the office of the Secretary of the Board of Supervisors and shall remain there for the use and examination by the public until final action is taken on this ordinance. If this ordinance shall be adopted, such copy shall be certified to by the Secretary, as provided by law, and such certified copy shall remain on file in the office of the Secretary, available to persons desiring to examine the same during all times while said Code is in effect.

§ 1-8 Amendments to Code.

Any and all additions, deletions, amendments or supplements to the Code, when passed and adopted in such form as to indicate the intention of the Board of Supervisors to be a part thereof, shall he deemed to be incorporated into such Code so that reference to the Code shall be understood and intended to include such changes. Whenever such additions, deletions, amendments or supplements to the Code shall be adopted, they shall thereafter be printed and, as provided hereunder, inserted in the post-bound book containing said Code, as amendments and supplements thereto.

§ 1-9 Code book to be kept up-to-date.

It shall be the duty of the Secretary of the Board of Supervisors, or someone authorized and directed by the Secretary, to keep up-to-date the certified copy of the book containing the Code required to be filed in the office of the Secretary for the use of the public. All changes in said Code and all ordinances adopted by the Board of Supervisors subsequent to the effective date of this codification which the Board of Supervisors shall adopt specifically as part of the Code shall, when finally adopted, be included therein by reference until such changes or new ordinances are printed as supplements to said Code book, at which time such supplements shall be inserted therein.

§ 1-10 Sale of Code book; supplements provided.

Copies of the book containing the Code may be purchased from the Secretary of the Board of Supervisors upon the payment of a fee to be set by resolution of the Supervisors, who may also arrange, by resolution, for procedures for the periodic supplementation thereof.

§ 1-11 Publication; filing.

The Secretary of the Board of Supervisors, pursuant to law, shall cause to be published in the manner required a notice of the adoption of this ordinance adopting the Code in a newspaper of general circulation in the township. Sufficient copies of the Code shall be maintained in the office of the Secretary for inspection by the public at all times during regular office hours. The enactment and application of this ordinance adopting the Code, coupled with availability of copies of the Code for inspection by the public, shall be deemed, held and considered to be due and legal publication of all provisions of the Code for all purposes.

§ 1-12 Severability of Code provisions.

Each section of the Code and every part of each section is an independent section or part of a section, and the holding of any section or a part thereof to be unconstitutional, void or ineffective for any cause shall not be deemed to affect the validity or constitutionality of any other section or part thereof.

§ 1-13 Severability of ordinance provisions.

Each section of this ordinance is an independent section, and the holding of any section or part thereof to be unconstitutional, void or ineffective for any cause shall not be deemed to affect the validity or constitutionality of any other section or part thereof.

§ 1-14 Altering or tampering with Code; penalties for violation.

It shall be unlawful for anyone to improperly change or amend, by additions or deletions, any part or portion of the Code or to alter or tamper with such Code in any manner whatsoever which will cause the law of the township to be misrepresented thereby. Anyone violating this section of this ordinance shall be subject, upon conviction in a summary proceeding before any District Justice of Bucks County, to a fine of not more than $300, and costs of prosecution and, upon default in payment of the fine and costs not caused by indigence or lack of sufficient assets, to imprisonment in the Bucks County prison for not more than 30 days.