[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Supervisors
of the Township of Allegheny 2-13-1995 by Ord. No. 1-1995 (§§ 4.1
to 4.8 of the 1986 Code). Amendments noted where applicable.]
The purpose of this chapter is to provide the
citizens of Allegheny Township with an opportunity to petition for
and to obtain adequate fire protection and to assess the cost of installation
of fire hydrants.
The Chairperson of the Board of Supervisors
and the Manager of the Township are hereby authorized to enter into
contracts with the water companies or municipal authorities supplying
water within the Township of Allegheny for the purpose of placing,
replacing, operating, maintaining and repairing of fire hydrants and
water mains along highways, streets, roads and alleys in the Township
of Allegheny for the purpose of supplying water to the property owners
for the purpose of fire protection, provided that a majority of the
property owners requiring or requesting such service present a petition
to the Board of Supervisors for approval.
The petition of property owners requesting the
installation of a fire hydrant must be signed by more than 50% of
the property owners and must further indicate the names of those property
owners who do not require or request a fire hydrant but reside within
a seven-hundred-eighty-foot radius of the proposed hydrant, as all
property owners will be assessed for the costs of installation. A
copy of a property owner petition for installation of fire hydrants
can be obtained from the Township Manager free of charge.
Once a petition for installation of fire hydrants
is completed in compliance with and pursuant to this chapter, the
Board of Supervisors shall consider approval of the petition. The
Board of Supervisors may, upon motion, vote to approve the petition
or deny the petition.
Once a petition for installation of fire hydrants
is approved, and the Chairperson and/or Manager of the Township contract
for the installation of the fire hydrant, the Board shall authorize
the Township Engineer to provide a survey depicting all property owners
residing within a seven-hundred-eighty-foot radius of the hydrant.
These property owners will be equally assessed for the cost of installation
of the fire hydrant.
The Township Manager shall give 30 days' written
or printed notice that the assessment is due and payable, stating
the due date to each party assessed, either by service on the owner
of the property or by mailing such notice to the owner at his last
known post office address.
The Township Treasurer shall receive all such
assessments collected for the cost of installation of fire hydrants.
The Township Treasurer shall keep the same in a separate account and
shall pay the same upon order signed by the Chairperson of the Township
Board of Supervisors and attested by the Township Manager. These funds
are to be used only for the cost of installation.
The property owners assessed may, within 30
days after receiving notice of the assessment from the Township Manager,
appeal said assessment directly to the Allegheny Township Board of
Supervisors. Upon receiving any appeal from an aggrieved property
owner, the Allegheny Township Board of Supervisors shall schedule
a hearing to be held within 45 days from the date of the receipt of
the appeal wherein the Board of Supervisors shall receive such testimony
and exhibits as may be offered by the property owner to substantiate
the appeal. Within 10 days after the hearing, the Allegheny Township
Board of Supervisors shall render a written decision on the appeal
of the property owner and shall within 15 days of said hearing notify
said property owner of the decision and supply to said property owner,
within 15 days of the hearing, a copy of the written decision, the
original of which will be kept on file by the Township Manager. Any
property owner aggrieved by the decision of the Board of Supervisors
of Allegheny Township shall have the right, within 30 days from the
date of the decision of the Allegheny Township Board of Supervisors,
to appeal to the Court of Common Pleas of Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania.
