[HISTORY: Adopted by the of the Council of
the City of Coatesville 6-12-2017 by Ord. No. 1494-2017[1]. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Building construction — See Ch. 82.
Buildings and land with substantial violations — See Ch. 97.
Electrical standards — See Ch. 102.
Fire protection and prevention — See Ch. 115.
Improvement policies — See Ch. 142.
Lifesafety standards — See Ch. 151.
Mechanical standards — See Ch. 156.
Nuisances — See Ch. 164.
Plumbing — See Ch. 176.
Sewers — See Ch. 185.
Solid waste — See Ch. 190.
Subdivision and land development — See Ch. 197.
Zoning — See Ch. 224.
[1]
Editor’s Note: This ordinance also superseded former
Ch. 180, Property Maintenance, adopted 11-22-1993 by Ord. No. 949-93,
as amended.
A certain document, three copies of which are on file in the office of the Secretary of the City of Coatesville, being marked and designated as the International Property Maintenance Code, 2012 edition, as published by the International Code Council, be and is hereby adopted as the Property Maintenance Code of the City of Coatesville, in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, for regulating and governing the conditions and maintenance of all property, buildings and structures; by providing the standards for supplied utilities and facilities and other physical things and conditions essential to ensure that structures are safe, sanitary and fit for occupation and use; and the condemnation of buildings and structures unfit for human occupancy and use, and the demolition of such existing structures as herein provided; providing for the issuance of permits and collection of fees therefor; and each and all of the regulations, provisions, penalties, conditions and terms of said Property Maintenance Code on file in the office of the City of Coatesville are hereby referred to, adopted, and made a part hereof, as if fully set out in this chapter, with the additions, insertions, deletions and changes, if any, prescribed in § 180-2 of this chapter.
The following sections are hereby revised:
A.
Section 101.1. Insert: City of Coatesville.
C.
Section 106.3. Amend: by removing the words "misdemeanor
or" in the fourth line of existing code.
D.
Section 106.4. Amend: by removing the existing language
under the heading "Violation penalties." And replacing it with the
following:
"A. Any person who shall violate any provision of this code,
or fail to comply therewith, or with any of the requirements thereof,
shall be prosecuted and shall, upon conviction in a Summary Proceeding
before a Magisterial District Judge be sentenced to pay a fine of
not less than $100 and not more than $1,000 per violation, plus costs
of prosecution.
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B. In addition to the enforcement of this code by a summary
proceeding as identified previously, if an action is brought at law
or in equity as identified in Section 106.5 of this code, then any
person who has violated or permitted the violations of the provisions
of this code, upon being found liable therefor in a civil action commenced
by Coatesville City, shall pay a judgment of not less than $1,000
per violation, plus costs and attorney's fees incurred by Coatesville
City.
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C. Each day any violation exists and continues shall constitute
a separate offense.
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D. If any summary proceeding or civil action brought pursuant
to this code results in a final determination without any appeal pending
and if the violation still exists, then the City of Coatesville, through
its duly authorized agent, shall be and is hereby empowered to correct
the violation by repair or otherwise.
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E. All costs, expenses and attorney's fees incurred or expended by the City of Coatesville for any repair, etc., relative to a violation as is permitted in Subsection D above, together with an administrative charge of 10%, may be charged as a municipal claim or lien against the property at issue and with the rights to collect legal fees, costs and interest thereon in accordance with the City Codes and Pennsylvania Law.
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F. In addition to the procedures provided under Section 109.2
governing temporary safeguards and elsewhere in this code, if the
code official determines that a property requires immediate protective
measures/repairs in order to protect the public (such as boarding-up
the property or mowing the lawn and removing or trimming overgrown
bushes and shrubs), then, when it has been determined that a property
owner is either not available to immediately effectuate the necessary
protective measures/repairs or the property owner refuses to do so
immediately, the code official shall be authorized to direct that
the needed protective measures/repairs be undertaken by public employees
or private contractors and the property owner shall be responsible
for the costs incurred with respect to such protective measures/repairs
and shall be required to pay the costs of same within 30 days, and
in failing to do so, the property shall be made subject to a municipal
lien to cover the costs incurred for the protection of the public
safety and to correct the violations at issue together with an administrative
charge of 10% and other costs and fees permitted under the Municipal
Lien Law.
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G. With respect to violations of Section 302.4, Exterior Property
Areas, Weeds, or Section 302.14, Snow and Ice, the following alternative
citation process is available at the discretion of the code official
as follows:
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Alternative citation process.
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(1) Any person violating the provisions of Section 302.4 or
302.14 shall, at the discretion of the City, be subject to a fine
of $25 to be paid within 10 days.
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(2) Any person violating the provisions of Section 302.4 or
302.14 shall, at the discretion of the City, be subject to a fine
of $50 to be paid after 10 days but within 20 days.
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(3) Any violation of the provisions of Section 302.4 or 302.14
shall, at the discretion of the City, be subject to a fine of $75
to be paid after 20 days, but before citation.
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(4) Failure to respond by the payment of the fines as aforesaid
shall, after 28 days, result in the issuance of a citation to the
defendant. Thereafter, the prosecution shall proceed in accordance
with the Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal Procedure, and upon conviction
for the offense, the defendant shall be ordered to pay the maximum
fine prescribed by law, together with the costs of prosecution, and/or
to be incarcerated in the county prison for not more than five days."
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E.
Section 107.1 Amend: by removing the existing language
and replaced in its entirety with the following:
107.1 Notice to person responsible. Whenever the
code official determines that there has been a violation of this code
or has grounds to believe that a violation has occurred, notice shall
be given in the manner prescribed in Section 107.2 and 107.3 to the
property owner for the violation as specified in this code. Notices
for condemnation procedures shall also comply with Section 108.3.
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F.
In Section 111, Means of Appeal, Subsection 111.1 Amend: by removing the existing language and replacing in its entirety
with the following:
111.1. Application for appeal. Any person directly
affected by a decision of the code official or notice or order issued
under this code shall have the right to appeal to the Board of Appeals
for a review of the decision in accordance with the procedures prescribed
by the Board of Appeals, provided that a written application for appeal
is filed within 10 days after the day of the decision, notice or order
was served. An application for appeal shall be based on a claim that
the true intent of this code or the rules legally adopted hereunder
have been incorrectly interpreted, the provisions of this code do
not fully apply, or the requirements of this code are adequately satisfied
by other means.
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G.
In Section 111, Means of Appeal, Insert: new Section 111.1.1 to read in its entirety as follows:
111.1.1 Appeal fee. A fee of $50, payable in advance,
shall be paid for each appeal taken to the Board of Appeals from a
decision of the code official to defray some of the costs associated
with the mailing of notices, convening the Board and hearing the appeal.
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H.
In Section 202, General Definitions, add the following definitions:
Hazardous Waste. Any solid waste or combination
of solid wastes or liquid or gaseous wastes, which, because of the
quantity involved, concentration or physical, chemical or infectious
characteristics, may cause or significantly contribute to an increase
in mortality or an increase in morbidity in either an individual or
the total population, pose a substantial present or potential hazard
to human health or the environment when improperly treated, stored,
transported, disposed of or otherwise managed; or which is otherwise
defined as hazardous by any federal or state statute or regulation.
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Amend the following definition of Rubbish as follows:
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Rubbish. Add to the existing definition of "Rubbish"
the following additional words as an insert before the final words
"and other similar materials": "municipal waste and trash," Additionally,
amend the existing definition by adding the following sentence: "Rubbish
shall also include car parts, machinery and equipment, and parts of
machinery or equipment not in lawful use or operation unless such
car parts, machinery, equipment, etc., is stored and screened from
the view by the public."
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Trash. All combustible and noncombustible waste
materials except garbage, including the residue from the burning of
wood, coal, coke and other combustible material, paper, rags, cartons,
boxes, wood excelsior, leather, grass clippings, leaves, shrubs, branches,
yard trimmings, Christmas trees, tin cans, metals, mineral matter,
glass, crockery, construction fill and debris, dust and similar materials.
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I.
Section 302.4. Insert: 10 inches.
J.
Section 304.14. Insert: May 15 to September 1.
K.
Section 602.3. Insert: September 1 to June 1.
L.
Section 602.4. Insert: October 15 to April 15.
M.
Section 3. The following sections are hereby added:
(1)
Section 302.10. Storage of boats and travel trailers. No boats or travel trailers shall be permitted to be stored on the
premises in plain view of the public (or placed on any public way).
(2)
Section 302.11. Refrigerators and freezers. The owners
of refrigerators and freezers which are not in active service shall
immediately have the door or doors removed or otherwise secured to
prevent access by any individual to the interior thereof.
(3)
Section 302.12. Nuisance junkyards. Except as provided
for in other regulations, no premises shall be used or maintained
as a junkyard or dumping ground, or for the wrecking or disassembling
of automobiles, trucks, tractors or machinery of any kind or of any
of the parts thereof, or for the storing of any equipment used by
contractors, excavators, constructors, builders or any other persons
engaged in the business of construction.
(4)
Section 302.13. Rubbish, trash, recyclables, etc. All
exterior property and premises, including public ways, shall be maintained
so that trash containers and recyclable containers are set out for
trash removal (and recycling) no earlier than the night before the
assigned pick-up and promptly removed after trash removal and/or recycling
(i.e., the day of the assigned pick-up) and no foreign objects shall
be left visible in the exterior property and premises.
(5)
Section 302.13. Snow and ice. Duty to remove snow and ice (replaces and rescinds the provisions of City Code Chapter 193, Article III, §§ 193-19 to 193-22).
A. It shall be the duty of the owner of all property to remove
at his, her, their or its expense snow or ice from the sidewalks abutting
said property so as to maintain a cleared space of not less than 2/3
of the width of the sidewalk within a period of 24 hours after the
cessation of any snowfall. Where snow and ice are removed from sidewalks,
private drives, parking lots and individual on-street parking areas,
snow and ice may be placed or piled on the curbside or the parking
areas within eight feet of the curb. Snow and ice from sidewalks,
private drives, parking lots and individual on-street parking areas
shall not be placed or piled in the travel lanes of the public streets
or alleys.
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(6)
Section 308.1 Accumulation of rubbish or garbage. Add
additional sentence. "It is the intent of this provision to prohibit
mess and unsanitary conditions with respect to any property in the
City of Coatesville and the public ways associated with such properties."
(7)
Section 302.8 of the Code is amended to include unregistered and
uninspected vehicles and the Code language in Section 302.8 is removed
in its entirety and replaced with the following:
302.8 Motor vehicles. Except as provided in other
regulations, no currently inoperative, unlicensed, unregistered or
uninspected motor vehicle shall be parked, kept or stored on any premises,
and no vehicle shall at any time be in the state of major disassembly,
disrepair or in the process of being striped or dismantled. Painting
of vehicles is prohibited unless conducted inside an approved spray
booth.
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(8)
Section 304.3 of the Code is amended by removal of Section 304.3
of the Code and replacing it in its entirety with the following:
Section 304.3 Premises identification. Buildings
shall have approved address numbers placed in a position to be plainly
legible and visible from the street, alley or road in front of the
property and in the rear of each property. These numbers shall contrast
with their background. Address numbers shall be in Arabic numbers
or alphabet letters. Numbers and letters shall be a minimum of four
inches (102 mm) high with a minimum stroke width of 0.5 inches (12.7
mm).
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In all matters that are regulated by the laws of the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania or by regulation of departments or agencies of the
Commonwealth promulgated by authority of law, such laws or regulations,
as the case may be, shall control where requirements thereof are more
restrictive than the provisions of this chapter.
Nothing in this chapter or in the International Property Maintenance Code hereby adopted shall be construed to affect any suit or proceeding pending in any court, or any rights acquired, or any liability incurred or any cause or causes of action acquired or existing, under any act or ordinance hereby repealed as cited in § 180-2 of this chapter; nor shall any just or legal right or remedy of any character be lost, impaired or affected by this chapter.
If any section, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase of this
chapter is, for any reason, held by any court of competent jurisdiction
to be unconstitutional, invalid or illegal, such decision shall not
affect the validity of the remaining portions of this chapter. The
City Council of the City of Coatesville hereby declares that it would
have passed this chapter, and each section, subsection, clause or
phrase thereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more sections,
subsections, sentences, clauses and phrases be declared unconstitutional,
invalid or illegal. Further, if any section or provisions of this
chapter is declared to be unconstitutional, illegal or invalid, such
unconstitutionality, illegality or invalidity shall not affect the
constitutionality, legality or validity of this chapter as a whole,
nor the constitutionality, legality or validity of any other section
or provision of this chapter other than the one so declared to be
unconstitutional, illegal or invalid.
All existing ordinances of the City or parts thereof inconsistent
with the provisions of this chapter are hereby repealed unless stated
otherwise.
The City Secretary is hereby ordered and directed to cause this
chapter to be published as necessary in accordance with the City Code
and Pennsylvania Law.
This chapter and the rules, regulations, provisions, requirements,
orders and matters established and adopted hereby shall take effect
and be in full force and effect according to law 30 days after advertisement
subsequent to its enactment.