[Adopted 12-27-1983 by Ord. No. 83-25]
As used in this article, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
That which is set up, maintained or continued so as to be
injurious to health or that which is an obstruction to the use of
property by interfering with the health, safety, comfort or repose
of the public.
Any individual, partnership, association or corporation,
as well as all officers, agents, servants, employees or others acting
for any of the same, and shall be taken as applying in the singular
or plural as the case may require.
Any person who creates, continues or maintains
any public nuisance within the Township shall be deemed guilty of
a violation of this article and shall be liable for the expense and
abatement and remedy thereof as well as such fines and penalties as
may be imposed.
Without in any manner intending to limit or
restrict the generality of the above definition of and prohibition
against a nuisance, the following are hereby declared to constitute
nuisances:
A.Â
Dumping. It shall be unlawful to throw, deposit or
dump any paper, building material, construction material, trash, rubbish,
ashes, junk, waste or discarded materials of any kind on any street,
highway or any public place or on any private property within the
limit of the Township of Upper Gwynedd.
[Amended 4-22-1985 by Ord. No. 85-6]
B.Â
Lot maintenance. It shall be unlawful for any owner
or occupant upon any property within the Township of Upper Gwynedd
to permit or suffer the accumulation thereon of any water that stagnates,
paper, trash, rubbish, ashes, junk, waste or discarded materials of
any kind.
A.Â
The violation of any of the foregoing sections shall
be deemed to be and constitute a nuisance.
B.Â
Whenever it is found that any person maintains such nuisance or nuisances, as prohibited in § 127-3 of this article, within the Township, the Township shall serve notice upon the person maintaining such nuisance. The notice shall sufficiently describe the condition complained of and shall require the nuisance to be made safe or corrected or to be removed within 10 days of the mailing of the notice.
In the event that such person should fail, neglect
or refuse to make such conditions safe or to correct or remove such
conditions to the satisfaction of the Township, then the Township
may abate or cause to be abated said nuisance, and the expense of
such abatement shall be paid by the responsible person.
All costs and expenses incurred by the Township
in the abatement of such condition shall be a lien upon the premises,
and whenever a bill therefor remains unpaid for a period of 60 days
after it has been rendered, the Township Solicitor shall file a municipal
claim or an action of assumpsit for such cost and expenses, together
with a penalty of 10%, in the manner provided by law for the collection
of municipal claims.
A.Â
Any person or persons, firm or corporation who shall
violate any of the provisions of this article, upon conviction thereof,
shall be liable to pay a fine or penalty not to exceed $1,000 plus
costs of prosecution for each and every offense. All fines and penalties
imposed by this section are recoverable by summary proceedings before
the Magisterial District Judge, and all suits or actions at law instituted
for the recovery thereof are to be in the name and for the use of
Upper Gwynedd Township, against which the offenses are committed.
In default of payment of any fine or penalty imposed by any Magisterial
District Judge under the provisions of this article, the person or
persons so offending may be committed to the Montgomery County Prison
for a period not exceeding 30 days.
[Amended 11-23-1992 by Ord. No. 92-15[1]]
B.Â
Each day a violation is committed shall constitute
a separate offense and shall be punishable as such hereunder.
C.Â
This section shall not preclude the Township from
any other remedy it may have at law or equity.