[Adopted 2-6-2007 by Ord. No. 07-02]
Pursuant to 53 P.S. § 1-101 et seq., the codification of a complete body of ordinances and resolutions for the Municipality of Norristown, County of Montgomery, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, as revised, codified and consolidated into chapters, articles and sections by General Code Publishers Corp., and consisting of Chapters
1 through 324, is hereby approved, adopted, ordained and enacted as a single ordinance of Norristown which shall be known and is hereby designated as the "General Laws of Norristown," hereinafter referred to as the "General Laws."
The provisions of these General Laws, insofar as they are substantively the same as those of ordinances and resolutions in force immediately prior to the enactment of this ordinance, are intended as a continuation of such ordinances and resolutions and not as new enactments, and the effectiveness of such provisions shall date from the date of adoption of the prior ordinance. All such provisions are hereby continued in full force and effect and are hereby reaffirmed as to their adoption by the Council of Norristown, and it is the intention of said Council that each such provision contained within the General Laws is hereby reenacted and reaffirmed as it appears in said General Laws. Only such provisions of former ordinances as are omitted from these General Laws shall be deemed repealed or abrogated by the provisions of §
1-3 below, and only changed provisions, as described in §
1-6 below, shall be deemed to be enacted from the effective date of these General Laws, as provided in §
1-15 below.
All ordinances or parts of ordinances of a general and permanent nature adopted by Norristown and in force on the date of the adoption of these General Laws and not contained in the General Laws are hereby repealed as of the effective date given in §
1-15 below, except as hereinafter provided.
The adoption of these General Laws 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; provided, however, that the repeal of ordinances pursuant to §
1-3 or the saving from repeal of ordinances pursuant to this section shall not be construed so as to revive any ordinance previously repealed, superseded or no longer of any effect:
A. Any ordinance adopted subsequent to October 15, 2006.
B. Any right or liability established, accrued or incurred
under any legislative provision of Norristown prior to the effective date
of this ordinance or any action or proceeding brought for the enforcement
of such right or liability or any cause of action acquired or existing.
C. Any offense or act committed or done before the effective
date of this ordinance in violation of any legislative provision of Norristown
or any penalty, punishment or forfeiture which may result therefrom.
D. 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 Norristown.
E. Any franchise, license, right, easement or privilege
heretofore granted or conferred by Norristown or any lawful contract, obligation
or agreement.
F. Any ordinance appropriating money or transferring funds,
promising or guaranteeing the payment of money or authorizing the issuance
and delivery of any bond of Norristown or other instruments or evidence of
Norristown' s indebtedness.
G. Any ordinance adopting an annual budget or establishing
an annual tax rate.
H. Any ordinance providing for the levy, imposition or collection
of special taxes, assessments or charges.
I. Any ordinance authorizing the purchase, sale, lease or
transfer of property or acquiring property by acceptance of deed, condemnation
or exercise of eminent domain.
J. Any ordinance annexing land to Norristown.
K. Any ordinance providing for requiring the construction
or reconstruction or opening of sidewalks, curbs and gutters.
L. Any ordinance or part of an ordinance providing for laying
out, opening, altering, widening, relocating, straightening, establishing
grade, changing name, improvement, acceptance or vacation of any right-of-way,
easement, street, road, highway, sidewalk, park or other public place or property
or designating various streets as public highways.
M. Any ordinance establishing water, sewer or other special
purpose districts and designating the boundaries thereof; providing for a
system of sewers or water supply lines; or providing for the construction,
extension, dedication, acceptance or abandonment of any part of a system of
sewers or water supply lines.
N. Any ordinance providing for the making of public improvements.
O. Any ordinance providing for the salaries and compensation
of officers and employees of Norristown or setting the bond of any officer
or employee.
P. Any ordinance concerning changes and amendments to the
Zoning Map.
Q. Any ordinance regulating traffic or parking.
R. Any ordinance concerning fees and charges.
All ordinances and resolutions of a general and permanent nature adopted subsequent to the date given in §
1-4A and/or prior to the date of adoption of this ordinance are hereby deemed to be a part of the General Laws and shall, upon being printed, be included therein. Attested copies of all such ordinances shall be temporarily placed in the General Laws until printed supplements are included.
In interpreting and applying the provisions of the General Laws, they
shall be held to be the minimum requirements for the promotion of the public
health, safety, comfort, convenience and general welfare. Where the provisions
of the General Laws impose greater restrictions or requirements than those
of any statute, other ordinance or regulation, the provisions of the General
Laws shall control. Where the provisions of any statute, other ordinance,
resolution or regulation impose greater restrictions or requirements, the
provisions of such other ordinance or regulation shall control.
Three copies of the General Laws in a post-bound volume shall be filed
with the Ordinance Book in the office of the Municipal Administrator/Secretary
and shall remain there for use and examination by the public. Upon adoption,
such copies shall be certified to by the Municipal Administrator/Secretary,
as provided by law, and such certified copies shall remain on file in the
office of the Municipal Administrator/Secretary, available to persons desiring
to examine the same during all times while said General Laws are in effect.
Any and all additions, deletions, amendments or supplements to the General
Laws, when passed and adopted in such form as to indicate the intention of
the Council to be a part thereof, shall be deemed to be incorporated into
such General Laws so that reference to the General Laws shall be understood
and intended to include such changes. Whenever such additions, deletions,
amendments or supplements to the General Laws shall be adopted, they shall
thereafter be printed and, as provided hereunder, inserted in the post-bound
book containing said General Laws as amendments and supplements thereto.
It shall be the duty of the Municipal Administrator/Secretary or someone
authorized and directed by him or her to keep up-to-date the certified copies
of the book containing the General Laws required to be filed in the office
of the Municipal Administrator/Secretary for the use of the public. All changes
in said General Laws and all ordinances adopted by the Council subsequent
to the effective date of this codification which the Council shall adopt specifically
as part of the General Laws shall, when finally adopted, be included therein
by reference until such changes or new ordinances are printed as supplements
to said books containing the General Laws, at which time such supplements
shall be inserted therein.
The Municipal Administrator/Secretary, pursuant to law, shall cause
to be published in the manner required a notice of the introduction and of
the adoption of the General Laws in a newspaper of general circulation in
Norristown. The enactment and application of this ordinance, coupled with
the publication of the notices of introduction and adoption, as required by
law, and the availability of copies of the General Laws for inspection by
the public, shall be deemed, held and considered to be due and legal publication
of all provisions of the General Laws for all purposes.
It shall be unlawful for anyone to improperly change or amend, by additions
or deletions, or to alter or tamper with the General Laws or any part or portion
thereof, in any manner whatsoever, which will cause the laws of Norristown
to be misrepresented thereby. Anyone violating this section of this ordinance
shall, upon conviction thereof, be liable to the maximum penalty provided
by law.
The provisions of this ordinance and of the General Laws adopted hereby
are severable, and if any clause, sentence, subsection, section, article,
chapter or part thereof shall be adjudged by any court of competent jurisdiction
to be illegal, invalid, or unconstitutional, such judgment or decision shall
not affect, impair or invalidate the remainder thereof but shall be confined
in its operation and application to the clause, sentence, subsection, section,
article, chapter or part thereof rendered. It is hereby declared to be the
intent of the Council that this ordinance and the General Laws would have
been adopted if such illegal, invalid or unconstitutional clause, sentence,
subsection, section, article, chapter or part thereof had not been included
therein.
All provisions of this ordinance and of the General Laws shall be in
force and effect upon approval by Municipal Council and as provided by the
Charter of the Municipality of Norristown.