[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Supervisors of the Township of Towamencin 2-27-1991 by Ord. No. 91-1. (This ordinance supersedes former Ch. 104, Nuisances, adopted 8-1-1960 by Ord. No. 23, as amended.) Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
False alarms — See Ch. 44, Art I.
Brush, grass and weeds — See Ch. 49.
Outdoor burning — See Ch. 54.
Dogs — See Ch. 64.
Garbage and other solid waste — See Ch. 84.
Littering — See Ch. 93.
Parks — See Ch. 107.
Property maintenance — See Ch. 117.
Inoperative, unlicensed and junk vehicles — See Ch. 151.
In accordance with the Second Class Township Code, 53 P.S. § 65712,[1] regarding nuisances, Towamencin Township has determined that the prohibition of nuisances is an important public concern because of the impact on the public health, safety and welfare, and the Township believes there is a necessity to establish regulations to prohibit nuisances, including but not limited to accumulations of garbage and rubbish, the storage of abandoned or junked automobiles and the depositing of hazardous substances on public or private property; and to establish penalties for violation of such regulations.
[1]
Editor's Note: See now 53 P.S. § 66529 (per reorganization by the Act of 11-9-1995, P.L. 350, No. 60.
This chapter shall be known as the "Ordinance for the Abatement of Nuisances."
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
ABATE
The cleanup or removal of deposited hazardous substances, including such actions as may be necessary to monitor, assess and evaluate the potential threat of hazardous substances to the public health, safety and welfare; actions to prevent, minimize and mitigate damage to the public health and the disposal of removed materials.
DEPOSIT
Any spilling, leaking, pumping, pouring, emptying, discharging, injecting, escaping, leaching, dumping or disposing.
HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCE
Any substance or combination of substances which, because of its quantity, concentration or physical, chemical or infectious characteristics, may:
A. 
Cause or significantly contribute to an increase in mortality or an increase in serious irreversible or incapacitating reversible illness;
B. 
Otherwise pose a danger to the health, safety or welfare of the public;
C. 
Pose a substantial present or potential hazard to human health or the environment when improperly treated, stored, transported or disposed of, or otherwise managed; or
D. 
Damage or impede the use of public highways, sewers or other public improvements.
NUISANCE
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.
PERSON
Any individual, partnership, association, firm, corporation, joint venture or other private or commercial entity, 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 chapter 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. 
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 Towamencin Township.
B. 
Lot maintenance. It shall be unlawful for any owner or occupant upon any property within Towamencin Township to permit or suffer the accumulation thereon of any water that stagnates, paper, trash, rubbish, ashes, junk or waste.
C. 
Hazardous substances. The existence of hazardous substances deposited upon public roadways, public lands or private property within the Township shall be deemed a public nuisance and shall be abated immediately by the person responsible for such deposit of hazardous substances.
The violation of any of the foregoing sections shall be deemed to be and constitute a nuisance. Whenever it is found that any person maintains such nuisance or nuisances, as prohibited in § 104-5 of this chapter, within the Township, the Board of Supervisors of the Township, by its employees or agents, shall serve notice by any means practicable upon the person responsible for the public nuisance. The notice shall sufficiently describe the condition complained of and shall require the nuisance to be abated within the time as served by the notice, which shall not be less than five days, unless the Board of Supervisors or the Emergency Management Director shall determine that the nature of the hazardous substance deposited is of such nature as to pose an immediate threat to the public health, safety and welfare.
In the event that the Township Emergency Management Director shall determine the nature of the hazardous substance deposited is of such nature as to pose an immediate threat to the public health, safety and welfare, the Township's Emergency Management Director, or his designee in accordance with Township policy, shall act to abate said public nuisance, and any cost of the abatement by the Township or other emergency service organization shall be paid by the person who causes or contributes to the deposit of the hazardous substance.
Where a nuisance is determined not to pose an immediate threat to the public health, safety and welfare, and where the person who maintains such nuisance or nuisances fails, neglects or refuses 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. 
Any person or persons, firms or corporation who shall violate any of the provisions of this chapter, upon conviction thereof, shall be liable to pay a fine or penalty not to exceed $1,000 for each and every offense. All fines and penalties imposed by this chapter are recoverable by summary proceedings before the District Justice, and all suits or actions at law instituted for the recovery thereof are to be in the name and for the use of Towamencin Township, against which the offenses are committed. In default of payment of any fine or penalty imposed by any District Justice under the provisions of this chapter, the person or persons so offending may be committed to the Montgomery County Prison for a period not exceeding 30 days.
B. 
Each day a violation is committed shall constitute a separate offense and shall be punishable as such hereunder.
C. 
This section shall not preclude the Township from any other remedy it may have at law or equity.
This chapter shall be construed under the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
The Township may, from time to time, modify the rules and regulations adopted in accordance with this chapter or modifications to this chapter.