[Adopted 10-25-2012 by Ord. No. 1663[1]]
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also repealed former Art. III,
Disorderly House, adopted 6-25-2009 by Ord. No. 1616.
It is the purpose of this article and the policy of City Council
of the City of Butler, in order to protect and promote the public
health, safety and welfare of its citizens, to establish a means for
controlling disruptive activity taking place in properties located
within the City and to charge the cost of enforcement resulting from
authorities being called to a disruptive property to the property
owner in order to deter repeated violations of state and local laws,
and to pursue charges against the owner and/or occupant of a disruptive
property when disruptive activity remains unabated over an unreasonably
long period of time. Nothing in this article is intended to deter
individuals in the City from requesting public safety services when
they are in legitimate need of such.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
Any member of the City of Butler Police Department.
Any form of conduct, action, omission, incident or behavior
perpetrated, caused or permitted on a property by the owner(s), tenant(s),
occupant(s), or their invitee(s), which constitutes a violation of
any of the ordinance of the City of Butler or the statutes of the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania related to the following:
Any public order offense;
Any violation involving a minor;
Any firearms or other weapons offense;
Any violation related to the maintenance of property free from
noxious weeds, excessively high grass or refuse;
Any public decency offense;
Any offense against property;
Any sanitation violation;
Any animal offense; and
Any property on which disruptive activity has occurred on
three or more separate occasions within any sixty-day period.
A person on the premises with the actual or implied consent
of the occupant, tenant or owner.
An individual who resides on the premises, whether or not
as the owner, with or without a written lease.
One or more persons, jointly or severally, in whom is vested
all or part of the legal or equitable title to the property, including
a mortgage holder, corporation, partnership or other entity, and shall
include the partners, shareholders, directors, officers or other principals
as the case may be.
Property that has been declared a disruptive property where
disruptive activity continues to occur on three separate occasions
within a one-year period following the declaration of disruptive property.
For rental properties, each individual rental unit shall
be considered a separate property for purposes of enforcement of this
article. Any occurrence of disruptive activity in the common area
of a rental property shall be charged to the specific rental unit
that the occupant/tenant/invitee occupies and not the property in
whole.
A.Â
When the owner, tenant, occupant or invitee on a property has either
been arrested or issued a citation or summons for disruptive activities
occurring on the property on three or more separate occasions within
any sixty-day period, the enforcement officer may declare the property
to be a disruptive property and proceed with the notice and enforcement
procedures set forth in this article.
B.Â
Any citation, summons or arrest for disruptive activity perpetrated by a tenant who is already in the process of being evicted shall not count towards the declaration of a disruptive property pursuant to Subsection A, above, provided that the property owner can prove that an eviction action has been commenced in a court of law and that the property owner is actively prosecuting said eviction against the tenant.
C.Â
After a property has been declared a disruptive property, if enforcement
officers are not called upon to respond to any disruptive activities
for a period of 12 consecutive months, the property will no longer
be classified as a disruptive property.
A.Â
The enforcement officer shall provide a separate written notice to
the owner for each citation, summons or arrest made for a disruptive
activity at the owner's property.
B.Â
The notice shall be deemed to be properly delivered if sent either
by first-class mail to the owner's registered address or, if unavailable,
to the owner's last known address or as my be found in public records,
or if delivered in person to the owner or left at the owner's usual
place of abode in the presence of a competent adult residing there.
If a current address cannot be located, notice shall be deemed sufficient
if posted on the potential disruptive property with a copy sent to
the last known address of the owner.
C.Â
The notice shall contain the following information:
(1)Â
The street address or legal description sufficient for identification
of the property;
(2)Â
A description of the disruptive activity and the date on which the
citation, summons or arrest was made;
(3)Â
A statement that the property is declared to be a disruptive property,
or, if the property has not yet been declared a disruptive property,
a statement of the number of subsequent citations, summons and/or
arrests for disruptive activity which will result in such a declaration;
(4)Â
A statement that, if the property has been declared a disruptive
property, the occurrence of any subsequent disruptive activity at
this property within three months following the date of the notice
will result in the property being charged with the costs of administrative
and law enforcement actions taken by the City in response to the disruptive
activity; and
(5)Â
A statement that the property owner within 15 days of the date of
the notice respond in writing to the enforcement officer detailing
a course of action by which disruptive activities will be abated at
the property. The time period for implementation of any proposed plan
shall not exceed 60 days from the date of submission.
A.Â
If the property has been declared a disruptive property and subsequent disruptive activity has occurred within the time period noted in § 192-9C(4) above and the property owner has failed to take any action to abate the disruptive activity at the property, the enforcement officer shall file a complaint or citation with the District Magistrate.
B.Â
If, after a property has been declared a disruptive property pursuant
to the provisions of this article, the City's enforcement officer
is called upon to respond to disruptive activity occurring at the
property on three separate occasions within a one-year period following
the declaration of disruptive property, such property is hereby deemed
to be a public nuisance, which shall result in the filing of misdemeanor
charges against the owner and/or occupant of the disruptive property,
as may by applicable by the provisions of the Pennsylvania Crimes
Code.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See 18 Pa.C.S.A. § 101 et seq.
C.Â
The declaration of a disruptive property or the charging or assessment
of costs by the City on a property under this article does not affect
or limit the City's right or authority to bring criminal prosecution
or other legal action against any person for violation of the City
Code or state law.
A.Â
If the property is declared a disruptive property and the owner failed
to abate the disruptive activity, the owner may be assessed all costs
incurred by the City in providing public safety services to the property
in response to the subsequent disruptive activity. Within 30 days
of the incurring of the costs set forth in this section, the enforcement
officer shall issue a citation to the property owner with a written
demand for payment containing a description/summary of all costs incurred.
Failure to pay any such costs shall be cause for the City to file
an in rem judgment against the property and/or an in personam action
against the owner for recovery of the costs incurred by the City.
B.Â
Costs of providing public safety services shall be determined based
on the time required to respond to the disruptive activity multiplied
by an hourly rate based upon the wages and benefits of the City employee,
dispatch costs, vehicle and equipment costs, and supervisory and administrative
costs.
C.Â
If a property has been declared a public nuisance in accordance with § 192-10B above, the enforcement officer may revoke the occupancy permit of the property and shall perform any other actions to ensure the abatement of the nuisance. Costs for such actions shall be assessed to the property owner. The revocation of the occupancy permit shall remain in effect until such time as the nuisance has been fully abated.
D.Â
In addition to the aforenoted costs, any violation of this article
shall constitute a civil offense punishable, upon conviction thereof,
by a fine no less than $300 or more than $1,000 for each offense plus
costs of prosecution. Each day the violation continues following issuance
of the initial notice shall constitute a separate offense. The City
may institute proceedings under this section by the issuance of a
"notice of violation letter," assessing a civil penalty ranging from
$10 to $1,000 for each offense, and provide the parties in violation
of said Code section the opportunity to abate the violation and pay
said civil penalty in lieu of the institution of proceedings and the
imposition of the other stated penalties set forth herein.