Oil City, PA Abandoned or Vacant Property

A mortgage foreclosure action where the title to the property has been retained by the beneficiary of a deed of trust involved in the foreclosure or transferred under a deed in lieu of foreclosure/sale.

ASSESSED VALUE

The amount posted or listed on the public records as assessed value for a property either recorded or published by Venango County, Pennsylvania.

CITY

The City of Oil City, Venango County, Pennsylvania.

EVIDENCE OF VACANCY

Any condition that, on its own or combined with other conditions present, would lead a reasonable person to believe that the property is vacant. Such conditions shall include, but are not limited to, overgrown and/or dead vegetation, accumulation of newspapers, circulars, flyers and/or mail, past-due utility notices, and/or disconnected utilities, accumulation of trash, junk and/or debris, clutter, the absence of window coverings such as curtains, blinds and/or shutters, the absence of furnishings and/or personal items consistent with residential habitation, statements by neighbors, passersby, delivery agents or government employees that the property is vacant.

FORECLOSURE

The process by which a property, placed as security for a real estate loan, is sold at auction to satisfy the debt if the trustor (borrower) defaults.

GARBAGE

The animal or vegetable waste resulting from the handling, preparation, cooking and consumption of food.

HIGH GRASS

All grasses, annual plants and vegetation, other than trees or shrubs, in excess of 12 inches high. This term shall not include cultivated flowers and gardens.

OWNER

Any person:

Having a legal or equitable interest in a property;

Having a legal interest in a property recorded in the official records of the state, county or municipality as holding title to the property; or

Otherwise having control of the property, including the guardian of the estate of any such person and the executor or administrator of the estate of such person if ordered to take possession of real property by a court.

PERSON

An individual, corporation, partnership, financial institution, bank, credit union, savings and loan company, investment firm, government agency, government authority, municipal corporation or any other group acting as a unit.

PREMISES

Has the same meaning as property.

PROPERTY

Any unimproved or improved real property, or portion thereof, located within the City. Included in this definition are the buildings or structures located on the property regardless of condition.

RUBBISH

Combustible and noncombustible waste materials, except garbage. The term shall include the residue from the burning of wood, coal, coke and other combustible materials, paper, rags, cartons, boxes, wood, excelsior, rubber, leather, tree branches, yard trimmings, tin cans, metals, mineral matter, glass, crockery and dust and other similar materials.

STRUCTURE

That which is built or constructed or a portion thereof.

VACANT

Any building, structure or property that is not legally occupied.

§ 80-2 Inspections.

Any person who owns vacant property within the City of Oil City shall perform, or contract to have performed, an inspection of the property within 10 days of purchase, and again prior to January 21 of each year, and, if a property is vacant, it shall be inspected by the owner, or his designee, monthly until the property becomes legally occupied or the property is legally sold to another person.

§ 80-3 Registration.

If any property is found to be vacant or abandoned or shows evidence of vacancy, the owner shall register the property with the Oil City Code Enforcement Office on a form or forms to be provided by the City and pay a registration fee established in § 80-7 of this chapter.

Registration shall contain:

(1)

The name of the owner(s) of the property;

(2)

The direct street/office mailing address of the owner(s) (no post office box addresses are permitted);

(3)

A direct contact name and phone number for the owner(s);

(4)

The local property management company responsible for the security, maintenance, marketing of the property; and

(5)

Any other information deemed necessary by the Oil City Code Enforcement Office.

Registration fees shall not be prorated.

The annual registration fee shall accompany the registration form.

The fee and registration shall be valid for the calendar year or remaining portion of the calendar year in which the registration was initially required.

Subsequent registrations and fees are due January 1 of each year.

Properties subject to registration under this chapter shall remain under the annual registration requirement, security and maintenance standards of this chapter for so long as they remain vacant.

Any owner or his designee that has registered a property under this chapter must report any change of information contained in the registration within 10 days of the change to the Oil City Code Office.

§ 80-4 Maintenance requirements.

Properties subject to registration under this chapter shall be kept free of weeds, high grass, dry brush, dead vegetation, trash, garbage, junk, debris, rubbish, clutter, building materials, any accumulation of newspapers, circulars, flyers, notices (except those required by federal, state or local law), discarded personal items, including, but not limited to, furniture, clothing, large and small appliances, printed material or any other items that give the appearance that the property is abandoned; and

The property shall be maintained free of graffiti, tagging or similar markings by removal or painting over with an exterior grade paint that matches the color of the exterior of the structure; and

Visible front and side yards shall be landscaped and maintained. "Landscape" includes, but is not limited to, grass, ground covers, bushes, shrubs, hedges or similar plantings, decorative rock or bark or artificial turf/sod designed specifically for residential installation. "Landscape" does not include weeds, gravel, broken concrete, asphalt, decomposed granite, plastic sheeting, mulch, indoor/outdoor carpet or any similar material; and

Pools and spas shall be kept in working order so the water remains clear and free of pollutants and debris or drained and kept dry. In either case, a property with a pool or spa must comply with the minimum security fencing requirements of the Oil City Property Maintenance Code; and

Adherence to this chapter does not relieve any property owner of any obligations set forth in any other ordinance of the City of Oil City, including, but not limited to, the Oil City Property Maintenance Code.[1]

[1]

Editor's Note: See Ch. 238, Property Maintenance.

§ 80-5 Security requirements.

Properties subject to registration under this chapter shall be maintained in a secure manner so as not to be accessible to unauthorized persons or vermin, rats and other pests.

"Secure manner" includes, but is not limited to, the closure and locking of windows, doors (walk-through, sliding and garage), gates and any other opening of such size that it may allow a child to access the interior of the property and/or structure(s). In the case of broken windows, securing means the reglazing or boarding of the window.

If a property has been condemned, the property shall be posted with the name and twenty-four-hour contact phone number of the owner and local property management company. The posting shall be no less than three inches by five inches and shall be of a font and writing that is legible and shall contain, along with the name, the City of Oil City vacant property registration number, a twenty-four-hour contact number and the words "THIS PROPERTY MANAGED BY" and "TO REPORT PROBLEMS OR CONCERNS CALL." The posting shall be placed on the interior of a window facing the street to the front of the property so it is visible or secured to the exterior of the building or structure facing the street to the front of the property or, if no such area exists, on an area of sufficient size to support the posting in a location that is visible to the front of the property, but not readily accessible to vandals. Exterior posting must be constructed of and printed with weather-resistant materials.

§ 80-6 Additional authority.

In addition to the enforcement remedies established in this chapter, the City of Oil City Code Enforcement Office shall have the authority to require the owner of any property affected by this chapter to implement additional maintenance and/or security measures, including, but not limited to, securing any and all door, window or other openings, installing additional security lighting, increasing on-site inspections frequency, employment of an on-site security guard or other measures as may be reasonably required to arrest the decline of the property.

§ 80-7 Fees; delinquent fees as lien.

The registration fee required under § 80-3 of this chapter shall be $25 per vacant property as defined in § 80-1. In addition to the yearly fee required by this chapter, any person who is found to be in violation of this chapter shall, upon conviction in any summary proceeding, post a one-time nonrefundable security deposit for each and every property owned and required to be registered by this chapter in an amount equal to 1/2 the assessed value of the registered property.

For any person who fails to pay the registration fee or the nonrefundable security deposit required in § 80-7A in full when due, said amount shall constitute a debt due and owing to the City, and the City may enter a lien on any violating property as provided by law.

§ 80-8 Enforcement.

Violations of this chapter shall be enforced by the Oil City Code Enforcement Office.

§ 80-9 Violations and penalties.

Any person who violates or permits the violation of any provision of this chapter shall, upon conviction in a summary proceeding, be subject to all costs of prosecution, a fine in the amount of not less than $500 and no more than $1,000 for the first two continual and uncorrected violations, or for the third and any subsequent continual and uncorrected violation, a fine of $1,000; or imprisonment for any term not exceeding 90 days in addition to those fines imposed in this section. Unpaid fines shall be registered as a lien against the violating property.