[HISTORY: Adopted by the Borough Council
of the Borough of Ephrata 4-14-2003 by Ord. No. 1363. Amendments noted
where applicable.]
A.
BREEDING AREA
COLLECTION OF WATER
COVERED RECEPTACLE
DEP
DISPOSAL
GARBAGE
HARBORAGE
NUISANCE
OWNER
(1)
(2)
PERSON
REFUSE
RUBBISH
VECTOR
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall
have the meanings indicated, unless a different meaning clearly appears
from the context:
Any condition which provides the necessary environment for
the birth or hatching of vectors.
Water contained in ditches, pools, ponds, streams, excavations,
holes, depressions, open cesspools, privy vaults, fountains, cisterns,
tanks, shallow wells, barrels, troughs, urns, cans, boxes, bottles,
tubs, buckets, roof gutters, tanks of flush closets, reservoirs, vessels,
receptacles of any kind, or other containers or devices which may
hold water.
A container of metal, wood, heavy-duty plastic or synthetic
material of solid construction, with a tight-fitting cover secured
against wind and leakage.
Department of Environmental Protection, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Storage, collection, disposal or handling of refuse.
The animal and vegetable waste resulting from the handling,
preparation, cooking and consumption of food.
Any place where vectors can live, nest or seek shelter.
Any condition, structure, or improvement which shall constitute
a threat or potential threat to the public health, safety, or welfare.
Any person who, alone or jointly or severally with others
shall have:
Legal title to any premises, dwelling or dwelling
unit, with or without accompanying actual possession thereof; or
Charge, care, or control of any premises, dwelling
or dwelling unit, as owner, lessee or agent of the owner, or an executor,
administrator, trustee or guardian of the estate of the owner. Any
such person thus representing the actual owner shall be bound to comply
with the provisions of this chapter and of the rules and regulations
adopted pursuant thereto, to the same extent as if he were the owner.
Any natural person, firm, partnership, association, corporation,
or other legal entity.
All solid wastes, except human body wastes, and including
handling of refuse.
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.
A rodent, arthropod, or insect capable of transmitting a
disease or infection, including but not limited to rats, mosquitoes,
cockroaches, flies and ticks.
B.
In this chapter, the singular shall include the plural;
the plural shall include the singular; and the masculine shall include
the feminine and the neuter.
It shall be unlawful for any owner, lessee or
other person to deposit or to knowingly permit any person acting as
agent, employee, or servant of said person to store, permit to accumulate
or maintain abandoned, unused, stripped, damaged and generally unusable
appliances, machinery, merchandise or equipment, or construction materials
in the open on private property. Such storage or accumulation shall
constitute a nuisance and/or health hazard if any of the following
conditions exist:
A.
Broken glass or metal parts with sharp or protruding
edges.
B.
Containers which are conducive to the harboring and
growth of vermin or animals.
C.
Storage in any manner which would allow equipment,
merchandise, machinery, material or any parts thereof to easily shift,
tilt, or fall from its original storage position.
D.
Containers of any liquid or material of a hazardous
or potentially hazardous nature, including, but not limited to, gasoline,
oil, battery acids, refrigeration agents, and poisons and excluding
those containers specifically designed, constructed and maintained
for home heating fuels or cooking.
E.
Refrigerators and/or freezers with any door remaining
attached.
F.
Accumulation in or upon any premises, improved or
vacant, or on any open lot, or alley, of any building materials, lumber,
boxes, barrels, bottles, cans, glass, scrap iron, wire, metal articles,
pipe, broken stone or cement, broken crockery, broken plaster, packaging
materials, or rubbish of any kind, unless the same may be kept in
covered receptacles; or unless disposed of in a manner approved by
DEP.
G.
Storage of refuse in containers other than covered
receptacles, which shall be kept clean by rinsing and draining as
often as necessary so as not to provide food or breeding areas for
vectors.
H.
Storage or leaving of any machinery or equipment used
by contractors or builders or by other persons in such a manner as
to afford harborages or breeding areas for vectors.
I.
Causing or maintaining any condition on a property
that permits collection of water in which mosquitoes breed or are
likely to breed.
J.
Any other condition which shall threaten the public
health, safety or welfare.
A.
Storage of such items as listed in § 217-2 hereof on private property shall be permitted only in strict compliance with the regulations provided herein or with stricter regulations in other Borough ordinances or state or federal laws. Any such nuisance(s) must be stored within a garage or other enclosed building or outside within an opaque fence of at least six feet in height (other than a fence constructed to enclose a yard or to separate properties) specifically designed to enclose said items, which fence is locked at all times when unattended.
Upon conviction and thereafter in the event any person shall fail to correct, abate or otherwise remove the nuisance item or items as listed in § 217-2 hereof, the Borough of Ephrata shall have the authority to take measures to correct the conditions and collect the cost of such corrections plus 10% of all costs. The Borough of Ephrata, in such event and pursuant to its statutory or otherwise authorized police powers, shall have the right and power to enter upon the offending premises to accomplish the foregoing.
[Amended 6-11-2007 by Ord. No. 1426; 9-11-2023 by Ord. No. 1576]
A.
Any person or persons who shall violate any provision of this chapter
shall, upon conviction, for each and every such violation or failure
to comply be sentenced to pay a fine of not more than $1,000 and costs
of prosecution. Each day that a violation of a provision of this chapter
continues shall constitute a separate offense.
B.
The Code Enforcement Official or Ephrata Borough Police Department
are hereby duly authorized to issue a ticket in a form established
by the Borough to any owner, occupant, or person causing a nuisance,
as applicable, in violation of the provisions of this chapter. The
ticket shall identify the address of the property where the violation
exists, as well as the nature of the violation. The ticket may be
handed to an owner or occupant of the property, affixed to a door
on the property where the violation exists fronting a right-of-way,
or conspicuously posted on the property. The ticket shall instruct
such violator that if he, she, or they reports to the Borough office
and pays to the Borough the sum of up to $100 for a first offense,
$150 for a second offense, and $200 for each subsequent offense within
a calendar year, within 10 days of the date of issuance of the ticket,
then such payment shall save such violator from prosecution by a citation,
which prosecution may result in court costs and attorneys' fees
being assessed against the violator in addition to the fine. In any
event, if a ticket is not paid in full within 10 days of issuance,
the official authorized to issue tickets shall issue a citation to
the violator, or initiate other appropriate enforcement action. Notwithstanding
the foregoing, the Code Enforcement Official or his designee(s) shall
have the sole and absolute discretion to issue a citation without
first issuing a ticket as provided for herein.
The remedies provided herein for the enforcement
of this chapter, or any remedy provided by law or at equity, shall
not be deemed mutually exclusive; rather they may be employed simultaneously
or consecutively at the option of the Council of the Borough of Ephrata.
Unless specifically provided for herein, the provisions of this chapter shall not be interpreted in such a manner as to be limited by or to limit, restrict or prohibit the enforcement of the provisions of Chapter 245, Property Maintenance, or those of Chapter 271, Solid Waste, of the Code of the Borough of Ephrata. All other ordinances or parts of ordinances which are inconsistent herewith are hereby repealed.
