In addition to any specific contractual agreements between owners and
occupants with respect to responsibilities, the following shall apply.
A.
Every owner and/or occupant of a dwelling unit or rooming
unit shall be responsible for maintaining and cleaning the sanitary condition
of the interior and exterior of the premises or buildings he occupies or controls.
Every owner and/or occupant shall be responsible for maintaining in a clean
and sanitary condition the shared or public areas within and around such buildings
or premises and shall remove from the exterior of all such buildings or premises
all graffiti, outdated posters, signs or decorations within seven days following
notification from the Township of Marple. "Notification," for purposes of
this section, shall mean written notification mailed to the owner and/or occupant
or posting a notice on the subject premises in a conspicuous place. The date
of the notice shall be the date that the written notification is mailed to
the owner and/or occupant or the date of the notice posted on the premises.
[Amended by Ord. No. 97-5]
B.
Every dwelling in which animals of any kind are housed
must be kept clean and free from animal droppings and obnoxious odors. In
the event that the animals are housed in other accessory structures, these
structures and the surrounding yard shall be clean and free of animal droppings
and obnoxious odors.
Every occupant of a dwelling unit or rooming unit shall be responsible
for the exercise of proper care in the use and operation of all plumbing fixtures,
appliances and equipment therein. Every owner of a building containing two
or more dwelling and/or rooming units shall be responsible for keeping supplied
facilities in proper operating condition.
A.
Every occupant of a dwelling unit or rooming unit shall
dispose of rubbish, garbage and other refuse in accordance with the regulations
of Marple Township governing such matters. In a structure containing three
or more dwelling and/or rooming units, it shall be the responsibility of the
owner to assure that adequate rubbish and garbage containers are provided.
B.
Rubbish stored outdoors shall be stored in one or more
rubbish storage containers which are flytight, rodentproof, nonflammable,
waterproof and weatherproof. Such storage container shall be either a metal
container which is enclosed in a four-sided fence structure or an approved
compactor for all multi-unit buildings.
C.
Rubbish stored in the basement or cellar or in an enclosed
structure such as a shed shall be stored in nonflammable containers.
D.
No loose rubbish shall be placed upon or strewn about
on the floor of any basement or cellar or any other part of any dwelling or
on the ground surrounding any dwelling.
E.
Garbage is to be wrapped and stored in one or more flytight
and watertight metal garbage storage containers equipped with tightly fitting
metal covers, no one of which is smaller than 10 gallons in capacity or larger
than 30 gallons in capacity.
F.
Every outside or inside garbage or rubbish storage container
shall be so maintained and so located on the premises that no odors will permeate
any dwelling or dwelling units.
G.
No loose garbage shall be placed upon or strewn about
on the floor of any basement or cellar or any other part of any dwelling or
on the ground surrounding any dwelling.
H.
Waste storage facilities shall be so located and designed
that access can be had at all times by waste collectors. Parking in front
of such facilities shall be prohibited and enforced by the owner.
The renter-occupant of a dwelling containing a single dwelling unit
shall be responsible for the extermination of any rodents, vermin or other
pests therein or on the premises. In a structure containing two or more dwelling
and/or rooming units, the occupant shall be responsible for such extermination
whenever his unit is the only one infested. When, however, infestation of
any unit is caused by failure of the owner to maintain such unit in rodentproof
condition or when two or more units within a structure are infested, extermination
shall be the responsibility of the owner.
No owner, operator or occupant shall cause any service, facility, equipment
or utility which is required to be supplied under the provisions of this chapter
to be removed from, shut off from or discontinued for any occupied dwelling
unit or rooming unit, except for necessary repairs, alterations or emergencies.
[Amended 12-22-1975 by Ord. No. 75-15; 11-12-1985
by Ord. No. 85-15; 6-12-1989 by Ord.
No. 89-15]
A.
No person shall occupy or permit to be occupied by another
any vacant dwelling, condominium, dwelling unit or rooming unit unless or
until it has been inspected and determined by the Code Enforcement Officer
to be in good repair, clean, sanitary, in a habitable condition and in complete
compliance with all provisions of this chapter.
B.
All dwellings shall be inspected and approved, and an
inspection fee as set from time to time by resolution of the Board of Commissioners
shall be paid to the Township of Marple prior to the sale, transfer or settlement
of any dwelling.
C.
All rental dwellings, dwelling units or rooming units
shall be inspected and approved, and an inspection fee as set from time to
time by resolution of the Board of Commissioners shall be paid to the Township
of Marple prior to any occupancy of the above specified units.
D.
On any sale or transfer of property, the seller is responsible
for the repair of public sidewalks, driveway apron, and curb. When curbing
and sidewalks are replaced, handicapped ramps must be installed at the corners
according to American National Standards Institute specifications.
[Amended 6-8-1992 by Ord. No. 92-12; 3-14-1994
by Ord. No. 94-9]
(1)
In addition, all underground facilities (whether operational
or abandoned), including but not limited to septic tanks, water wells, oil
tanks, cesspools, drainage tile fields for cesspools and septic tanks, runoff
detention basins, infiltration basins and other tanks of any kind whatsoever,
must be delineated in full on the proper forms prior to the sale or resale
of any property within the Township and submitted to the Department of Code
Enforcement for issuance of the necessary certificate of occupancy.
(2)
In addition, where potable water is being obtained from
an on-site well a test of the water from said well shall be performed by a
PADEP-certified laboratory with analysis dated no more than one year prior
to the date of the application for a certificate of occupancy. All parameters
currently required for FHA mortgage financing shall be required and a copy
of the analytical test results shall be provided to the Marple Township Department
of Code Enforcement. No such tests shall be required where the property receives
potable water from a public water supplier.
(3)
In addition, it a test of indoor air for radon gas has
been performed, the applicant for a certificate of occupancy shall submit
to the Department of Code Enforcement a copy of the test results along with
a description of any corrective measures that have been taken.
E.
All mobile homes shall be inspected and approved by the
Code Enforcement Officer and an inspection fee as set from time to time by
resolution of the Board of Commissioners shall be paid to the Township of
Marple prior to the sale, transfer or settlement of any mobile home.
F.
A certificate of occupancy will not be issued until all
violations are corrected and a reinspection is made by the Code Enforcement
Officer. The fee for reinspection will be as set from time to time by resolution
of the Board of Commissioners.
G.
On the sale or transfer of any property in Marple Township,
the seller shall certify that no sump pump or other facility is connected
to or discharges into the Marple Township sanitary sewer system.
[Added 9-8-2003 by Ord. No. 2003-16]
Every owner of a building containing two or more dwelling and/or rooming
units shall be responsible for providing every window, door or other opening
to the exterior with effective screening protection against mosquitoes, flies
and other insects.
Every owner of a building containing two or more dwelling and/or rooming
units shall be responsible for maintaining the temperature in every occupied
unit in such building at not less than 68° F. during the hours from 7:00
a.m. until 10:00 p.m. and not less than 60° F. during the intervening
hours.
A.
Sidewalks, together with any portion of a property that
is paved and used as a sidewalk or public walk, whether in front or in the
entire interior or to the side of the property, shall be kept in good repair
and free from large cracks, raised blocks, depressions or any condition which
could render the sidewalk hazardous to pedestrian travel.
B.
Sidewalks shall at all times be kept free and clear of
all obstruction to safe and convenient passage and free from any merchandise
placed there for display or sale.
C.
Tree branches, bushes or any other growth shall not project
over any sidewalk lower than a height of 6 1/2 feet (six feet six inches),
nor shall they protrude in such a manner as to restrict safe and convenient
passage.
D.
In multiple dwellings, all sidewalks, together with any
portion of a property that is paved and used as a sidewalk or public walk,
whether in front or in the entire interior or to the side of the property,
shall be kept in good repair and free from large cracks, raised blocks, depressions
or any condition which could render the sidewalk hazardous to pedestrian travel.
Such sidewalks or public walks shall also be kept free and clear of all obstruction
to safe and convenient passage, including snow and ice, which must be removed
within 12 hours after same shall have ceased to fall or to form.
