[HISTORY: Adopted by the Council of the City
of Sunbury 11-14-2005 by Ord. No. 1242-A. Amendments noted where
applicable.]
The City adopts this chapter so that the City
Council shall have the legal authority to designate a property as
a "nuisance property."
A property may be listed as a nuisance property
if the following events occur:
A.
The Code Administration Office has received more than
three founded complaints on a property in violation of the Property
Maintenance Code.[1] The complaints may be filed either through the Code Administration
Office or through the Sunbury Police Department; and
B.
The property owner has not resolved the issue under
complaint to the satisfaction of the Code Administration Office; and
C.
City Council has voted that the property shall be
listed as a nuisance property at a public meeting after giving notice
of the upcoming vote by regular mail and the posting of the property.
[Amended 4-25-2022]
The process for the appeal relative to a nuisance
property designation shall be that the property owner shall have a
period of 30 days from the date of notice of the nuisance property
determination in which to file a notice of appeal to the City Council
and pay a $150 fee with the Office of the City Clerk. A hearing shall
then be held before the City Council within 30 days of the date of
the filing of said notice. Upon receipt of the written decision of
the City Council, after a hearing before the same, the owner shall
have 30 days to file an appeal before the Northumberland County Court
of Common Pleas and pay any and all necessary fees commensurate therewith.
The list of properties deemed to be a nuisance
property shall be available for public inspection. Property owners
should recognize that a specific nuisance property may be advertised
from time to time as the City Council deems appropriate.
The Code Administration Office will not give
property owners warnings prior to issuing citations for properties
that are on the nuisance property list.
The City Council shall have the authority to
remove the nuisance property designation. The City Council shall consider
the following factors: The absence of citations for a six-month period,
the completion of a satisfactory inspection of the property by the
Code Administration Office or the absence of a founded complaint for
a six-month period.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. I)]
The City, through its Code Administration Office
or the Sunbury Police Department, may file a citation against the
property owner if a property has been determined to be a nuisance
property. Upon conviction, the fine shall be not more than $1,000,
plus costs of prosecution, or 90 days' imprisonment, or both.
