[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Supervisors of the Township of
Worcester as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 8-21-1996 by Ord. No. 150]
Pursuant to Section 1601(d) [53 P.S. § 66601(d)] of the Second Class Township Code, the codification of a complete body of legislation for the Township of Worcester, County of Montgomery, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, as revised, codified and consolidated into titles, chapters and sections by General Code Publishers Corp., and consisting of Chapters 1 through 150, together with an Appendix, are hereby approved, adopted, ordained and enacted as a single ordinance of the Township of Worcester, which shall be known and is hereby designated as the "Code of the Township of Worcester," hereinafter referred to as the "Code."
The provisions of this Code, insofar as they are substantively the same as those of ordinances and resolutions in force immediately prior to the enactment of this ordinance, are intended as a continuation of such ordinances and resolutions and not as new enactments, and the effectiveness of such provisions shall date from the date of adoption of the prior ordinance or resolution. All such provisions are hereby continued in full force and effect and are hereby reaffirmed as to their adoption by the Board of Supervisors of the Township of Worcester, and it is the intention of said Board of Supervisors that each such provision contained within the Code is hereby reenacted and reaffirmed as it appears in said Code. Only such provisions of former ordinances as are omitted from this Code shall be deemed repealed or abrogated by the provisions of § 1-3 below, and only new or changed provisions, as described in § 1-6 below, shall be deemed to be enacted from the effective date of this Code, as provided in § 1-15 below.
All ordinances or parts of ordinances of a general and permanent nature adopted by the Township of Worcester and in force on the date of the adoption of this Code and not contained in the Code are hereby repealed as of the effective date given in § 1-15 below, except as hereinafter provided.
The adoption of this Code and the repeal of ordinances provided for in § 1-3 of this ordinance shall not affect the following ordinances, rights and obligations, which are hereby expressly saved from repeal; provided, however, that the repeal of ordinances pursuant to § 1-3 or the saving from repeal of ordinances pursuant to this section shall not be construed so as to revive any ordinance previously repealed, superseded or no longer of any effect:
A.
Any ordinance adopted subsequent to February 21, 1996.
B.
Any right or liability established, accrued or incurred
under any legislative provision of the Township prior to the effective date
of this ordinance or any action or proceeding brought for the enforcement
of such right or liability or any cause of action acquired or existing.
C.
Any offense or act committed or done before the effective
date of this ordinance in violation of any legislative provision of the Township
or any penalty, punishment or forfeiture which may result therefrom.
D.
Any prosecution, indictment, action, suit or other proceeding
pending or any judgment rendered prior to the effective date of this ordinance,
brought pursuant to any legislative provision of the Township.
E.
Any franchise, license, right, easement or privilege
heretofore granted or conferred by the Township or any lawful contract, obligation
or agreement.
F.
Any ordinance appropriating money or transferring funds,
promising or guaranteeing the payment of money or authorizing the issuance
and delivery of any bond of the Township or other instruments or evidence
of the Township's indebtedness.
G.
Any ordinance adopting an annual budget or establishing
an annual tax rate.
H.
Any ordinance providing for the levy, imposition or collection
of special taxes, assessments or charges.
I.
Any ordinance authorizing the purchase, sale, lease or
transfer of property or acquiring property by acceptance of deed, condemnation
or exercise of eminent domain.
J.
Any ordinance annexing land to the Township.
K.
Any ordinance providing for or requiring the construction
or reconstruction or opening of sidewalks, curbs and gutters.
L.
Any ordinance or part of an ordinance providing for laying
out, opening, altering, widening, relocating, straightening, establishing
grade, changing name, improvement, acceptance or vacation of any right-of-way,
easement, street, road, highway, sidewalk, park or other public place or property
or designating various streets as public highways.
M.
An ordinance establishing water, sewer or other special
purpose districts and designating the boundaries thereof; providing for a
system of sewers or water supply lines; or providing for the construction,
extension, dedication, acceptance or abandonment of any part of a system of
sewers or water supply lines.
N.
Any ordinance providing for the making of public improvements.
O.
Any ordinance providing for the salaries and compensation
of officers and employees of the Township or setting the bond of any officer
or employee.
P.
Any ordinance concerning changes and amendments to the
Zoning Map.
Q.
Any ordinance relating to or establishing a pension plan
or pension fund for municipal employees.
All ordinances and resolutions of a general and permanent nature adopted subsequent to the date given in § 1-4A and/or prior to the date of adoption of this ordinance are hereby deemed to be a part of the Code and shall, upon being printed, be included therein. Attested copies of all such ordinances and resolutions shall be temporarily placed in the Code until printed supplements are included.
A.
Nonsubstantive grammatical changes. In compiling and
preparing the ordinances and resolutions of the Township for adoption and
revision as part of the Code, certain nonsubstantive grammatical and style
changes were made in one or more of said ordinances and resolutions. It is
the intention of the Board of Supervisors that all such changes be adopted
as part of the Code as if the ordinances and resolutions so changed had been
previously formally amended to read as such.
B.
Substantive changes and revisions. In addition to the
changes and revisions described above, changes and revisions of a substantive
nature are hereby made to various ordinances and resolutions included in the
Code as set forth in Schedule A[1] attached hereto and made a part hereof. These changes are made to bring provisions into conformity with the desired policies of the Board of Supervisors, and it is the intent of the Board of Supervisors that all such changes be adopted as part of the Code as if the legislation so changed have been previously formally amended to read as such. All such changes and revisions shall be deemed to be in effect as of the effective date of the Code specified in § 1-15.
[1]
Editor's Note: In accordance with § 1-6B, the chapters, parts and sections which were added, amended, adopted or deleted by this ordinance are indicated throughout the Code by a footnote referring to Chapter 1, General Provisions, Article I. During routine supplementation, footnotes indicating amendments, additions or deletions will be replaced with the following history: "Amended (added, deleted) 8-21-1996 by Ord. No. 150." Schedule A, which contains a complete description of all changes, is on file in the Township offices.
C.
General nomenclature. The following nomenclature changes
are hereby made throughout this Code:
(1)
The term "Justice of the Peace" is hereby changed to
"District Justice."
(2)
The term "Department of Environmental Resources" is hereby
changed to "Department of Environmental Protection."
(3)
The term "Department of Highways" is hereby changed to
"Department of Transportation," and the abbreviation "PDH" is hereby changed
to "PennDOT."
In interpreting and applying the provisions of the Code, they shall
be held to be the minimum requirements for the promotion of the public health,
safety, comfort, convenience and general welfare. Where the provisions of
the Code impose greater restrictions or requirements than those of any statute,
other ordinance, resolution or regulation, the provisions of the Code shall
control. Where the provisions of any statute, other ordinance, resolution
or regulation impose greater restrictions or requirements, the provisions
of such statute, other ordinance, resolution or regulation shall control.
A.
Chapter and article titles, headings and titles of sections
and other divisions in the Code or in supplements made to the Code are inserted
in the Code and may be inserted in supplements to the Code for the convenience
of persons using the Code and are not part of the legislation.
B.
Editor's notes indicating sources of sections, giving
other information or referring to the statutes or to other parts of the Code
are inserted in the Code and may be inserted in supplements to the Code for
the convenience of persons using the Code and are not part of the legislation.
Three copies of the Code in a post-bound volume shall be filed with
the Ordinance Book in the office of the Township Secretary and shall remain
there for use and examination by the public. Upon adoption, such copies shall
be certified to by the Township Secretary, as provided by law, and such certified
copies shall remain on file in the office of the Township Secretary, available
to persons desiring to examine the same during all times while said Code is
in effect.
Any and all additions, deletions, amendments or supplements to the Code,
when passed and adopted in such form as to indicate the intention of the Board
of Supervisors to be a part thereof, shall be deemed to be incorporated into
such Code so that reference to the Code shall be understood and intended to
include such changes. Whenever such additions, deletions, amendments or supplements
to the Code shall be adopted, they shall thereafter be printed and, as provided
hereunder, inserted in the post-bound book containing said Code as amendments
and supplements thereto.
It shall be the duty of the Township Secretary or someone authorized
and directed by him or her to keep up-to-date the certified copies of the
book containing the Code required to be filed in the office of the Township
Secretary for the use of the public. All changes in said Code and all legislation
adopted by the Board of Supervisors subsequent to the effective date of this
codification which the Board of Supervisors shall adopt specifically as part
of the Code shall, when finally adopted, be included therein by reference
until such changes or new legislation are printed as supplements to said Code
books, at which time such supplements shall be inserted therein.
The Township Secretary, pursuant to law, shall cause to be published
in the manner required a notice of the introduction and of the adoption of
the Code in a newspaper of general circulation in the Township. The enactment
and application of this ordinance, coupled with the publication of the notices
of introduction and adoption, as required by law, and the availability of
copies of the Code for inspection by the public, shall be deemed, held and
considered to be due and legal publication of all provisions of the Code for
all purposes.
It shall be unlawful for anyone to improperly change or amend, by additions
or deletions, or to alter or tamper with the Code or any part or portion thereof,
in any manner whatsoever, which will cause the law of the Township to be misrepresented
thereby. Anyone violating this section of this ordinance shall, upon conviction
thereof, be punished by a fine not exceeding $600, plus costs of prosecution,
and, in default of payment thereof, by imprisonment for a term not exceeding
30 days.
The provisions of this ordinance and of the Code adopted hereby are
severable, and if any clause, sentence, subsection, section, article, chapter
or part thereof shall be adjudged by any court of competent jurisdiction to
be illegal, invalid or unconstitutional, such judgment or decision shall not
affect, impair or invalidate the remainder thereof but shall be confined in
its operation and application to the clause, sentence, subsection, section,
article, chapter or part thereof rendered. It is hereby declared to be the
intent of the Board of Supervisors that this ordinance and the Code would
have been adopted if such illegal, invalid or unconstitutional clause, sentence,
subsection, section, article, chapter or part thereof had not been included
therein.
All provisions of this ordinance and of the Code shall be in force and
effect on and after August 21, 1996.
[Adopted 10-10-1988 by Ord. No. 104]
[Amended 2-18-1998 by Ord. No. 161]
A.
Fines and penalties for violations of all ordinances
of Worcester Township heretofore and hereafter enacted in the nature of building,
housing, property maintenance, health, fire or public safety codes or ordinances
and for water, air and noise pollution violations shall not exceed $1,000
for each violation, as well as attorney's fees and costs. Enforcement shall
be by legal action brought by a Township official on behalf of the Township
before a District Justice in the same manner provided for the enforcement
of summary offenses under the Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal Procedure. In
addition to or instead of enforcement of summary offenses, the Township may
also enforce ordinances through an action in equity brought in the Court of
Common Pleas.
B.
Excepting those ordinances enumerated in § 1-18A hereof, fines and penalties for violations of all other ordinances of Worcester Township heretofore or hereafter enacted shall not exceed $600 for each violation, as well as attorney's fees and costs. Enforcement of ordinances under this subsection shall be by a civil enforcement proceeding initiated by a Township official on behalf of the Township. The civil enforcement proceeding shall be initiated by complaint or by such other means as may be provided by the Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure.
C.
A separate offense shall arise for each day or portion
thereof in which a violation of a Worcester Township ordinance is found to
exist or for each section of a Township ordinance which is found to have been
violated.
[Amended 8-21-1996 by Ord. No. 150]
In addition to any other remedies provided by law, proceedings for the
violation of ordinances of Worcester Township and for the collection of fines
and penalties and the municipality's attorney's fees, to the extent permissible
by law, imposed hereby shall be by suit or summary proceeding brought in the
name of Worcester Township before the District Justice having jurisdiction
and may be commenced by warrant or by summons, at the discretion of the District
Justice before whom the proceeding is commenced. No warrant shall be issued
except upon complaint on oath or affirmation specifying the ordinance for
the violation of which the same is issued. All fines and penalties collected
for the violations of Township ordinances shall be paid over to the Township
treasury. Upon judgment against any person by summary conviction, or by proceedings
by summons on default of the payment of the fine or penalty imposed and the
costs, said person may be sentenced and committed to the county prison for
a period not exceeding 30 days.
A.
B.
This article will not affect, amend, modify or repeal
any provisions of the statutes of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
[Added 8-21-1996 by Ord. No. 150]
