[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Supervisors
of the Township of Halfmoon 6-8-1995 by Ord. No. 1995-1. Amendments noted where
applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Subdivision of land — See Ch. 215.
This chapter shall be known as the "Building/Residence
Numbering Ordinance."
The Board of Supervisors of Halfmoon Township
find that the police, ambulance and fire services have had difficulty
locating homes and businesses on streets and roads due to the lack
of building identification numbers. To comply with the Centre County
911 emergency system, the Township is issuing street addresses with
numbers to each dwelling unit or business in the Township. It is the
purpose of this chapter to establish a system of numbering so that
police, ambulance and fire services can locate addresses in emergencies.
This chapter is authorized by Section 1520 of
the Second Class Township Code, 53 P.S. § 66520.
From and after the effective date of this chapter,
it shall be the duty of each owner of property to cause each dwelling
unit and each business upon each lot or parcel to be numbered in accordance
with this chapter.
The Halfmoon Township Board of Supervisors shall
appoint an individual, hereinafter referred to as the "Addressor,"
to be responsible for assigning numbers to dwellings and businesses
and each occupied lot or parcel. Any owner of property on which there
exists a dwelling unit or business which does not presently have a
number assigned to it shall apply to the Addressor for assignment
of a number.
The Addressor shall have the power and authority
to change numbers for the purpose of the orderly numbering of addresses.
The Addressor shall change the number of a dwelling or business by
sending a notice to the owner notifying the owner of the new number
assigned by first-class mail. The owner of the property receiving
such notice shall cause the numbers to be changed within 30 days of
receipt or posting of such notice by the Addressor.
The numbers shall be Arabic numbers or shall
be the English words for numbers, and shall be of durable materials.
Each digit or letter shall be at least four inches in height, with
a minimum stroke width of 0.5 inch. The colors shall be in contrast
with the immediate background so as to be easily readable.
Numbers shall be located and placed so as to
clearly identify the structure containing each dwelling unit or business
in accordance with the following regulations:
A.
The numbers shall be placed in a conspicuous place
so as to clearly identify the location of the dwelling unit or business.
B.
The placement of the numbers must be such that the
numbers can be seen and read in front of said dwelling unit or business
from the travelled portion of the street and from the opposite side
of the street.
C.
The number must be placed upon the dwelling unit or
building.
D.
If the dwelling unit can not be seen from the travelled
portion of the street or road, the numbers must be placed at the driveway
entrance upon a fence, wall, post, sign, or other fixture of substantial
nature such that the numbers shall clearly indicate the location of
the dwelling unit or business in accordance with the requirements
of this section.
It shall be unlawful to cover or conceal or
to permit the sight obstruction of the numbers required to be displayed
by this chapter. It shall further be unlawful to post other numbers
which would be confusing. All old numbers shall be removed when a
new number has been assigned by the Addressor in accordance with this
chapter.
The following definitions shall apply to this
chapter:
A building or portion of a building designed and occupied
by a nonresidential, commercial, industrial, institutional, governmental
or other nonresidential use.
A building or portion of a building designed to be occupied
by one family for human living quarters.
The term "owner" or "owner of property" shall include the
following:
The following buildings and uses shall be exempt
from the requirements of this chapter:
A.
Farm buildings and structures which are accessory
to a farm use except that buildings used for the retail sale of products
grown on the farm and farm residences shall be numbered.
B.
Buildings, structures, or uses accessory to the primary
use of a commercial, industrial, institutional, governmental or other
nonresidential use or structure.
C.
Unoccupied farm land or lots containing no dwellings
or businesses.
Any person who violates or permits a violation
of this chapter shall, upon conviction in a summary proceeding brought
before a Magisterial District Judge under the Pennsylvania Rules of
Criminal Procedure, be guilty of a summary offense and shall be punishable
by a fine of not more than $1,000, plus costs of prosecution. In default
of payment thereof, the defendant may be sentenced to imprisonment
for a term not exceeding 90 days. Each day or portion thereof that
such violation continues or is permitted to continue shall constitute
a separate offense, and each section of this chapter that is violated
shall also constitute a separate offense.
