[Adopted 2-8-1971 by Ord. No. 1412]
For the purposes of this article, the following definitions shall apply:
BUSINESS BUILDINGS
Any structure, whether public or private, that is adapted for occupancy for the transaction of business; for rendering of professional service; for amusement; for the display, sale or storage of goods, wares or merchandise; or for the performance of work or labor, including hotels, apartment buildings, tenement houses, rooming houses, office buildings, public buildings, stores, theaters, markets, restaurants, foodprocessing plants, warehouses, workshops and factories; and all outhouses, sheds, barns and other structures on premises used for business purposes.
DIRECTOR
The Director of the Department of Code Enforcement.
[Amended 6-30-1986 by Ord. No. 1960; 5-14-2012 by Ord. No. 2666]
OCCUPANT
The individual, partnership, association or corporation that uses or occupies any business building or part or fraction thereof, whether the actual owner, agent or custodian shall have the responsibility as occupant.
OWNER
The actual owner, agent or custodian of the business building, whether individual, partnership, association or corporation. The lessee shall be construed as the owner for the purpose of this article when business building agreements hold the lessee responsible for maintenance and repairs.
PERSON
Individual, partnership, association or corporation.
RODENT ERADICATION
The elimination or extermination of rodents within buildings by any or all of the accepted measures, such as poisoning, fumigation, trapping and clubbing.
[Amended 9-8-2015 by Ord. No. 2761]
RODENT HARBORAGE
Any condition which provides shelter or protection for rodents, thus favoring their multiplication and continued existence in, under or outside any structure.
[Amended 9-8-2015 by Ord. No. 2761]
RODENTPROOFING
Applies to a form of construction to prevent the ingress of rodents into business buildings from the exterior or from one building or establishment to another. It consists essentially of treating, with material impervious to rodents gnawing, all actual or potential openings in exterior walls, ground or first floors, basements, roofs and foundations that may be reached by climbing or by burrowing.
[Amended 9-8-2015 by Ord. No. 2761]
RODENT
Any rat or mouse not kept as a domestic pet.
[Added 9-8-2015 by Ord. No. 2761]
[Amended 6-30-1986 by Ord. No. 1960; 5-14-2012 by Ord. No. 2666; 9-8-2015 by Ord. No. 2761]
All business buildings in the Township of Haverford shall be rodentproofed, freed of rodents and maintained in a rodentproof and rodent-free condition to the satisfaction of the Director.
[Amended 6-30-1986 by Ord. No. 1960; 5-14-2012 by Ord. No. 2666; 9-8-2015 by Ord. No. 2761]
Upon receipt of written notice and/or order from the Director, the owner of any business building specified therein shall take immediate measures for rodentproofing the building, and unless said work and improvements have been completed by the owner in the time specified in a written notice, in no event to be less than 15 days or within the time to which a written extension may have been granted by the Director, the owner shall be deemed guilty of an offense under the provisions of this article.
[Amended 6-30-1986 by Ord. No. 1960; 5-14-2012 by Ord. No. 2666; 9-8-2015 by Ord. No. 2761]
Whenever the Director notifies the occupant or occupants of a business building, in writing, that there is evidence of rodent infestation of the building, said occupant or occupants shall immediately institute rodent eradication measures and shall continuously maintain such measures in a satisfactory manner until the premises are declared by the Director to be free of rodent infestation. Unless said measures are undertaken within five days after receipt of the notice, it shall be construed as a violation of the provisions of this article and the occupant shall be held responsible therefor.
[Amended 6-30-1986 by Ord. No. 1960; 5-14-2012 by Ord. No. 2666; 9-8-2015 by Ord. No. 2761]
The owners of all rodentproofed business buildings are required to maintain the premises in a rodentproof condition and to repair all breaks or leaks that may occur in the rodentproofing without further written notice.
[Amended 6-30-1986 by Ord. No. 1960; 5-14-2012 by Ord. No. 2666; 9-8-2015 by Ord. No. 2761]
From and after passage of this article, the Director is empowered to make periodic inspections of the interior and exterior of business buildings to determine full compliance with this article, and the Director shall make periodic inspections at intervals of all rodentproofed buildings to determine evidence of rodent infestation and the existence of new breaks or leaks in their rodentproofing, and when any evidence is found indicating the presence of rodents or opening through which rodents may again enter business buildings, the Director shall serve the owners or occupants with notice and/or orders to abate the conditions found.
[Amended 6-30-1986 by Ord. No. 1960; 5-14-2012 by Ord. No. 2666; 9-8-2015 by Ord. No. 2761]
Whenever, in the opinion of the Director, conditions inside or under occupied business buildings provide extensive harborage for rodents, said Director is empowered, after due notification in accordance with § 138-8, to close such business buildings until such time as the conditions are abated by rodentproofing and harborage removal, including, if necessary, the installation of suitable concrete floors in basements or replacement of wooden first or ground floors with concrete or other major repairs necessary to facilitate rodent eradication.
[Amended 6-30-1986 by Ord. No. 1960; 5-14-2012 by Ord. No. 2666; 9-8-2015 by Ord. No. 2761]
Whenever, in the opinion of the Director, conditions inside or under unoccupied business buildings provide extensive harborage for rodents, said Director is empowered to require compliance with the provisions of § 138-8, and, in the event that said conditions are not corrected in a period of 60 days or within the time to which a written extension may have been granted by the Director, the Director is empowered to institute condemnation and destruction proceedings.
[Amended 9-8-2015 by Ord. No. 2761]
It shall be unlawful under the provisions of this article for the occupant, owner, contractor, public utility company, plumber or any other person to remove and fail to restore in like condition the rodentproofing from any business building for any purpose. Further, it shall be unlawful for any person or agent to make any new openings that are not closed or sealed against the entrance of rodents.
[Amended 9-8-2015 by Ord. No. 2761]
It shall be unlawful for any person hereafter to construct, repair or remodel any building, dwelling, stable or market or other structure whatsoever unless such construction, repair, remodeling or installation shall render the building or other structure rodentproof in accordance with the provisions of this article. The provisions of this section apply only to such construction, repairs, remodeling or installation as affect the rodentproof condition of any building or other structure.
It shall be unlawful for any person hereafter to occupy any new or existing business buildings wherein foodstuffs are to be stored, kept, handled, sold, held or offered for sale without complying with § 138-15 of this article, and unless the provisions of this section are complied with, no township license or permit to conduct or carry on such business, as defined above, will be issued.
[Amended 6-30-1986 by Ord. No. 1960; 5-14-2012 by Ord. No. 2666; 9-8-2015 by Ord. No. 2761]
Within the corporate limits of the Township of Haverford, all garbage or refuse consisting of animal or vegetable waste matter upon which rodents may feed and all small dead animals shall be placed and stored until collected in covered metal containers of a type prescribed by the Director. It is further declared unlawful for any person to dump or place or permit the dumping or placing on any premises, land or waterway any dead animals or any vegetable or animal waste matter of any kind except in accordance with Article IV of this chapter.
It shall be unlawful for any person to place or permit to accumulate on any premises, improved or vacant, or on any open lot or alley in the Township of Haverford any lumber, boxes, barrels, bottles, cans, containers or similar materials unless same shall be placed on open racks that are elevated not less than 18 inches above the ground and evenly piled or stacked.
[Amended 6-30-1986 by Ord. No. 1960; 6-13-1988 by Ord. No. 2019; 3-12-2012 by Ord. No. 2660; 5-14-2012 by Ord. No. 2666]
Any person, firm or corporation violating any provision of this article shall, upon summary conviction before any Magisterial District Justice, pay a fine not exceeding $1,000 and costs of prosecution; and in default of one payment of the fine and costs, the violator may be sentenced to the county jail for a term of not more than 30 days. Each and every day in which any person, firm or corporation shall be in violation of this article shall constitute a separate offense.