[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 9-8-2015 by Ord.
No. 2761]
All food and feed within the Township of Haverford,
Delaware County, for feeding animals and birds shall be stored in
rodent-free and rodentproof containers, compartments, rooms or buildings.
[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.
[Amended 9-8-2015 by Ord.
No. 2761]
It shall be unlawful for any person to place,
leave, dump or permit to accumulate any garbage, rubbish or trash
in any building or any premises, improved or vacant, or on any open
lot or alley in the Township of Haverford in such a manner that same
shall or may afford food or harborage for rodents.
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.
It shall be unlawful for any person to permit
any weeds to grow in excess of eight inches in height on any premises,
improved or vacant, or on any open lot or alley in the Township of
Haverford.
[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.