[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Supervisors
of the Township of West Deer as indicated in article histories. Amendments
noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 9-14-1972 by Ord. No. 92]
The duties and responsibilities imposed by law
upon each owner or occupier of property abutting upon streets and
highways in West Deer Township for the proper maintenance of the sidewalk
area of such street or highway adjoining his or her premises and extending
between the building line and the curb or cartway line, including
pavement, structures, vegetation, trees and other things therein,
are hereby confirmed.
A Shade Tree Commission is hereby established
for West Deer Township in accordance with the Act of May 1, 1933,
P.L. 103, as reenacted and amended July 10, 1947, P.L. 1481, and amended
by Act of 1959, August 11, adding Article XIX-B.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 66971
et seq.
The Commission shall be composed of three residents
of the Township who shall be appointed by the Township Supervisors
and shall serve without compensation, one for a term of three years,
one for a term of four years and one for a term of five years. On
the expiration of a term of any Shade Tree Commissioner, a successor
shall be appointed by the Township Supervisors to serve for a term
of five years. Vacancies in the Office of the Shade Tree Commission
shall be filled by the Township Supervisors for the unexpired term.
The Commission shall have exclusive custody
and control of the shade trees in the Township and is authorized to
plant, remove, maintain and protect shade trees on the public streets
and highways in the Township.
The Commission may, with the approval of the
Township Supervisors, employ and pay such superintendents, engineers,
foresters, tree wardens or other assistants as the power and performance
of the duties devolving upon it shall require and may make, publish
and enforce regulations for the care and protection of the shade trees
of the Township. No such regulation shall be in force until it has
been approved by the Township Supervisors and until it has been published
at least twice in two newspapers circulating in the Township.
The Shade Tree Commission shall annually report
in full to the Township Supervisors its transactions and expenses
for the last fiscal year of the Township.
The Commission may, upon 15 days' written notice,
require owners of property to cut and remove trees afflicted with
the Dutch elm or other disease which threatens to injure or destroy
shade trees in the Township, under regulations prescribed by ordinance.
Upon failure of any such owner to comply with such notice, the Township
may cause the work to be done by the Township and levy and collect
the costs thereof from the owner of the property. The cost of such
work shall be a lien upon the premises from the time of the commencement
of the work, which date shall be fixed by the Township Engineer and
shall be filed with the Township Manager/Secretary. Any such lien
may be collected by action in assumpsit or by lien filed in the manner
provided by law for the filing and collection of municipal claims.
A.Â
Upon the filing of the certificate with the Township
Supervisors, the Township Manager/Secretary shall cause 30 days' written
notice to be given to the persons against whose property an assessment
has been made. The notice shall state the amount of the assessment
and the time and place of payment and shall be accompanied by a copy
of the certificate.
B.Â
The amount assessed against the real estate shall
be a lien from the time of the filing of the certificate with the
Township Supervisors, and, if not paid within the time designated
in the notice, a claim may be filed and collected by the Township
in the same manner as municipal claims are filed and collected.
The cost and expense of caring for any trees
which may have been planted by the Commission and the expense of publishing
the notice hereinbefore provided shall be paid by the Township. The
needed amount, if any, shall each year be certified by the Shade Tree
Commissioners to the Township Supervisors and shall be drawn against,
as required by the Commission, in the same manner as money appropriated
for Township purposes.
[Amended 1-22-1997 by Ord. No. 265; 4-20-2016 by Ord. No. 408]
Any person, partnership or corporation who or
which has violated or permitted the violation of any provision of
this article or any order of the Shade Tree Commission, upon being
found liable therefor in a civil enforcement proceeding commenced
by the Township, shall pay a judgment of not more than $600, plus
all court costs. No judgment shall commence or be imposed, levied
or payable until the date of the determination of a violation by a
Magisterial District Judge. If the defendant neither pays nor timely
appeals the judgment, the Township may enforce the judgment pursuant
to the applicable rules of civil procedure, at which time, in addition
to any penalties, the violator shall be liable for any attorneys’
fees and costs incurred by the Township. Each day that a violation
continues or each section of this article which shall be found to
have been violated shall constitute a separate violation.
