Township of Middletown, PA Chapter 363 Property Maintenance

[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Supervisors of the Township of Middletown as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]

Article I International Property Maintenance Code

[Adopted 9-8-2020 by Ord. No. 20-07[1]; amended in its entirety 4-4-2022 by Ord. No. 22-02]

[1] Editor's Note: This ordinance also repealed former Art. I, International Property Maintenance Code, adopted 8-12-2003 by Ord. No. 03-18, as amended.

§ 363-101 Adoption of Property Maintenance Code.

A. The 2018 Edition of the International Property Maintenance Code^® (the "code"), as published by the International Code Council, is hereby adopted as the Property Maintenance Code of Middletown Township, regulating and governing the conditions and maintenance of all property, buildings, and structures; by providing the standards for supplied utilities and facilities and other physical things and conditions essential to ensure that structures are safe, sanitary, and fit for occupation and use; and providing for the condemnation of buildings and structures unfit for human occupancy and use, and the demolition of such existing structures in Middletown Township. Each and all of the regulations, provisions, penalties, conditions and terms of the code are hereby adopted and made a part hereof, as fully set out in this section, with the additions, insertions, and changes, if any, prescribed in this Chapter 363, Property Maintenance.

B. Three copies of the code shall be at all times kept available for public inspection in the office of the Department of Licenses and Inspections of the Township of Middletown.

§ 363-102 Additions, insertions, and changes.

The code, as the Property Maintenance Code adopted by Middletown Township, is hereby amended and revised at the sections set forth below:

A. Section 101.1, Title. This section shall be amended to read as follows: "These regulations shall be known as the Property Maintenance Code of Middleton Township (the "Code")."

B. Section 102.3, Application of Other Codes. The last sentence in this section shall be revised so that it reads as follows: "Nothing in this Code shall be construed to cancel, modify, or set aside any provision of the Middletown Township Zoning Ordinance."

C. Section 103.1, General. This section shall be amended to read as follows: "The Middletown Township Department of Licenses and Inspections is hereby designated to enforce this Code, and the executive official in charge thereof shall be known as the "Code Official."

D. Section 103.2, Appointment. This section shall be deleted and amended to read as follows:

"The Code Official shall be appointed by the chief appointing authority of the Township of Middletown. An official or employee connected with the enforcement of this Code shall not be engaged in or directly or indirectly connected with the furnishing of labor, materials, or appliances for the construction, alteration, or maintenance of a building, or the preparation of construction documents thereof, unless that official or employee is the owner of the building, nor shall such official or employee engage in any work that conflicts with the official duties or the interests of the Middletown Township Department of Licenses and Inspections."

E. Section 103.4, Liability. In the first sentence, the entity name "board of appeals" shall be stricken, deleted, and replaced with the "Technical Code Review Board."

F. Section 103.5, Fees. This section shall be amended to read as follows:

"The fees for activities and services performed by the Middletown Township Department of Licenses and Inspections in carrying out its responsibilities under the Code shall be established by resolution of the Middletown Township Board of Supervisors, from time to time, as deemed appropriate by Middletown Township."

G. Section 104.6, Department Records. This section shall be amended to read as follows:

"The Code Official shall keep official records of all business and activities of the Middletown Township Department of Licenses and Inspections specified in the provisions of this Code. Such records shall be retained in the official records as long as the building or structure to which such records relate remains in existence, unless otherwise provided for by other regulations or laws."

H. Section 106.4, Violation Penalties. This section is deleted in its entirety and replaced with the following language:

"Any person, firm, or corporation who or which shall violate any provision of this code shall, upon conviction thereof, be subject to a fine of not more than $1,000.00, plus court costs and reasonable attorney's fees. Each day that a violation continues after due notice has been served in accordance with the terms and provisions hereof shall be deemed a separate offense. If the offending party neither pays, nor timely appeals the judgment, the Township may enforce the judgment pursuant to the Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure."

I. Section 111.1, Application for Appeal. In the first sentence, the entity name "board of appeals" shall be stricken, deleted, and replaced with the "Technical Code Review Board."

J. Sections 111.2 through 111.8, as described in more specific detail below, shall be stricken and deleted in their entirety:

Section 111.2. Membership of board.

Section 111.2.1. Alternate members.

Section 111.2.2. Chairman.

Section 111.2.3. Disqualification of member.

Section 111.2.4. Secretary.

Section 1111.2.5. Compensation of members.

Section 111.3. Notice of meeting.

Section 111.4. Open hearing.

Section 111.4.1. Procedure.

Section 111.5. Postponed hearing.

Section 111.6. Board decision.

Section 111.6.1. Records and copies.

Section 111.6.2. Administration.

Section 111.7. Court review.

Section 111.8. Stays of enforcement.

K. Section 112.4, Failure to Comply. This section is hereby amended by deleting the phrase "shall be liable to a fine of not less than [AMOUNT] dollars or more than [AMOUNT] dollars" and inserting the phrase "shall be liable to a fine of not more than $1,000.00."

L. Section 302.4, Weeds. This section is hereby amended by inserting the phrase "six (6) inches in height" and amending the phrase "cultivated flowers and gardens" to "lands under cultivation."

M. Section 302.8, Motor Vehicles. The first sentence of this section is hereby deleted and replaced with the following sentence: "Except as provided for in other regulations, no inoperative or unlicensed or uninspected motor vehicle which is out of date by more than thirty (30) days shall be parked, kept or stored on any premises, and no vehicle shall at any time be in a state of major disassembly, disrepair, or in the process of being stripped or dismantled."

N. Section 302.9, Defacement of Property. This section is hereby stricken and deleted in its entirety.

O. Section 304.3, Premises Identification. This section is hereby stricken and deleted in its entirety.

P. Section 304.14, Insect Screens. This section is hereby amended by deleting the phrase "During the period from [DATE] to [DATE]" and inserting the phrase "Throughout the entire year."

Q. Section 308, Rubbish and Garbage. This section, which spans from Section 308 to Section 308.3.2, is hereby stricken and deleted in its entirety.

R. Section 602.3, Heat Supply. Insert the dates "October 1 to June 1."

S. Section 602.4, Occupiable Work Spaces. This section is hereby amended by deleting the phrase "during the period from [DATE] to [DATE]" and inserting the phrase "throughout the entire year."

§ 363-103 Applicability of state law and other regulations.

A. In all other matters that are regulated by the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania or by regulations of departments or agencies of the commonwealth promulgated by authority of law, such laws or regulations, as the case may be, shall control where the requirements thereof are the same or in excess of the provisions of this article. This article shall control in all cases where the state requirements are not as strict as those contained herein.

B. Wherever the provisions or requirements of this article are in conflict with other provisions or requirements of the ordinances of Middletown Township, the most restrictive, or those imposing the higher standards, shall govern, except as otherwise provided herein.