[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council
of the Borough of Runnemede 10-4-1994 by Ord. No. 94-9 (Ch. 45 of the 1970 Code).
Amendments noted where applicable.]
It shall be unlawful for an owner or tenant
of lands lying within the limits of the Borough of Runnemede to allow,
suffer or permit on such lands any accumulation of brush, weeds, including
ragweed, fallen dead or dying trees, stumps, roots, obnoxious growth,
filth, garbage, trash and debris in a manner detrimental to the public
health, safety or general welfare or in such manner as to constitute
a fire hazard; and in such case the owner and tenant shall remove
or destroy the same.
[Amended 3-5-1996 by Ord. No. 96-5; 8-7-2013 by Ord. No. 13-15]
Whenever brush, weeds, including ragweed, falling,
dead or dying trees, stumps, roots, obnoxious growth, filth, garbage,
trash and debris shall be allowed, suffered or permitted to accumulate
on the lands lying within the limits of the Borough of Runnemede in
a manner detrimental to the public health, safety or general welfare
or in such a manner as to constitute a fire hazard, the Mayor and
Council of the Borough of Runnemede, or any other Borough official
designated for this purpose by the Mayor and Council of the Borough
of Runnemede shall give five days' written notice to remove or destroy
the same to the owner and/or tenant of any such lands.
A.
Written notice as aforesaid shall be given both the
owner and tenant of the land, if known, and may be served personally
or left with a member of the household over the age of 14 years or
may be sent by certified mail to the last known post office address
of such owner or tenant.
B.
In the event that the name and post office address
of the owner is not known, then such written notice as aforesaid shall
be sent by certified mail addressed to the person or persons whose
name appears as owner on the last tax duplicate with the mailing address
shown thereon.
[Amended 8-7-2013 by Ord.
No. 13-15]
In the event that any owner or tenant shall
refuse or neglect to remove or destroy said accumulation within the
time limited by such notice, then the Mayor and Council of the Borough
of Runnemede may authorize and direct that the same be removed or
destroyed by or under the direction of a Borough official designated
by the Mayor and Council of the Borough of Runnemede for this purpose.
In the event that such owner or tenant shall
refuse or neglect to remove or destroy any such accumulations as hereinbefore
set forth and it shall be necessary for the Mayor and Council to cause
the same to be removed or destroyed, the officer responsible therefor
shall certify the cost thereof to the Mayor and Council of the Borough
of Runnemede.
Upon such certification to the Mayor and Council
of the cost of removal or destruction as hereinbefore set forth, the
Mayor and Council shall examine such certification and, if found correct,
the cost as shown thereon shall, by resolution of the Mayor and Council,
be charged against said lands.
[Amended 8-7-2013 by Ord.
No. 13-15]
Upon passage of said resolution by the Mayor
and Council, a certified copy thereof shall be filed with the Collector
of Taxes, and the amount so charged shall forthwith become a lien
upon such lands and shall be added to and become and form part of
the taxes next to be assessed and levied upon such lands, the same
to bear interest at the same rate as taxes and shall be collected
and enforced by the same officers and in the same manner as taxes.
A processing fee of $250 shall be added to each bill generated
by any department performing maintenance on properties within the
boundaries of the Borough.
[Amended 3-2-2010 by Ord.
No. 10-04]
Any person violating any of the provisions hereof shall, upon conviction, be subject to the penalty as provided in § 1-15, General penalty, of this Code.
[Added 12-5-2023 by Ord. No. 23-09]
A.
Purpose. The purpose of this section is to preserve and protect private
and public property from the damaging spread of bamboo grasses, protect
property and indigenous plant materials from the invasive spread of
bamboo and to maintain the general welfare of the residents of the
Borough of Runnemede.
B.
Prohibition. No owner, tenant or occupant of a property, or person,
corporation or other entity, shall plant, install or cause or permit
the planting or installation of plant species commonly known as "bamboo-running"
upon any property located within the Borough of Runnemede except as
provided for and in accordance with the provisions of this section.
C.
Duty to confine.
(1)
In the event any species commonly known as "bamboo-running" is located
upon any property within the Borough of Runnemede, the owner or occupant
of said property shall confine such species to prevent the encroachment,
spread, invasion or intrusion of same onto any other private or public
property or public right-of-way by way of a rhizome (underground stem)
barrier, which shall:
(a)
Be constructed of concrete, metal or plastic, such as high-density
polypropylene, 40 mil or heavier, glued or taped at junctions or clamped
with stainless steel clamps;
(b)
Be at least three feet deep and project at least one inch above
ground level; and
(c)
Be slanted outward at the top so that when the stems hit the
barrier they will bend upwards.
(2)
Rhizomes that arch or grow over the top of the barrier shall be cut
off to prevent the spreading thereof. Failure to properly confine
such bamboo in accordance with this section shall require its complete
removal.
D.
Removal. In the event it is determined that there is an encroachment
or invasion on any adjoining private or public property or public
right-of-way, the Borough shall notify the bamboo property owner,
in writing, that the bamboo has invaded other private or public property
or public right-of-way and demand the removal of the bamboo from such
other private or public property or public right-of-way and the confinement
against future encroachment or the total removal of the bamboo from
the owner's property. Notice shall be provided by certified,
return-receipt-requested mail and regular mail. If the bamboo property
owner does not remove the bamboo from such other private or public
property or public right-of-way within 45 days of the date of notice,
the Code Enforcement Officer shall cause a citation to be issued with
a penalty up to $100 for each day the violation continues, enforceable
through the Municipal Court of the Borough of Runnemede, as well as
civil proceedings for injunctive or civil relief. Nothing herein shall
be interpreted as limiting the rights of a private property owner
to seek civil relief through a court of proper jurisdiction, nor the
institution of civil proceedings against the proper parties. When
an encroachment is upon public property or public right-of-way, the
Borough of Runnemede, at its discretion, may remove or contract for
the removal of such bamboo from the Borough property or public right-of-way,
the cost of which shall be the responsibility of the bamboo property
owner and shall be assessed as a lien against the property on which
the bamboo growth originated. The cost of removal from the Borough-owned
property and or public right-of-way shall include the installation
of an appropriate barrier to prevent future bamboo invasion.
E.
Violations and penalties. Except as otherwise provided in Subsection D above, any person, firm, corporation or other entity violating any of the provisions of this section shall, upon conviction thereof, be subject to a fine of not less than $500 but not more than $2,000, in the discretion of the judge before whom such conviction shall be entered.
