[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.
