[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Commissioners
of the Township of Tinicum as indicated in article histories. Amendments
noted where applicable.
GENERAL REFERENCES
Prohibited vegetation — See § 299-1D.
[Adopted 10-19-1981 by Ord. No. 551 (Ch.
59 of the 1966 Code); amended in its entirety 11-20-2006 by Ord. No. 800]
It is the purpose of this article to promote and protect the
public health, safety and the general welfare by providing for the
regulation of the planting, maintenance, trimming, pruning, and removal
of trees, shrubs and other plants within the Township of Tinicum.
It is the intent of Board of Commissioners of Tinicum Township that
the terms of this article shall be construed to promote the protection
of community residents, the public at large and property from damage
caused or threatened by the improper planting, maintenance, trimming,
pruning, or removal of trees, shrubs and other plants within the Township.
No owner, occupier or agent of such owner or occupier of real
property within Tinicum Township shall be permitted to allow a tree,
shrub or other plant, or any limbs or branches thereof on his or her
property, to obstruct or interfere with the health, safety or welfare
of the public or otherwise obstruct the view of any street intersection
or obstruct or hinder passage on any public street, roadway or sidewalk.
The owner, occupier or agent of such owner or occupier of real property
within Tinicum Township must cut, trim or prune their trees, shrubs
and other plants and branches and limbs thereof so as to provide a
minimum space of eight feet above the surface of any sidewalk and
14 feet above the surface of any public street, roadway or ally.
No owner, occupier or agent of such owner or occupier of real
property within Tinicum Township shall allow a tree, shrub or other
plant or any limbs or branches thereof to remain on his or her property
which arc dead, harbor insects or disease, or which are so damaged
as to be a public nuisance and in danger of falling, thereby causing
damage to the person or property of others.
The Code Enforcement Officer shall provide the property owner,
occupier or agent of such owner or occupier with written notification
that a tree, shrub, plant or their respective branches or limbs should
be trimmed, pruned or removed for violation of this article. The owner,
occupier or agent of such owner or occupier shall have 30 days after
service of the notice by certified mail, return receipt requested,
or service by posting the property, to trim, prune or remove such
trees, shrubs or plants. If the property owner, occupier or agent
of owner or occupier, fails to comply with such notice, Tinicum Township
may enter upon the property and remove such trees, limbs or branches
found to be hazardous to public safety, charging the cost thereof
to the property owner, occupier or agent of such owner or occupier,
together with a penalty of 10% for the use of Township labor and equipment,
with such charge to be a lien against the real estate of the owner
and collected in the same manner as other municipal liens or by personal
action commenced in the Court of Common Pleas of Delaware County.
No one shall hinder, prevent, delay or interfere with Tinicum
Township, its agents, servants and employees, while engaged in carrying
out the enforcement of this article.
Any person, firm, entity or corporation which shall violate
any provision of this article shall upon conviction thereof be sentenced
to pay a fine of not more than $600 per violation and/or to imprisonment
for a term not to exceed 30 days, or both. Each day's failure
to comply with any provision hereof, shall constitute a separate violation,
punishable by a like fine or penalty.
[Adopted 11-17-2014 by Ord. No. 869]
The purpose of this article is to preserve and protect private
and public property from the damaging spread of certain running bamboo
grasses; protect indigenous plant materials from the invasive spread
of running bamboo; and maintain the general welfare of the residents
of Tinicum Township.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
Any monopodial (running) tropical or semi-tropical grasses
from the genera Bambusa including, but not limited to Bambusa, Phyllostachys,
and Pseudosasa, as well as common bamboo, golden bamboo and arrow
bamboo.
Any property owner or resident who has planted and/or grows
bamboo, or who maintains bamboo on the property, or who permits bamboo
to grow or remain on the property even if the bamboo has spread from
an adjoining property. Any property owner or resident at which bamboo
is found on the property will be considered a bamboo owner, except
any property owner or resident who:
Did not plant or grow or cause bamboo to be planted or grown
on his property;
Has provided satisfactory proof to the Township that, within
a reasonable period of time after discovering the encroachment of
bamboo onto the property from an adjoining or neighboring property,
he advised the owner of such property of his objection to the encroachment
of the bamboo; and
Has initiated steps for the removal of the bamboo from the property,
including remedies at law.
The Township of Tinicum, County of Delaware, Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania.
A.
Upon the effective date of this provision the planting or growing
of Bamboo shall be prohibited within the Township. Any person who
thereafter plants or grows, or causes to be planted or grown, bamboo
within the Township shall be deemed to be in violation of this article,
and shall be subject to such penalties as are set forth hereunder.
B.
Any bamboo either planted or caused to be planted or existing on
a property prior to the effective date of this article may not be
replanted or replaced in kind once such running bamboo is or has become,
for any reason, dead, destroyed, uprooted or otherwise removed.
For the purposes of this article, bamboo found growing upon
a property shall constitute presumptive evidence that bamboo was planted
and/or grown by and/or with the consent of the bamboo owner.
Any bamboo that has been previously planted or already in existence
on any property within the Township prior to the effective date of
this article may remain on such property, subject to the following
regulations:
A.
Bamboo shall not be planted, maintained or otherwise be permitted
to exist within 20 feet of the edge of the pavement or traveled portion
of any public roadway in the Township;
B.
Any bamboo owner whose property contains bamboo shall remove and
abate the growth of the bamboo within 20 feet of edge of the pavement
or traveled portion of a public road in the Township;
C.
Each bamboo owner shall be responsible to ensure that the bamboo
planted or growing on the property prior to the effective date of
this article does not encroach or grow upon any adjoining or neighboring
property or properties, including all public property and Township
rights-of-way;
D.
Each bamboo owner shall be required to take such measures as are
reasonably expected to prevent bamboo planted or growing on the property
from invading, encroaching or growing onto adjoining or neighboring
properties. Such measures shall include, but not be limited to, installation
of a sheathing barrier comprised of metal or other material impenetrable
by the bamboo's root system at a sufficient depth within the
property line or lines where the running bamboo is planted or is growing
to prevent the growth or encroachment upon adjoining or neighboring
property by the bamboo;
E.
Whether planted or growing as described in this article, all bamboo
plants shall be located, trimmed and maintained so that no part of
the plant or root system is closer than 10 feet to any property line.
A.
In the event that bamboo growing on a bamboo owner's property
invades or grows on an adjoining or neighboring property that is owned
or held on behalf of the Township, the Township shall notify the bamboo
owner in writing that the bamboo has invaded the Township property
and that the bamboo owner is responsible for the removal of such running
bamboo from the Township property. This notice shall be sent by certified
mail, return receipt requested, and by regular mail to the latest
address of the bamboo owner on file with the Township and a copy of
the notice shall also be posted at the bamboo owner's property.
B.
In the event that the bamboo owner does not remove or contract for
the removal of the bamboo from the Township property, or does not
make an arrangement with the Township for removal of such bamboo within
30 days from the date the Township first provided notice pursuant
to the above, the Township, at its discretion, may remove or arrange
for the removal of such bamboo from the Township property. The bamboo
owner shall be liable and responsible to the Township for all costs
incurred in removing the bamboo from the Township property. Such costs
may be assessed against the property of the bamboo owner.
C.
This article shall not be deemed to alter any rights of common law
or otherwise that any property owner may have to recover the cost
of removal of running bamboo on their own property from another property
owner from whose property the running bamboo has spread.
Any person, firm or corporation violating any of the provisions
of this chapter shall, in addition to the other charges hereinbefore
provided for each offense, upon summary conviction before any Magisterial
District Judge, pay a fine not exceeding $1,000 and costs of prosecution;
and in the default of payment of the fine and costs, the violator
may be sentenced to imprisonment for a term not to exceed 30 days
for each violation of which the violator has been found guilty. Each
and every day in which any person, firm or corporation shall be in
violation of this article shall constitute a separate offense.
