[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Council of the Township of Middletown as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted as Ch. X, Art. 1, of the 1976 Ordinance Book]
[Amended 12-10-1984 by Ord. No. 362]
Any violation or failure to comply with any provision of any Township ordinance shall constitute a summary offense end the prosecution for every such offense shall be according to Chapter 50 of the Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal Procedure. All fines, penalties and costs imposed when collected shall forthwith be payable to the Treasurer of the Township.
[Amended 12-10-1984 by Ord. No. 362]
Any person arrested for a violation of any ordinance of the Township shall be entitled to give bail for his appearance, according to Chapter 50 and Chapter 4000 of the Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal Procedure.
[Amended 12-10-1984 by Ord. No. 362]
All proceedings for the violations of Township ordinances and for the collection of fines and penalties imposed thereby may be commenced by citation in accordance with Rule 51 of the Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal Procedure.
[Amended 12-10-1984 by Ord. No. 362]
Summary prosecution for the violation of any ordinance of the Township may be commenced by any member of a regularly constituted police department or by any enforcement agent of the Township, including but not limited to a dog officer, a dog catcher, a building officer, a zoning officer and fire marshal.
When any person is arrested on view, a complaint, on oath or affirmation, shall be made immediately, whereupon like proceedings shall be had as provided in the preceding section.
Any person arrested for the violation of a Township ordinance may be committed to a lockup specified by the Township Supervisors, pending a hearing or trial, but in case there is no suitable lockup in which to detain prisoners, the person arrested may be committed to the County Jail.
Upon judgement against any person by summary conviction, or by proceedings by summons, on default of the payment of the fine or penalty imposed and the costs, the defendant may be sentenced and committed to a suitable lockup for a period not exceeding 10 days, or to the County Jail or workhouse for a period not exceeding 30 days.
If the fine or penalty for violation of a Township ordinance is not specified in the ordinance or by the Laws of the Commonwealth, the fine shall be $10 for each offense.
In case the defendant has goods or property of any kind whatsoever out of which the judgement and costs can be collected by execution or other process, the Township may elect to collect the judgement and costs by such proceedings.
When a prisoner shall be committed to any County Jail or workhouse either for the nonpayment of a fine or penalty imposed for the violation of any Township ordinance, the costs of the proceedings and the expense of maintaining such prisoner during his confinement shall be paid by the Township and the county shall not be liable for any such maintenance or to any person for any costs in such proceedings.
[Adopted 9-28-2009 by Ord. No. 708]
Pursuant to Section 213 of the Township of Middletown Home Rule Charter, the codification of a complete body of legislation for the Township of Middletown, County of Delaware, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, as revised, codified and consolidated into chapters, articles and sections, and consisting of Chapters 1 through 275, together with an Appendix, are hereby approved, adopted, ordained and enacted as a single ordinance of the Township of Middletown, which shall be known and is hereby designated as the "Code of the Township of Middletown," hereinafter referred to as the "Code."
The provisions of this Code, insofar as they are substantively the same as those of ordinances in force immediately prior to the enactment of this ordinance, are intended as a continuation of such ordinances and not as new enactments, and the effectiveness of such provisions shall date from the date of adoption of the prior ordinance. All such provisions are hereby continued in full force and effect and are hereby reaffirmed as to their adoption by the Township Council of the Township of Middletown, and it is the intention of said Township Council that each such provision contained within the Code is hereby reenacted and reaffirmed as it appears in said Code. Only such provisions of former ordinances as are omitted from this Code shall be deemed repealed or abrogated by the provisions of § 1-13 below, and only new or changed provisions, as described in § 1-16 below, shall be deemed to be enacted from the effective date of this Code, as provided in § 1-25 below.
All ordinances or parts of ordinances of a general and permanent nature adopted by the Township of Middletown and in force on the date of the adoption of this Code and not contained in the Code are hereby repealed as of the effective date given in § 1-25 below, except as hereinafter provided.
The adoption of this Code and the repeal of ordinances provided for in § 1-13 of this ordinance shall not affect the following ordinances, rights and obligations, which are hereby expressly saved from repeal; provided, however, that the repeal of ordinances pursuant to § 1-13 or the saving from repeal of ordinances pursuant to this section shall not be construed so as to revive any ordinance previously repealed, superseded or no longer of any effect:
A. 
Any ordinance adopted subsequent to 6-23-2008.
B. 
Any right or liability established, accrued or incurred under any legislative provision of the Township prior to the effective date of this ordinance or any action or proceeding brought for the enforcement of such right or liability or any cause of action acquired or existing.
C. 
Any offense or act committed or done before the effective date of this ordinance in violation of any legislative provision of the Township or any penalty, punishment or forfeiture which may result therefrom.
D. 
Any prosecution, indictment, action, suit or other proceeding pending or any judgment rendered prior to the effective date of this ordinance, brought pursuant to any legislative provision of the Township.
E. 
Any franchise, license, right, easement or privilege heretofore granted or conferred by the Township or any lawful contract, obligation or agreement.
F. 
Any ordinance appropriating money or transferring funds, promising or guaranteeing the payment of money or authorizing the issuance and delivery of any bond of the Township or other instruments or evidence of the Township's indebtedness.
G. 
Any ordinance adopting an annual budget or establishing an annual tax rate.
H. 
Any ordinance providing for the levy, imposition or collection of special taxes, assessments or charges.
I. 
Any ordinance authorizing the purchase, sale, lease or transfer of property or acquiring property by acceptance of deed, condemnation or exercise of eminent domain.
J. 
Any ordinance annexing land to the Township.
K. 
Any ordinance providing for or requiring the construction or reconstruction or opening of sidewalks, curbs and gutters.
L. 
Any ordinance or part of an ordinance providing for laying out, opening, altering, widening, relocating, straightening, establishing grade, changing name, improvement, acceptance or vacation of any right-of-way, easement, street, road, highway, sidewalk, park or other public place or property or designating various streets as public highways.
M. 
Any ordinance establishing water, sewer or other special purpose districts and designating the boundaries thereof; providing for a system of sewers or water supply lines; or providing for the construction, extension, dedication, acceptance or abandonment of any part of a system of sewers or water supply lines.
N. 
Any ordinance providing for the making of public improvements.
O. 
Any ordinance providing for the salaries and compensation of officers and employees of the Township or setting the bond of any officer or employee.
P. 
Any ordinance concerning changes and amendments to the Zoning Map.
Q. 
Any ordinance relating to or establishing a pension plan or pension fund for municipal employees.
R. 
Any ordinance or portion of an ordinance establishing a specific fee amount for any license, permit or service obtained from the Township.
All ordinances of a general and permanent nature adopted subsequent to the date given in § 1-14A and/or prior to the date of adoption of this ordinance are hereby deemed to be a part of the Code and shall, upon being printed, be included therein. Attested copies of all such ordinances shall be temporarily placed in the Code until printed supplements are included.
A. 
Nonsubstantive grammatical changes. In compiling and preparing the ordinances of the Township for adoption and revision as part of the Code, certain nonsubstantive grammatical and style changes were made in one or more of said ordinances. It is the intention of the Township Council that all such changes be adopted as part of the Code as if the ordinances so changed had been previously formally amended to read as such.
B. 
Substantive changes and revisions. In addition to the changes and revisions described above, changes and revisions of a substantive nature, as set forth in Schedule A attached hereto and made a part hereof, are hereby made to various ordinances included in the Code. These changes are enacted to bring provisions into conformity with the desired policies of the Township Council, and it is the intent of the Township Council that all such changes be adopted as part of the Code as if the legislation so changed had previously formally amended to read as such. All such changes and revisions shall be deemed to be in effect as of the effective date of the Code specified in § 1-25.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: In accordance with § 1-16B, the chapters, parts and sections which were added, amended, adopted or deleted by this ordinance are indicated throughout the Code by a footnote referring to Chapter 1, General Provisions, Article I. During routine supplementation, footnotes indicating amendments, additions or deletions will be replaced with the following history: "Amended (added, deleted) 9-28-2009 by Ord. No. 708." Schedule A, which contains a complete description of all changes, is on file in the Township offices.
C. 
Nomenclature. Throughout the Code, references to the following agencies or officials are updated as indicated:
(1) 
"Department of Environmental Resources" or "DER" to "Department of Environmental Protection" or "DEP."
(2) 
"Department of Community Affairs" or "DCA" to "Department of Community and Economic Development" or "DCED."
(3) 
"Justice of the Peace," "District Magistrate" and "District Justice" to "Magisterial District Judge."
(4) 
"Soil Conservation Service" or "SCS" to "Natural Resources Conservation Service" or "NRCS."
In interpreting and applying the provisions of the Code, they shall be held to be the minimum requirements for the promotion of the public health, safety, comfort, convenience and general welfare. Where the provisions of the Code impose greater restrictions or requirements than those of any statute, other ordinance, resolution or regulation, the provisions of the Code shall control. Where the provisions of any statute, other ordinance, resolution or regulation impose greater restrictions or requirements, the provisions of such statute, other ordinance, resolution or regulation shall control.
A. 
Chapter and article titles, headings and titles of sections and other divisions in the Code or in supplements made to the Code are inserted in the Code and may be inserted in supplements to the Code for the convenience of persons using the Code and are not part of the legislation.
B. 
Editor's notes indicating sources of sections, giving other information or referring to the statutes or to other parts of the Code are inserted in the Code and may be inserted in supplements to the Code for the convenience of persons using the Code and are not part of the legislation.
At least one copy of the Code in a post-bound volume shall be filed with the Ordinance Book in the office of the Township Manager and shall remain there for use and examination by the public. Upon adoption, such copy or copies shall be certified to by the Township Manager, as provided by law, and such certified copy or copies shall remain on file in the office of the Township Manager, available to persons desiring to examine the same during all times while said Code is in effect.
Any and all additions, deletions, amendments or supplements to the Code, when passed and adopted in such form as to indicate the intention of the Township Council to be a part thereof, shall be deemed to be incorporated into such Code so that reference to the Code shall be understood and intended to include such changes. Whenever such additions, deletions, amendments or supplements to the Code shall be adopted, they shall thereafter be printed and, as provided hereunder, inserted in the post-bound book containing said Code as amendments and supplements thereto.
It shall be the duty of the Township Manager or someone authorized and directed by him or her to keep up-to-date the certified copy or copies of the book containing the Code required to be filed in the office of the Township Manager for the use of the public. All changes in said Code and all legislation adopted by the Township Council subsequent to the effective date of this codification which the Township Council shall adopt specifically as part of the Code shall, when finally adopted, be included therein by reference until such changes or new legislation are printed as supplements to said Code books, at which time such supplements shall be inserted therein.
The Township Manager, pursuant to law, shall cause to be published in the manner required a notice of the introduction of the Code in a newspaper of general circulation in the Township. The enactment and application of this ordinance, coupled with the publication of the notice of introduction, the availability of a copy or copies of the Code for inspection by the public and the filing of an attested copy of this ordinance with the county, as required by law, shall be deemed, held and considered to be due and legal publication of all provisions of the Code for all purposes.
It shall be unlawful for anyone to improperly change or amend, by additions or deletions, or to alter or tamper with the Code or any part or portion thereof, in any manner whatsoever, which will cause the law of the Township to be misrepresented thereby. Any person who violates or permits a violation of this section of this ordinance, upon being found liable therefor in a civil enforcement proceeding, shall pay a fine of not more than $600, plus all court costs, including reasonable attorney's fees, incurred by the Township in the enforcement of this chapter. No judgment shall be imposed until the date of the determination of the violation by the 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. Each day a violation exists shall constitute a separate offense. Further, the appropriate officers or agents of the Township are hereby authorized to seek equitable relief, including injunction, to enforce compliance herewith.
The provisions of this ordinance and of the Code adopted hereby are severable, and if any clause, sentence, subsection, section, article, chapter or part thereof shall be adjudged by any court of competent jurisdiction to be illegal, invalid or unconstitutional, such judgment or decision shall not affect, impair or invalidate the remainder thereof but shall be confined in its operation and application to the clause, sentence, subsection, section, article, chapter or part thereof rendered illegal, invalid or unconstitutional. It is hereby declared to be the intent of the Township Council that this ordinance and the Code would have been adopted if such illegal, invalid or unconstitutional clause, sentence, subsection, section, article, chapter or part thereof had not been included therein.
All provisions of this ordinance and of the Code shall be in force and effect 31 days after September 28, 2009.