STATUTORY REFERENCES
Ordinances generally — See 2nd
Class Sec. 702-XLI.
Codification of ordinances — See
2nd Class Sec. 702-XLII.
GENERAL REFERENCES
Ordinances and resolutions — See Ch. 222.
(a)
This volume consists of all ordinances and resolutions
of the Municipality of a general and permanent nature, as revised,
codified, arranged, numbered and consolidated into component codes,
titles, chapters and sections, and as such shall be known and designated
as the Codified Ordinances of Lower Gwynedd Township, Pennsylvania,
1989, for which designation "Codified Ordinances" may be substituted.
Code, title, chapter and section headings do not constitute any part
of the law as contained in the Codified Ordinances.
(b)
References to codes, titles, chapters and sections
are to such components of the Codified Ordinances unless otherwise
specified. Any component code may be referred to and cited by its
name, such as the "Traffic Code." Sections may be referred to and
cited by the designation "section" followed by the number, such as
"Section 202.01."
(a)
The Codified Ordinances of Lower Gwynedd Township,
Pennsylvania, 1989, may be amended or supplemented at any time and,
when any amendment or supplement is adopted in such form as to indicate
the intention of the Board of Supervisors to make the same a part
thereof, such amendment or supplement shall be incorporated in, and
deemed a part of, the Codified Ordinances, so that a reference to
the Codified Ordinances shall be understood and construed as including
the Codified Ordinances of Lower Gwynedd Township, Pennsylvania, 1989,
and any and all such amendments and supplements.
(b)
All amendments and supplements enacted as a part of the Codified Ordinances shall be integrated therewith by following the form of arrangement and plan set forth in the original Codified Ordinances as follows: each Code shall be subdivided into titles; each title shall be subdivided into chapters, and each chapter shall be subdivided into sections, which shall be numbered in accordance with the decimal numbering system. The numbering of all sections, except penalty sections, shall be consecutive within each chapter commencing with the first section of Chapter 202, which shall be numbered 202.01, the first "2" signifying Code 2, and the two figures "02" before the decimal signifying the chapter within the Code, and the two figures "01" after the decimal signifying the first section in Chapter 202 of the Code. Penalty sections shall be designated "99" and shall be the last section of a chapter.
In the construction of the Codified Ordinances,
the following rules and definitions shall control, excepting those
inconsistent with the manifest intent of the Board of Supervisors
as disclosed in a particular provision, section or chapter:
(1)
Adopting Ordinance. "Adopting Ordinance" means the
ordinance of the Township adopting the Codified Ordinances of Lower
Gwynedd Township, Pennsylvania, 1989, in conformity with the Second
Class Township Code, being the Act of May 1, 1933 (P.L. 103), as amended,
53 P.S. § 65101 et seq.
(2)
Authority. Whenever in the Codified Ordinances authority
is given to an officer or an act is required to be performed, such
authority may be exercised and such act may be performed, at the instance
of such officer, by a deputy or subordinate, unless contrary to law
or to the clear intent of any such particular provision.
(3)
Board of Supervisors. "Board of Supervisors" means
the Board of Township Supervisors of the Township of Lower Gwynedd,
Pennsylvania.
(4)
Calendar-Computation of Time. The terms "month" and
"year" mean the calendar month or year. The time expressed in days
within which an act is to be done or a period is to expire shall be
computed by excluding the first and including the last day, unless
the last day is a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, in which case
it shall be excluded. If time is expressed in hours, the whole of
Sunday shall be excluded.
(5)
Conjunctions. "And" includes "or" and "or" includes
"and," if the sense so requires.
(6)
County. "County" means the County of Montgomery, Pennsylvania.
(7)
Gender. Words importing the masculine shall extend
and be applied to the feminine and neuter genders.
(8)
General Rule. Except as otherwise provided in this
section, words and phrases shall be construed according to the common
usage of the language, provided, however, that technical words and
phrases and such others as may have acquired a special meaning in
the law shall be construed according to such technical or special
meaning.
(9)
Joint Authority. Words giving authority to a board,
commission, authority or to three or more officers or employees or
other persons shall be construed as giving authority to a majority
thereof, unless otherwise specifically provided.
(10)
Keeper and Proprietor. "Keeper" and "proprietor" mean
persons, firms, associations, corporations, clubs and copartnerships,
whether acting by themselves or as a servant, agent or employee.
(11)
Land and Real Estate. "Land" and "real estate" include
rights and easements of an incorporeal nature.
(12)
May and Shall. "May" is directory or permissive; "shall"
is mandatory.
(13)
Number. Words in the plural include the singular and
words in the singular include the plural number.
(14)
Oath. "Oath" includes affirmation. When an oath is
required or authorized by law, an affirmation in lieu thereof may
be taken by a person having conscientious scruples about taking an
oath. An affirmation shall have the same force and effect as an oath.
(15)
Owner. "Owner," when applied to property, includes
a part owner, joint owner or tenant in common of the whole or any
part of such property.
(16)
Person. "Person" means an individual, association,
club, corporation, firm, partnership or body politic.
(17)
Premises. "Premises," when used as applicable to property,
extends to and includes land and buildings.
(18)
Property. "Property" includes real and personal property
and any mixed and lesser estates or interests therein. "Personal property"
includes every kind of property except real property; "real property"
includes lands, tenements and hereditaments.
(19)
Reasonable Time. In all cases where provision is made
for an act to be done or notice to be given within a reasonable time,
it shall be deemed to mean such time only as may be necessary for
the prompt performance of such act or the giving of such notice.
(20)
Second Class Township Code. "Second Class Township
Code" means the Laws Relating to Townships of the Second Class, being
the Act of May 1, 1933 (P.L. 103), as amended.
(21)
Sidewalk. "Sidewalk" means any portion of a street
between the curb line and the adjacent property line, intended for
the use of pedestrians, excluding parkways.
(22)
State and Commonwealth. "State" and "Commonwealth"
mean the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
(23)
Street. "Street" means alleys, avenues, boulevards,
lanes, roads, streets, State highways and other public ways in the
Township.
(24)
Tenant and Occupant. "Tenant" and "occupant," as applied
to buildings or land, shall extend and be applied to any person holding
a written or oral lease of, or who occupies the whole or any part
of, a building or land, alone or with others.
(25)
Tenses. The use of any verb in the present tense includes
the future.
(26)
Time. Whenever any time established in the Codified
Ordinances for the taking of any action expires on a Saturday, Sunday
or legal holiday, such time shall not expire on such day but shall
expire on the next week day.
(27)
Township and Municipality. "Township" and "Municipality"
mean the Township of Lower Gwynedd, Pennsylvania.
Each section and each part of each section of
the Codified Ordinances is hereby declared to be an independent section
or part of a section and notwithstanding any other evidence of legislative
intent, it is hereby declared to be the controlling legislative intent
that if any such section or part of a section, or any provision thereof,
or the application thereof to any person or circumstance, is held
to be invalid, the remaining sections or parts of sections and the
application of such provision to any other person or circumstance,
other than those as to which it is held invalid, shall not be affected
thereby, and it is hereby declared to be the legislative intent that
the Codified Ordinances would have been adopted independently of such
section or part of a section so held to be invalid.
All ordinances and parts of ordinances in conflict
with the provisions of the Codified Ordinances of Lower Gwynedd Township,
Pennsylvania, 1989, are hereby repealed.
The repeal provided for in Section 202.05 shall not affect:
(a)
Any offense or act committed or done, or any penalty
or forfeiture incurred, or any contract or right established or accruing,
before the adoption of these Codified Ordinances;
(b)
Any ordinance or resolution promising or guaranteeing
the payment of money by or to the Township, or authorizing the issuance
of any bonds of the Township, or any evidence of the Township's indebtedness,
or any contract or obligation assumed by the Township;
(c)
The administrative ordinances and resolutions of the
Board of Supervisors not in conflict or inconsistent with the provisions
of the Codified Ordinances;
(d)
Any right, license or franchise conferred by any ordinance
or resolution of the Board of Supervisors on any person or corporation;
(e)
Any ordinance establishing, naming, relocating or
vacating any street or other public way;
(f)
Any ordinance or part thereof providing for the establishment
of positions, for salaries or compensation;
(g)
Any prosecution, suit or other proceeding pending,
or any judgment rendered, on or prior to the adoption of these Codified
Ordinances;
(h)
Any ordinance levying or imposing taxes or assessments;
(i)
Any ordinance establishing or changing the boundaries
of the Township;
(j)
Any ordinance or resolution authorizing the purchase,
sale or lease of land; or
(k)
Any ordinance or resolution adopted by the Board of
Supervisors after the completion date of the Codified Ordinances.
The provisions appearing in the Codified Ordinances,
so far as they are the same as those of the ordinances existing at
the time of the adoption of the Codified Ordinances, shall be considered
as a continuation thereof, and not as new enactments.
At least one certified copy of the Codified
Ordinances shall be kept on file in the Municipal Office. It shall
be the duty of the Township Manager to insert in its designated place
any ordinance or resolution that indicates the intention of the Board
of Supervisors to make the same a part of the Codified Ordinances
when the same has been printed or reprinted in page form, and to extract
from the Codified Ordinances all provisions which may be from time
to time repealed by the Board, or to make an appropriate notation
in the certified copy of the Codified Ordinances that such provisions
have been repealed. Such certified copy of the Codified Ordinances
shall be made available to all persons desiring to examine the same
and shall be considered the official copy of the Lower Gwynedd Township
Code.
No person shall change or amend, by additions or deletions, any part or portion of the certified copy of the Codified Ordinances, or insert or delete pages or portions thereof, or alter or tamper with such Codified Ordinances in any manner whatsoever, in such manner as to cause the law of the Township to be misrepresented. Whoever violates this section shall, in addition to the penalty provided in Section 202.99, be liable to the Township, its officials or employees, in law, equity or otherwise, for any damage or loss sustained by it, them or any of them, because of an improper action or decision made by reason of such misrepresentation, change, addition, alteration or deletion.
[Ord. 330. Passed 8-19-1996]
(a)
Whoever violates or fails to comply with any of the
provisions of these Codified Ordinances relating to building, housing,
property maintenance, health, fire or public safety, or relating to
water, air or noise pollution, including any provision of any standard,
technical or other code adopted by reference in these Codified Ordinances,
and including any rule or regulation promulgated under authority of
any such standard, technical or other code adopted by reference in
these Codified Ordinances, or under authority of any other provision
of these Codified Ordinances, or under authority of state law, for
which no penalty is otherwise provided, shall be liable to a civil
fine of not more than $1,000. For a violation of or noncompliance
with any other provision of these Codified Ordinances, the offender
shall be liable to a civil fine of not more than $600. Unless otherwise
provided, a separate offense shall be deemed committed each day during
or on which a violation or noncompliance occurs or continues. The
penalty provided for herein shall be in addition to any fee, deposit,
charge, surcharge, interest, insurance or bond requirement or equitable
remedy provided in these Codified Ordinances, or in any standard,
technical or other code adopted by reference in these Codified Ordinances,
or in any rule or regulation promulgated under authority of any such
standard, technical or other code adopted by reference in these Codified
Ordinances, or under authority of any other provision of these Codified
Ordinances, or under authority of state law.
(b)
Every person who commits or aids or abets in the commission
of any act declared in these Codified Ordinances or in any other ordinance
of the Township to be an offense, whether individually or in connection
with another person, or as principal, agent or accessory, shall be
guilty of such offense. Every person who falsely, fraudulently, forcibly
or willfully induces, causes, coerces, requires, permits or directs
another to violate any provision of these Codified Ordinances or any
other ordinance of the Township shall likewise be guilty of such offense.
(c)
From the effective date of this chapter, all procedures
set forth in the Township Code that enforce the Township ordinances
and all penalty clauses in ordinances of the Township of Lower Gwynedd
are hereby amended to refer only to civil procedures and civil penalties
pursuant to Section 1601(c) of the Second Class Township Code and
may be enforced pursuant to that section. All penalty provisions and
terms in the several ordinances of the Township of Lower Gwynedd shall
be deemed to refer to civil violations rather than criminal violations.
Police officers of the Township or the Code Enforcement Officer of
the Township shall initiate civil enforcement proceedings as required
to achieve compliance with each Township ordinance.
