Borough of West Chester, PA Ordinances

Establish a rule or regulation, the violation of which imposes a fine or other penalty. All fines and penalties, however, must be authorized by the ordinance.

(6)

Grant, revoke, renew or extend a franchise.

(7)

Convey, sell, lease or authorize the conveyance, sale or lease of any lands of the Borough.

(8)

Adopt or amend such ordinances and such other codes as may be required from time to time to protect the safety and welfare of the citizens; alter or abolish any Borough department, office or agency, except agencies, boards and commissions related to municipal planning operating under terms and conditions set forth in the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code (Act 247), as amended.

(9)

Adopt or amend a personnel system for the Borough, including, but not limited to, a pay plan, personnel policy, not less than a yearly evaluation, and job descriptions for all Borough employment positions.

(10)

Fix the compensation of Members of Council and the Mayor.

(11)

Amend or repeal any ordinance previously adopted, except as otherwise provided in Section 903 with respect to repeal of ordinances reconsidered under the referendum power.

(12)

Pursue an action of eminent domain.

(13)

Are required by the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Actions other than those referred to in this section may be done either by ordinance, by resolution or by motion.

Section 302 Procedure - General Ordinance Requirements.

A proposed ordinance may be introduced by any Member of Council or the Mayor. A written summary of each proposed ordinance or a proposed amendment to an ordinance shall be provided for each Member of Council and the Mayor at the time of its introduction, and copies shall be made available for the public at that meeting.

If the proposed ordinance or amendment is approved by Council upon introduction and first consideration, the Borough Secretary shall cause the full text to be prepared. After the full text is prepared, it shall be advertised and made available for public inspection in accordance with Section 302(C).

Each proposed ordinance, except for temporary 90-day parking and traffic orders, shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation within the Borough at least seven (7) but not more than thirty (30) days prior to its final adoption. The public notice of any proposed ordinance shall include at least the title and a brief summary setting forth all of the provisions in reasonable detail, shall specify the date at which Council proposes to act further on the ordinance, and shall specify a time and place within the Borough where copies of the full text of the proposed ordinance may be examined.

Persons interested in a proposed ordinance shall be given an opportunity to speak and be heard before the Council at any meeting during which Council considers said ordinance, in accordance with such rules and regulations as Council may adopt.

Provided that citizens of the Borough have been given the opportunity to express their views, the Council may, on the date of the meeting stated in the advertisement:

(1)

Adopt the ordinance as advertised;

(2)

Postpone action until a later meeting; or,

(3)

Amend a proposed ordinance before final adoption.

If the Council amends a proposed ordinance which constitutes a change in substance, the proposed ordinance as amended shall be re-advertised as prescribed in Section 302(C) before further consideration by Council.

If the Council postpones action without specifying the date when further action will be considered, then no further action may be taken by Council until the proposed ordinance is re-advertised in accordance with Section 302(C).

Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions, the adoption of a Zoning Ordinance and amendments thereto, and the adoption of zoning Maps and amendments thereto, the adoption of land development and land use regulations shall be in accordance with the Municipalities Planning Code of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, as amended.

To meet a public emergency affecting life, health, property or public safety, the Council may adopt an emergency ordinance at the meeting at which it is introduced and the Council may make it effective immediately, except that no such ordinance may be used to levy taxes, grant or extend a franchise or authorize the borrowing of money except as provided by this Charter or by General Law. An emergency ordinance shall be plainly designated as an emergency ordinance and shall contain, after the enacting clause, a declaration stating that an emergency exists and describing it in clear and specific terms. After the adoption of an emergency ordinance, the Council shall have it publicized in full within ten (10) days in at least one (1) newspaper of general circulation in the Borough. Every emergency ordinance shall automatically stand repealed as of the 61st day following the date on which it was adopted, but this shall not prevent reenactment of the ordinance in the manner specified in this section if the emergency still exists. An emergency ordinance may be repealed at any time.

Section 303 Penalty.

The penalty for the violation of any ordinance shall be that prescribed by Council for each violation. However, any ordinance may provide that for continuing violations, each day that a violation exists may be regarded as a separate offense and punishable as such. The limit of fines may be increased by the Council to the extent of the maximum fine that may be levied by any non-charter municipality in the Commonwealth as that limit is from time to time established by the General Assembly.

Section 304 Authorization and Enactment.

All ordinances and resolutions of the Borough shall be certified by the signature of the Borough Secretary.

Every ordinance and every resolution of legislative character except as herein otherwise provided, adopted by Council, shall be presented to the Mayor for his or her approval. If the Mayor approves, he or she shall sign it; but, if he or she shall not so approve, he or she shall return it with his or her objections to the Council at its next regular meeting occurring at least ten (10) days after the meeting at which such ordinance was adopted by the Council, when the objections shall be entered into the minutes and the Council shall proceed to a reconsideration thereof either at the meeting at which the vetoed ordinance was returned, or at any other regular, special, or adjourned meeting held not later than ten days thereafter. If, after such reconsideration, a majority of the Council plus one shall vote to adopt such ordinance or resolution, it shall become of as full force and effect as if it had received the approval of the Mayor; but in such case the vote shall be determined by yeas and nays, and the names and votes of the members of Council shall be entered in the minutes. If any such ordinance or resolution shall not be returned by the Mayor at the regular meeting of the Council occurring at least ten (10) days next succeeding its presentation to him or her, it shall likewise have as full force as if it had been approved.

The enactment date of an ordinance shall be the date when the Mayor shall approve it, or the date of adoption by the Council over the veto of the Mayor, or, in the case of any ordinance not returned by the Mayor at the regular meeting of Council, occurring at least ten days after the meeting at which such ordinance was adopted by the Council, the date of enactment shall be the date of such succeeding regular meeting of Council.

Section 305 Effective Date of Ordinance.

The effective date of the ordinance shall be at the expiration of thirty-one (31) days after the date of enactment of the ordinance, according to Section 304(C), unless a later date is specified in the ordinance or the ordinance is enacted as an emergency measure.

Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, temporary 90-day parking and traffic orders shall become effective immediately upon adoption, but shall become automatically repealed upon the 91st day after the date of their adoption. Any person violating such temporary 90-day parking and traffic order shall be guilty of a summary offense and shall, upon conviction, be sentenced to pay a fine not to exceed ten dollars ($10) and costs, or to undergo imprisonment not to exceed five days.

Section 306 Recording of Ordinances and Resolutions.

All ordinances and resolutions shall promptly be entered verbatim in permanent separate record books for ordinances and resolutions. It shall not be necessary, however, to record in the ordinance book the full text of any ordinance where there is a specific provision in General Law permitting adoption and recording by reference, or in the case of any ordinance adopting, with or without amendment or modification, any building code, plumbing code or other code complete in itself, for the regulation of any trade, occupation or line of activity or undertaking, but the ordinance adopting the same by reference shall be entered and the entry shall indicate where the complete code or ordinance is available for record. These books shall be in the custody and control of the Borough Secretary and all entries made therein shall be at the direction of the Secretary. A certified copy of all enacted ordinances shall be forwarded to the Chester County Law Library.

Section 307 Codification of Ordinances and Resolutions.

The general codification of Borough ordinances and resolutions existing at the time this Charter becomes effective shall be adopted by the Council by ordinance or incorporated by reference and shall be updated annually in bound or loose-leaf form, together with this Charter and any amendments thereto, pertinent provisions of the Constitution and General Law, and such other rules and regulations as the Council may specify. This compilation shall be known and cited officially as the Code of the Borough of West Chester. Copies of this compilation shall be furnished to Borough officials, and shall be made available for free public reference within the Borough, and for purchase by the public at a reasonable price fixed by Council.