[HISTORY: Adopted by the Borough Council of the Borough of
Canonsburg 11-1-1988 as Ch. 10, Part 1, of the 1988 Code. Amendments noted where applicable.]
This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Borough
of Canonsburg Rat Control Ordinance."
The purpose and objective of this chapter is to protect the
public health by controlling or preventing the spread of rat- or mouse-borne
diseases and infection by the elimination of unsanitary conditions
and by eliminating of rat or mouse breeding and harborage areas.
The following words and phrases, when used in this chapter,
shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where
the context or language clearly indicates or requires a different
meaning, and the singular shall include the plural, the plural shall
include the singular and the masculine shall include the feminine.
The control and elimination of rats or mice by eliminating
their harborage places; by removing or making inaccessible materials
that may serve as their food; by poisoning, spraying, fumigating,
trapping or by any other recognized and legal rat or mice control
elimination methods approved by the local or state authority having
such administrative authority.
Every refuse accumulation of animal fruit or vegetable matter
that attends the preparation, use, cooking, dealing in or storing
of meat, fish, food, fruit or vegetables.
Any place where rats or mice can eat, live, nest or seek
shelter.
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania approved Health Officer
or Director of Health or his duly authorized representative.
Any person who uses or occupies a building, or structure,
whether as owner or tenant. A tenant who uses a part of a building
structure shall be deemed the occupant of that part of which he has
actual or constructive possession. The owner, agent or other person
having custody or control of a building or structure shall be deemed
occupant of the part that is vacant.
Any accessory or detached structure other than those which
are or have been occupied by humans for either business or residential
purposes. Outbuildings shall include but not be limited to garages,
sheds, privies or enclosed animal or pet or poultry pens.
Any person who, alone or jointly or severally with others:
Has legal title to any building, with or without accompanying
actual possession thereof; or
Has charge, care or control of the building as owner or agent
of the owner or an executor, administrator, trustee or guardian of
the estate of the owner. Any such person thus representing the actual
owner shall be bound to comply with the provisions of this chapter
to the same extent as if he were the owner.
Any natural person, firm, partnership, association, corporation
or organization of any kind.
Shall mean and include but shall not be limited to an individual
residence structure and its surroundings, whether a row house or detached
home, or a business structure or building with or without residence
and its surroundings or a vacant lot and its surroundings.
A form of construction to prevent the ingress or egress of
rats or mice to or from a given space, premise, structure, outbuilding
or building to another given space, premise, structure, outbuilding
or building. It consists of the treatment or shielding, with material
impervious to gnawing, of all actual or potential openings in the
exterior and interior walls, ground or first floors, roofs, foundations,
basements, sidewalk gratings and other places in said premises, structures,
outbuildings or buildings that may be reached by rats or mice by climbing
or burrowing.
All solid waste items or materials except garbage and other
decomposable matter.
Any occupied or vacant building which was built solely for
human use, whether for dwelling and/or business purposes.
Any land or portion thereof and thereon which has no structure
or outbuildings built upon said land or portion thereof. It shall
include any private or publicly owned property, or part of any such
property.
A.
No person shall deposit any garbage, refuse, offal, pomace, dead
animals, decaying matter or organic substance of any kind in or upon
any private or public improved or vacant lot, building, outbuilding,
structure or premise or in or upon any street, avenue, alley, parkway,
ravine, ditch or gutter or into any of the runs, creeks or bodies
of water within or bounding the Borough of Canonsburg so that the
same shall or afford food, harborage or breeding areas for rats or
mice.
B.
No person in the Borough of Canonsburg shall deposit or permit to
accumulate in or upon any premise, improved or vacant, or on any lot
or alley any lumber, boxes, barrels, bottles, cans, glass, scrap iron,
wire, metal articles, pipe, broken stone or cement, broken crockery,
broken plaster or rubbish of any kind, unless the same is kept in
approved receptacles or placed on open racks that are elevated not
less than 18 inches above the ground and evenly piled or stacked so
that the same shall not afford harborage or breeding areas for rats
or mice.
C.
No person in the Borough of Canonsburg shall maintain a junkyard
or a place for the dumping or wrecking or disassembling of automobiles,
trucks, tractors or machinery of any kind or for the storing or leaving
of dilapidated, wrecked or abandoned automobiles, trucks, tractors
or machinery of any kind or of any of the parts thereof or for the
storing or leaving of any machinery or equipment used by contractors
or builders or by other persons in such manner as may afford harborage
or breeding areas for rats or mice.
D.
No person in the Borough of Canonsburg shall store garbage or refuse
in containers other than those which are made of durable, watertight,
rust-resistant material having a close-fitting lid, which must be
kept on the container when in use, or in plastic bags which are durable
and watertight and are secured or tied so as not to provide food,
harborage or breeding areas for rats or mice. These containers must
be kept clean by thoroughly rinsing and draining as often as possible.
E.
No person in the Borough of Canonsburg shall permit weeds to grow
in excess of eight inches in height on any premises, improved or vacant,
or on any open lot so that the same may afford harborage or breeding
areas for rats or mice.
A.
The Borough of Canonsburg appoints and directs the Health Officer
or Director of Health or his duly authorized representative by the
duly authorized administrator and enforcing agent of this chapter
and is empowered to prescribe, adopt, promulgate and enforce any conditions
relating to any matter pertaining to the administration and enforcement
of this chapter, and the Health Officer or Director of Health or his
duly authorized representative, acting under this authority, may at
all reasonable times enter in and upon any premises within the Borough
of Canonsburg for the purpose of inspecting and enforcing any of the
provisions of this chapter, and when any evidence is found indicating
the violation of any provision of this chapter, the Health Officer
or Director of Health or his duly authorized representative shall
serve the owners or occupants of that premise with written notice
and/or orders to abate the violation. The written notice or order
shall set forth the alleged violation and advise the owner, occupant
or person in charge of that premise that such violation must be corrected.
Said notice or order may be served personally or by certified mail
upon the owner, occupant or person in charge of that premise. The
time for the correction of the violation must be given, as well as
the necessary methods to be employed in the correction, which time
shall not exceed 30 days.
B.
Whenever the violations fail to be corrected within the time set
forth in the written notice or order, the Health Officer or Director
of Health or his duly authorized representative may proceed to abate
the violations in the manner provided by law or by prosecuting the
violation of this chapter under the penalty provisions of this chapter.
C.
Anyone aggrieved by any decision of the Health Officer or Director
of Health or his duly authorized representative shall have the right
to appeal to Borough Council not later than 30 days after the issuance
of the said written notice or order of the said Health Officer or
Director of Health or his duly authorized representative.
A.
Any outbuilding, premise, structure, dwelling, building, accessory
structure or any other place may be required to be ratproofed when
found by the Health Officer or Director of Health or his duly authorized
representative to be providing harborage or breeding areas for rats
or mice.
B.
No owner, person, occupant, contractor, public utility company, plumber
or any other person shall remove or fail to restore in like condition
the ratproofing from any outbuilding, premise, structure, dwelling,
building, accessory structure or any other place for any purpose.
C.
The owner, occupant or person in charge of any outbuilding, premise,
structure, dwelling, building, accessory structure or any other place
required to be ratproofed shall maintain the ratproofing in good repair.
No person shall injure the ratproofing. When the ratproofing is injured
in making alterations, installations, additions or repairs to said
outbuilding, premise, structure, dwelling, building, accessory structure
or any other place, the person in control shall restore the ratproofing
in good condition.
D.
When any outbuilding, building, dwelling, structure, premise, accessory
structure or any other place in the Borough of Canonsburg is subject
to infestation by rats or mice, the person in control thereof shall
apply continuous or repeated eradication measures, as required by
the Health Officer or Director of Health or his duly authorized representative,
until there is no evidence of infestation remaining.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. I)]
Any person who violates or permits a violation of this chapter
shall, upon conviction in a summary proceeding under the Pennsylvania
Rules of Criminal Procedure, be guilty of a summary offense and shall
be punishable by a fine of not more than $1,000, plus court costs
and reasonable attorneys' fees incurred by the Borough in the enforcement
proceedings. Upon judgment 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 the Borough correctional facility for a period not exceeding
10 days or to the county correctional facility for a period not exceeding
30 days. Each day that such violation exists shall constitute a separate
offense, and each section of this chapter that is violated shall also
constitute a separate offense. In addition to or in lieu of enforcement
under this section, the Borough may enforce this chapter in equity
in the Court of Common Pleas of Washington County.
