Borough of Port Allegany, PA Chapter 43 Building Numbering and Street Signs

[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council of the Borough of Port Allegany 6-4-2001 by Ord. No. 424. Amendments noted where applicable.]

GENERAL REFERENCES

Building construction — See Ch. 42.

§ 43-1 Street number regulations.

A. The owners of all buildings or structure/property within the borough to which street numbers have been assigned shall have the street number prominently displayed at all times in accordance with the following standards. For purposes of this chapter, a "street number" is an address number established in accordance with the county-wide 911 public safety system with reference to the adjacent road or street, assigned and given to a particular building or structure/property by the McKean County 911 and the United States Postal Service.

B. Each building to which a street number has been assigned shall have a street number displayed upon the building, except for buildings which are located a distance greater than 200 feet from the nearest edge of the cartway of the public roadway or upon which signage cannot be attached which would be readable from the nearest public roadway by reason of natural or manmade obstructions, the owner of said structure/property shall be required to provide posted street number signage at least 20 feet and not more than 30 feet from the nearest edge of the cartway of the public roadway, which post shall have affixed thereon the street number which has been assigned to the building. The post shall be not less than six feet nor more than eight feet from ground level, and the numbers shall be placed on the side facing the public/private roadway to which the number has been assigned.

C. The assigned street numbers shall be either affixed directly to the building or post or displayed on a sign affixed to the building or post. If numbers are placed on a post they shall be affixed no less than 60 inches and no greater than 84 inches from ground level. The street number shall be displayed in such a manner that the numbers will contrast in color with the background and will be observed and readable from the nearest public or private roadway. All numbers shall be in standard Arabic numerals, not less than four inches in height and not less than 1/2 inch in width. It is recommended that the numbers be reflective for greater nighttime visibility.

D. If, for any reason, the street number of a particular building is not readily identifiable by posted signage along the roadway, whether due to the proximity of multiple buildings with different street numbers or some other reason, then the street number should be affixed to the building as well as posted by the road. Similarly, if a single building has multiple street numbers or apartment numbers, such as a professional building or apartments, a building directory should be posted at the main entrance of the building.

§ 43-2 Private road name signs.

The owner or owners of all private drives, roadways or easements used for vehicle access to multiple properties where the drives and roadways are not recognized as borough roads and which is referenced in the address of structure/property owner whose residence or business abuts said private drive or roadways shall, in addition to the other requirements set forth in this chapter, install a sign which identifies the private road or private drive name as adopted by the borough, with said signage to be placed at the entrance where the private road or private drive intersects with the public roadway, in such manner so as to be readily observable by persons traveling upon the public roadway, but not creating an obstruction to visibility of motorists.

§ 43-3 Prohibited activity.

It shall be unlawful to cover, conceal, obstruct, destroy, remove, deface or vandalize any street number or road/street name sign or placard, installed or displayed pursuant to and in accordance with the requirements of this chapter.

§ 43-4 Enforcement.

Once determined that a building or structure/property owner has not complied with the street numbering or road name signage regulations of this chapter, the Borough Council or its designated representative, with the Borough Council's consent, may pursue any of the following enforcement remedies:

A. The borough may provide written notice to the owners, occupants and other persons in possession of the building or structure/property, which has not been numbered in accordance with these regulations, of the violation and the need to comply.

B. In the event that persons persist in refusing to comply with these regulations despite notices to do so, the Borough may issue a written order directing the owners, occupants or others in possession of the building or structure/property in violation of this chapter to comply with the applicable requirements of this chapter. Any person who is aggrieved by any order issued pursuant to this chapter may appeal to the Borough Council by filing a written notice of appeal to the office of the Borough Secretary within 10 days of the date of the subject order or notice.

C. In the event the structure/property owners or occupants or possessors fail or refuse to take action in accordance with the notices and an order issued pursuant to this chapter, the Borough Council may provide the signage, as necessary, in order to bring the structure/property owner into compliance with the standards promulgated in this chapter. The borough may recover the cost of materials and labor for the purchase and installation of signage from the structure/property owners, occupants or possessors reasonable as well as administrative fees, interest or other charges allowed by law. In the event the owners, occupants or possessors of the subject structure/property fail to pay the cost of such installation as determined and approved, then the borough may institute proceedings at law to collect the full cost together with all penalties, interest, fees and other charges which are authorized by applicable law, or may take action to assess these costs and charges against the premises and the owners thereof and collect same as a municipal lien or may take other action to collect these sums as may be permitted by law.

§ 43-5 Violations and penalties.

Any person who shall be found to have engaged in the prohibited unlawful conduct as set forth in § 43-3 of this chapter or who shall willfully fail to comply with any order to comply with the street numbering regulations shall be guilty of a summary offense and shall, upon conviction, be sentenced to pay a fine together with court costs, and upon default in payment of the fine could be sentenced to imprisonment.

§ 43-6 Establishment of numbering of signage system.

The proper officers of the borough are hereby authorized to take necessary and proper action to establish, implement and enforce the standardized system of structure/property address numbering and street/road name sign placement as provided for in this chapter in order to comply with the requirements of the automatic location information needs of the McKean County Public Safety System.