[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council of the Borough
of Port Allegany 11-4-2019 by Ord. No. 482[1]. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also superseded former Ch. 48,
Dogs and Other Animals, which consisted of Article I, Licensing and
Keeping of Dogs; Article II, Curbing of Dogs, adopted 12-2-2002 by
Ord. No. 428; and Article III, Keeping of Wild Animals, adopted 12-2-2002
by Ord. No. 429.
Outside of areas zoned AC - Agricultural/Conservation District,
no person, firm or corporation shall keep any livestock or farm animals
including, but not limited to, pigs, hogs, horses, cows, and sheep,
within the Borough, nor shall any person, firm, or corporation maintain
any buildings or pens for the keeping or maintenance of any such animals
at any place within the said Borough.
The keeping of any wild, undomesticated animal or any dangerous
animals is prohibited. For the purpose of this section, "dangerous
animals" is defined as venomous snakes and reptiles, snakes and reptiles
over two feet in length, large predatory animals, or any animal with
a known history of biting or attacking any human being, whether domesticated
or not.
Animals kept within the Borough of Port Allegany must be licensed
and vaccinated in accordance with all applicable state and federal
laws.
No person, firm or corporation who owns, harbors, keeps or is
in charge of any dog or other animal within or frequenting the Borough
shall permit such animal to be unattended within the Borough and shall
require said animal to be restrained by a leash or other appropriate
device of control so that it cannot stray beyond the premises on which
it is secured, or under reasonable control of some person, which,
for the purpose of this chapter, shall be defined as "curbing." Such
curbing shall be permitted only on public streets, public grounds
and on private property with the express permission of the owner of
such property.
No person having possession, custody or control of any animal
shall knowingly or negligently permit any dog or other animal to commit
any nuisance, i.e., defecation upon any gutter, street, driveway,
alley, curb or sidewalk in the Borough of Port Allegany, or upon the
floors or stairways of any building or place frequented by the public
or used in common by tenants, or upon the outside walls, walkways,
driveways, alleys, curbs or stairways of any building abutting on
a public area, or upon any private property other than the property
of the owner of such animal.
Any person having possession, custody or control of any dog or other animal which commits a nuisance, i.e., defecation in any area other than the private property of the owner of such dog or other animal, as prohibited in § 48-5, shall be required to immediately remove any feces from such surface and either:
The amount of fines imposed for various violations detailed
in this chapter will be established by Borough Council through the
adoption of a resolution.
A.
The purpose of this section is to provide for a mechanism by means
of issuance of a ticket rather than citation to permit a citizen who
believes he may have been in violation to pay the ticket rather than
cause the issuance of a citation and a costly and protracted legal
hearing before a District Judge and unnecessary appeals. The resolution
in this manner is beneficial from a two-fold perspective in that it
permits the Borough to maintain and enforce its laws and permits a
citizen so accused to resolve the dispute in a manner that does not
unduly burden the resident by requiring the issuance of a citation
and a court hearing. It also does not deprive the citizen of the right
to dispute the ticket and receive the full benefit of procedural and
substantive due process of law.
A.
The notice of violation shall be in writing and shall identify the
property address, include a clear and concise statement of the violation(s)
and detail the fine for nonpayment of the ticket within the prescribed
time frame.
B.
The designated officer of the Borough shall serve the notice of violation
to the violator:
(1)
By handing the notice of violation to the violator;
(2)
By handing the notice of violation to be served to an adult member
of the household or other person in charge of the residence at the
residence of the person to be served;
(3)
By leaving or affixing the notice or violation ticket to the property
where the violation exists;
(4)
By handing the notice of violation to the violator's agent or to
the person in charge thereof at any office of usual place of business
of the violator; or
(5)
By mailing the notice to the violator's address of record first-class
mail with a certificate of mailing.
C.
If the violation is not addressed to the satisfaction of the Code Enforcement Official within 10 days from the issuance of the notice of violation, the Code Enforcement Official shall issue a violation ticket to the violator consistent with the service of process described in § 48-9B above. The violation ticket shall be in writing and shall identify the property address, include a clear and concise statement of the violation(s), and detail the fine for the nonpayment of the ticket within the prescribed time frame.
D.
Each day a violation continues or is permitted to continue constitutes
a separate offense for which a separate fine may be imposed.
E.
The Code Official is authorized and empowered to correct or abate
any violation which in the discretion of the officer such violation
constitutes a clear and present danger to the health and safety of
the community. In said circumstance the Code Official shall take all
steps necessary to correct or abate the violation within 24 hours.
F.
If the Borough has taken action to correct the violation, the cost
thereof shall be charged to the owner of the property.
A person in receipt of a violation ticket shall have 10 days
within which time to pay the amount stated on the ticket. In the event
the ticket is not paid within 10 days such failure to pay shall result
in the issuance of a citation for the offense with the local District
Justice.
A.
For the first offense of the violation of this chapter within a twelve-month
period, the tickets shall be issued in the amount of $25.
B.
For the second offense of the violation of this chapter within a
twelve-month period the tickets shall be issued in the amount of $50.
C.
For the third offense of the violation of this chapter within a twelve-month
period the tickets shall be issued in the amount of $100.
D.
For the fourth offense and all subsequent offenses of the violation
of this chapter within a twelve-month period the ticket shall be issued
in the amount of $300.
E.
Any person, firm or corporation who shall violate any provisions
of this chapter shall be sentenced to pay a fine not to exceed $300
plus costs, and in default of payment of said fine and costs, to a
term of imprisonment not to exceed 30 days. Each day that a violation
of this chapter continues or each section of this chapter which shall
be found to have been violated shall constitute a separate offense.
In addition to imposing a fine and costs and or imprisonment
as enumerated under the section allegedly violated, the magisterial
district court judge may order the violator upon conviction to make
restitution to any aggrieved person.
[Added 11-4-2019 by Ord. No. 482]
All other ordinances or parts thereof which are in conflict
with this chapter are hereby repealed.
[Added 11-4-2019 by Ord. No. 482]
The provisions of this chapter are severable, and if any section,
clause, sentence, part, or provision thereof shall be held illegal,
invalid, or unconstitutional by any court of competent jurisdiction,
such decision of the court shall not affect or impair the remaining
sections, clauses, sentences, parts, or provisions of this chapter.
It is hereby declared to be the intent of the Borough Council that
this chapter would have been adopted if such illegal, invalid, or
unconstitutional section, clause, sentence, part, or provision had
not been included herein.
