[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council of the Borough
of Port Allegany 7-6-2016 by Ord. No. 459.[1] Amendments noted where applicable.]
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance superseded former Ch. 62, Garbage,
Rubbish and Refuse, adopted 6-5-1967 by Ord. No. 281, as amended.
Hereafter, every person owning or occupying any lands, dwelling,
stores or other structures in any part of the Borough of Port Allegany
shall remove or cause to be removed all garbage and refuse from such
premises so owned or occupied at least once every week, and no garbage
or refuse shall be permitted to remain on or in any such lands, dwellings,
stores, or other structures within said Borough for a period longer
than one week.
Effective immediately, no person or organization shall collect
any garbage or refuse or engage in the business of collecting garbage
or refuse within the geographical limits of the Borough of Port Allegany
without first obtaining a permit from the Borough Council, and no
person or company shall be entitled to such a permit unless they have
paid the fees established by Council and comply with all reasonable
requirements of the Council made prerequisite to the granting of the
same.
The Borough Council shall from time to time adopt regulations, to be known as rules and regulations, for the collection, care, removal and disposal of garbage and refuse, and all such rules and regulations shall immediately be and become part of any special permit theretofore or thereafter issued under § 62-2 of this chapter, and all of the requirements of such rules and regulations shall thereafter be complied with by the holder of such special permit.
Subject to approval by the Borough Council, the President and
Manager are authorized and empowered from time to time to enter into
a contract with any other political subdivision of the County of McKean,
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania; a private individual; or corporation
for the collection of garbage and refuse therein and disposal of the
same. The contractor shall be responsible for complying with all local,
state, and federal laws related to proper disposal of collected materials.
In the event that a contract is awarded for collection of garbage,
rubbish, and refuse, residents of the Borough are required to utilize
this agency for collection and disposal of their garbage, rubbish,
and refuse. Commercial customers may contract with any vendor which
has an active Port Allegany Borough garbage permit.
The Borough Manager or an employee designated by the Borough
Manager is authorized, empowered, and directed to enforce all of the
terms and provisions of this chapter and all of the terms and provisions
of all rules and regulations adopted hereunder, and to prosecute all
violations of this chapter and of such rules and regulations.
A.
Purpose. 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.
B.
Enforcement. Any violation of the provisions of any section of the Garbage, Rubbish, and Refuse Chapter of the Borough Code (Chapter 62) may be cause for a notice of violation, violation ticket, or citation to be issued to the violator.
C.
Process for issuing violation tickets.
(1)
The notice of violation shall be in writing and shall identify the
property address, include a clear and concise statement of the violation(s),
specify the maximum time frame to take corrective action to bring
the property into compliance with the Garbage, Rubbish, and Refuse
Code and detail the fine for nonpayment of the ticket within the prescribed
time frame.
(2)
The designated officer of the Borough shall serve the notice of violation
to the violator:
(a)
By handing the notice of violation to the violator;
(b)
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;
(c)
By leaving or affixing the notice of violation ticket to the
property where the violation exists;
(d)
By handing the notice of violation to the violator's agent
or to the person in charge thereof at any office or usual place of
business of the violator; or
(e)
By mailing the notice to the violator's address of record
first class mail with a certificate of mailing.
(3)
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 § 62-7C(2) above. The violation ticket shall be in writing and shall identify the property address, include a clear and concise statement of the violation(s), specify the maximum time frame to take corrective action to bring the property into compliance with the Garbage, Rubbish, and Refuse Code and detail the fine for the nonpayment of the ticket within the prescribed time frame.
(4)
Each day a violation continues or is permitted to continue constitutes
a separate offense for which a separate fine may be imposed.
(5)
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.
(6)
If the Borough has taken action to correct the violation the cost
thereof shall be charged to the owner of the property.
D.
Violation ticket disposition. 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.
E.
Fines and penalties.
(1)
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.
(2)
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.
(3)
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.
(4)
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.
F.
Restitution. 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.
Any person who shall violate any provision of this chapter shall,
upon conviction thereof, be punishable by a fine of not more than
$300 and costs of such proceedings or, upon default of payment of
such fines and costs, by imprisonment in the county jail for a term
of not more than 30 days. The continuation of such violation for each
successive day shall constitute a separate offense, and the person
or persons allowing or permitting the continuation of the violation
may be punished as provided above for each separate offense.
