[HISTORY: Adopted by the Borough Council
of the Borough of Trappe as indicated in article histories. Amendments
noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 1-5-1988 by Ord. No. 249 (Part
1, Ch. 1, Secs. 1-1002 and 1-1008 of the 1987 Code)]
In the construction of this Code and of all
ordinances, the following rules shall be observed, unless that construction
shall be inconsistent with the manifest intent of the Borough:
A. Borough. The words "the Borough" or "this Borough"
shall mean the Borough of Trappe, Pennsylvania.
B. Commonwealth. The words "the commonwealth" shall be
construed to mean the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
C. Council. Whenever the word "Council" is used, it shall
mean the council of the Borough of Trappe.
D. County. The words "the county" or "this county" shall
mean Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.
E. Gender. A word importing the masculine gender only
may extend and be applied to females, and to firms, partnerships and
corporations as well as to males.
F. Individual. The word "individual" shall mean a natural
person, male or female.
G. Limits. The word "limits" shall mean the corporate
limits or legal boundary of the Borough of Trappe.
H. Mayor. Whenever the word "Mayor" is used, it shall
mean the Mayor of the Borough of Trappe.
I. Municipality. The words "the municipality" or "this
municipality" shall mean the Borough of Trappe, Pennsylvania.
J. Name of office or officer. Whenever the name of an
office or title of an officer is given, it shall be construed as though
the words "of the Borough of Trappe" were added.
K. Nontechnical and technical words. Words and phrases
shall be construed according to the common and approved usage of the
language; but technical words and phrases and others that may have
acquired a peculiar and appropriate meaning in law shall be construed
and understood according to that meaning.
L. Number. Words used in the singular include the plural,
and the plural includes the singular.
M. Oath. The word "oath" shall be construed to include
an affirmation in all cases in which, by law, an affirmation may be
substituted for an oath, and in those cases the words "swear" and
"sworn" shall be equivalent to the words "affirm" and "affirmed."
N. Or; and. "Or" may be read "and," and "and" may be
read "or" if the sense requires it.
O. Other officials or officers. Whenever reference is
made to officers, agencies or departments by title only, such as "secretary,"
"treasurer," "solicitor," "engineer," "tax collector," they shall
mean the officers, agencies or departments of the Borough of Trappe.
P. Person. The word "person" may extend and be applied
to associations or organizations, clubs, societies, firms, partnerships,
corporations and bodies politic and corporate, or any combination
of them, as well as to individuals.
Q. Sidewalk. The word "sidewalk" shall mean any portion
of a street between the curbline and the adjacent property line, intended
for the use of pedestrians.
R. Street. The word "street" shall be construed to embrace
streets, alleys, highways, bridges and other ways in the Borough intended
for vehicular travel, and shall embrace all parts of them constituting
the designated right-of-way, except where the context clearly indicates
that the word "street" shall include the roadway only. The word "street"
shall also be construed to embrace highways as used and referred to
in the Vehicle Code.
Whenever in this Code or in any ordinance of
the Borough any act is prohibited or is made or declared to be unlawful,
where no specific penalty is provided for that act, the violator of
any such provision of this Code or ordinance shall, upon conviction,
for every such violation, be sentenced to pay a fine of not more than
$300 and costs of prosecution, or, in default of payment of fine and
costs, to undergo imprisonment for not more than 30 days; provided,
each day's violation of any such provision of this Code or that ordinance
shall constitute a separate violation.
[Adopted 10-6-2009 by Ord. No. 413]
Pursuant to Section 1008(b) of the Borough Code [53 P.S. § 46008(b)], the codification of a complete body of legislation for the Borough of Trappe, County of Montgomery, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, as revised, codified and consolidated into chapters, articles and sections by General Code, and consisting of Chapters
1 through
340, together with an Appendix, are hereby approved, adopted, ordained and enacted as a single ordinance of the Borough of Trappe, which shall be known and is hereby designated as the "Code of the Borough of Trappe," hereinafter referred to as the "Code."
The provisions of this Code, insofar as they are substantively the same as those of ordinances and resolutions in force immediately prior to the enactment of this ordinance, are intended as a continuation of such ordinances and resolutions and not as new enactments, and the effectiveness of such provisions shall date from the date of adoption of the prior ordinance or resolution. All such provisions are hereby continued in full force and effect and are hereby reaffirmed as to their adoption by the Borough Council of the Borough of Trappe, and it is the intention of said Borough Council that each such provision contained within the Code is hereby reenacted and reaffirmed as it appears in said Code. Only such provisions of former ordinances as are omitted from this Code shall be deemed repealed or abrogated by the provisions of §
1-5 below, and only changed provisions, as described in §
1-8 below, shall be deemed to be enacted from the effective date of this Code, as provided in §
1-17 below.
All ordinances or parts of ordinances of a general and permanent nature adopted by the Borough of Trappe and in force on the date of the adoption of this Code and not contained in the Code are hereby repealed as of the effective date given in §
1-17 below, except as hereinafter provided.
The adoption of this Code and the repeal of ordinances provided for in §
1-5 of this ordinance shall not affect the following ordinances, rights and obligations, which are hereby expressly saved from repeal; provided, however, that the repeal of ordinances pursuant to §
1-5 or the saving from repeal of ordinances pursuant to this section shall not be construed so as to revive any ordinance previously repealed, superseded or no longer of any effect:
A. Any
ordinance adopted subsequent to July 10, 2009.
B. Any
right or liability established, accrued or incurred under any legislative
provision of the Borough prior to the effective date of this ordinance
or any action or proceeding brought for the enforcement of such right
or liability or any cause of action acquired or existing.
C. Any
offense or act committed or done before the effective date of this
ordinance in violation of any legislative provision of the Borough
or any penalty, punishment or forfeiture which may result therefrom.
D. Any
prosecution, indictment, action, suit or other proceeding pending
or any judgment rendered prior to the effective date of this ordinance,
brought pursuant to any legislative provision of the Borough.
E. Any
franchise, license, right, easement or privilege heretofore granted
or conferred by the Borough or any lawful contract, obligation or
agreement.
F. Any
ordinance appropriating money or transferring funds, promising or
guaranteeing the payment of money or authorizing the issuance and
delivery of any bond of the Borough or other instruments or evidence
of the Borough's indebtedness.
G. Any
ordinance adopting an annual budget or establishing an annual tax
rate.
H. Any
ordinance providing for the levy, imposition or collection of special
taxes, assessments or charges.
I. Any
ordinance authorizing the purchase, sale, lease or transfer of property
or acquiring property by acceptance of deed, condemnation or exercise
of eminent domain.
J. Any
ordinance annexing land to the Borough.
K. Any
ordinance providing for or requiring the construction or reconstruction
or opening of sidewalks, curbs and gutters.
L. Any
ordinance or part of an ordinance providing for laying out, opening,
altering, widening, relocating, straightening, establishing grade,
changing name, improvement, acceptance or vacation of any right-of-way,
easement, street, road, highway, sidewalk, park or other public place
or property or designating various streets as public highways.
M. Any
ordinance establishing water, sewer or other special purpose districts
and designating the boundaries thereof; providing for a system of
sewers or water supply lines; or providing for the construction, extension,
dedication, acceptance or abandonment of any part of a system of sewers
or water supply lines.
N. Any
ordinance providing for the making of public improvements.
O. Any
ordinance providing for the salaries and compensation of officers
and employees of the Borough or setting the bond of any officer or
employee.
P. Any
ordinance concerning changes and amendments to the Zoning Map.
Q. Any
ordinance relating to or establishing a pension plan or pension fund
for municipal employees.
R. Any
ordinance or portion of an ordinance establishing a specific fee amount
for any license, permit or service obtained from the Borough.
All ordinances of a general and permanent nature adopted subsequent to the date given in §
1-6A and/or prior to the date of adoption of this ordinance are hereby deemed to be a part of the Code and shall, upon being printed, be included therein. Attested copies of all such ordinances shall be temporarily placed in the Code until printed supplements are included.
A. Nonsubstantive
grammatical changes. In compiling and preparing the ordinances and
resolutions of the Borough for adoption and revision as part of the
Code, certain nonsubstantive grammatical and style changes were made
in one or more of said ordinances. It is the intention of the Borough
Council that all such changes be adopted as part of the Code as if
the ordinances and resolutions so changed had been previously formally
amended to read as such.
B. Substantive changes and revisions. In addition to the changes and revisions described above, changes and revisions of a substantive nature, as set forth in Schedule A attached hereto and made a part hereof, are hereby made to various ordinances and resolutions included in the Code. These changes are enacted to bring provisions into conformity with the desired policies of the Borough Council, and it is the intent of the Borough Council that all such changes be adopted as part of the Code as if the ordinances and resolutions so changed had been previously formally amended to read as such. All such changes and revisions shall be deemed to be in effect as of the effective date of the Code specified in §
1-17.
C. Nomenclature.
Throughout the Code, references to the following agencies or officials
are updated as indicated:
(1) "Department of Environmental Resources" or "DER" to "Department of
Environmental Protection" or "DEP."
(2) "Department of Community Affairs" or "DCA" to "Department of Community
and Economic Development" or "DCED."
(3) "Justice of the Peace," "District Magistrate" and "District Justice"
to "Magisterial District Judge."
(4) "Soil Conservation Service" or "SCS" to "Natural Resources Conservation
Service" or "NRCS."
In interpreting and applying the provisions of the Code, they
shall be held to be the minimum requirements for the promotion of
the public health, safety, comfort, convenience and general welfare.
Where the provisions of the Code impose greater restrictions or requirements
than those of any statute, other ordinance, resolution or regulation,
the provisions of the Code shall control. Where the provisions of
any statute, other ordinance, resolution or regulation impose greater
restrictions or requirements, the provisions of such statute, other
ordinance, resolution or regulation shall control.
A. Chapter and article titles, headings and titles of sections and other
divisions in the Code or in supplements made to the Code are inserted
in the Code and may be inserted in supplements to the Code for the
convenience of persons using the Code and are not part of the legislation.
B. Editor's notes indicating sources of sections, giving other
information or referring to the statutes or to other parts of the
Code are inserted in the Code and may be inserted in supplements to
the Code for the convenience of persons using the Code and are not
part of the legislation.
At least one copy of the Code in a post-bound volume shall be
filed with the Ordinance Book in the office of the Borough Secretary
and shall remain there for use and examination by the public. Upon
adoption, such copy or copies shall be certified to by the Borough
Secretary, as provided by law, and such certified copy or copies shall
remain on file in the office of the Borough Secretary, available to
persons desiring to examine the same during all times while said Code
is in effect.
Any and all additions, deletions, amendments or supplements
to the Code, when passed and adopted in such form as to indicate the
intention of the Borough Council to be a part thereof, shall be deemed
to be incorporated into such Code so that reference to the Code shall
be understood and intended to include such changes. Whenever such
additions, deletions, amendments or supplements to the Code shall
be adopted, they shall thereafter be printed and, as provided hereunder,
inserted in the post-bound book containing said Code as amendments
and supplements thereto.
It shall be the duty of the Borough Secretary or someone authorized
and directed by him or her to keep up-to-date the certified copy or
copies of the book containing the Code required to be filed in the
office of the Borough Secretary for the use of the public. All changes
in said Code and all ordinances and resolutions adopted by the Borough
Council subsequent to the effective date of this codification which
the Borough Council shall adopt specifically as part of the Code shall,
when finally adopted, be included therein by reference until such
changes or new ordinances or resolutions are printed as supplements
to said Code books, at which time such supplements shall be inserted
therein.
The Borough Secretary, pursuant to law, shall cause to be published
in the manner required a notice of the introduction and of the adoption
of the Code in a newspaper of general circulation in the Borough.
The enactment and application of this ordinance, coupled with the
publication of the notices of introduction and adoption, as required
by law, and the availability of a copy or copies of the Code for inspection
by the public, shall be deemed, held and considered to be due and
legal publication of all provisions of the Code for all purposes.
It shall be unlawful for anyone to improperly change or amend,
by additions or deletions, or to alter or tamper with the Code or
any part or portion thereof in any manner whatsoever which will cause
the law of the Borough to be misrepresented thereby. Anyone violating
this section of this ordinance shall, upon conviction thereof, be
punished by a fine not exceeding $600, plus costs of prosecution,
and, in default of payment thereof, by imprisonment for a term not
exceeding 30 days.
The provisions of this ordinance and of the Code adopted hereby
are severable, and if any clause, sentence, subsection, section, article,
chapter or part thereof shall be adjudged by any court of competent
jurisdiction to be illegal, invalid or unconstitutional, such judgment
or decision shall not affect, impair or invalidate the remainder thereof
but shall be confined in its operation and application to the clause,
sentence, subsection, section, article, chapter or part thereof rendered
illegal, invalid or unconstitutional. It is hereby declared to be
the intent of the Borough Council that this ordinance and the Code
would have been adopted if such illegal, invalid or unconstitutional
clause, sentence, subsection, section, article, chapter or part thereof
had not been included therein.
All provisions of this ordinance and of the Code shall be in
force and effect on and after October 6, 2009.