This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Health
and Nuisance Article of the Borough of Walnutport."
This chapter is adopted for the purposes of promoting public
health, life, safety, morals, welfare, peace, decency, dignity, reasonable
and comfortable use of property, and the tranquillity of the community
of the Borough of Walnutport, County of Northampton, Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania, and to further the following related and more specific
objectives:
A. To prohibit the creation or maintenance of impure, unwholesome, or
offensive conditions relating to streets, sidewalks, air, soil, structures,
premises, food or drink.
B. To prohibit the sale, lease, or distribution of impure, offensive,
or unwholesome products.
C. To prohibit the existence of unsanitary conditions.
D. To prohibit blocking or obstructing, streets or sidewalks.
E. To prohibit unguarded open excavations, piles of dirt or debris,
and collection of stagnant water.
F. To prohibit the unauthorized posting of handbills, signs, and posters.
G. To prohibit the accumulations of brush, debris, litter, and any other
such materials which may create an unwholesome and unhealthy condition
in the Borough.
Certain words and terms are used in this chapter for the purposes
hereof and are defined as follows:
A. Unless the context clearly indicates the contrary, words used in
the present tense include the future, the singular numbers include
the plural, and the plural the singular, and the masculine includes
the feminine and neuter, and the neuter includes the masculine and
feminine, and the feminine includes the masculine and neuter.
B. As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings
indicated:
JUNK
Any discarded, unusable, scrap or abandoned man-made or man-processed
material or articles, such as the following types: metal, furniture,
appliances, motor vehicle parts, aircraft, glass, plastics, machinery,
equipment, containers and building materials. "Junk" shall not include
solid waste that is temporarily stored as is customary in an appropriate
container that is routinely awaiting collection and disposed of in
a manner consistent with state regulations; toxic wastes; grass clippings,
leaves, tree limps or similar yard waste materials; or items clearly
awaiting imminent recycling at an approved recycling facility.
[Added 10-13-2016 by Ord.
No. 2016-06]
JUNK VEHICLE
Includes any vehicle or trailer that meets any of the following
conditions:
[Added 10-13-2016 by Ord.
No. 2016-06]
(1)
Cannot be moved under its own power, in regards to a vehicle
designed to move under its own power, other than a vehicle clearly
needing only minor repairs;
(2)
Cannot be towed, in regards to a trailer designed to be towed;
(3)
Has been demolished beyond repair;
(4)
Has been separated from its axles, engine, body, or chassis;
(5)
Includes only the axle, engine, body parts and/or chassis, separated
from the remainder of the vehicle; and/or
(6)
Has had all of the tires removed from the vehicle or has had
one or more windows broken or removed from the vehicle for more than
10 days.
NUISANCE
Such activity, existence of a condition, or state of being,
which, based upon actual conditions in the Borough, shall be offensive
to public life, health, safety, morals, welfare, peace, decency, dignity,
reasonable and comfortable use of property, and the tranquility of
the community.
PERSON
Includes an individual, organization, corporation, partnership,
government or governmental subdivision or agency, business trust,
estate, trust, association, and any other legal or commercial entity.
STRUCTURE
Includes any building, permanent or temporary, fully erected
or not, intended for shelter, housing or enclosure of persons, animals,
or property of any kind.
It shall be unlawful for any person to create a nuisance as
herein defined. Any person violating any provision of this chapter
shall be subject to the penalties hereinafter provided.
The following activities shall be deemed to be a nuisance when,
based upon actual conditions in the Borough, they constitute a nuisance
in fact:
A. The accumulation of junk, garbage and rubbish and the storage of
abandoned or junked automobiles, on private and public property, and
the carrying on of any offensive manufacture or business.
[Amended 10-13-2016 by Ord. No. 2016-06]
B. The ownership, maintenance, inhabitation, use, or offering for use,
any structure on public or private grounds which may be dangerous,
unwholesome, or offensive to the public.
C. The willful making, or causing to be made, any loud, boisterous or
unseemly noise or disturbance so as to disturb or annoy the peaceable
public, near to or upon any street, lane, alley, park, square, common,
or in any public building, public place or business place, or private
building, or private place, within the Borough of Walnutport.
D. Any act or conduct such as might tend to cause riot, panic, violence,
or general disturbance.
E. Any wanton discharge, without legal rights, except in authorized
celebrations, any gun, pistol, firearm, fireworks, or other explosive.
F. The obstruction of any sidewalk, pavement, highway, street, lane,
alley, thoroughfare, passageway in any public building, or public
place, or business place.
G. The sale, or offering for sale, the lease, or offering for lease,
gift, or offering for gift, or distributing any unwholesome, impure,
or offensive food or drink, or any other material intended for human
or animal consumption.
H. The participation in an unlawful gathering, or the vexing, hindering,
annoying or delaying any person, whereby the public peace or comfort
is broken, or the public annoyed.
I. The lounging or loitering upon any street, road, highway, street
corner, curb, sidewalk, lane, alley, park, square, common, or any
public building, public place, or business place, or private residence,
store, shop, church, entrance, or exit, or passageway.
J. The traveling about the Borough soliciting, or begging, from door
to door, or upon the streets, sidewalks, curbs, lanes, alleys, parks,
squares, commons, or in any public building, public place, or business
place, school, or private dwelling, for the purpose of acquiring money
or a living and who shall have no fixed place of residence, lawful
occupation, or permit from said Borough.
K. The use of indecent, vile, and profane language audibly upon the
public streets, lanes, alleys, parks, squares, commons, public buildings,
public places, business places, churches, schools, or any public place
within the Borough.
L. The congregating or assembling at, near, or about a place where a
fire is in progress, or where the fire or police apparatus have been
summoned by an alarm or necessity, and thereby hindering, delaying,
or obstructing any such apparatus, its men and equipment, or rendering
dangers by such assembly, the management or handling of such apparatus.
M. The neglect or refusal to promptly regard and obey the orders of
any police officer or fireman in respect to the discharge of their
duties in the enforcement of the laws and ordinances of the Borough,
and at any place where a fire is in progress.
N. Parking a disabled vehicle (i.e., one that is incapable of being
operated in a safe and legal manner) on a Borough street in excess
of 48 hours.
O. Offering for sale any vehicles on a public right-of-way.
P. The repairing or performing of any mechanical or repair work on any
motor vehicle in or on any public street.
For any and every violation of any provision of this chapter,
the Borough may exercise any one or more of the following remedies:
A. Any person who violates or permits a violation of this chapter shall,
upon conviction in a summary proceeding brought before a Magisterial
District Judge under the Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal Procedure,
be guilty of a summary offense and shall be punishable by a fine of
not less than $100 nor more than $1,000, plus costs of prosecution.
In default of payment thereof, the defendant may be sentenced to imprisonment
for a term not exceeding 90 days. Each day or portion thereof that
such violation continues or is permitted to continue shall constitute
a separate offense and each section of this chapter that is violated
shall also constitute a separate offense.
B. Upon notice to the person violating this chapter, by certified mail,
return receipt requested, to abate the nuisance, and upon failure
of such person to do so within a period of 10 days from the date of
the receipt of said notice, the Borough shall take such steps as are
necessary to abate the nuisance, and charge said person violating
the chapter with all costs thereof, together with a collection fee
of 10%, or file a municipal claim against said person, together with
a collection fee of 10%, or by an action of assumpsit without the
filing of a claim.
C. Institute proceedings in any court of equity having jurisdiction
to abate the nuisance.