[HISTORY: Adopted by the Borough Council of the Borough of
Wilkinsburg 1-19-2011 by Ord. No. 2855. Amendments noted where
applicable.]
It is the purpose of this chapter and the policy of Council
of the Borough of Wilkinsburg, in order to protect and promote the
public health, safety and welfare of its citizens, to establish a
means for controlling disruptive activity taking place in properties
located within the Borough and to charge the cost of enforcement resulting
from authorities being called to a disruptive property to the property
owner in order to deter repeated violations of state and local laws,
and to pursue charges against the owner and/or occupant of a disruptive
property when disruptive activity remains unabated over an unreasonably
long period of time. Nothing in this chapter is intended to deter
individuals in the Borough from requesting public safety services
when they are in legitimate need of such.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
Any employee of the Borough who has been designated or assigned
the duties of code enforcement for the Borough of Wilkinsburg and
any assistants or deputies thereof, and including any properly authorized
member or officer of the Borough Police Department.
Any form of conduct, action, omission, incident or behavior
perpetrated, caused or permitted on a property by the owner(s), tenant(s),
occupant(s) or their invitee(s), which constitutes a violation of
any of the ordinances of the Borough of Wilkinsburg or statutes of
the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania relating to the following:
Any public order offense;
Any violation involving a minor;
Any firearms or other weapons offense;
Any violation related to the maintenance of property free from
noxious weeds, excessively high grass or refuse;
Any public decency offense;
Any offense against property;
Any sanitation violation;
Any animal offense; and
Any property on which disruptive activity has occurred on
three or more separate occasions within any sixty-day period.
A person on the premises with the actual or implied consent
of the occupant, tenant or owner.
An individual who resides on the premises, whether or not
as the owner, with or without a written lease.
One or more persons, jointly or severally, in whom is vested
all or part of the legal or equitable title to the property, including
a mortgage holder, corporation, partnership or other entity, and shall
include the partners, shareholders, directors, officers or other principals
as the case may be.
Property that has been declared a disruptive property where
disruptive activity continues to occur on three separate occasions
within a one-year time period following the declaration of disruptive
property.
For rental properties, each individual rental unit shall
be considered a separate property for purposes of enforcement of this
chapter. Any occurrence of disruptive activity in the common area
of a rental property shall be charged to the specific rental unit
that the occupant/tenant/invitee occupies and not the property in
whole.
A.
When the owner, tenant, occupant or invitee on a property has either
been arrested or issued a citation or summons for disruptive activities
occurring on the property on three or more separate occasions within
any sixty-day period, the Enforcement Officer may declare the property
to be a disruptive property and proceed with the notice and enforcement
procedures set forth in this chapter.
B.
Any citation, summons or arrest for disruptive activity perpetrated by a tenant who is already in the process of being evicted shall not count towards the declaration of a disruptive property pursuant to Subsection A, above, provided that the property owner can prove that an eviction action has been commenced in a court of law and that the property owner is actively prosecuting said eviction against the tenant.
C.
After a property has been declared a disruptive property, if enforcement
officers are not called upon to respond to any disruptive activities
for a period of 12 consecutive months, the property will no longer
be classified as a disruptive property.
A.
The Enforcement Officer shall provide a separate written notice to
the owner for each citation, summons or arrest made for a disruptive
activity at the owner's property.
B.
The notice shall be deemed to be properly delivered if sent either
by first-class mail to the owner's registered address or, if
unavailable, to the owner's last known address or as may be found
in public records, or if delivered in person to the owner or left
at the owner's usual place of abode in the presence of a competent
adult residing there. If a current address cannot be located, notice
shall be deemed sufficient if posted on the potential disruptive property
with a copy sent to the last known address of the owner.
C.
The notice shall contain the following information:
(1)
The street address or legal description sufficient for identification
of the property;
(2)
A description of the disruptive activity and the date on which the
citation, summons or arrest was made; and
(3)
A statement that the property is declared to be a disruptive property,
or, if the property has not yet been declared a disruptive property,
a statement of the number of subsequent citations, summons and/or
arrests for disruptive activity which will result in such a declaration;
and
(4)
A statement that, if the property has been declared a disruptive
property, the occurrence of any subsequent disruptive activity at
this property within three months following the date of the notice
will result in the property being charged with the costs of the administrative
and law enforcement actions taken by the Borough in response to the
disruptive activity; and
(5)
A statement that the property owner shall within 15 days of the date
of the notice respond in writing to the Enforcement Officer detailing
a course of action by which disruptive activities will be abated at
the property. The time period for implementation of any proposed plan
shall not exceed 60 days from the date of submission.
A.
If the property has been declared a disruptive property and subsequent disruptive activity has occurred within the time period noted in § 135-4C(4) above and the property owner has failed to take any action to abate the disruptive activity at the property, the Enforcement Officer shall file a complaint or citation with the District Magistrate.
B.
If, after a property has been declared a disruptive property pursuant
to the provisions of this chapter, the Borough's Enforcement
Officer is called upon to respond to disruptive activity occurring
at the property on three separate occasions within a one-year time
period following the declaration of disruptive property, such property
is hereby deemed to be a public nuisance, which shall result in the
filing of misdemeanor charges against the owner and/or occupant of
the disruptive property, as may be applicable by the provisions of
the Pennsylvania Crimes Code.
C.
The declaration of a disruptive property or the charging or assessment
of costs by the Borough on a property under this chapter does not
affect or limit the Borough's right or authority to bring criminal
prosecution or other legal action against any person for violation
of the Borough Code or state law.
A.
If the property is declared a disruptive property and the owner failed
to abate the disruptive activity, the owner may be assessed all costs
incurred by the Borough in providing public safety services to the
property in response to the subsequent disruptive activity. Within
30 days of the incurring of the costs set forth in this section, the
Enforcement Officer shall issue a citation to the property owner with
a written demand for payment containing a description/summary of all
costs incurred. Failure to pay any such costs shall be cause for the
Borough to file an in rem judgment against the property and/or an
in personam action against the owner for recovery of the costs incurred
by the Borough.
B.
Costs of providing public safety services shall be determined based
on the time required to respond to the disruptive activity multiplied
by an hourly rate based upon the wages and benefits of the Borough
employee, dispatch costs, vehicle and equipment costs, and supervisory
and administrative costs.
C.
If a property has been declared a public nuisance in accordance with § 135-5B above, the Enforcement Officer may revoke the occupancy permit of the property and shall perform any other actions to ensure the abatement of the nuisance. Costs for such actions shall be assessed to the property owner. The revocation of the occupancy permit shall remain in effect until such time as the nuisance has been fully abated.
D.
In addition to the aforenoted costs, any violation of this chapter
shall constitute a civil offense punishable, upon conviction thereof,
by a fine no less than $300 or more than $1,000 for each offense plus
costs of prosecution. Each day the violation continues following issuance
of the initial notice shall constitute a separate offense. The Borough
may institute proceedings under this section by the issuance of a
"notice of violation letter," assessing a civil penalty ranging from
$10 to $1,000 for each offense, and provide the parties in violation
of said Code section the opportunity to abate the violation and pay
said civil penalty in lieu of the institution of proceedings and the
imposition of the other stated penalties set forth herein.
[Amended 5-9-2012 by Ord. No. 2892]
