This chapter shall be known as and may be cited as "Borough
Dangerous Buildings Ordinance."
This chapter shall apply uniformly to all persons, business
organizations, nonprofit organizations, and all other legal entities;
and it shall apply uniformly to all property and all property owners
within the Borough.
The Council of the Borough shall:
A. Upon receipt of a report in accordance with the investigation procedure provided hereinabove in §
118-5 of this chapter, give written notice to the owner or owners of such dangerous buildings as determined by the records in the County Assessment and Recorder of Deeds offices in and for the county, in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, or failing to find any owner or owners, then notice shall be given to the occupant, mortgagee, lessee, agent or any other person found with an interest in said dangerous building as the Borough may discover, and said notice shall inform the owner or other party to appear before the Council on a date specified to show cause why the building or structure reported as a dangerous building should not be repaired, demolished or vacated in accordance with any written report to Council or determination made by Council.
B. Within not less than 10 days nor more than 60 days from the date
of such notice, hold a hearing and hear such testimony as the owner,
occupant, mortgagee, lessee or other person having an interest in
said building shall offer related to the dangerous building.
C. Within 30 days of such hearing, make written findings of fact from
the testimony offered pursuant to the hearing as to whether or not
the building in question is a dangerous building.
D. Within not more than 30 days following the hearing provided for by Subsection
B hereof, issue an order, based upon findings of fact made pursuant to Subsection
C hereof, demanding the owner of said building to repair, demolish or vacate any building found to be a dangerous building.
The following standards shall be followed in substance by the
Council in ordering repair, vacation or demolition of a dangerous
building:
A. If the dangerous building can be repaired as determined by the Council
so that it will no longer exist in violation of the terms of this
chapter, it shall be ordered repaired.
B. If the dangerous building is in such condition as to make it dangerous
to the health, morals, safety, or general welfare of its occupants,
it shall be ordered to be vacated.
C. If the dangerous building cannot be reasonably repaired as determined
by the Council, it shall be demolished.
D. If the dangerous building is a fire hazard or is existing or erected
in violation of the terms of this chapter, any other ordinance of
the Borough or any statute of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, it
shall be demolished.
Prior to excavation or demolition of a building, the owner shall
comply with the following guidelines for pest and rodent control:
A. Hire a licensed, reputable pest control operator to assess and survey
the property to identify pest and rodent activity and develop a pest
control plan as needed.
B. Provide the Borough of Verona with a copy of the pest control plan
that details strategies to eliminate pest activity on site and prevent
off-site migration of pests, as follows:
(1) Full site assessment and survey detailing areas detailing evidence
of general pest activity on site, if any;
(2) Methods for eliminating activity prior to demolition including rodenticides,
traps, etc., used as well as dates of service;
(3) Plan for preventing pest migration off site during demolition and
construction - baiting, trapping, perimeter trapping, and/or other
methods as well as proposed frequency of service;
(4) Last pest control site visit shall be no later than two weeks prior
to demolition.
C. The pest control operator should continue to monitor the demolition
site for the duration of the project and take whatever action necessary
to control the pest infestation.
D. The pest control operator shall implement predemolition plan and
shall file a report with the Borough of Verona every one to two weeks
summarizing the operator's findings.
In cases where it reasonably appears that there exists an immediate danger to the life or safety of any person caused or created by a dangerous building, the Council shall cause the immediate repair, vacation or demolition of such dangerous building. The costs of such emergency repair, vacation or demolition and pest control measures of such dangerous building shall be collected as provided for in §
118-9B of this chapter.
All ordinances or parts of ordinances expressly inconsistent
herewith, or dealing with the same or similar subject matter of this
chapter, are expressly repealed.
This chapter shall be effective within five days after adopted
by the Council and approved by the Mayor.