[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Council of the Township
of Hampton as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where
applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Property maintenance — See Ch. 230.
[Adopted 9-26-1989 by Ord. No. 399 (Ch. 10, Part 4A, of the
1995 Code of Ordinances)]
No person, firm or corporation owning or occupying any property
within the Township of Hampton shall permit any poison ivy, poison
sumac or any other similar noxious and harmful weed to remain growing,
nor shall he or it permit any grass or other weeds or other vegetation
whatsoever not edible or planted for some useful or ornamental purpose
to grow or remain upon such premises so as to exceed a height of six
inches or to throw off any unpleasant or noxious odor or to conceal
any filthy deposit or to create or produce pollen. Any grass, weeds
or other vegetation growing upon any premises in the Township in violation
of any of the provisions of this section and which affects the public
or residents of the Township and which is detrimental to the safety,
cleanliness and comfort of the habitants of the Township is hereby
declared to be a nuisance.
Nothing herein contained, however, shall require the cutting
of grass, weeds or other vegetation growing in areas which customarily
and historically have contained brush and dense foliage or which remain
undeveloped and are not proximate or contiguous to developed areas;
nor shall any such grass, weeds or other vegetation be required to
be cut or maintained where such cutting or maintaining would impose
a hardship on the property owner because of the presence of extreme
slope, grades, crevasses or the existence of areas which are unable
to be reasonably cleared.
The Zoning Officer of the Township of Hampton is hereby authorized to give notice, as permitted by law and rules of civil and criminal procedure, to the owner or occupant, as the case may be, of any premises whereon any poison ivy, poison oak, poison sumac or any other similar noxious and harmful weed, grass or other vegetation is growing or remaining in violation of § 112-1 hereof, directing and requiring such occupant to remove, trim or cut such vegetation so as to conform to the requirements of this section within five days after issuance of such notice. In case any person, firm or corporation shall neglect, fail or refuse to comply with such notice within the period of time stated therein, the Township authorities may remove, trim or cut such grass, weed or vegetation and the cost thereof, together with any additional penalty authorized by law, may be collected by the Township from such person, firm or corporation in the manner provided by law.
[Amended 4-26-1995 by Ord. No. 505]
Any person, firm or corporation who shall violate or fail, neglect
or refuse to comply with any of the provisions of this article shall,
upon conviction thereof, be sentenced to pay a fine of not more than
$600 plus costs and, in default of said fine and costs, to a term
of imprisonment not to exceed 30 days. Each day that a violation of
this article continues shall constitute a separate violation.
[Adopted 5-23-2012 by Ord. No. 749]
As used in this article, the following words and phrases shall
have the meanings indicated:
Any street, sidewalk, sewer line, water line, utility line,
right-of-way, easement or public area owned and/or maintained by the
Township of Hampton, Allegheny County, or the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
It shall be the duty of any person growing or maintaining any
tree, shrub or plant within a public street or sewer right-of-way
or easement to prevent any such damage or interference to any sewer
lines, streets, sidewalks, or anything defined herein as part of the
public right-of-way, and to remove any tree, shrub or plant that has
or may cause interference with or injury to any sewer lines, streets,
sidewalks, or anything defined herein as part of the public right-of-way;
to remove or trim any tree, shrub or plant, or portion thereof, which
interferes with the unobstructed view and safety of the passing pedestrians
or vehicles, or which interferes with the unobstructed operation of
any streetlighting devices or signs; to remove any tree which is dead
in whole or part, or which by its growth, placement, condition, or
otherwise, poses a risk of danger to the public.
A.
It shall be the duty of all owners of real property in the Township to comply with the requirements of this article and to remove, trim, or treat, as applicable, any tree, shrub or plant in violation of § 112-6 hereof. The Community Services Director, his/her designee, and/or Township Engineer shall enforce this article.
B.
Any person who fails or refuses to abate any violation of this article
within 30 days of any notice to abate same, or within such lesser
time frame as determined to be reasonably necessary by the Community
Services Director, his/her designee and/or Township Engineer, under
the circumstances, shall be guilty of violating this abatement requirement
of this article as well and the Community Services Director may cause
same to be abated and render to the property owner a bill covering
the cost of such abatement as provided hereinafter.
C.
In order to abate any violation of this article as provided herein,
the Community Services Director, his/her designee, and/or Township
Engineer shall have the authority to cause the work required by such
notice to abate said violation be done by the Township, or, at its
discretion, under contract therewith and to collect the cost of such
work, and to collect from any such owner or owners as like debts are
by law collected, including filing of municipal claims, liens or other
actions as permitted by law. The work to be charged to the property
owner is the cost of the removal of tree, shrub, vine or other vegetation
and its roots including the cost of rental equipment necessary to
perform the work and its cost of labor necessary to perform the work,
whether the labor is performed by Township employees or other persons.
D.
The Community Services Director, his/her designee and/or Township
Engineer may, pursuant to 53 P.S. § 67325(c), clear out
brush and other refuse along the sides of the road and within the
public right-of-way, and remove any branches that may interfere in
any way with public travel. Furthermore, the Community Services Director,
his/her designee and/or Township Engineer may, pursuant to 53 P.S.
§ 67325(e), remove roadside trees thrown down by wind or
lodged in a position as to cause a hazard or may become a source of
danger to the public and/or public travel.
Any person, firm or corporation who receives a written notice
from the Township and objects to all or part thereof, may, within
10 days of receipt thereof, notify the Municipal Manager, in writing,
of the specific nature and reason(s) of the objection. The Municipal
Manager, in consultation with a licensed arborist of his/her designation,
shall render a decision within 10 days of notice from the appellant
and notify the appellant of the decision.
Nothing contained in this article shall be deemed to impose
liability upon the Township, its employees or individuals, companies
or corporations hired by the Township, nor to relieve the owner of
any private property from the duty to keep any tree, shrub, or plant
that he/she planted in the right-of-way of a public street and/or
easement or that is on his/her property from constituting a hazard
or an impediment to travel or vision upon any street, sidewalk, or
other public place within the Township of Hampton.
