[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Commissioners of the Township
of Penn as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where
applicable.]
[Adopted 6-15-2015 by Ord. No. 774]
Pursuant to Section 1502, Clause I, of the First Class Township Code (53 P.S. § 56502, Clause I), the codification of a complete body of legislation for the Township of Penn, County of York, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, as revised, codified and consolidated into chapters, articles and sections by General Code, and consisting of Chapters
1 through
325, together with an Appendix, is hereby approved, adopted, ordained and enacted as a single ordinance of the Township of Penn, which shall be known and is hereby designated as the "Code of the Township of Penn," 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 Board of Commissioners of the Township of Penn, and it is the intention of said Board of Commissioners 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 Only such provisions of former ordinances as are omitted from this Code shall be deemed repealed or abrogated by the provisions of §
1-3 below, and only new or changed provisions, as described in §
1-6 below, shall be deemed to be enacted from the effective date of this Code, as provided in §
1-15 below.
A. Repeal of inconsistent ordinances. Except as provided in §
1-4, Legislation saved from repeal; matters not affected by repeal, below, all ordinances or parts of ordinances inconsistent with the provisions contained in the Code adopted by this ordinance are hereby repealed as of the effective date given in §
1-15; provided, however, that such repeal shall only be to the extent of such inconsistency, and any valid legislation of the Township of Penn which is not in conflict with the provisions of the Code shall be deemed to remain in full force and effect.
B. Repeal
of specific ordinances. The Board of Commissioners of the Township
of Penn has determined that the following ordinances are no longer
in effect and hereby specifically repeals the following legislation:
(1) Former Chapter 95, Art.
I, Youngs Woods, of the 1975 Code.
The adoption of this Code and the repeal of ordinances provided for in §
1-3 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 §
1-3 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 December 15, 2014.
B. Any
right or liability established, accrued or incurred under any legislative
provision of the Township 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 Township
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 Township.
E. Any
franchise, license, right, easement or privilege heretofore granted
or conferred by the Township 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 Township or other instruments or evidence
of the Township'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 Township.
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 Township 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 Township.
S. Any
currently effective ordinance providing for intergovernmental cooperation
or establishing an intermunicipal agreement.
All ordinances of a general and permanent nature adopted subsequent to the date given in §
1-4A 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
changes. In compiling and preparing the ordinances and resolutions
of the Township for adoption and revision as part of the Code, certain
nonsubstantive grammatical and style changes were made in one or more
of said ordinances and resolutions. It is the intention of the Board
of Commissioners 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 Board of Commissioners, and it is the intent of the Board of Commissioners that all such changes be adopted as part of the Code as if the legislation 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 §
1-15.
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 Township Secretary
and shall remain there for use and examination by the public. Upon
adoption, such copy or copies shall be certified to by the Township
Secretary, as provided by law, and such certified copy or copies shall
remain on file in the office of the Township 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 Board of Commissioners 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 Township 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 Township Secretary for the use of the public. All changes
in said Code and all legislation adopted by the Board of Commissioners
subsequent to the effective date of this codification which the Board
of Commissioners shall adopt specifically as part of the Code shall,
when finally adopted, be included therein by reference until such
changes or new legislation are printed as supplements to said Code
books, at which time such supplements shall be inserted therein.
The Township 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 Township.
The enactment and application of this ordinance, coupled with the
publication of the notice of introduction, the availability of a copy
or copies of the Code for inspection by the public and the filing
of an attested copy of this ordinance with the county, as required
by law, 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 Township to be misrepresented thereby. Any person who
violates or permits a violation of 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 Board of Commissioners 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 June 15, 2015.
[Adopted 11-21-2011 by Ord. No. 730]
Any person, partnership, corporation, or other entity shall
pay a fine not exceeding $1,000 for a violation of any building, housing,
property maintenance, health, fire or public safety code or ordinance
and for water, air and noise pollution violations.
Any person, partnership, corporation, or other entity violating
any other ordinance of the Township of Penn shall pay a fine not exceeding
$600 per violation.
Nothing in this article shall restrict the right of any prosecutor
or police officer to seek the incarceration of a violator or the right
of any judge or magisterial district judge to impose incarceration
upon a violator in accordance with the provisions for enforcement
of ordinances set forth in the First Class Township code.
If a defendant shall fail to pay the fine imposed for violation
of a Township ordinance and where the fine does not exceed $300, the
defendant may be sentenced to imprisonment in the county jail for
not more than 30 days; provided, however, that for any violation for
which the penalty is specifically prescribed in any statute, regulation
or ordinance, or if a term of imprisonment is established by such
law, the provisions of such law shall be controlling.
Any person, partnership, corporation, or other entity violating
any law, regulation, statute, or ordinance containing a penalty for
violation thereof shall be liable for the penalty imposed in such
law, regulation, statute, or ordinance. Nothing in this article shall
be construed to amend or affect any payment, compliance requirements,
fine, penalty, or other consequences contained in the law, regulation,
statute or ordinance for such violation.
Fines, costs and penalties may be collected by suit brought
in the name of the Township before a magistrate district judge and
upon the entry of judgment, the Township may collect such costs, fines
and penalties by execution or other judicial process. All fines and
penalties and all judgments therefore shall be paid to the Township.
Each day that a violation continues shall constitute a separate
violation, unless the magistrate district judge determines that there
was a good faith basis for the defendant to believe that there was
no such violation, in which event there shall be deemed to have been
only one such violation until the fifth day following the date of
the decision by the Magisterial District Judge. Thereafter, each day
the violation continues shall constitute a separate violation.
In addition to the other remedies available to the Township,
the Township shall have the right to institute an appropriate action
to restrain, correct, or abate a violation of any ordinance, and to
obtain injunctive or other relief either in equity or at law.
The Township is hereby authorized to collect and recover in
conjunction with any collection of a fine, penalty, cost or judgment,
all charges, expenses, and fees incurred in the collection of such
amount, including, without limitation, reasonable attorneys' fees,
court costs and filing fees, document recording fees, certification
fees, notary fees, and all other charges, expenses and fees of whatever
kind incurred in the collection of the amount due.
Whenever the collection of any delinquent account, fine, penalty
or cost on behalf of or by the Township of Penn is made pursuant to
any statute, law, regulation, or ordinance that sets an interest rate
or a maximum interest rate, the Township hereby adopts as the interest
rate collectable on such delinquency the maximum interest rate allowed
under the authorizing statute, law, regulation, or ordinance under
which the Township is proceeding with the collection. In the event
that the Township is proceeding with a collection under more than
one statute, law, regulation, or ordinance that sets an interest rate,
the Township shall collect the highest interest rate allowed under
any statute, law, regulation, or ordinance under which it is proceeding.
In the event that the Township is proceeding under a statute, law,
regulation, or ordinance that provides for the collection of interest
and no interest rate is established by such statute, law, regulation,
or ordinance the Township hereby establishes the interest rate to
be charged to be 12% per year. Unless otherwise provided by the statute,
law, regulation, or ordinance under which the Township is proceeding,
the interest shall begin to accrue on the date that the account became
due and owing, and shall continue until the account is paid in full.
Unless otherwise provided in the statute, law, regulation, or ordinance
under which the Township is proceeding, interest shall be calculated
as simple interest and not compounded.
All ordinances or parts of ordinances that are inconsistent
herewith, including but not limited to Ordinance No. 15 as amended
by Ordinance Nos. 192 and 370, are hereby repealed. This article shall
not amend or affect any penalty in any subdivision and land development
ordinance or any zoning ordinance previously enacted or hereafter
enacted by the Township.