[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Health of the Borough of
Sharon Hill 12-15-1953; adopted and approved by the Council of the Borough of
Sharon Hill 1-12-1954 as part of Ord. No. 772 (Ch. 68 of the
1972 Code). Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Board of Health — See Ch. 18.
Public assemblies — See Ch. 110.
Building construction — See Ch. 125.
Electrical installations — See Ch. 160.
Fire prevention — See Ch. 175.
Garbage, refuse and rubbish — See Ch. 184.
Housing and property maintenance — See Ch. 200.
Nuisances — See Ch. 225.
Plumbing — See Ch. 260.
Restaurants and food establishments — See Ch. 276.
Abandoned refrigerators and wells — See Ch. 268.
Water conservation — See Ch. 363.
The Board of Health of this Borough may adjudge any condition
within the Borough to be a health nuisance, and any and every person
who creates, continues or maintains any such nuisance so declared
by the Board of Health shall be deemed guilty of a violation of this
chapter and shall be liable for the expense of the remedy and abatement
thereof.
No house refuse, offal, garbage, dead animals, decaying vegetable
matter or organic waste substances of any kind shall be thrown on
any street, roadway, ditch, gutter or public place within the limits
of this Borough, and no putrid or decaying animal or vegetable matter
shall be kept in any house, cellar or adjoining outbuilding or grounds
for more than 24 hours.
The basement or cellar of any dwelling shall be dry and ventilated
and shall be kept free of rubbish accumulation and rodent infestation.
Every dwelling and every dwelling unit shall be weatherproof
and capable of being adequately heated, and the heating equipment
in every dwelling or dwelling unit shall be maintained in good order
and repair and shall be of a type approved by the Plumbing Inspector.
All apparatus, implements or devices used for the cooking of
food shall be maintained in good order and repair and shall be of
a type approved by the Health Officer.
The floors and walls of every dwelling and every dwelling unit
shall be kept free of dampness.
Every habitable room in a dwelling or dwelling unit shall contain
a window or windows opening directly to the outside air, and the total
area of such window or windows shall not be less than 10% of the floor
area of such room.
No room in any basement or cellar shall be occupied as a habitable
room unless:
A.Â
The clear inner height is at least eight feet.
B.Â
The uppermost four feet of the required clear inner height is above
the average outside ground level.
C.Â
The floors and walls are waterproof and damp-proof in accordance
with an approved method, if in contact with earth. Such waterproofing
shall be between the floor or wall finish and the ground.
No room shall be used for sleeping purposes unless there is
at least 400 cubic feet of air space and 50 square feet of floor space
for each adult and at least 200 cubic feet of air space and 30 square
feet of floor space for each child under the age of 12 years occupying
such room. No room used for sleeping purposes shall have a floor area
of less than 60 square feet.
The occupancy of any dwelling unit having more than one habitable
room shall not exceed an average of 1Â 1/2 persons per habitable
room. For the purpose of this regulation, any child under one year
of age shall not be counted and any child more than one year old but
under 12 years of age shall be deemed to be 1/2 person.
In every dwelling unit containing two or more rooms, there shall
be running water and at least one sink connected to the public sewer
or to an approved sewage disposal system.
Where more than two persons occupy any dwelling unit, food shall
not be prepared or cooked in any room used for sleeping purposes.
There shall be at least one water closet for each dwelling unit,
which water closet shall be within and accessible from within the
building.
All plumbing, water closets and other plumbing fixtures in every
dwelling or dwelling unit shall be maintained in good order and repair
and in accordance with the requirements of the Borough Plumbing Code
and regulations.[1]
Every toilet room and every bathroom in a dwelling shall be
provided with adequate light and ventilation.
Every dwelling and every dwelling unit shall be provided with
such receptacles to contain all garbage, rubbish and ashes as may
be necessary, and all such receptacles shall at all times be maintained
in good order and repair. Receptacles for garbage shall be made of
metal, watertight and provided with tight covers.
There shall be for each dwelling unit a separate access either
to a hallway, landing, stairway or street.
All courts, yards or other areas on the premises of every dwelling
shall be properly graded and drained.
Every dwelling and every part thereof shall be kept clean and
free of any accumulation of dirt, filth, rubbish, garbage or similar
matter and shall be kept free of vermin or rodent infestation. All
yards, lawns and courts shall be kept clean and free of rodent infestation.
It shall be the duty of each occupant of a dwelling unit to keep in
a clean condition that portion of the property which he occupies or
over which he has exclusive control. If the occupant shall fail to
keep his portion of the property clean, the Health Officer may send
a written notice to the occupant to abate such nuisance within the
time specified in said notice; provided, however, that when in the
opinion of the Health Officer such nuisance constitutes an actual
menace to health, he shall proceed forthwith to cause such nuisance
to be abated. Failure of the occupant to comply with such notice shall
be deemed a violation of this chapter, and upon conviction the occupant
shall be subject to the penalty or penalties herein provided.
It shall be unlawful for any person willfully or maliciously
to deposit any material in any toilet, bathtub, sink or other plumbing
fixture which may result in the obstruction of any sanitary sewer.
This liability on the part of the occupant shall not relieve the owner
of the responsibility of cleaning any resultant chokage but shall
subject the occupant to the penalties of this chapter upon proper
proof of such willful or malicious act.
A.Â
Whenever any dwelling, or any building, structure, excavation, business
pursuit, matter, condition or thing in or about a dwelling or the
lot on which it is situated, or the plumbing, sewerage, drainage,
light or ventilation thereof, is found by the Health Officer to be
dangerous or detrimental to life or health, the Health Officer may
order that matter, condition or thing to be removed, abated, suspended,
altered or otherwise improved, as his order shall specify. If any
such order of the Health Officer, issued under the authority of the
provisions of this section, is not complied with within 10 days after
the service thereof, or within such shorter time as he may designate
as being necessary under the circumstances, then such order may be
executed by said Health Officer through his officers, agents, employees
or contractors, and the expense incurred incident to said order shall
be paid by the owner of said property and, until so paid, shall be
a lien upon the realty and recoverable as other liens on realty in
the Borough of Sharon Hill, or he may order the premises vacated;
provided, however, that when in the opinion of the Health Officer
such matter, condition or thing is in a state of nuisance which constitutes
an actual menace to health, he shall proceed forthwith to cause such
nuisance to be abated, but in no case shall a lien attach to the property
unless a notice, as hereinbefore provided, has been issued.
B.Â
Before proceeding to execute such order, the Health Officer shall
post a notice on the front of the building, stating that since such
order was not complied with within the time mentioned in said notice,
the Health Officer will proceed to execute the same at the expiration
of an additional five days and charge the cost thereof to the owner
of the premises. A copy of such notice shall be sent to the owner
of the property, or his agent, if names and addresses on diligent
search can be ascertained, and such notice shall be posted on said
premises at least five days before the Health Officer proceeds to
incur expenses, unless the condition is of such character requiring
immediate action, in which case the time of the notice shall be such
as, in the judgment of the Health Officer, is reasonable and proper.
The Health Officer shall furnish the Borough Solicitor with all information
necessary to enable him to file a lien against the property involved
for the recovery of any and all expenses incurred under the provisions
of this chapter.
Whenever it shall be found by the Health Officer that a dwelling
is unfit for human habitation or dangerous to life or health by reason
of want of repair, of defects in the drainage, plumbing, lighting,
ventilation, heating or the construction of the same, or by reason
of the existence on the premises of any condition likely to cause
sickness or injury among the occupants of said dwelling, or for any
other causes affecting the public health, the Health Officer may issue
an order requiring such dwelling to be vacated. A copy of such order
shall be posted on the front of the dwelling at least 10 days before
it shall be effective, unless the situation is of a character requiring
immediate action, in which case the effective time of the order shall
be such as, in the judgment of the Health Officer, is reasonable and
proper. A copy of such order shall be sent to the owner of the property,
or his agent, if names and addresses on diligent search can be ascertained.
The dwelling so ordered to be vacated shall not be occupied until
a written statement shall have been secured from the Health Officer
showing that the dwelling or its occupation has been made to comply
with this or any other existing law.
Whenever any person or persons shall be in actual possession
of or have charge, care or control of any property within the Borough
as executor, administrator, trustee, guardian or agent, such person
shall be deemed and taken to be the owner of such property within
the true intent and meaning of this chapter and shall be bound to
comply with the provisions of this chapter to the same extent as the
owner, and notice to any such person of any order or decision of the
Health Officer shall be deemed and taken to be a good and sufficient
notice as if such person or persons were actually the owner or owners
of such property; provided, however, that the provisions of this section
shall not apply to an agent who merely collects rents and is not in
actual possession and/or control of the property.
All commercial or industrial establishments employing more than
five persons shall have adequate toilet and wash facilities, and where
both sexes are employed, separate toilet and wash facilities shall
be provided; and establishments dispensing food for consumption on
the premises shall provide wash and toilet facilities for the use
of patrons.
The Health Officer, the Board of Health as a body or by committee,
together with assistants, subordinates and technicians of their choosing,
shall have the right to enter at any times upon any premises in the
Borough on which there is suspected to be any violation of these regulations
or of the sanitary codes, regulations or laws of the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania, or any nuisance detrimental to the public health,
for the purpose of examining and causing the abatement of the same.
The rules and regulations herein provided shall be in addition
to all those provided by the Borough Code, state laws or by any state
board, and such additional laws, codes or rules shall be enforced
as heretofore and hereafter provided.
[Amended 12-28-1972 by Ord. No. 1019; 7-14-1988 by Ord. No. 1180]
In addition to the right herein provided to collect by suit
and lien the cost of abating any nuisance or remedying any violation
of the foregoing rules and regulations, any person who shall be convicted
of a violation of any of the provisions of this chapter before any
Magisterial District Judge shall be sentenced to pay a maximum fine
as provided from time to time by state statute, together with costs
of prosecution, or to imprisonment in the county jail for a term not
to exceed 30 days, or both.
