[Ord. 1988-1, 11/14/1988, § 1]
No person, firm, or corporation, owning or occupying
any property within the Township of East Nottingham, shall permit
any grass or weeds or any vegetation whatsoever, not edible or planted
for some useful or ornamental purpose, to grow or remain upon such
premises during any year between May 15 and October 15 so as to exceed
a height of 15 inches or which 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 of East Nottingham in violation of any of the provisions
of this section is hereby declared to be a nuisance and detrimental
to the health, safety, cleanliness, and comfort of the inhabitants
of the Township.
[Ord. 1988-1, 11/14/1988, § 2]
The owner of any premises, as to vacant premises or premises occupied by the owner, and the occupant thereof, in case of premises occupied by other than the owner thereof, shall remove, trim or cut all grass, weeds, or other vegetation growing or remaining upon such premises in violation of the provisions of § 10-101.
[Ord. 1988-1, 11/14/1988, § 3]
The Township Supervisors, or any other officer or employee of the Township designated thereby for the purpose, is hereby authorized to give notice, by personal service or by certified mail or by regular mail, and, in the latter case, it shall be first class mail, postage prepaid, receipt for mailing, to the owner or occupant, as the case may be, of any premises whereon grass, weeds, or other vegetation is growing or remaining in violation of the provisions of § 10-101, directing and requiring such occupant to remove, trim or cut such grass, weeds or vegetation, so as to conform to the requirements of this Part, within seven 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, weeds, or vegetation, and the cost thereof, together with any additional penalty authorized by the law, may be collected by the Township from such person, firm, or corporation, in the manner provided by law.
[Ord. 1988-1, 11/14/1988, § 4]
The Township shall cause notice to be published
on or before May 1 of each year, in a newspaper of general circulation,
ordering the removal of all grass or weeds or any vegetation whatsoever,
not edible or planted for some useful or ornamental purpose from any
premises which exceed a height of 15 inches or which throw off any
unpleasant or noxious odor or to conceal any filthy deposit or to
create or produce pollen, between May 15 and October 15 of the then
current year.
[Ord. 1988-1, 11/14/1988, § 5; as amended
by Ord. 2009-21, 11/16/2009]
Any person, firm, or corporation who shall violate
any provision of this Part, upon conviction thereof in an action brought
before a magisterial district judge in the manner provided for the
enforcement of summary offenses under the Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal
Procedure, shall be sentenced to pay a fine of not more than $1,000
plus costs and, in default of payment of said fine and costs, to a
term of imprisonment not to exceed 90 days. Each day that a violation
of this Part continues or each section of this Part which shall be
found to have been violated shall constitute a separate offense.
[Ord. 1988-1, 11/14/1988, § 6]
If any person, firm, or corporation is found
in violation hereof and after any sentence entered herein does not
remove the said grass, weeds, or vegetation so as to conform to the
requirements of this Part, the Township shall take whatever steps
necessary to remove said grass, weeds, or vegetation, etc., and charge
the owner or occupant for any reasonable expense incurred thereby.
[Ord. 2015-34, 5/12/2015]
All dangerous structures and buildings, as herein defined, are
hereby declared to be public nuisances and shall be repaired, removed
or demolished. It is hereby declared to be unlawful for any person,
as defined herein, to permit any such dangerous building to remain
in place.
[Ord. 2015-34, 5/12/2015]
As used in this Part, the following terms shall have the meanings
indicated:
An individual appointed by East Nottingham Township to inspect
and issue permits for construction within East Nottingham Township.
Any structure which has any one or more of the following
defects; and any such structure shall be deemed a dangerous structure:
A structure whose interior walls or other vertical structure
members list, lean or buckle.
A structure which, exclusive of the foundation, shows 25% or
more of damage or deterioration of the supporting members, or 40%
or more of damage or deterioration of the nonsupporting interior or
roof or outside walls or covering.
A structure which has improperly distributed loads upon the
floors or roofs, or in which the same are overloaded, or which have
insufficient strength to be reasonably safe for the proposed use.
A structure which has been damaged by fire, wind or other causes
so as to have become dangerous to life or safety of the occupant(s)
or to others in the vicinity.
A structure which has become or is so dilapidated, decayed,
unsanitary or unsafe that it is unfit for human habitation or is likely
to cause injury to occupant(s) or to others in the vicinity.
A structure having inadequate facilities for egress in case
of fire or panic, or those having insufficient stairways, fire escapes
or other means of access and egress.
A structure, parts of which are so attached that they may fall
and injure members of the public or cause damage to property.
A structure which, because of its general condition, is unsafe,
unsanitary or dangerous to the health, safety, morals or general welfare
of the people of the Township.
The Township Engineer or other structural engineer appointed
for the purpose.
A professional learned and/or licensed in the construction
and structural integrity of structures.
A natural person, corporation, partnership, joint venture,
sole proprietorship, firm, association and any other entity of whatever
type.
To render safely inaccessible to the public.
Any assembly of materials above or below the surface of the
land, and whether or not affixed to the land, including, but not limited
to, buildings, mobile homes, fences, man-made objects, dams, fills,
embankments, objects, culverts, roads and bridges.
The Township of East Nottingham, Chester County, Pennsylvania.
[Ord. 2015-34, 5/12/2015]
Whenever it shall be reported or come to the attention of any
Township official that any structure, as herein defined, or any portion
thereof is in a dangerous condition, as herein defined, such person
shall report same to the Board or that Township employee or independent
appointee designated by the Board of Supervisors to make an investigation
and examination of such structure. The East Nottingham Township Building
Inspector is hereby empowered to enter upon any property for purposes
of such inspection. The Building Inspector and any engineer or other
independent professional are hereby authorized to investigate the
condition of the structure and make a determination as to its safety.
[Ord. 2015-34, 5/12/2015]
The following standards shall be followed in substance by the
Board in ordering repair, removal or demolition of a dangerous structure:
1.
If the dangerous structure can be repaired, as determined by the
employee or official appointed by the Board to do the inspection or
said professional engineer or architect as necessary, in such a way
that it would no longer violate this Part, it shall be ordered repaired.
2.
If the dangerous structure is in such condition as to make it dangerous
to the health, safety or general welfare of its occupants, it shall
be ordered to be vacated and demolished.
3.
If the dangerous structure cannot reasonably be repaired, as determined
by the East Nottingham Township Building Inspector and/or engineer
or independent professional, it shall be vacated and demolished.
4.
If the dangerous structure is a fire hazard or is existing or erected
in violation of the terms of this Part, or any other ordinance of
the Township, or any statute of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania requiring
it to be vacated and demolished, it shall be vacated and demolished.
[Ord. 2015-34, 5/12/2015]
If any structure is deemed to be a dangerous structure within
the terms of this Part, the Board shall forthwith cause notice to
be served upon the owner of such dangerous structure or, failing to
find any owner, then such occupant, mortgagee, lessee, agent or other
person with an interest in said dangerous building who may be located.
1.
The notice required by this section shall be served personally or
by registered or certified mail upon the owner of a dangerous structure
or his agent, or personally upon his agent. Notice by mail shall be
sent to the owner of a dangerous structure by certified or registered
mail at the last known address according to the records available
in the Chester County Tax Assessment Office.
2.
Such notice shall identify the building or structure deemed dangerous,
contain a statement of the particulars which made this building or
structure a dangerous building and include an order requiring the
same to be put in such condition as to conform with the terms of this
Part; provided, further, that in any case where the notice prescribes
the repair of any structure, the owner thereof shall have the option
to remove and demolish such structure in lieu of making the repairs
thereto within the time period provided.
A.
The owner or occupier of such property, after receiving notice, shall
have 10 days to secure the property in accordance with the definitions
in this Part to ensure that no unauthorized person has access to it.
B.
Such notice shall require any person notified to repair, remove or
demolish any building to commence the work or act required by the
notice within 10 days of such notice and to comply with such repair,
removal or demolition within 60 days from the receipt of such notice.
3.
If said property owner shall submit specific plans showing an intent
to renovate and a proposed schedule identifying when such repairs
shall be completed, then said time may be extended so long as East
Nottingham Township sees progress consistent with the submitted plans.
4.
The Board shall cause to be placed on all dangerous structures a
notice reading substantially as follows:
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"This building has been found to be a dangerous structure by
the Board of Supervisors of East Nottingham Township. This notice
shall remain on this building until it is repaired, removed or demolished
in accordance with the notice which has been given to the owner, occupant,
lessee, mortgagee or agent of the building. It is unlawful to remove
this notice until compliance is made under the terms contained in
the notice served on the above-named party."
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[Ord. 2015-34, 5/12/2015]
1.
All fines provided for in this section shall be in addition to costs.
2.
Any person who violates or permits the violation of any provision
of this Part shall, upon being found liable thereof in a civil enforcement
procedure, pay a fine of not more than $500 per incident, plus court
costs and reasonable attorneys' fees. Each day of violation is
a separate violation. Such fine, as such civil enforcement cost, and
attorneys' fees shall be reduced to and filed as a Township lien
against the real estate. Each twenty-four-hour period during which
failure to comply continues shall constitute a separation violation.
This remedy shall be in addition to any other lawful remedies available
to the Township.
3.
It shall be a violation of this Part for any person to remove the
notice provided for in the section above, and such person may be subject
to a criminal enforcement proceeding and pay a fine of not more than
$500 plus court costs and reasonable attorneys' fees. As to such
fine and costs, each day of violation is a separate violation.
4.
Any person having an interest in any building who fails to comply
with any notice or order to repair, vacate or demolish any dangerous
building within 60 days of the receipt of such notice, by such failure,
does empower the Board to cause such building or structure to be repaired,
vacated, removed or demolished by the Township and to cause the costs
of such repair, vacation or demolition, together with a penalty of
10% and reasonable attorneys' fees, to be charged upon the land
upon which the building exists as a municipal lien or alternatively
to recover such costs and penalty in a suit at law against the owner
but, failing to recover same, to have the judgment therefor to be
charged upon the land; and this subsection is separate from and in
addition to the fine, penalty and costs which may be imposed by any
other subsection of this Part.
[Ord. 2015-34, 5/12/2015]
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 Board of Supervisors of East Nottingham Township has the authority but not the obligation to enter into the premises and cause immediate repairs or demolition. The costs of such emergency repair, vacation or demolition of such building shall be collected as provided for in § 10-206 of this Part.
[Ord. 2015-34, 5/12/2015]
In the event any of the provisions of this Part are declared
unconstitutional, unlawful, or unenforceable by a court of competent
jurisdiction, such declaration shall not affect the validity of the
remainder of the Part or of this Part as a whole, but such shall continue
in full force and effect as though the unconstitutional, unlawful,
or unenforceable provision had never been a part hereof.
