[Adopted 8-29-1928 by Ord. No. 110-A; amended in its entirety 4-12-2016 by Ord. No. 2016-01 (Ch. VII, Part 2, of the 1996 Code of Ordinances)]
All noxious weeds, brush and poisonous vines growing upon any
lot or between the property line and the street or curbline on the
streets in front thereof or alongside of their property in the Borough
of Montgomery about to ripen seed or over six inches in height are
hereby declared a public nuisance and abatable as such, and should
any person or persons, firm or corporation, either as principal or
agent or tenant or owner, refuse or neglect to destroy such weeds,
brush or poisonous vines after notice has been given to said tenant
or owner of the property containing such weeds, brush or vines to
destroy said weeds, brush or vines within five days from the date
of said notice from the Code Enforcement Officer, he or she shall
be guilty of violating this article.
Any person or persons, firm or corporation (whether owner or
tenant) maintaining a public nuisance as declared in this article
relative to cutting of grass and/or weeds through neglect and neglecting
or refusing to comply with this article shall be guilty of violating
this article and shall, upon conviction thereof, before any Magisterial
District Judge, be penalized to pay a fine of $50. If the violation
is not corrected within the five-day time period, or should the same
violation reoccur within a thirty-day period, the fine shall be $100
per day that the violation continues until it is corrected. The Borough
shall have the right to correct the violation with either the hiring
of an outside agency to make the necessary corrections or have Borough
employees make the necessary corrections. Should this action be taken,
the property owner shall be billed at a rate of $25 per man hour used
to correct the violation. Failure to pay this fee shall cause a lien
to be placed on the property as in accordance with applicable laws.
A violator shall be liable for any such fines plus all costs of prosecution
and, in default of payment of such fines and costs, be penalized to
imprisonment in the county jail for not more than 30 days. The imposition
of one penalty for any violation shall not excuse the violation or
permit it to continue. The application of the penalty shall not be
held to prevent the enforced removal of prohibited conditions.
[Adopted 6-14-2005 by Ord. No. 2005-3]
[Amended 10-11-2022 by Ord. No. 2022-3]
For the purpose of protecting the public health, safety and
welfare in all buildings and premises in the Borough of Montgomery,
the Borough adopts as its Property Maintenance Code, The International
Property Maintenance Code, 2012 Edition, subject to provisions in
this article amending, deleting, adding to and making insertions in
that code. Copies of that code have been placed on file in the office
of the Borough Secretary, and will remain on file there. That entire
Property Maintenance Code, except for those portions that are deleted,
amended or modified in the following sections of this article, is
adopted and incorporated into this article, as fully as if set forth
verbatim in this article; and, from the date on which this article
takes effect, that code, with the provisions of this article incorporated
into it, shall be controlling throughout the limits of the Borough
in all matters to which that code applies. In this article, the International
Property Maintenance Code may be referred to as "the code" or "this
code."
The code adopted by §
330-3 of this article is amended and modified in the following respects:
A. Wherever the words "name of jurisdiction" appear in brackets in the
code, the words "The Borough of Montgomery" shall be inserted in place
of those bracketed words. Likewise, the words "Borough of Montgomery"
shall be substituted for the word "jurisdiction" wherever that word
appears singly in the code without being preceded by the words "under
the."
B. Wherever the term "appointing authority" is used in the code, it
shall mean the Borough Council.
C. Whenever the term "legal representative of the jurisdiction" is used
in the code, it shall mean the Borough Solicitor.
D. Wherever the term "legislative body of this jurisdiction" is used,
it shall mean the Borough Council.
E. Section 101.1 shall be amended to read as follows:
101.1 Title: This code shall be known as the "Property
Maintenance Code of the Borough of Montgomery" hereinafter referred
to as "the code" or "this code."
F. The following section is to be added after Section 102.8:
Section 102.9 Saving Clause: Except where this
code specifically provides otherwise, this code shall not affect violations
of any other ordinance, code or regulation in effect in this Borough
at the time of enactment of this article, and any such violation shall
be punishable to the full extent of the law under the provisions of
those ordinances, codes, or regulations in effect at the time when
the violation was committed.
G. Section 103.5 shall be amended to read as follows:
103.5 Fees: The fees for activities and services
performed by the code official in carrying out his or her responsibilities
under this code shall be determined from time to time by resolution
by the Montgomery Borough Council.
H. The following sentence shall be inserted at the end of Section 105.2,
Alternative materials, methods and equipment:
Information, in adequate detail, describing the approved alternative
material or method shall be inserted in the permanent records of the
code official dealing with this code.
I. Section 104.8 of the code is amended to read as follows:
104.8 Coordination of inspections: Inspection of
premises, the issuance of notices and orders and enforcement thereof
shall be the responsibility of the code official so charged by the
jurisdiction. Whenever inspections are necessary by any other department,
agency or officer of the Borough, the code official shall make reasonable
effort to arrange for the coordination of those inspections so as
to minimize the number of visits by inspectors, and to confer with
the other departments, agencies or officers for the purpose of eliminating
conflicting orders before they are issued. A department, agency or
officer shall not, however, delay the issuance of any emergency orders.
J. Section 106.4 of the code is amended to read as follows:
106.4 Violation Penalties: Any person who violates
any provision of this code shall, for every such violation, upon conviction,
be sentenced to pay a fine of not less than $50 nor more than $1,000
and costs of prosecution and, in default of payment of fine and costs,
to undergo imprisonment for not more than 30 days. Provided: each
day on which a violation continues after due notice has been served,
in accordance with the terms of this code, shall constitute a separate
offense."
K. Section 108.1 of the code is amended to read as follows:
108.1 General: When a structure or part thereof
is found by the code official to be unsafe, or when a structure or
part thereof is found unfit for human occupancy or use, or is found
unlawful, and the procedures prescribed by the Building Code under
the heading "Unsafe Structures and Equipment" shall be found to be
inadequate or unsuitable to remedy the situation, that structure or
part thereof may be condemned pursuant to the provisions of this code
and may be placarded and vacated. It shall not be reoccupied without
approval of the code official. Unsafe equipment shall be placarded
and placed out of service.
L. Section 110.1 of the code is amended to add the following sentence
at the end of that section:
Provided: The intent of this section 110.0, Demolition,
is to provide a procedure to be available for use in cases where the
procedures prescribed by the Building Code under the heading "Unsafe
Structures and Equipment" or "Demolition" shall be found to be inadequate
or unsuitable to remedy the situation.
M. Section 201.4 of the code is amended to read as follows:
201.4 Terms not defined: Where terms are not defined
under the terms of this code, they shall have ascribed to them their
ordinarily accepted meanings or such as the context herein may apply.
N. Section 304.14 of the code is amended to read as follows:
304.14 Insect screens: During the period from May
1 to November 1, every door, window and other outside opening used
or required for ventilation purposes serving any building containing
habitable rooms, food preparation areas, food service areas, or any
areas where products used in food for human consumption are processed,
manufactured, packaged or stored, shall be supplied with approved
tightly fitting screen of not less than 16 mesh per inch and every
swinging door shall have a self-closing device in good working condition.
O. Section 307.1 of the code is amended to read as follows:
307.1 Garbage and Rubbish: The accumulation, storage, collection and disposal of garbage and rubbish shall be governed by provisions in Chapter
374 of he Borough's Code.
P. Sections 307.2 through 307.3.2 are deleted.
Q. Section 602.2 of the code is amended to read as follows:
602.2 Residential occupancies: Every dwelling shall
be provided with permanently installed heating facilities capable
of maintaining a room temperature of 68° F. (20° C.) in all
habitable rooms, bathrooms and toilet rooms based on the outside design
temperature required for the locality indicated in Appendix D of the
International Plumbing Code. Cooking appliances and portable heaters
are not permitted as the main heating source.
R. Section 602.3 of the code is amended to read as follows:
602.3 Heat supply: Every owner and operator of
any building who rents, leases or lets one or more dwelling units,
rooming units, dormitories or guest rooms on terms, either expressed
or implied, to furnish heat to the occupants thereof, shall supply
sufficient heat during the period from October 1 to May 1 to maintain
the room temperature specified in Section 602.2 during the hours between
6:30 a.m. and 10:30 p.m. of each day and not less than 60° F.
(16° C.) during other hours.
S. Section 602.3(1) of the code is amended to read as follows:
602.3(1) Exceptions: 1. When the outdoor temperature
is below the outdoor design temperature for the locality, the owner
or operator shall not be required to maintain the minimum room temperatures,
provided that the heating system is operating at full capacity, with
supply valves and dampers in a full open position. The winter outdoor
design temperature for the locality shall be indicated in Appendix
D of the International Plumbing Code.
T. Section 602.4 of the code is amended to read as follows:
602.4 Occupiable work spaces: Every indoor occupied
work space shall be supplied with sufficient heat during the period
from October 1 to May 1 to maintain a temperature of not less than
65° F. (18° C.) during the period the spaces are occupied.
Ordinance No. 1995-18 of the Borough of Montgomery, adopted
December 12, 1995, entitled the BOCA National Property Maintenance
Code/1993, 4th Edition, and all other ordinances or parts of ordinances
in conflict herewith are hereby repealed.
Nothing in this article or in the Property Maintenance Code hereby adopted shall be construed to affect any suit or proceedings impending in any court, or any rights acquired, or liability incurred, or any cause or causes of action acquired or existing, under any act or ordinance hereby repealed as cited in §
330-5 of this article; nor shall any just or legal right or remedy of any character be lost, impaired or affected by this article.
The Borough of Montgomery Secretary is hereby ordered and directed
to cause this article to be published one time in the Williamsport
Sun-Gazette at least 15 days prior to final enactment, together with
the date of its introduction, specifying its general nature and listing
its table of contents, and shall also cause to be published one time
in said Williamsport Sun-Gazette notice of the final enactment of
this article.