[Adopted 10-11-2005 by Ord. No. 05-07]
Borough Council hereby finds that nuisance properties place a substantial and unacceptable threat and burden on the common health, safety and welfare of the residents of the Borough of Sharpsburg. To this end, the Borough Council directs the Director of Code Enforcement, as provided in the following sections, to charge the cost of abatement of nuisance properties to the property owner in an effort to deter repeated violations of state and local laws and to ensure restoration of the common health, safety and welfare of Borough residents.
As used in this Part 7, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
CODE ENFORCEMENT
The Code Enforcement Department of the Borough of Sharpsburg.
COST OF ABATEMENT
The reasonable cost of abatement of an enumerated infraction as calculated by code enforcement, including but not limited to the cost of police and/or Code Enforcement Department response associated with abating an enumerated infraction.
COST SCHEDULE
The complete list of costs associated with abating each enumerated infraction.
NUISANCE PROPERTY
Any residentially zoned property within the Borough of Sharpsburg with five or fewer units that generates at least a combined three issuances of citation and/or filing of legal complaints from police and/or code enforcement for any enumerated infraction on three separate occasions within any one-hundred-twenty-day period or any residentially zoned property with more than five units that generates at least a combined three issuances of citation and/or legal complaints from one unit or five issuances of citation and/or legal complaints from the entire building from police and code enforcement for any enumerated infraction on separate occasions within any one-hundred-twenty-day period.
PROPERTY OWNER
Any person or business entity, profit or not-for-profit, owning an interest in any property within the boundaries of the Borough of Sharpsburg.
An enumerated infraction is any of the following activities, behavior or conduct whenever engaged in by the owner(s), operator(s), tenant(s), occupant(s) or their invitee(s) occurring within the boundary lines of the property or 100 feet or less outside the boundary lines of the property, including but not limited to:
1. 
Violation of the Borough of Sharpsburg Code of Ordinances Chapter 2, Animals;
2. 
Violation of the Borough of Sharpsburg Code of Ordinances Chapter 5, Code Enforcement;
3. 
Violation of the Borough of Sharpsburg Code of Ordinances Chapter 6, Conduct;
4. 
Violation of the Borough of Sharpsburg Code of Ordinances Part 4 of Chapter 7, Smoke Detectors and Fire Alarms;
5. 
Violation of the Borough of Sharpsburg Code of Ordinances Chapter 10, Health and Safety;
6. 
Violation of the Borough of Sharpsburg, Ordinance No. 12-09, Uniform Construction Code[1]; and
[1]
Editor's Note: See Ch. 5, Part 1.
7. 
Under Pennsylvania law, anything designated a summary offense, a misdemeanor or a felony.
8. 
This chapter shall exclude any report to a police officer relating to an incident of domestic violence and abuse. For purposes of this section, domestic violence and abuse shall be defined as any report where the perpetrator is a household member, sexual or intimate partner or persons who share a biological parenthood to the reporting individual, including reports where the reporter is in reasonable fear of imminent serious bodily injury or any alleged violation of Subdivisions (1) through (5) of the definition of "abuse" in 23 Pa.C.S.A. § 6102(a).
[Added 2-25-2021 by Ord. No. 21-02]
1. 
All enumerated infractions will be reported by the citing police officer to the Director of Code Enforcement within 72 hours of its occurrence. The Director of Code Enforcement shall notify the property owner by first-class mail to the property owner's last known address or cause to be hand-delivered a notice to the property owner's residence or usual place of business. The notice shall be deemed to be properly delivered if sent either by first-class mail to the property owner's last known address or if delivered in person to the property owner. If the property owner cannot be located, the notice shall be deemed to be properly delivered if a copy of it is personally served upon a competent member of the property owner's family at least 17 years of age or a competent adult currently residing there. If a current address cannot be located, notice shall be deemed sufficient if posted on the potential nuisance property and a copy of the notice is sent via first-class mail to the last known address of the property owner.
2. 
The Director of Code Enforcement is herewith charged with keeping a log of such enumerated infractions. The log shall be maintained for the purposes of recording enumerated infractions from diverse sources who would not otherwise know of other departments' activities with the subject property.
3. 
Whenever the Director of Code Enforcement determines that an owner of a residentially zoned property with five or fewer units has been cited or a legal complaint has been filed for an enumerated infraction at least three times on separate occasions within any one-hundred-twenty-day period or an owner of a residentially zoned property with more than five units has been cited or a legal complaint has been filed for an enumerated infraction at least three times from one unit or at least five times from the entire building on separate occasions within any one-hundred-twenty-day period, the Director of Code Enforcement shall notify the property owner in writing that the property has been designated as a nuisance property.
4. 
The notice shall be deemed to be properly delivered if sent either by first-class mail to the property owner's last known address or if delivered in person to the property owner. If the property owner cannot be located, the notice shall be deemed to be properly delivered if a copy of it is personally served upon a competent member of the property owner's family at least 17 years of age or a competent adult currently residing there. If a current address cannot be located, notice shall be deemed sufficient if posted on the potential nuisance property and a copy of the notice is sent via first-class mail to the last known address of the property owner.
5. 
The notice required by Subsections (1) and (3) shall contain:
A. 
The street address or legal description sufficient for identification of the property;
B. 
A description of the enumerated infraction(s) that have occurred at the property and a statement indicating that the property is declared as a nuisance property as a result of said enumerated infraction(s);
C. 
Notice of the property owner's right to appeal pursuant to § 6-706; and
D. 
A statement that the property owner shall within 10 days respond to the Director of Code Enforcement, in writing, with either:
(1) 
The intent of the property owner to appeal the finding of the Director of Code Enforcement; or
(2) 
A proposal detailing a course of action by which enumerated activities will be abated at the property. The Director of Code Enforcement shall, within 10 days of receipt of said proposal, either approve or disapprove of the proposal. In the event the Director of Code Enforcement disapproves of the proposal, the property owner may appeal pursuant to § 6-706.
6. 
Whenever code enforcement determines that an additional enumerated infraction has occurred at a property for which notice has been issued pursuant to Subsection 5C of this section, and either the enumerated infraction has occurred not less than 13 days after notice has been issued or an approved course of action under Subsection 5D(2) has not been completed, the Code Enforcement Officer shall charge the cost of abatement of the enumerated infraction to the property owner pursuant to § 6-705 for this and any additional enumerated infraction, exceptions notwithstanding.
1. 
On an annual basis, the Director of Code Enforcement shall recommend a cost schedule for each enumerated infraction to the Borough Council, and Borough Council shall adopt such cost schedule as recommended by the Director of Code Enforcement or adopt a different cost schedule as the Council deems appropriate by resolution, which will be filed in the Borough Secretary's office.
2. 
The Director of Code Enforcement shall impose upon the owner of a nuisance property the cost of abatement of any enumerated infraction consistent with § 6-704 of this Part 7. Any cost imposed upon the property owner shall constitute a lien against the property.
3. 
Each subsequent incident of any enumerated infraction shall be deemed a separate violation subject to this Part 7.
Appeal of the determination of the Director of Code Enforcement pursuant to § 6-704.5C shall be submitted to the Borough Council within 10 days of service of the notice of enumerated infraction.
1. 
In the event any property owner, after implementation of a § 6-704.5D(2) plan, demonstrates that code enforcement or police have not responded to an enumerated infraction at a nuisance property for at least a period of six months, and all other requirements of this part have been complied with, that property shall no longer be considered a nuisance property.
2. 
Any citation or complaint issued to a tenant who is already in the process of being evicted shall not count towards the number of citations or complaints that have been issued or filed necessary to be deemed a "nuisance property," if the property owner can prove that an eviction action has been commenced in a court of law and if the property owner is actively prosecuting said eviction action against the tenant.