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:
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; and
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]
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.