[Adopted 5-11-2017 by Ord. No. 709]
The following words and phrases shall have the meanings indicated
below. When not inconsistent with the context, words used in the present
tense shall include the future; words used in the singular shall include
the plural; and words used in the plural shall include the singular.
The word "shall" is always mandatory and "may" is discretionary.
Any of the three fire companies operating in the Township
of Upper Chichester Township: Ogden, Boothwyn, and Reliance.
A person holding legal or equitable title in any real estate,
business or equipment.
Any individual person, firm, partnership, association, corporation,
company or organization of any kind.
A member of the Police Department of the Township of Upper
Chichester.
A person engaged in the business of, or offering any of the
following services for a condemned or fire damaged building, or a
building that has been the subject of other natural or man-made disaster,
restoration; emergency response and/or repairs; boarding of windows,
doors or other openings; and any other related services.
The act, at or near the scene of a commercial, industrial
and/or residential fire, or during the occurrence of police and/or
fire operations relating thereto, of seeking, persuading, enticing
or in any way offering assistance of services which have not been
requested by the person solicited.
The Township of Upper Chichester.
No person shall offer his services to or be called by the Township, the Police Department or the Fire Department as a restoration services company unless that person is the holder of a current license to perform such work as hereinafter provided. License requirements for a restoration services company are provided in Part II: General Legislation, Chapter 244, Contractors, Article I, Registration of Contractors, of the Code of Ordinances of the Township of Upper Chichester.
A.Â
All licensees shall keep and maintain all vehicles and equipment
listed on its application in a safe and operable condition, and in
a condition which shall pass the motor vehicle inspection standards
of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
B.Â
All licensees shall, within 60 minutes of receipt of the Police Department's
or Fire Department's call requesting service, arrive with appropriate
vehicles, equipment and/or materials necessary at the location of
the condemned or fire-damaged property.
C.Â
Should any licensee be unable to respond to the service call from
the Police Department or Township with the appropriate vehicle, equipment
and/or materials in the required response time, the licensee shall
make arrangements with another licensee to respond to the call and
shall so advise the police/fire dispatcher or Township. If a licensee
is delayed while in transit to the requested location, the vehicle
operator shall advise the police/fire dispatcher or Township of the
delay and of his present location, whereupon a determination shall
be made by the appropriate police official, fire official or Township
as to whether another licensee shall be called.
D.Â
All fees charged by the licensee, when performing restoration services
as an independent contractor, shall at all times be reasonable and
shall be the sole responsibility of the owner, possessor or tenant
of the condemned or fire-damaged property.
E.Â
All licensees shall be responsible for removing all dangerous materials
and debris from the property. No liquid cleanup is required of the
licensee unless safety conditions indicate otherwise, but the licensee
shall leave the scene in a safe and clean condition.
F.Â
All emergency and/or requested boarding of residential, industrial
and/or commercial properties shall be done in a manner consistent
with Appendix A of the International Property Maintenance Code of
2009, and all future amendments thereto.
A.Â
All condemned or fire-damaged properties shall be restored to a level
that limits the danger posed to the general health, safety and welfare
of the public as much as possible in a manner consistent with the
statutes of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the Code of Ordinances
of the Township of Upper Chichester.
B.Â
If the owner, tenant, occupier or other person in control of the
condemned or fire-damaged property cannot restore the property to
a safe condition; or if the owner, tenant, occupier or other person
in control of the property fails or refuses to make such restoration
to the property within a reasonable time; or if the property is in
such a condition as to create a dangerous condition that would be
too dangerous for the owner, tenant, occupier or other person in control
of the property to attempt to restore the property to a safe condition,
a Township police officer or the Township shall call the restoration
services licensee assigned to the police or fire duty assignment to
effect such a restoration.
C.Â
The Police Department or Township shall establish reasonable rules
and regulations for the establishment of a police/fire duty assignment,
the fair rotation of assignment of restoration services licensees
to the duty assignment, and the use of the duty assignment by Township
police officers and/or the Township. Upon occurrence of a bona fide
police or fire emergency resulting in obvious and imminent public
danger, the rules and regulations shall be deemed suspended as public
welfare may require.
No person and no restoration services company shall engage in
solicitation at a fire scene, or appear and remain at a fire scene,
unless summoned by the owner, tenant, occupier, or other person in
control of the property or a police officer, fire official or the
Township. Nothing in this section shall prohibit the owner, tenant,
occupier or other person in control of real property from utilizing
the restoration service company chosen by the owner, tenant, occupier
or other person in control of the real property.
A.Â
The Township reserves the right to suspend the license issued at
any time if an inspection by a Township official, fire official or
police officer determines that required equipment is missing, inoperable,
or unsafe, or the owner or operator is otherwise in violation of this
article or of the Code of Ordinances of the Township of Upper Chichester.
Any such suspension shall continue, without rebate of any application
or license fee, until such time as the Township or his designee determines
that the applicant is in full compliance with the terms and conditions
of all applicable ordinances.
(1)Â
The licensee agrees, as a condition of the license, to hold the Township
harmless for any and all claims, actions or causes of action whatsoever,
including alleged loss of profits, arising from any suspension of
license.
(2)Â
The Township shall give the licensee notice that the licensee is
in violation of the provisions and terms of this article prior to
any formal action to suspend the license. The determination of whether
a violation is safety related shall be solely the determination of
the Township. The Township shall permit the licensee to correct deficiencies
as follows:
B.Â
A restoration services license may be revoked upon a finding by the
Township of any of the following:
(1)Â
The license was procured by fraudulent conduct or false statement
or omission of a material fact, and in this event, the license shall
be null and void as if an application had never been filed.
(2)Â
The licensee failed to perform or violated any of the duties of a
licensee set forth hereinabove.
(3)Â
The licensee no longer meets all the standards for issuance of a
restoration services license.
(4)Â
The licensee's application is found to be defective in any way
or contains misinformation or omissions of fact, and in this event,
the license shall be null and void and as if an application had never
been filed.
(6)Â
The licensee's license had been suspended three times.
Any ordinance or part of ordinance, to the extent that it is
inconsistent herewith, is hereby repealed.
The provisions of this article are severable, and if any section,
sentence, clause, part, or provision hereof shall be held illegal,
invalid or unconstitutional by any court of competent jurisdiction,
such decision shall not affect or impair the remaining sections, sentences,
clauses, parts or provisions of this article. It is hereby declared
to be the intent of the Board of Commissioners of the Township of
Upper Chichester that this article would have been adopted if such
illegal, invalid or unconstitutional section, sentence, clause, part
or provision had not been included herein.