[HISTORY: Adopted by the Borough Council of the Borough of Palmyra 8-22-2017 by Ord. No. 778; amended in its entirety 11-13-2025 by Ord. No. 839.[1] Amendments noted where applicable.]
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also retitled the chapter from "Hotels, Motels and Inns" to "Hotels, Motels, Inns and Boarding Houses."
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates that a different meaning is intended:
BED AND BREAKFAST
A bed and breakfast establishment as defined in Chapter 380, Zoning. A bed and breakfast shall not be considered a hotel, inn, or motel under this chapter and shall not be subject to the regulations of this chapter.
BOARDING HOUSE
Any structure that contains rooms which are leased for transient or non-transient occupancy, which may include shared sanitary and/or cooking facilities, and which does not meet the definition of a hotel, motel or inn. An owner-occupied dwelling where one or more rooms are occupied by persons other than the immediate family of the owner shall not be considered a boarding house.
BOROUGH
Palmyra Borough, Lebanon County, Pennsylvania.
BOROUGH COUNCIL
The governing body of the Borough.
BOROUGH MANAGER
The duly appointed manager of the Borough or a person designated by the Manager to administer this chapter.
HOTEL
A building having five or more rental rooms without cooking facilities for transient paying guests which does not meet the definition of a "motel."
INN
A building having two or more rental rooms without cooking facilities for transient paying guests which does not meet the definition of "hotel" or "motel."
MOTEL
A building or group of two or more detached or semidetached buildings having five or more rental rooms without cooking facilities in direct or close connection with automobile parking, designed principally for providing sleeping accommodations for automobile travelers and suitable for occupancy at all seasons of the year.
REGULATED ESTABLISHMENT
Any hotel, motel, inn or boarding house as defined herein.
No person shall operate a Regulated Establishment within the Borough without first obtaining a license. Applications for licenses shall be made to the Borough Manager, on forms provided by the Borough. The annual license fee shall be established by resolution by Borough Council. No applicant shall be considered complete without payment of the required fee or without proof that the applicant has a valid contract for collection of refuse and recyclable materials. The Borough Manager shall furnish copies of the application to the Borough Code Enforcement Officer and Fire Marshal. The applicant shall then make arrangements with the Borough Code Enforcement Officer for the Borough Code Enforcement Officer to conduct an inspection of the Regulated Establishment and the interior areas of all units therein. If, upon report by the Borough Code Enforcement Officer or Fire Marshal, it appears that the applicant facility has complied upon inspection with all applicable federal and state laws and Borough ordinances, the Borough Manager shall issue the required license. Such license shall expire on the one-year anniversary of the date of its issuance. The holder of such license shall apply to the Borough for a renewal license at least 30 days prior to the expiration date of the license and arrange for such annual inspection prior to the expiration date of the license.
Each Regulated Establishment shall provide means of egress in compliance with building and fire code requirements as dictated by the current edition of the International Code Council (ICC) codes made applicable by the Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code.
All premises shall be kept in a clean condition and in good repair, which shall include collection and proper disposal of refuse and collection of recyclable materials. All bed sheets, pillowslips, towels, and washcloths shall be replaced with clean items before any new guest occupies a room previously occupied by another, or at least once every seven days if any guest occupies a room for any period in excess of seven days. The Code Enforcement Officer and/or Fire Marshal may inspect any Regulated Establishment at any time to ensure compliance with the provisions of this chapter, provided that no inspector may enter any room rented to a guest or guests without the express consent or invitation of at least one of the guests occupying the room unless such inspector is in possession of a warrant permitting access to such room.
A. 
Every owner, keeper or proprietor of any Regulated Establishment shall keep a register wherein all guests or lodgers shall inscribe their names upon procuring lodging, a room or accommodations. Said owner, keeper or proprietor shall verify the credit card signature of each guest or lodger making payment by way of credit card with the signature inscribed upon the register. If the signature as inscribed on the register does not appear to reasonably match the signature on the credit card, further identification shall be requested of the type requested of persons paying in cash. Said owners, keeper or proprietor shall require identification of any guest or lodger paying cash or by debit card at the time of registration. Identification shall be in a valid and current format showing the person's name and date of birth, and may be, but is not limited to, a driver's license, state-issued picture identification card or such other form as will reasonably assure that the registrant is, in fact, the person under whose name such lodging, room or accommodation is being procured. The owner, keeper or proprietor shall maintain a photocopy of such identification and transpose the identifying information from the registration ledger. For any guest or lodger taking occupancy through a prearranged reservation in the name of a corporation, business, association or any other entity, the owner, keeper or proprietor shall request such identification of the specific guest or lodger at the time of registration as will reasonably assure such person to be the person for whom the lodging, room or accommodations have been procured. The owner, keeper or proprietor may shred or destroy the photocopy of the identification after the guest or lodger's stay has ended.
B. 
Before furnishing any lodging or accommodations to any person in any Regulated Establishment, the proprietor, manager or owner thereof shall require the person to whom such lodgings are furnished or room is rented or accommodations furnished to inscribe his or her name on such register kept for that purpose, and shall set opposite said name the time that said name was so inscribed and the room occupied by such lodger or guest.
Every owner, keeper or proprietor of any Regulated Establishment shall, at all times during which the premises accommodate guests or lodgers, maintain on duty and on the premises a responsible management person. Such a management representative shall be an individual capable of assisting and cooperating with the police or other law enforcement officials in maintaining the public health, welfare, and safety, and shall be conversant in the English language.
All information required to be procured and kept pursuant to this chapter shall be available to the Borough Code Enforcement Officer at the time of the Annual Inspection established in § 209-2 of this chapter. Additionally, information required to be procured and kept pursuant to this chapter shall be provided to any federal, state or local sworn law enforcement officer having the lawful power to arrest, upon demand of the officer and representation by said officer that exigent circumstances exist such that the information must be produced immediately to protect the public health, welfare, or safety. In the absence of exigent circumstances, or any other applicable exception to warrant requirements established as a matter of law, the owner, keeper or proprietor of any hotel, motel or inn shall produce such information upon the law enforcement officer presenting a warrant directing the production of such information. Nothing in this requirement shall be construed as giving any such officer any greater right or license to enter a room or invade privacy than the officer shall otherwise possess as a matter of common law, probable cause, constitutional law, statutory right, or warrant.
Every owner, keeper, or proprietor of any Regulated Establishment shall keep and maintain in each and every rental unit a telephone equipped for outgoing calls, and which telephone will allow any person therein to place a direct call to 911 or the Borough Police. The existence of a minor dialing requirement, such as dialing 9 to obtain an outside line, shall not be deemed a violation of this section. Under no circumstances shall prepayment, prior authorization or any other procedure of any nature which in any way impedes effective, immediate, and direct placement of such emergency phone call be permitted.
No person shall procure or provide lodging in any Regulated Establishment, or any services therefrom, through misrepresentation or procedure of false identification, or identification which misrepresents the identity of the person procuring or sharing in such lodging or service.
No owner, keeper or proprietor of any Regulated Establishment shall rent or provide a room for any number of persons greater than the sleeping accommodations provided within the particular rental unit. No guest or lodger of a Regulated Establishment shall allow more persons to stay overnight within a single room or rental unit than the number of persons for whom sleeping accommodations are provided by the Regulated Establishment within the single room or rental unit. Notwithstanding the foregoing, children age 17 and under sleeping on a rollaway bed or similar item placed in a room shall not be considered a violation of this section.
No owner, keeper, proprietor or guest of a Regulated Establishment shall allow to congregate within any room or single rental unit a number of persons which is greater than three times the number of persons for whom sleeping accommodations are provided within the single room or rental unit.
A. 
As the intent of a hotel, motel or inn is to provide temporary lodging for transient guests, under no circumstances shall lodging be provided for more than 30 consecutive days to any one party (subject to the exception set forth at Subsection B hereof), nor can a guest or lodger utilize the hotel, motel or inn as their primary residence.
B. 
Maintenance of lodgings in excess of 30 days in a hotel, motel or inn.
(1) 
Any guest maintaining lodgings in excess of 30 consecutive days and any hotel, motel or inn providing such lodgings shall not be deemed to be in violation of the provisions of § 209-12A of this chapter if the guest furnishes proof to the hotel, motel, or innkeeper that:
(a) 
The guest maintains a primary residence elsewhere; and
(b) 
The employer of the guest (or the guest himself or herself, if the guest is self-employed or if the guest is an independent contractor) states in writing that:
[1] 
The guest requires a stay of extended duration at the hotel, motel, or inn, for work or contracting purposes, and identifying the nature, and location of such work or contracting purpose; and
[2] 
The guest's anticipated length of the stay (which shall not exceed 365 days).
(2) 
The owner, keeper, or proprietor shall require the guest to complete and furnish such paperwork as may be reasonably necessary to comply with this provision, and failure of the guest to comply shall be grounds for termination of the guest's stay or lodging. Under all circumstances, the provisions contained in this Subsection B may not be used to extend a guest's stay in hotel, motel, or inn in excess of 365 consecutive days from the date of initial check-in.
C. 
The provisions of § 209-12A of this chapter shall not be applicable with respect to any person maintaining lodgings in excess of 30 consecutive days if the unit which such person occupies:
(1) 
Has a floor area of at least 375 square feet;
(2) 
Has kitchen facilities consisting of at least a 7.5 cubic foot or larger refrigerator, cooktop and oven and sink with hot and cold running water; and
(3) 
Complies with all other the requirements of this chapter and any other applicable Borough ordinances.
D. 
The provisions of this § 209-12 shall not be applicable with respect to any person residing at a hotel, motel or inn as his or her primary residence on or prior to the date of the enactment of this chapter if the name of such person has been provided to the Borough in writing from the owner of the hotel, motel or inn, which writing is signed and acknowledged by the owner.
Before any person shall occupy, inhabit, or use any Regulated Establishment or any part thereof, such owner, keeper or proprietor of a Regulated Establishment shall install or cause to install therein a smoke detector system, which shall be in compliance with the requirements of all federal and state law and Borough ordinances, which provide for the installation and maintenance of smoke, fire or other safety alarms or systems.
A. 
Any person, partnership, corporation or other legal entity violating the provisions of this chapter shall, upon summary conviction, be liable to pay a fine of no more than $1,000 plus the cost of prosecution, including the Borough's attorneys' fees, and to be incarcerated for a period not to exceed 30 days for each offense.
B. 
Neither the owner, keeper or proprietor of a Regulated Establishment or any guest or lodger of a Regulated Establishment shall be deemed to be vicariously liable for any violation of this chapter by the other. Each party shall be subject to separate prosecution hereunder.
C. 
Each day that a violation of this chapter continues shall constitute a separate and distinct offense.
In addition to other remedies and penalties provided by this chapter and other ordinances, the Borough Solicitor may, on behalf of the Borough, bring suit in a court of competent jurisdiction to seek an injunction or other appropriate relief, to halt any violation of this chapter. Such action may include seeking a temporary restraining order or temporary injunction, including but not limited to relief in the form of the suspension of the Regulated Establishment license pursuant to court order and such other appropriate temporary relief as necessary. Nothing in this chapter shall be deemed to restrict a suit for damages on behalf of the Borough or on behalf of any other person or entity.