[Adopted 4-17-2017 by Ord. No. 495]
The Board of Commissioners of the Township of Upper Pottsgrove,
Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, pursuant to §§ 1502(26)
and 1502(30) of the First Class Township Code, has determined that when the peace, comfort and enjoyment
associated with the usual and common benefits of residing in the Township
are disrupted, disturbed or adversely impacted as a result of any
dog, cat or other animal, as hereinafter defined, by frequent or habitual
barking, howling, yapping, screeching, yelping or baying or in any
other way or manner disrupts, disturbs or adversely impacts the peace,
comfort, or enjoyment of any person or resident of the community,
such that a person or resident of this Township has no other reasonable
option but to "close" all windows at his or her residence in contradiction
to the desire of the person in an effort to maintain some level of
peace, comfort or enjoyment or when the peace, comfort or enjoyment
is disrupted, disturbed or adversely impacted to the point that the
normal pattern of sleep of the person or resident is compromised such
that the health, safety and welfare of the person or resident is endangered
or the comfort, repose or health of the person is adversely impacted,
it is hereby declared that such disruption, disturbance or adverse
impact is an unreasonable interference with a right to the general
public and, therefore, constitutes a nuisance.
A. For purposes of this article, the following terms, phrases, words
and their derivations shall have the meanings given herein:
ANIMAL
Any animal (regardless of size), reptile, amphibian or bird
maintained as a domestic pet, including, but not limited to, dogs,
cats, rabbits, hamsters, birds, pigs, goats, emus, and llamas. "Animal"
shall not include livestock or poultry being raised upon working farm(s)
and shall not include horses which are the method of transportation
or power for the occupants of a dwelling.
ANIMAL OWNER
Includes, regardless of whether any such animal is licensed
or unlicensed:
(1)
Every person having a right, proprietorship or ownership of
an animal;
(2)
Every person who keeps or harbors an animal, or who has it in
his or her care or custody, or who exercises control of an animal,
whether temporary or permanent;
(3)
Every person who permits an animal to remain on or about any
premises occupied by him or her; and
(4)
The parent or legal guardian of any child under 18 years of
age who owns or has the control and/or custody of an animal.
DANGEROUS ANIMAL
Any animal which attacks and inflicts severe injury or kills
a person or domestic animal, but does not include the following:
(1)
An animal that bites or attacks a person or animal that is trespassing
on the property of the animal's owner.
(2)
An animal that bites or attacks a person or animal that provokes,
torments, tortures, or treats an animal cruelly or in response to
having previously been provoked, tormented, tortured, or treated cruelly
by the same person or animal.
(3)
An animal that is responding in a manner that an ordinary and
reasonable person would conclude was designed to protect their person,
if that person is engaged in lawful activity or is the subject of
an assault or battery.
(4)
An animal acting in response to pain or injury or is protecting
itself, its offspring, or other animals of the household.
NUISANCE
The unreasonable, unwarrantable or unlawful use of public
or private property which causes injury, damage, hurt, inconvenience,
annoyance or discomfort to any person in the legitimate enjoyment
of his or her reasonable rights of person or property.
OWNER
A person owning, leasing, occupying or having charge of any
premises within the Township.
PERMIT
To suffer, allow, consent or let, to give leave or license,
to acquiesce by failure to prevent, to expressly accept or agree to
the doing of any act.
PERSON
As used herein, shall mean any natural person, firm, partnership,
association, corporation, company or other legally recognized entity.
RUNNING AT LARGE
Being upon any public highway, street, alley, sidewalk, park
or any other public land or upon property of another person other
than the owner and not being accompanied by or under the control of
the owner or any other person having custody of any animal.
VICIOUS ANIMAL
Any animal which has:
(1)
Previously been declared a dangerous animal under this section.
(2)
A propensity, tendency or disposition to attack, cause injury
or otherwise endanger the safety of persons or other animals.
(3)
Behaved in such a manner that the owner knows or should have
known that the animal has tendencies to bite or attack persons or
other animals, but does not include the following:
(a)
An animal that bites or attacks a person or animal that is trespassing
on the property of the animal's owner.
(b)
An animal that bites or attacks a person or an animal that provokes,
torments, tortures, or treats an animal cruelly or in response to
having been previously provoked, tormented, tortured or treated cruelly
by the same person or animal.
(c)
An animal that is responding in a manner that an ordinary and
reasonable person would conclude was designated to protect the person,
if that person is engaged in lawful activity or is the subject of
an assault or battery.
(d)
An animal acting in response to pain or injury or is protecting
itself, its offspring or other animals of the household.
B. When not inconsistent with the context, words used in the present
tense include the future, words in the plural number include the singular
number, and words in the singular number include the plural number,
any personal pronoun shall be construed to mean either the masculine,
feminine or neuter gender, as the context may require, and the word
"shall" is always mandatory.
This article shall not be deemed to prohibit or otherwise declare
unlawful any agricultural operations protected from nuisance suits
by Act No. 1982-133.
A. It shall be unlawful for the owner of any animal to allow or permit
such animal to run at large in the Township of Upper Pottsgrove. It
further shall be unlawful for an animal owner to fail to keep at all
times such animal either:
(1) Confined within the premises of the animal owner and maintained in
a clean and sanitary condition at all times;
(2) Firmly secured by means of a fence, collar and chain or other device
so that it cannot stray beyond the premises or person on which it
is secured; or
(3) Under the reasonable control of some person or, when engaged in lawful
hunting, exhibition or field training, accompanied by an owner or
handler.
B. For the purpose of this section, an animal shall be presumed to be
running at large if it is not within the immediate control of its
owner, said control being in the form of a tether, leash or other
appropriate controlling device.
It shall be the duty of all animal owners and the duty of the
parent or guardian of any minor owner of any dog or other animal to
keep the dog or other animal securely tied or penned in an enclosure
in such a manner that the dog or other animal cannot break loose and
run at large over the streets, alleys, sidewalks or public grounds
in the Township, upon the property of anyone, other than the animal
owner or the property of another who has granted permission to the
animal owner to allow the dog or other animal upon such person's
property.
It shall be the duty of all animal owners, while traveling on
the streets, alleys, sidewalks or public grounds in the Township of
Upper Pottsgrove, to have the dog or other animal on a leash at all
times and to prevent the dog or other animal from entering upon the
property of any person or persons in the Township without the property
owner's consent.
It shall be unlawful within the Township of Upper Pottsgrove
for any person or persons to own, possess, harbor or control any animal
which makes any noise continuously and/or incessantly or intermittently
for 15 minutes or more to the disturbance of any person any time of
the day or night, regardless of whether the animal is physically situated
in or upon private property, said noise being a nuisance; provided,
however, that at the time the animal is making such noise no person
is trespassing or threatening to trespass upon private property in
or upon which the animal is situated nor is there any other legitimate
cause which justifiably provoked the animal.
It shall be unlawful for any person to permit any animal to
soil, defile, defecate or create noxious odors from defecation upon
any common thoroughfare, sidewalk, passageway, bypass, play area,
park or any place where people congregate or walk or upon any public
property whatsoever or upon any private property without the express
permission of the owner or occupier of such property, unless such
person shall immediately remove all feces deposited by said animal(s)
and dispose of the same upon his or her own property or by any other
sanitary method. Furthermore, it shall be unlawful for any person
to harbor, care for, shelter or maintain any breed of dog or dogs
or other animal in such a manner so as to disturb or unduly annoy
the public through the dog's or other animal's smell, mischief
or other harmful propensities. All pens or other areas in which dogs
or other animals are kept shall be maintained in a sanitary condition,
free of offensive, obnoxious or foul odors.
It shall be unlawful for any person to harbor a vicious or dangerous
animal unless said animal is humanely caged or the public is otherwise
safeguarded from any danger which said animal may present to the health,
safety and welfare of any person, firm, corporation, property or other
entity.
It shall be the responsibility of the persons being offended to record the date and times of the offense, along with the location of the offending animal and type of offending animal, and owner, if possible. This record shall be signed and dated by the complainant and provided to the Police Department prior to issuing a notice of violation under §
100-25 of this article. Should it become necessary, the complainant shall appear at the Magisterial District Justice hearing as a witness for the Township.
A. Method of serving notice. Prior to the issuance of a citation for
a violation of this article, it shall be necessary to serve written
notice upon the animal owner in one of the following ways:
(1) By mailing a copy of the notice to the animal owner by certified
mail, return receipt requested, postage prepaid;
(2) By personal delivery of the notice to the animal owner, in which
case the owner shall sign a copy of the notice to be retained by the
Township; or
(3) By handing a copy of the notice at the residence of the animal owner
to an adult member of the family with which the owner resides, but
if no adult member of the family is found, then to an adult person
in charge of the residence. Said adult shall sign a copy of the notice
to be retained by the Township.
B. Contents of notice. The notice shall set forth the following:
(1) The name and address of the animal owner, if known;
(2) The nature and extent of the violation or offense;
(3) The period of time over which the nuisance has occurred;
(4) The identity of the police officer, animal control officer, or code
enforcement officer giving notice;
(5) The date and time of sending of the notice; and
(6) A statement to the effect that a complaint may be filed with the
Magisterial District Justice if the nuisance is not abated within
24 hours of the time the notice is given to the animal owner.
C. Duration of notice. Any notice given pursuant to this section shall
be valid for a period of three months. Within three months, no additional
notice need be given prior to a complaint being filed with a Magisterial
District Justice.
Any person who shall violate or permit the violation of this
article shall, upon conviction thereof, be sentenced to pay a fine
of not more than $1,000, plus all court costs, including reasonable
attorneys' fees incurred by the Township of Upper Pottsgrove, and
such fine and costs shall be in addition to any other expenses for
kennel charges, and in default of payment, to imprisonment for a term
not to exceed 30 days. Enforcement of this article shall be by action
brought before a Magisterial District Justice in the same manner provided
for the enforcement of summary offenses under the Pennsylvania Rules
of Criminal Procedure.
If any sentence, clause, section or part of this article is
for any reason found to be unconstitutional, illegal or invalid, such
unconstitutionality, illegality or invalidity shall not affect or
impair any of the remaining provisions, sentences, clauses, sections
or parts of this article. It is hereby declared as the intent of the
Board of Commissioners of the Township of Upper Pottsgrove that this
article would have been adopted had such unconstitutional, illegal
or invalid sentence, clause, section or part thereof not been included
herein.