It shall constitute a public nuisance for any person, firm or
corporation, being the owner or occupant of premises situate in the
Borough, to permit the growth or accumulation of Canada thistles or
weeds commonly known as "Canada thistles," "cichorium intybus," the
weed commonly known as "chicory" or "succory" or "blue daisy," or
other weeds, tall grasses, ragweed, poison ivy or obnoxious or objectionable
vegetation on those premises.
It shall be the duty of every owner or occupant of premises as mentioned in §
667-1 on which any Canada thistles or cichorium intybus, the weed commonly known as chicory or succory or blue daisy may be growing, to cut all such weeds so as to prevent them from going to seed and the seed from ripening, and every owner or occupant of premises who fails, neglects or refuses to comply with the provisions of this chapter shall forfeit and pay a fine of not less than $10 and not more than $25 to the Borough, that fine and costs to be collected by a summary proceeding before a Magisterial District Judge having jurisdiction, or recovered in the same manner as debts of like amount are by law recoverable, and, in default of payment of that fine and costs, that owner or occupant shall be sentenced to imprisonment in the Montgomery County prison for not less than five days or not more than 15 days.
Whenever Council shall, in its discretion, consider the growth
or accumulation of weeds, tall grasses or other obnoxious or objectionable
vegetation on any premises, to be prejudicial to the public health
or to create a fire hazard, the same may be declared as a public nuisance.
Whenever Council declares the growth or accumulation of Canada
thistle, blue daisies or other weeds, tall grasses, ragweed, poison
ivy, obnoxious or objectionable vegetation to constitute a public
nuisance, it shall notify the owner or occupant of the premises on
which the public nuisance is present to abate that nuisance within
five days from the service of the notice. The service of the notice
shall be upon the owner or the occupant of the premises either by
depositing the notice with the United States Postal authorities, delivering
the notice to that owner or occupant personally, delivering the notice
to and leaving it with any adult person in charge of the premise,
or, in case no such person is found upon the premises, by affixing
the notice in a conspicuous position upon the premises.
[Amended 3-1-1989 by Ord.
No. 363]
Every owner or occupant of any premises who fails, neglects or refuses to abate a public nuisance as provided in §
667-4 shall forfeit and pay a fine of not less than $10 and not more than $1,000 to the Borough, that fine and costs to be collected by a summary proceeding before a Magisterial District Judge having jurisdiction, or recovered in the same manner as debts of like amount are by law recoverable, and, in default of payment of that fine and costs, that owner or occupant shall be sentenced to imprisonment in Montgomery County prison for not less than five days or not more than 15 days.
If any owner or occupant of premises on which a public nuisance
referred to in this chapter exists fails, neglects or refuses to comply
with an order of Council for the abatement or removal of that public
nuisance, Council or its agents or employees may enter upon the premises
to which that order relates, and abate or remove the nuisance. The
expense of that abatement or removal shall be paid by the owner or
occupant of the premises, and that expense shall be a lien upon the
lands upon which the nuisance was maintained; for which a lien may
be filed by Council in the name of the Borough, in the Court of Common
Pleas of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, within six months from the
date of the completion of the work of abatement or removal, subject
to the same proceedings for entry and revival of judgment and execution
as are provided by law for other municipal liens. Council may also
maintain an action against that owner or occupant in the name of the
Borough to recover the amount of such expense, in the same way as
debts of like amount are by law recoverable; and the same when recovered
either by enforcement of the lien or by personal action, shall be
paid to the Treasurer, to be held and used for Borough purposes, but
a final recovery of the amount in one proceeding shall be a bar to
the further continuance of the other.