[Adopted 10-2-1996 by Ord. No. 2843]
In enacting this article the Upper Darby Township Council declares
that it is the intent of Council to regulate the maintenance, keeping,
raising and housing of certain domestic and wild or semi-wild animals
in order to protect the health, safety and general welfare of the
inhabitants of Upper Darby Township.
The following words and phrases, when used in this article,
shall have the meanings given to them in this section:
The Upper Darby Township Board of Health.
The Upper Darby Township Department of Public Health.
Any bird or fowl or lagomorph mammal or any equine animal
or bovine animal, sheep, goat, pig or poultry or any wild or semi-wild
animal held in captivity.
A public condition adversely affecting the public health
or safety.
Any individual, firm, corporation or partnership.
A dog, cat, lagomorph mammal, or a domesticated rodent, including
but not limited to guinea pigs and gerbils.
Any type of enclosure in which dogs, cats and domestic animals
are maintained, kept, raised or housed.
A domestic animal which is now or historically has been found
in the wild, including, but not limited to, bison, deer, elk, llamas,
or any species of foreign or domestic cattle such as ankole, gayal,
and yak.
From and after the effective date of this article, no person
shall maintain, keep, raise or house within the limits of Upper Darby
Township any domestic animals or wild or semi-wild animals on any
lot of less than one acre in area. This section shall not apply to
lots wherein small animals as hereinabove defined are kept or where
birds are kept in an aviary.
A.
Every structure shall be constructed of such material and in such
manner that it can be kept clean and sanitary at all times.
B.
Every structure shall be provided with a watertight and flytight
receptacle for manure or animal refuse of such dimensions as to contain
all accumulations of manure or animal refuse, which container shall
be emptied sufficiently often and in such manner as to prevent its
becoming a nuisance. Such receptacle shall be kept securely covered
at all times except when open during the deposit or removal of manure
or refuse. No manure or animal refuse shall be allowed to accumulate
except in such receptacle.
C.
Every structure shall be screened tightly against flies, and any
person maintaining, keeping, raising or housing domestic animals shall
take all other such measures as may be necessary to ensure proper
protection of the public health and safety. The necessity and type
of measures to be taken shall be determined by the standard recommendations
issued from time to time by veterinarians, schools of veterinary medicine,
zoos, public health officials, and medical experts for the care of
the specific breed of animal in question and for the protection of
the public health and safety.
D.
All structures and yards used by any person for the maintenance,
keeping, raising or housing of dogs, cats, and domestic animals shall
be maintained in a clean and sanitary condition, devoid of all rodents
and vermin, and free of objectionable odors.
It shall be unlawful for any owner of, or person having control
or responsibility for, any domestic animal to permit such animal to
run at large or to cause any damage to any buildings, lawns, shrubbery,
or any other real or personal property, or to cause any annoyance
to persons in Upper Darby Township.
The Director of the Department of Public Health or his designee
shall inspect any structure or premises against which a complaint
has been made and issue any such order as may be necessary to carry
out the provisions of this article.
Violation of any provision of this article shall constitute
a public nuisance for which the Director shall issue an abatement
order to the person owning the premises on which the domestic animal
is located and to the person owning the domestic animal, which shall
require abatement of the condition within such time as may be specified
in the order of abatement. The order shall also include notice that
the owner of the premises and/or the owner of the domestic animal
shall have the right to a hearing before the Upper Darby Township
Board of Health.
Any person to which the order of abatement is directed as provided in § 222-34 of this article shall either abate the condition or file an appeal to the Upper Darby Township Board of Health within the time specified for abatement. The Board shall then hold a hearing as provided by the Local Agency Law, 2 Pa.C.S.A. §§ 551 to 555, at which the Board shall determine whether there is evidence that the condition in fact constitutes a nuisance detrimental to public health. The Board's adjudication may be appealed to the Court of Common Pleas of Delaware County pursuant to the provisions of the Local Agency Law, 2 Pa.C.S.A. §§ 751 to 754.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. I)]
This article shall be enforced by the filing of a civil complaint
or by such other means as may be provided by the Pennsylvania Rules
of Civil Procedure. Any person, firm or corporation who violates any
building, housing, property maintenance, health, fire or public safety
code shall, upon being found liable in a civil proceeding, be ordered
to pay a penalty of not more than $1,000, plus the costs of prosecution,
plus all Township attorneys' fees incurred in the prosecution of the
civil case. Any person, firm or corporation who violates any other
ordinance shall, upon being found liable in civil proceeding, be ordered
to pay a penalty of not more than $600, plus the costs of prosecution,
plus all Township attorneys' fees incurred in the prosecution of the
civil case. Each day that a violation continues shall constitute a
separate violation of this article. Each subsection of this article
that is violated shall constitute a separate violation of this article.
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
Upper Darby Township Council that this article would have been adopted
had such unconstitutional, illegal or invalid sentence, clause, section
or part thereof not been included herein.
