[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Supervisors of the Township of Upper Tulpehocken 8-9-2016 by Ord. No. 6-2016. Amendments noted where applicable.]
The Board of Supervisors of Upper Tulpehocken Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania, finds that removal of nuisances within all districts in the Township (the "subject districts") of the Township of Upper Tulpehocken, Berks County, Pennsylvania, (the "Township") is in the interest of the citizens of the Township and that removal of nuisances on public and private property promotes the public health, safety and welfare of all residents of the Township, excepting only a premises being used or occupied primarily for agricultural purposes in accordance with sound agricultural practices.
For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms, phrases and words and their derivatives shall have the meanings given herein. When not consistent 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, and the word "shall" is always mandatory and not merely directory.
ABANDONED VEHICLE
Any motorized or nonmotorized vehicle, such as a recreational vehicle including campers and boats, which is without a currently valid license plate or plates, is uninspected and/or is in a rusted, wrecked, discharged, dismantled, partly dismantled, inoperative or abandoned condition. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, an abandoned motor vehicle shall include any motor vehicle which has any of the following physical defects:
A. 
Broken windshield, mirrors or other glass, with sharp edges;
B. 
One or more flat or open tires or tubes which could permit vermin harborage;
C. 
Missing doors, windows, hood trunk or other body parts which could permit animal harborage;
D. 
Any body parts with sharp edges including holes resulting from rust;
E. 
Missing tires resulting in unsafe suspension of the vehicle;
F. 
Upholstery which is torn or open which could permit animal and/or vermin harborage;
G. 
Broken headlamps or tail lamps with sharp edges;
H. 
Dissembled chassis parts apart from the vehicle stored in a disorderly fashion or loose in or on the vehicle;
I. 
Protruding sharp objects from the chassis;
J. 
Broken vehicle frame suspended from the ground in an unstable manner;
K. 
Leaking or damaged oil pan tank which could cause fire or explosion;
L. 
Exposed battery containing acid;
M. 
Inoperable locking mechanism for doors or trunk;
N. 
Open or damaged floor boards including trunk and firewall;
O. 
Damaged bumpers pulled away from the perimeter of vehicle;
P. 
Broken grill with protruding edges;
Q. 
Loose or damaged metal trim and clips;
R. 
Broken communication equipment antennas;
S. 
Suspended or unstable supports;
T. 
Such other defects which could threaten the health, safety and welfare of the citizens of the Township of Upper Tulpehocken.
ENCLOSED
Having a wall or walls, window or windows and a door used as access to the dwelling.
NUISANCE
Any condition or use of premises or of building exteriors which is detrimental to the property of others or which causes or tends to cause substantial diminution in the value of other property in the neighborhood in which such premises are located. This includes, but is not limited to, the keeping or depositing on or the scattering over the premises of any of the following:
A. 
Junk, trash or debris.
B. 
Abandoned, discarded or unused objects or equipment such as motor and non-motor vehicles, parts of vehicles, furniture, stoves, refrigerators, freezers, cans or containers.
C. 
Maintaining, or causing to be maintained, any dangerous structures, including but not limited to fire-damaged, abandoned, occupied or unoccupied buildings or parts of buildings.
D. 
Maintaining or causing to be maintained upon any unenclosed porch or exterior attachment, which faces a regularly traveled thoroughfare, furniture, other than furniture designed for exterior use, which is commonly intended for use inside a dwelling, including but not limited to upholstered sofas, chairs, davenports, beds, divans and the like.
E. 
The use of a porch roof or other second story or higher portion of a structure for a nondesigned use, unless said porch roof or other portion of structure is specifically designed for said use.
F. 
Trees, shrubs, hedges or other vegetation overhanging sidewalks or other pedestrian walkways at a height less than eight feet.
G. 
Trees, shrubs or other vegetation overhanging a road right-of-way at a height of less than 16 feet, measured from the street surface at the curb.
H. 
Garbage, garbage containers, trash stored anywhere on the property, except for the 24 hours immediately prior to the regularly scheduled collection of trash.
I. 
Maintaining more than one unregistered or uninspected motor vehicle(s) on a lot, except for properly licensed new or used car dealers.
OWNER
A person giving, leasing, occupying or having charge of any premises within the Township.
PERSON
Any natural person, firm, partnership, association, corporation, company or organization of any kind.
PORCH or EXTERIOR ATTACHMENT
Any area attached to or appended to a building regularly used for dwelling.
PORCH ROOF
A roof at the second story or above on any building which extends over an unenclosed area.
REGULARLY TRAVELED STREET
Any street, alley or thoroughfare on which one or more motor vehicles travel during any twenty-four-hour period.
Nuisances, as defined herein, are hereby declared to be illegal within all of the zoning districts (the "subject districts") of the Township of Upper Tulpehocken, Berks County, Pennsylvania (the "Township").
A. 
The owner, owners, tenants, lessees and/or occupants of any property may park, keep or store outdoors up to one abandoned motor vehicles per property as defined in this chapter. All gas and oil or other flammable liquid shall be removed from the abandoned motor vehicle, and it shall be kept free of vermin infestation while stored. The Code Enforcement Officer is hereby empowered to inspect the grounds on which motor vehicles are stored to determine if there is compliance with the provisions hereof. Noncompliance of the provisions hereof shall constitute a nuisance.
B. 
Abandoned motor vehicles may be stored within a garage or other enclosed building. Tarps and carport-type structures do not constitute an enclosed building. Nothing herein shall be construed to permit the storage of abandoned motor vehicles contrary to the provisions of Chapter 460, Zoning.
A. 
Abatement of nuisance by owners. The owner, owners, tenants, lessees and/or occupants of any lot within the Township upon which a nuisance is found to exist and also the owner, owners and/or lessees of said personally involved in such storage (all of whom are hereafter referred to as "owners") shall jointly and severally abate said nuisance by the prompt removal of said nuisance.
B. 
Abatement of nuisance by Township. Whenever said owner(s) shall fail to abate said nuisance, the Township shall take such action as is necessary to abate said nuisance without liability for damage to the property. The actual costs of abating said nuisance, including actual labor charges, equipment rental charges, postage and 25% of the costs for administrative overhead, plus 50% of the total, shall be collected from the owner of the premises either by an action in assumpsit or by the filing of a municipal claim or lien against said real property. In addition to the above, the Township may, by an action in equity, compel the owner to comply with this chapter or take such other relief as a court may order.
A. 
Whenever a condition constituting a nuisance is permitted or maintained upon premises situate within all of the zoning districts in the Township, the Code Enforcement Officer shall cause written notice to be served upon the owner in one of the following ways:
(1) 
By personal delivery of the notice to the owner, tenant or lessee of the premises.
(2) 
By leaving the notice with an adult upon the premises.
(3) 
By attaching a copy of the notice to the door at the entrance of the premises in violation.
(4) 
By mailing, by certified mail, a notice to the last known address of the owner.
B. 
Such notice shall set forth in what respects such conditions constitute a nuisance and whether removal is necessary and required by the Township or whether the situation can be corrected by repairs, alterations or by boarding or fencing or in some other manner confining and limiting the nuisance.
C. 
Such notice shall require the owner(s) to commence action, in accordance with the terms thereof, within seven days of the date of notice, and thereafter to complete the work necessary to comply fully with the terms of the notice as soon as is reasonable, but not later than 60 days from the date of said notice, provided that the owner(s) has requested such an extension within the original term for compliance.
D. 
The expense of said compliance shall be at the expense of the owner; provided, however, that if a violation requires immediate correction, such notice shall require the owner to immediately comply with the terms thereof.
E. 
Notice required hereunder shall be given to the property owner as directed by the Board of Supervisor and can be more than one time during a calendar year.
F. 
Each day shall constitute a separate violation of this chapter.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
Any person or persons convicted of violating any of the provisions of this chapter shall be subject to a fine not to exceed $1,000 per violation, plus costs of prosecution. In default of payment thereof, the defendant may be sentenced to imprisonment in the Berks County Prison to the extent allowed by law for the punishment of summary offenses. Enforcement of any such violations shall be by action brought before a Magisterial District Judge in the same manner provided for the enforcement of summary offenses under the Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal Procedure. The Township Solicitor may assume charge of the prosecution without the consent of the District Attorney as required under the Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal Procedure relating to trial in summary cases. Each day or portion thereof that a violation continues or is permitted to continue shall also constitute a separate offense.
If any sentence, clause, or section of this chapter 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, or sections of this chapter. It is hereby declared as the intent of the Board of Supervisors that this chapter would have been adopted had such unconstitutional, illegal or invalid sentence, clause, section or part thereof not been included herein.