City of Erie, PA Codified Ordinances

The ordinances of the City of Erie, Pennsylvania, of a general and permanent nature, consolidated and codified with minor nonsubstantive changes, as attached hereto and made a part hereof (Exhibit A), are ordained as the general ordinances of the City revised to November 15, 1966, and are hereby approved, adopted and enacted as the Codified Ordinances of Erie, Pennsylvania, 1966.

(b)

This ordinance shall be introduced in Council, notice of introduction shall be published, and legal advertisement of the contents of the Codified Ordinances shall be made in conformity with Subsections 1014.1(b) and (c) of 1951 P.L. 662, as amended by 1957 P.L. 631. (Adopting Ordinance)

§ 101.02 Component codes; short title; citation.

The Codified Ordinances of Erie, Pennsylvania, 1966, hereby adopted, shall be comprised of the following component parts:

Part One - Administrative Code

Part Three - Business Regulation and Taxation Code

Part Five - Traffic Code

Part Seven - General Offenses Code

Part Nine - Streets, Utilities and Public Services Code

Part Eleven - Public Health Code

Part Thirteen - Zoning Code

Part Fifteen - Fire Prevention Code

Part Seventeen - Building Code

Part Nineteen - Housing Code

The Codified Ordinances of Erie, Pennsylvania, 1966, may be referred to as the "Codified Ordinances"; any component code of the Codified Ordinances may be referred to by its name, such as the "Traffic Code"; sections of the Codified Ordinances may be cited by the number, such as Section 101.01. (Adopting Ordinance)

§ 101.03 Amendments and supplements; numbering.

(a)

The Codified Ordinances of Erie, Pennsylvania, 1966, may be amended or supplemented at any time and, when any amendment or supplement is adopted in such form as to indicate the intention of Council to make the same a part thereof, such amendment or supplement shall be incorporated in, and deemed a part of, the Codified Ordinances, so that a reference to the Codified Ordinances shall be understood and construed as including the Codified Ordinances of Erie, Pennsylvania, 1966, and any and all such amendments and supplements.

(b)

All amendments and supplements enacted as a part of the Codified Ordinances shall be integrated therewith by following the form of arrangement and plan set forth in the original Codified Ordinances as follows: each Code shall be subdivided into titles; each title shall be subdivided into articles, and each article shall be subdivided into sections, which shall be numbered in accordance with the decimal numbering system. The numbering of all sections, except penalty sections, shall be consecutive within each article commencing with the first section of Article 101, which shall be numbered 101.01, the first "1" signifying Code 1, and the two figures "01" before the decimal signifying the article within the Code, and the two figures "01" after the decimal signifying the first section in Article 101 of the Code. Penalty sections shall be designated "99" and shall be the last section of the article. (Adopting Ordinance)

§ 101.04 Definitions and interpretation.

In the construction of the Codified Ordinances, the following rules shall control, excepting those inconsistent with the manifest intent of Council as disclosed in a particular provision, section or article:

(a)

ADOPTING ORDINANCE — The ordinance of the City adopting the Codified Ordinances of Erie, Pennsylvania, 1966, in conformity with the Third Class City Code of Pennsylvania and this Article 101.

(b)

AUTHORITY — Whenever in the Codified Ordinances authority is given to an officer or an act is required to be performed, such authority may be exercised and such act may be performed, at the instance of such officer, by a deputy or subordinate, unless contrary to law or to the clear intent of any such particular provision.

(c)

CALENDAR-COMPUTATION OF TIME — The terms "month" and "year" mean the calendar month or year. The time expressed in days within which an act is to be done or a period is to expire shall be computed by excluding the first and including the last day, except if the last be Sunday, it shall be excluded. If time is expressed in hours, the whole of Sunday shall be excluded.

(d)

CITY AND MUNICIPALITY — The City of Erie, Pennsylvania.

(e)

CONJUNCTIONS — "And" includes "or" and "or" includes "and," if the sense so requires.

(f)

COUNCIL — The Council of the City of Erie, Pennsylvania.

(g)

COUNTY — The County of Erie, Pennsylvania.

(h)

GENDER — Words importing the masculine shall extend and be applied to the feminine and neuter genders.

(i)

GENERAL RULE — Excepting as otherwise provided in this section, words and phrases shall be construed according to the common usage of the language, provided, however, that technical words and phrases and such others as may have acquired a special meaning in the law shall be construed according to such technical or special meaning.

(j)

JOINT AUTHORITY — Words giving authority to a board, commission, authority or to three or more officers or employees or other persons shall be construed as giving authority to a majority thereof, unless otherwise specifically provided.

(k)

KEEPER or PROPRIETOR — Persons, firms, associations, corporations, clubs and copartnerships, whether acting by themselves or as a servant, agent or employee.

(l)

LAND or REAL ESTATE — Rights and easements of incorporeal nature.

(m)

NUMBER — Words in the plural include the singular and in the singular include the plural number.

(n)

OATH — Affirmation. When an oath is required or authorized by law, an affirmation in lieu thereof may be taken by a person having conscientious scruples to taking an oath. An affirmation shall have the same force and effect as an oath.

(o)

OWNER — When applied to property, includes a part owner, joint owner or tenant in common of the whole or any part of such property.

(p)

PERSON — Associations, clubs, corporations, firms, partnerships and bodies politic, as well as to individuals.

(q)

PREMISES — When used as applicable to property, extends to and includes land and buildings.

(r)

PROPERTY — Real and personal, and any mixed and lesser estates or interests therein; the words "personal property" include every kind of property except real property, and the words "real property" include lands, tenements and hereditaments.

(s)

REASONABLE TIME — In all cases where provision is made for an act to be done or notice to be given within a reasonable time, it shall be deemed to mean such time only as may be necessary for the prompt performance of such act or giving of such notice.

(t)

SIDEWALK — Any portion of a street between the curb line and the adjacent property line, intended for the use of pedestrians, excluding parkways.

(u)

STATE or COMMONWEALTH — The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

(v)

STREET — Shall be construed to include alleys, avenues, boulevards, lanes, roads, streets and other public ways in the City.

(w)

TENANT or OCCUPANT — As applied to buildings or land, shall extend and be applied to any person holding a written or oral lease of or who occupies the whole or any part of a building or land, alone or with others.

(x)

TENSES — The use of any verb in the present tense includes the future.

(y)

THIRD CLASS CITY CODE — The Pennsylvania Act of June 28, 1951 (P.L. 662), as amended.

(z)

OPTIONAL THIRD CLASS CITY CHARTER LAW — The Pennsylvania Act of July 15, 1957 (P.L. 901), as amended.

(aa)

TIME — Whenever any time established in the Codified Ordinances for the taking of any action expires on a Sunday or legal holiday, such time shall not expire on such day but shall expire on the next week day. (Adopting Ordinance)

§ 101.05 Separability of provisions.

Each section and each part of each section of the Codified Ordinances is hereby declared to be an independent section or part of a section, and notwithstanding any other evidence of legislative intent, it is hereby declared to be the controlling legislative intent that if any such section or part of a section, or any provision thereof, or the application thereof to any person or circumstances, is held to be invalid, the remaining sections or parts of sections and the application of such provision to any other person or circumstances, other than those as to which it is held invalid, shall not be affected thereby, and it is hereby declared to be the legislative intent that the Codified Ordinances would have been adopted independently of such sections or parts of a section so held to be invalid. (Adopting Ordinance)

§ 101.06 Sections and ordinances repealed.

The following sections of the 1941 Digest of the General Ordinances and Laws of the City of Erie and ordinances are hereby specifically repealed as either obsolete or in conflict with provisions of the Codified Ordinances.[1] All other ordinances in conflict with the provisions of the Codified Ordinances of Erie, Pennsylvania, 1966, are hereby repealed. (Adopting Ordinance)

[1]

Editor's Note: See a copy of the original Adopting Ordinance for a list of Digest sections and ordinances repealed.

§ 101.07 Exemptions from repeal.

The repeals provided for in Section 101.06 shall not affect:

(a)

Any offense or act committed or done, or any penalty or forfeiture incurred, or any contract or right established or accruing before the adoption of these Codified Ordinances.

(b)

Any ordinance or resolution promising or guaranteeing the payment of money by or to the City, or authorizing the issuance of any bonds of the City, or any evidence of the City's indebtedness, or any contract or obligation assumed by the City.

(c)

The administrative ordinances or resolutions of Council not in conflict or inconsistent with the provisions of the Codified Ordinances.

(d)

Any right, license or franchise conferred by any ordinance or resolution of Council on any person or corporation.

(e)

Any ordinance establishing, naming, relocating or vacating any street or public way.

(f)

Any ordinance or part thereof providing for the establishment of positions, for salaries or compensation.

(g)

Any prosecution, suit or other proceeding pending, or any judgment rendered on or prior to the adopting of these Codified Ordinances.

(h)

Any ordinance levying or imposing taxes or assessments.

(i)

Any ordinance establishing or changing the boundaries of the City.

(j)

Any ordinance or resolution adopted by Council after the adoption of the Codified Ordinances. (Adopting Ordinance)