Township of Muhlenberg, PA Brush, Grass and Weeds

The practice of cultivating plants which are native to the bioregion without resort to artificial methods of planting and care such as chemical and fertilizer applications, mowing, or watering other than by natural processes (rain), with the goal of harmonizing the landscape with the larger biotic environment and ecosystem of the immediate and surrounding bioregion. "Natural landscape," as used in this article, shall include common species of grass and wild flowers native to this region and/or ornamental plantings which are designed and purposely cultivated.

[Added 10-18-2010 by Ord. No. 492]

NOTICE

The notice of any violation of this article which is provided for in § 265-19.

OCCUPANT

Any person other than the owner who resides upon a property and has control of the same.

OWNER

Any person who, alone or jointly or severally with others:

(1)

Shall have legal or equitable title to any property, with or without actual possession thereof; or

(2)

Shall have charge, care or control of any property as owner or agent of the owner or as executor, executrix, administrator, administratrix, trustee or guardian of the estate of the owner.

PERSON

Includes any individual, firm, corporation, association, partnership, trust or other entity.

PROPERTY

Any lot or part thereof or any land or part thereof located within the Township of Muhlenberg, whether public or private.

SIDEWALK AREA

The area within the street right-of-way between the curb or edge of paving and the right-of-way line of the street.

STREET

A public or private right-of-way intended for use as a means of vehicular and pedestrian circulation, which provides a means of access to abutting property. The word "street" includes thoroughfare, avenue, boulevard, court, drive, expressway, highway, service street or alley, lane and road or similar terms.

TOWNSHIP

The Township of Muhlenberg, Berks County, Pennsylvania.

Words used in the present tense include the future; words in the masculine gender include the feminine and the neuter; and the singular number includes the plural, and the plural the singular. When terms, phrases or words are not defined, they shall have their ordinarily accepted meanings or such as the context may imply.

§ 265-14 Height and other limitations.

[Amended 3-17-2008 by Ord. No. 447; 10-18-2010 by Ord. No. 492]

No person, firm or corporation owning or occupying any property within the Township of Muhlenberg shall permit any grass or weeds or any vegetation whatsoever, not edible or planted for some useful or ornamental purpose, to grow or remain upon such premises so as to exceed a height of 10 inches or to throw off any unpleasant or noxious odor or to conceal any filthy deposit or to create or produce seeds or pollen. Natural landscapes as provided for in § 265-15 shall be an exception to the height limitation (but not the other requirements) in this section. Any grass, weeds or other vegetation growing upon any premises in the Township in violation of any of the provisions of this section is hereby declared to be a nuisance and detrimental to the health, safety, cleanliness and comfort of the inhabitants of the Township.

§ 265-15 Natural landscapes.

[Added 10-18-2010 by Ord. No. 492]

Any owner of a parcel of land greater than or equal to five acres, agricultural land, forests or public parks of any size in Muhlenberg Township and owners of riparian buffers less than 20 feet from streams, steep slopes utilizing natural landscaping for erosion control, and rain gardens or other stormwater best management practices (BMPs) approved by the Township may by right use natural landscaping, wherein native herbaceous perennials and grasses may exceed the height limitations in § 265-14.

Approved building lots, whether developed or not, shall not be permitted to utilize the natural landscaping practice and must comply with the maximum height limitations for grass, weeds, or vegetative growth in § 265-14.

All natural landscaping vegetation is required to maintain a setback distance of at least 10 feet from the property line. No setback is required where adjacent land owners mutually agree to continuous natural landscaping across adjacent property lines.

All natural landscapes are subject to federal and state prohibitions of noxious plants (Noxious Weed Control Law, 3 P.S. § 255.1 et seq.[1]) and enforcement provisions of this article. The Board of Commissioners may from time to time identify such noxious weeds by resolution.

[1]

Editor's Note: The Noxious Weed Control Law was repealed by Act No. 46 of 2017. See now the Controlled Plants and Noxious Weeds Law, 3 Pa.C.S.A. § 1501 et seq.

§ 265-16 Maintenance of growth; nuisance.

No person owning or occupying any property shall permit any hedges or brush to grow or remain upon any property which obstructs any street, sidewalk, fire hydrant or traffic control device.

Any property utilized for agricultural purposes or property which consists of wooded areas shall be maintained in compliance with Subsection A of this section and within the street right-of-way, but in no case shall such maintenance be less than 10 feet from the edge of the street paving.

Any hedges, brush, grass, weeds or other vegetation growing upon any property in violation of any of the provisions of Subsection A or B of this section are hereby declared to be a nuisance and detrimental to the health, safety, cleanliness and comfort of the inhabitants of the Township of Muhlenberg.

The owner of any property, whether or not vacant, and/or the occupant of any property, in cases of property occupied by any person other than the owner thereof, shall remove, trim or cut all hedges, brush, grass, weeds or other vegetation growing or remaining upon such property in violation of the provisions of Subsection A or B of this section.

§ 265-17 Tree trimming.

All trees within the Township shall be kept trimmed by the owner or occupant of the property on or in front of which they are located so that the minimum clearance of any overhanging portion thereof shall not be less than 15 feet above the cartway of any street and not less than eight feet above the sidewalk area of any street.

Any tree upon a property or sidewalk area which is dead or substantially diseased shall be removed by the owner of the property on which the same is located.

§ 265-18 Collection; obstructions.

No person shall place and maintain upon any of the streets or sidewalks any leaves, grass, brush, weeds, tree limbs, and any other vegetation. However, leaves may be placed only in the street adjacent to the curb or edge of cartway during the Township's annual scheduled leaf collection period.

Clear-sight triangles are required at all street intersections. Within such triangles, no vision-obstructing object other than utility poles, streetlights, street signs or traffic signs shall be permitted which obscures vision above the height of 30 inches and below 12 feet measured from the center-line grade of intersecting streets. Such triangles shall be established from a distance of 75 feet from the point of intersection of the center lines, except that clear-sight triangles of 150 feet shall be provided for all intersections with major streets.

Any shrub, bush or hedge which overlaps any sidewalk, sidewalk area, street or other public place in such a way as to impede or interfere with traffic or travel, or which obstructs the vision of any motorist legally upon a street or highway, or which obstructs the vision of the street or highway from a motorist attempting to enter the street or highway from any other street, highway or road or from a public or private dwelling shall be trimmed by the owner of the premises abutting or of the premises on which such shrub grows so that the obstruction shall cease, as determined by the Township Engineer, Code Enforcement Officer or other designated agent of the Township.

§ 265-19 Notice; enforcement.

The Township police officers, Code Enforcement Officer and any other designated agent of the Township are hereby authorized to give notice, by United States Mail, to the owner or occupant, as the case may be, of any premises whereon grass, weeds or other vegetation is growing or remaining in violation of the provisions of this article, directing and requiring such occupant to remove, trim or cut such grass, weeds or vegetation so as to conform to the requirements of this article within five days after issuance of such notice. In case any person, firm or corporation shall neglect, fail or refuse to comply with such notice within the period of time stated, the Township may trim or remove any such grass, weeds, trees or vegetation or any part thereof at the sole cost of the owner or occupant. Said costs shall constitute a charge and lien against the property affected, and such lien shall continue in force until the full amount thereof, together with interest at the rate of 6% per annum, is paid in full.

The Township police officers, Code Enforcement Officer and any other designated agent of the Township are hereby authorized and empowered to enforce the provisions of this article.

§ 265-20 Violations and penalties.

Any person, firm or corporation who or which shall violate any provision of this article shall, upon conviction thereof, be sentenced to pay not less than $100 but not more than $1,000 plus costs of prosecution and restitution for monies paid for weed removal and, in default of payment of such fine, costs and restitution, to undergo imprisonment for not more than 30 days, provided that each day's violation shall constitute a separate offense and notice to the offender shall not be necessary in order to constitute an offense.