[Adopted 7-17-2006 by Ord. No. 423][1] (Ch. 109, Art. II, of the 1982 Code)]
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also superseded former Art. II, Property Maintenance Code, adopted 8-16-2004 by Ord. No. 395.
[Amended 10-18-2010 by Ord. No. 492; 3-16-2020 by Ord. No. 590; 12-20-2021 by Ord. No. 606]
A certain document, three copies of which are on file in the office of the Secretary of the Township of Muhlenberg, being marked and designated as the International Property Maintenance Code, 2018 revision, and as such document may be amended from time to time in the future and filed in the office of the Secretary of the Township of Muhlenberg, as published by the International Code Council, be and is hereby adopted as the Property Maintenance Code of the Township of Muhlenberg, Berks County, Pennsylvania, for regulating and governing the conditions and maintenance of all property, buildings and structures by providing the standards for supplied utilities and facilities and other physical things and conditions essential to ensure that structures are safe, sanitary and fit for occupation and use and for the condemnation of buildings and structures unfit for human occupancy and use, and the demolition of such existing structures as herein provided; providing for the issuance of permits and collection of fees therefor; and each and all of the regulations, provisions, penalties, conditions and terms of said Property Maintenance Code on file in the office of the Township of Muhlenberg are hereby referred to, adopted, and made a part hereof as if fully set out in this article, with the additions, insertions, deletions and changes, if any, prescribed in § 265-22 of this article.
[Amended 12-20-2021 by Ord. No. 606]
The following sections of the 2018 Edition of the International Property Maintenance Code are hereby revised as follows:
A. 
Section 101.1 "Title" is amended by inserting "Township of Muhlenberg, Berks County, Pennsylvania."
B. 
Section 103.1 is amended to read as follows: "The Office of the Code Enforcement Officer is hereby created and the executive official in charge thereof shall be known as the Code Enforcement Officer. Any reference in the code to code official shall be construed to be a reference to the Code Enforcement Officer."
C. 
Section 103.2 is amended to read as follows: "The Code Enforcement Officer shall be appointed by the Board of Commissioners and shall serve at the pleasure of the Board of Commissioners."
D. 
Section 103.5 "Fees" is amended by deleting the text in this section and replacing with the following: "The fees for all work, permits and charges shall be paid in accordance with the fee schedule adopted by the Township, by resolution, from time to time."
E. 
Section 106.4 "Violation Penalties" is hereby amended to read as follows: "Any person who shall violate a provision of this Code shall be, upon conviction, sentenced to a fine of not more than $1,000 plus costs and, in default of payment of said fine and costs, to a term of imprisonment not to exceed 30 days. Each day that a violation continues shall be deemed a separate offense."
F. 
Section 111.2 is amended to read as follows: "The Board of Appeals shall consist of the Board of Commissioners of the Township of Muhlenberg."
G. 
Section 111.2.1 "Alternate members" is repealed.
H. 
Section 111.2.2 "Chairman" is amended to read as follows: "The Chairman of the Board of Commissioners shall serve as Chairman of the Board of Appeals."
I. 
Section 111.2.4 "Secretary" is repealed.
J. 
Section 111.3 "Notice of Meeting" is amended to read as follows: "The Board shall meet upon notice from the Chairman, within 30 days of the filing of an appeal, or at stated periodic meetings."
K. 
Section 111.4 "Open hearing" is amended to read as follows: "All hearings before the Board shall be open to the public. The appellant, the appellant's representative, the Code Enforcement Officer and any person whose interests are affected shall be given an opportunity to be heard. A quorum shall consist of a majority of the members of the Board."
L. 
Section 111.6 "Board decision" is amended to read as follows: The Board shall modify or reverse the decision of the Code Enforcement Officer only by a concurring vote of the majority of the members present, provided those members present constitute a majority of the whole Board."
M. 
Section 302.4 "Weeds" is amended by inserting "10 inches with the exception of natural landscapes as further defined in the Code of the Township of Muhlenberg" in the area designated "height in inches."
[Amended 10-18-2010 by Ord. No. 492]
N. 
Section 302.8 "Motor vehicles" is amended to read as follows: "Except as provided for in other regulations, no inoperative, uninspected, or unlicensed motor vehicle shall be parked, kept or stored on any premises, and no vehicle shall at any time be in a state of major disassembly, disrepair, or in the process of being stripped or dismantled. Painting of vehicles is prohibited unless conducted inside an approved spray booth. The following are exceptions to the above provision:
[Amended 3-17-2008 by Ord. No. 451; 5-19-2008 by Ord. No. 454]
(1) 
"Any inoperative, uninspected or unlicensed motor vehicle on any premises may be parked, kept or stored within an attached garage or a fully enclosed and approved accessory structure but shall not be stored in a carport or under a portable car cover.
(2) 
"A vehicle of any type is permitted to undergo major overhaul, including body work, provided that such work is performed inside a structure or similarly enclosed area designed and approved for such purposes."
O. 
Section 304.14 “Insect screens" is amended by inserting "June 1" in the first area designated as "Date" and "September 1" in the second area designated as "Date."
P. 
Section 602.3 "Heat supply" is amended by inserting "September 1" in the first area designated as "Date" and "May 1" in the second area designated as "Date."
Q. 
Section 602.4 "Occupiable Work Space" is amended by inserting "September 1" in the first area designated as "Date" and "May 1" in the second area designated as "Date."
A. 
In all matters that are regulated by the law of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania or by regulations of departments or agencies of the commonwealth promulgated by authority of law, such laws or regulations or other ordinances of the Township, as the case may be, shall control where the requirements thereof are the same as or in excess of the provisions of this article. The code shall control in all cases where the state requirements or the requirements of other ordinances of this Township are not as strict as those contained in this article.
B. 
The provisions of this article, so far as they are the same as those of ordinances and/or codes in force immediately prior to the enactment of this article, are intended as a continuation of such ordinances and codes and not as new enactments. The provisions of this article shall not affect any act done or liability incurred, nor shall they affect any suit or prosecution pending or to be instituted to enforce any right or penalty or to punish any offense under the authority of any of the repealed ordinances.
C. 
If any article, section, subsection, provision, regulation, limitation, restriction, sentence, clause, phrase or word in this article is for any reason declared to be illegal, unconstitutional or invalid by any court of competent jurisdiction, this decision shall not affect or impair the validity of the ordinance as a whole, or any other article, section, subsection, provision, regulation, limitation, restriction, sentence, clause, phrase, word or remaining portion of the within ordinance. The Board of Commissioners of the Township of Muhlenberg hereby declares that it would have adopted the within ordinance and each article, section, subsection, provision, regulation, limitation, restriction, sentence, clause, phrase and word thereof, irrespective of the limitations, restrictions, sentences, clauses, phrases or word that may be declared illegal, unconstitutional or invalid.
D. 
Nothing in this article or in the property maintenance code hereby adopted shall be construed to affect any suit or proceeding pending in any court, or any rights acquired or liability incurred, or any cause or causes of action acquired or existing, under any act or ordinance hereby repealed as cited in this article; nor shall any just or legal right or remedy of any character be lost, impaired or affected by this article.
This article shall be enforced by the Township Code Enforcement Officer and any other duly authorized and designated agent of the Township.
Any ordinance or part of ordinances conflicting with the provisions of this article is hereby repealed insofar as they are inconsistent with this article's provisions.
The Code of Ordinances, as amended by the Township of Muhlenberg, Berks County, Pennsylvania, shall be and remain unchanged and in full force and effect except as amended, supplemented, and modified by this article. This article shall become a part of the Code upon adoption.