[Adopted 7-17-2006 by Ord. No. 422 (Ch. 141 of the 1982 Code)]
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
BREEDING AREA
Any condition which provides the necessary environment for the birth or hatching of vectors.
COLLECTION OF WATER
Water contained in ditches, pools, ponds, streams, excavations, holes, depressions, open cesspools, fountains, cisterns, tanks, shallow wells, barrels, troughs, urns, cans, boxes, bottles, tubs, buckets, roof gutters, reservoirs, vessels, receptacles of any kind or other containers or devices which may hold water.
EXTERMINATION
The control and elimination of vectors by eliminating their harborage places, by removing or making inaccessible material that may serve as their food, by poisoning, spraying, fumigating, fogging or larviciding or trapping, or by any other recognized and legal vector-elimination method which is not injurious to human health or the safety of domestic animals.
GARBAGE
All waste, animal or vegetable, such as but not limited to waste material and refuse from kitchens, residences, grocery stores, butcher shops, restaurants, cafes and hotels resulting from the handling, preparation, cooking, serving or nonconsumption of food, and all other deleterious substances.
HARBORAGE
Any place where vectors can live, nest or seek shelter.
INFESTATION
The presence of vectors within or contiguous to a structure or premises.
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, or which shall cause or result in annoyance or disturbance to persons beyond the boundaries of such property, interference to the health and/or safety of the person beyond the boundaries of such property, and/or disturbance to or interference with the peaceful use of the property of others in the Township, in any case taking into consideration the location of the use or condition and the nature and condition of the surrounding neighborhood. This includes, but is not limited to, the retention on any premises of any of the following: junk, trash or debris; abandoned, discarded or unused objects or equipment, such as but not limited to automobiles, furniture, paper, cardboard, plastic, glass, crockery, scrap metal, tires, stoves, refrigerators, freezers, cans or containers.
OCCUPANT
Any person who, alone or jointly/severally with others:
A. 
Shall have legal title to any premises, dwelling or dwelling unit, with or without accompanying actual possession thereof.
B. 
Shall have charge, care or control of any premises, dwelling or dwelling unit, as owner, lessee, or agent of the owner, or an executor, administrator, trustee, assignee of rents or guardian of the estate of the owner. Any such person thus representing the actual owner shall be bound to comply with the provisions of this article to the same extent as if he were the owner.
OWNER
The actual owner, agent or custodian of the property, whether an individual, partnership, association or corporation.
PERSON
Any natural person, firm, partnership, association, corporation, company or organization of any kind.
PREMISES
All areas of a property, including all interior, exterior, grounds and yard spaces.
REFUSE
Waste, rubbish, garbage, trash or any material of any kind that has been discarded, rejected, cast aside or thrown away as worthless, except body wastes.
STRUCTURE
Any man-made construction or building, which is located on any part of the premises.
TOWNSHIP OF MUHLENBERG
The Township of Muhlenberg, Berks County, Pennsylvania.
VECTOR
A rodent, insect or vermin species capable of transmitting a disease or infection. Vectors shall include but not be limited to rats, mosquitoes, cockroaches, flies, ticks, etc.
VECTOR HARBORAGE or VECTOR SOURCE
Any area, interior or exterior, where vectors can live, nest, breed or seek any form of shelter.
VECTOR-PROOFING
A form of construction to prevent the ingress and egress of vectors to or from a given space or building or from gaining access to food, water or harborage. This term shall include but not be limited to rat-proofing, fly-proofing, mosquito-proofing, etc.
The provisions and prohibitions hereinafter contained and enacted are in pursuit and for the purpose of:
A. 
Securing and promoting public health, safety and welfare of persons in the Township of Muhlenberg.
B. 
Preventing or controlling the spread of vector-borne disease.
A. 
No person shall deposit any refuse, dead animals, decaying matter or organic substance of any kind in or upon any private lot, street, avenue, alley, ravine, ditch or gutter or into any of the runs, creeks or bodies of water within or bounding the Township of Muhlenberg so that the same shall or may afford food, harborage or breeding areas for rats, mosquitoes or other vectors.
B. 
No person shall deposit or permit to accumulate in or upon any premises, improved or vacant, or on any open lot or public area any lumber, boxes, barrels, bottles, cans, glass, containers, scrap iron, wire, metal articles, pipe, broken stone or cement, broken crockery, broken plaster or rubbish of any kind, unless the same is kept in approved covered receptacles or placed on open racks that are elevated not less than 18 inches above the ground and evenly piled or stacked or disposed of as may be approved by the Township.
C. 
No person shall have, keep, maintain, cause or permit any collection of standing or flowing water in which mosquitoes breed or are likely to breed, unless such collection of water is treated or maintained effectually so as to prevent such breeding.
Pools located within the Township of Muhlenberg shall be properly maintained to prevent the existence or presence of any water in which mosquito larvae may mature and grow or exist.
Any pool cover must be maintained in a way so as to prevent the collection of stagnant rainwater.
Tires shall be stored in a totally enclosed structure or must be covered to prevent the existence or presence of any water in which mosquito larvae may mature and grow to exist. If stored outside, tires must be stored off the ground and covered in a manner to prevent standing water.
Any tires that cannot be used shall be considered waste material and must be disposed of in a proper and lawful manner to prevent the collection of stagnant rainwater in said tires.
A. 
Any person, partnership, corporation or other entity who or which violates or permits a violation of the provisions of this article shall, upon conviction in a summary proceeding, pay a fine of not more than $1,000 plus the costs of prosecution and, in default of the payment of the fine and costs of prosecution, shall be imprisoned for a period not exceeding 30 days.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
B. 
Each day that a violation continues or exists shall constitute a separate offense. Each section of this article that is violated shall also constitute a separate offense.
C. 
In cases of extended noncompliance or in cases of a clear and present danger to the health, safety or general welfare of the citizenry, the governing body of the Township of Muhlenberg shall be empowered to exercise any of the following actions, subject to adequate notice to the owner of the property:
(1) 
Order the correction of the violation by the municipal staff;
(2) 
Engage a qualified contractor to correct the violation.
D. 
Reimbursement for municipal costs incurred in the correction of violations shall be recouped from the owner and/or occupant in any of the following ways:
(1) 
Attaching a municipal lien on the cited property;
(2) 
Civil action against the owner and/or occupant.