Borough of Bath, PA General Provisions

Pursuant to Section 3301.5 of the Borough Code (8 Pa.C.S.A. § 3301.5), the codification, consolidation and revision of prior ordinances of the Borough of Bath, County of Northampton, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, as revised, codified and consolidated into chapters, articles and sections, and consisting of Chapters 1 through 675, together with an Appendix, is hereby approved, adopted, ordained and enacted as a single ordinance of the Borough of Bath, which shall be known and is hereby designated as the "Code of the Borough of Bath," hereinafter referred to as the "Code." A listing of the chapter headings of the Code is attached hereto as Exhibit A and made a part hereof.[1]

[1]

Editor's Note: Exhibit A is included as an attachment to this chapter.

§ 1-2 Effect of Code on previous provisions.

The provisions of this Code, insofar as they are substantively the same as those of ordinances and resolutions in force immediately prior to the enactment of this ordinance, are intended as a continuation of such ordinances and resolutions and not as new enactments, and the effectiveness of such provisions shall date from the date of adoption of the prior ordinance or resolution. All such provisions are hereby continued in full force and effect and are hereby reaffirmed as to their adoption by the Borough Council of the Borough of Bath, and it is the intention of said Borough Council that each such provision contained within the Code is hereby reenacted and reaffirmed as it appears in said Code. Only such provisions of former ordinances as are omitted from this Code shall be deemed repealed or abrogated by the provisions of § 1-3 below, and only new or changed provisions, as described in § 1-6 below, shall be deemed to be enacted from the effective date of this Code, as provided in § 1-15 below.

§ 1-3 Inconsistent legislation repealed.

Repeal of inconsistent ordinances. Except as provided in § 1-4, Legislation saved from repeal; matters not affected by repeal, below, all ordinances or parts of ordinances inconsistent with the provisions contained in the Code adopted by this ordinance are hereby repealed as of the effective date given in § 1-15; provided, however, that such repeal shall only be to the extent of such inconsistency, and any valid legislation of the Borough of Bath which is not in conflict with the provisions of the Code shall be deemed to remain in full force and effect.

Repeal of specific ordinances. The Borough Council of the Borough of Bath has determined that the following ordinances are no longer in effect and hereby specifically repeals the following legislation:

(1)

Former Chapter 36, Pensions, Article I, Social Security, of the 2005 Code of Ordinances.

§ 1-4 Legislation saved from repeal; matters not affected by repeal.

The adoption of this Code and the repeal of ordinances provided for in § 1-3 of this ordinance shall not affect the following ordinances, rights and obligations, which are hereby expressly saved from repeal; provided, however, that the repeal of ordinances pursuant to § 1-3 or the saving from repeal of ordinances pursuant to this section shall not be construed so as to revive any ordinance previously repealed, superseded or no longer of any effect:

Any ordinance adopted subsequent to April 30, 2018.

Any right or liability established, accrued or incurred under any legislative provision of the Borough prior to the effective date of this ordinance or any action or proceeding brought for the enforcement of such right or liability or any cause of action acquired or existing.

Any offense or act committed or done before the effective date of this ordinance in violation of any legislative provision of the Borough or any penalty, punishment or forfeiture which may result therefrom.

Any prosecution, indictment, action, suit or other proceeding pending or any judgment rendered prior to the effective date of this ordinance, brought pursuant to any legislative provision of the Borough.

Any franchise, license, right, easement or privilege heretofore granted or conferred by the Borough or any lawful contract, obligation or agreement.

Any ordinance appropriating money or transferring funds, promising or guaranteeing the payment of money or authorizing the issuance and delivery of any bond of the Borough or other instruments or evidence of the Borough's indebtedness.

Any ordinance adopting an annual budget or establishing an annual tax rate.

Any ordinance providing for the levy, imposition or collection of special taxes, assessments or charges.

Any ordinance authorizing the purchase, sale, lease or transfer of property or acquiring property by acceptance of deed, condemnation or exercise of eminent domain.

Any ordinance annexing land to the Borough.

Any ordinance providing for or requiring the construction or reconstruction or opening of sidewalks, curbs and gutters.

Any ordinance or part of an ordinance providing for laying out, opening, altering, widening, relocating, straightening, establishing grade, changing name, improvement, acceptance or vacation of any right-of-way, easement, street, road, highway, sidewalk, park or other public place or property or designating various streets as public highways; any ordinance or resolution dedicating, naming, establishing, locating, relocating, opening, closing, paving, widening, vacating, etc., any street or public way in the Borough.

Any ordinance establishing water, sewer or other special purpose districts and designating the boundaries thereof; providing for a system of sewers or water supply lines; or providing for the construction, extension, dedication, acceptance or abandonment of any part of a system of sewers or water supply lines.

Any ordinance or resolution providing for the making of public improvements, or providing for local improvements or assessing taxes therefor, or affecting the duties of the tax collector.

Any ordinance or resolution providing for the salaries and compensation of officers and employees of the Borough or setting the bond of any officer or employee.

Any zoning, land development or planning ordinance or resolution and any ordinance or resolution dedicating or accepting any plat or subdivision in the Borough, or providing regulations for same.

Any ordinance relating to or establishing a pension plan or pension fund for municipal employees.

Any ordinance or resolution or portion of same establishing a specific fee amount for any license, permit or service obtained from the Borough.

Any currently effective ordinance providing for intergovernmental cooperation or establishing an intermunicipal agreement.

Any appropriation ordinance or resolution.

Any ordinance or resolution fixing utility rates and charges.

Any ordinance or resolution establishing and prescribing the street grades of any street in the Borough.

Any ordinance or resolution regulating the erection, alteration, repair, demolition, moving or removal of buildings or other structures.

Any ordinance or resolution prescribing traffic regulations for specific locations, prescribing through streets, parking limitations, parking prohibitions, one-way traffic, limitations of loads of vehicles or loading zone not inconsistent with the Code.

Any ordinances or resolutions of the Borough or parts of same not in conflict or inconsistent with the provisions of the Code.

§ 1-5 Inclusion of new legislation prior to adoption of Code.

All ordinances of a general and permanent nature adopted subsequent to the date given in § 1-4A and/or prior to the date of adoption of this ordinance are hereby deemed to be a part of the Code and shall, upon being printed, be included therein. Attested copies of all such ordinances shall be temporarily placed in the Code until printed supplements are included.

§ 1-6 Changes and revisions in previously adopted legislation; new provisions.

Nonsubstantive changes. In compiling and preparing the ordinances and resolutions of the Borough for adoption and revision as part of the Code, certain nonsubstantive grammatical and style changes were made in one or more of said ordinances and resolutions. It is the intention of the Borough Council that all such changes be adopted as part of the Code as if the ordinances and resolutions so changed had been previously formally amended to read as such.

Substantive changes and revisions. In addition to the changes and revisions described above, changes and revisions of a substantive nature, as set forth below, are hereby made to various ordinances and resolutions included in the Code. These changes are enacted to bring provisions into conformity with the desired policies of the Borough Council, and it is the intent of the Borough Council that all such changes be adopted as part of the Code as if the legislation so changed had been previously formally amended to read as such. All such changes and revisions shall be deemed to be in effect as of the effective date of the Code specified in § 1-15.

(1)

Chapter 248, Business Registration. Section 248-3 is amended to read: "There shall be a fee for the first or initial registration, and a fee for each annual reregistration, provided that any person commencing to conduct any business in the Borough at any time after the first day of June, in any year, shall register such business after 30 days after the commencement and/or establishment of such business and shall pay the full registration fee. Fees shall be set by resolution of Council from time to time."

(2)

Chapter 568, Streets and Sidewalks, Article IV, Obstructions.

(a)

Section 568-38B is amended to read: "A permit for such obstruction shall first be obtained from the Secretary, the fee for which shall be set by resolution of Council from time to time."

(b)

Section 568-39 is added:

§ 568-39. Violations and penalties.

A. Any person, firm or corporation who shall violate any provision of this article shall, upon conviction thereof, be sentenced to pay a fine of not more than $600 and/or to imprisonment for a term not to exceed 90 days.

B. Every day that a violation of this article continues shall constitute a separate offense.

(3)

Chapter 625, Vehicles and Traffic, Article V, Parking Regulations. Section 625-33B is amended to read: "Request for the application shall be made through the Bath Borough Council and the completed applications shall be returned to said department along with a check for the fee to install the handicapped sign made payable to the Borough of Bath. Fees are set by resolution of Council from time to time."

(4)

The following sentence is added to any civil penalty or criminal fine provision of any chapter of the Code: "In addition, court costs and reasonable attorney fees incurred by the Borough in enforcement proceedings shall be assessed against violator and awarded to the Borough."

Nomenclature. Throughout the Code, references to the following agencies or officials are updated as indicated:

(1)

"Department of Environmental Resources" or "DER" to "Department of Environmental Protection" or "DEP."

(2)

"Department of Community Affairs" or "DCA" to "Department of Community and Economic Development" or "DCED."

(3)

"Justice of the Peace," "District Magistrate" and "District Justice" to "Magisterial District Judge."

(4)

"Soil Conservation Service" or "SCS" to "Natural Resources Conservation Service" or "NRCS."

Statutory references. Pursuant to recodification of the Borough Code in 2012 and 2014 (see now 8 Pa.C.S.A. § 101 et seq.), statutory citations referring to specific sections of the Borough Code have been updated accordingly throughout the Code.

§ 1-7 Interpretation of provisions.

In interpreting and applying the provisions of the Code, they shall be held to be the minimum requirements for the promotion of the public health, safety, comfort, convenience and general welfare. Where the provisions of the Code impose greater restrictions or requirements than those of any statute, other ordinance, resolution or regulation, the provisions of the Code shall control. Where the provisions of any statute, other ordinance, resolution or regulation impose greater restrictions or requirements, the provisions of such statute, other ordinance, resolution or regulation shall control.

§ 1-8 Titles and headings; editor's notes.

Chapter and article titles, headings and titles of sections and other divisions in the Code or in supplements made to the Code are inserted in the Code and may be inserted in supplements to the Code for the convenience of persons using the Code and are not part of the legislation.

Editor's notes indicating sources of sections, giving other information or referring to the statutes or to other parts of the Code are inserted in the Code and may be inserted in supplements to the Code for the convenience of persons using the Code and are not part of the legislation.

§ 1-9 Filing of copy of Code.

At least one copy of the Code in a post-bound volume shall be filed with the Ordinance Book in the office of the Borough Secretary and shall remain there for use and examination by the public. Upon adoption, such copy or copies shall be certified to by the Borough Secretary, as provided by law, and such certified copy or copies shall remain on file in the office of the Borough Secretary, available to persons desiring to examine the same during all times while said Code is in effect.

§ 1-10 Amendments to Code.

Any and all additions, deletions, amendments or supplements to the Code, when passed and adopted in such form as to indicate the intention of the Borough Council to be a part thereof, shall be deemed to be incorporated into such Code so that reference to the Code shall be understood and intended to include such changes. Whenever such additions, deletions, amendments or supplements to the Code shall be adopted, they shall thereafter be printed and, as provided hereunder, inserted in the post-bound book containing said Code as amendments and supplements thereto.

§ 1-11 Code books to be kept up-to-date.

It shall be the duty of the Borough Secretary or someone authorized and directed by him or her to keep up-to-date the certified copy or copies of the book containing the Code required to be filed in the office of the Borough Secretary for the use of the public. All changes in said Code and all legislation adopted by the Borough Council subsequent to the effective date of this codification which the Borough Council shall adopt specifically as part of the Code shall, when finally adopted, be included therein by reference until such changes or new legislation are printed as supplements to said Code books, at which time such supplements shall be inserted therein.

§ 1-12 Publication of notices.

The Borough Secretary, pursuant to law, shall cause to be published in the manner required a notice of the introduction and of the adoption of the Code in a newspaper of general circulation in the Borough. The enactment and application of this ordinance, coupled with the publication of a notice of the introduction, the availability of a copy or copies of the Code for inspection by the public and the filing of an attested copy of this ordinance with the county, as required by law, shall be deemed, held and considered to be due and legal publication of all provisions of the Code for all purposes.

§ 1-13 Altering or tampering with Code; violations and penalties.

It shall be unlawful for anyone to improperly change or amend, by additions or deletions, or to alter or tamper with the Code or any part or portion thereof in any manner whatsoever which will cause the law of the Borough to be misrepresented thereby. Any person who violates or permits a violation of this section of this ordinance shall, upon being found liable therefor in a civil enforcement proceeding, pay a fine of not more than $600, plus all court costs, including reasonable attorney's fees, incurred by the Borough in the enforcement of this chapter. If the defendant neither pays nor timely appeals the judgment, the Borough may enforce the judgment pursuant to the applicable Rules of Civil Procedure. Each day a violation exists shall constitute a separate offense. Further, the appropriate officers or agents of the Borough are hereby authorized to seek equitable relief, including injunction, to enforce compliance herewith.

§ 1-14 Severability.

The provisions of this ordinance and of the Code adopted hereby are severable, and if any clause, sentence, subsection, section, article, chapter or part thereof shall be adjudged by any court of competent jurisdiction to be illegal, invalid or unconstitutional, such judgment or decision shall not affect, impair or invalidate the remainder thereof but shall be confined in its operation and application to the clause, sentence, subsection, section, article, chapter or part thereof rendered illegal, invalid or unconstitutional. It is hereby declared to be the intent of the Borough Council that this ordinance and the Code would have been adopted if such illegal, invalid or unconstitutional clause, sentence, subsection, section, article, chapter or part thereof had not been included therein.

§ 1-15 Effective date.

All provisions of this ordinance and of the Code shall be in force and effect on and after the fifth day of November, 2018.

Article II Enforcement; General Penalty

[Adopted 10-3-2005 by Ord. No. 2005-583 (Ch. 1, Art. II, of the 2005 Code of Ordinances)]

§ 1-16 Prosecution of violators; disposition of fines; penalties; costs.

Any violation or failure to comply with any provision of any chapter or article of this Code, or of any Borough ordinance for which no penalty is specifically set forth therein, shall constitute a summary offense and prosecution for every such offense shall be according to the practice in the case of summary convictions before any Magisterial District Judge. All fines, penalties, and costs imposed when collected shall forthwith be payable to the Treasurer of the Borough.

§ 1-17 Commencement of proceedings.

All proceedings for the violations of the provisions of this code, or for Borough ordinances, and for the collection of fines and penalties imposed thereby, may be commenced by citation, complaint or arrest, in accordance with the rules of criminal procedure which relate to summary proceedings.

§ 1-18 Arrest on view; complaints.

When any person is arrested on view, a complaint, or citation, on oath or affirmation, shall be made immediately, whereupon like proceedings shall be had as provided in the preceding section.

§ 1-19 Commitments pending hearings.

Any person arrested for the violation of any provision of this Code, or for any Borough ordinance, may be committed to a lockup specified by the Borough Council pending a hearing or trial, but in case there is no suitable lockup in which to detain prisoners, the person arrested may be committed to the county jail. No person shall be committed pending a hearing for a longer period than 24 hours, except where Sunday intervenes.

§ 1-20 Commitments after hearings.

Upon judgment against any person by summary conviction, or by proceedings by summons, on default of the payment of the fine or penalty imposed and the costs, the defendant may be sentenced and committed to a suitable lockup for a period not exceeding five days, or to the county jail for a period not exceeding 30 days.

§ 1-21 General penalty.

If the fine or penalty for violation of any provision of this Code, or Borough ordinance, is not specified in the Code or the ordinance, or by the laws of the commonwealth, the fine shall be up to $600 for each single violation.

§ 1-22 Collection of penalties.

In case the defendant has goods or property of any kind whatsoever, out of which the judgment and costs may be collected by execution or other process, the Borough may elect to collect the judgment and costs by such proceedings.

§ 1-23 Payment of costs by Borough.

When a prisoner shall be committed to any county jail either for the nonpayment of a fine or penalty imposed for the violation of any provision of this Code or for any Borough ordinance, the costs of the proceedings and the expense of maintaining such prisoner during his or her confinement shall be paid by the Borough and the county shall not be liable for any such maintenance or to any person for any costs in such proceedings.