Following the effective date of this article, it shall be unlawful to park, or allow to be parked, any motor vehicle or other vehicle on any street or road which is part of the Township system after the start of a snowfall and until the snow has stopped falling and the snow has been completely plowed for the full width of the cartway.
[Adopted 12-15-2004 by Ord. No. 2004-5]
Any employee of the Township of North Whitehall engaged in road work, any Zoning and/or Code Enforcement Officer, and any member of the Board of Supervisors engaged in road work is hereby authorized to remove any vehicle abandoned or parking upon any public highway or street in violation of the terms and provisions of this article, and to take any said vehicle to the nearest garage or other place of safety. The registered owner of any said vehicle shall be notified of the fact of the removal and of the place to which said vehicle has been removed, where he or she may obtain the same upon payment of any and all towing and storage charges. Neither the Township nor any of its officers or employees shall be held responsible for any damage to any vehicle occurring as a result of towing and/or storage of a vehicle parked in violation of this article.
It shall be unlawful for owners, occupants or tenants of property, including any agents of said owners, occupants or tenants, to dump, throw, shovel, pile or push any snow or ice removed from driveways or walkways into any public highway or street. No snow, ice, slush or a combination thereof shall be deposited into any drainage area, stream, river, culvert or catch basin. No snow, ice, slush, or combination thereof shall be deposited, pushed or maintained within a commercial, manufacturing, light industrial or multiple-family zoning district parking facility or at or near an intersection in any zoning district, in a manner or at a location which creates a traffic hazard by impairing visibility from or of a public highway. For purposes of enforcement of this article, an agent shall be defined as any person, company or entity acting on behalf of an owner, occupant or tenant, whether compensated or uncompensated for their activity upon the property. No person shall damage any Township property, including but not limited to, traffic signs, culverts, etc., while removing snow, ice, slush, or a combination thereof. Any damage to Township property shall be repaired or replaced in accordance with the requirements of the Township at the expense of the property owner and/or snow removal agency.
Fire hydrants shall not be covered. The owner is hereby required to remove or cause to be removed all snow, ice, slush, or any combination thereof or any accumulation and/or impediment which would limit access to, from, and/or around all of the fire hydrants which are located on said property, so as to provide immediate access by fire rescue personnel in cases of emergency. In cases involving a storm, fire hydrants shall be cleared of all snow, ice, slush, or any combination thereof within 24 hours following the storm. In any event, any accumulant shall be removed not less than once in every twenty-four-hour period. In all other cases involving the accumulation of natural and/or man-made items around fire hydrants, the owner is responsible for the immediate removal of said items. In either case, fire hydrants shall be cleared sufficiently so emergency personnel have total access to hydrants. This is necessary to allow for fire hose connections to be made to access water in the event of a fire. The owner of a property shall be responsible for conforming to the requirements of this section where such property is occupied by said owner or is unoccupied or vacant. In cases where the owner, occupant, or tenant as aforesaid, shall fail, neglect, or refuse to comply with any of the provisions of this section of this article, or within the time period required therein, the Township of North Whitehall, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, may, in its discretion, proceed immediately to clear the snow, ice, slush, or any combination thereof or accumulation and/or impediment which would limit access to, from, and/or around fire hydrants and to collect the expenses, with any additional amount allowed by law, from fines or penalties imposed under § 370-12. In no case is the Township of North Whitehall liable if it does not exercise the Township option for removal of snow, ice, slush, any combination thereof or accumulation and/or impediment which would limit access to, from, and/or around fire hydrants as defined within § 370-11.
Any person violating any of the provisions of this article shall, upon summary conviction before a Magisterial District Judge, be sentenced to pay a fine of not less than $50 and not more than $300 and the cost of prosecution, such fines to be collected as like fines are now collected by law, and in default shall undergo imprisonment not exceeding 30 days.
All other ordinances or parts of ordinances in conflict herewith in whole or in part are hereby repealed, but only to the extent of such conflict.
In the event that any provision, section, sentence, clause, or other part of this article, or any application thereof, is held to be invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, then such invalidity shall not affect or impair any other remaining provision, section, sentence, clause, or other part of this article, or any application thereof, it being the express intent of the Township that the remainder of this article and its applications shall be and shall remain in full force and effect, as completely as if the part or parts or application held invalid had not been included herein.
This article shall take effect five days after the enactment thereof.
The Township Secretary or Acting Secretary to the Board of Supervisors of North Whitehall Township shall certify to the adoption of this article and shall cause the same to be filed and/or published as required by law.