[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Supervisors of the Township
of Lower Windsor 5-14-1998 by Ord.
No. 1998-02. Amendments noted where applicable.]
This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Lower Windsor
Township Dangerous Buildings Ordinance."
The purposes of this chapter are to:
A.
Promote the health, safety and welfare of the inhabitants of the
Township; and
B.
Declare all "dangerous buildings" to be nuisances; and
C.
Provide for the assessment of the cost of vacation, removal, repair
or demolition thereof as a municipal lien or assessment; and
D.
Provide for recovery of such costs.
For the purposes of this chapter, the following words shall
have the meanings ascribed to them in this section:
The Board of Supervisors of the Township of Lower Windsor,
York County, Pennsylvania.
All buildings or structures which have any or all of the
following defects and all such buildings or structures shall be deemed
to be "dangerous buildings":
Those which have been damaged by fire, wind, flood, ice or other
causes so as to have become dangerous to the life, safety, or the
general health and welfare of the occupants or the people of the Township;
Those which have become or are dilapidated, decayed, unsafe,
unsanitary or which so utterly fail to provide the amenities essential
to decent living that they are unfit for human habitation or are likely
to cause accidents, sickness or disease, so as to work injury to the
health, safety or general welfare of those living therein or other
citizens of the Township;
Those which have parts thereof which are so attached that they
might fall and injure members of the public or the adjoining property;
Those which because of rodents, chance of collapse, fire hazard
or their general conditions are unsafe, unsanitary or dangerous to
the health, safety or general welfare of the people of the Township.
The Township of Lower Windsor, York County, Pennsylvania.
All "dangerous buildings" within the definitions of § 150-3 of this chapter are hereby declared to be public nuisances and shall be repaired, vacated or demolished as hereinbefore and hereinafter provided.
Whenever it shall be reported or come to the attention of any Township Official that any building or any structure, completed or in the process of construction, or any portion thereof, is in a dangerous condition, such person having knowledge thereof shall report same to the Board, and the Board shall immediately cause an investigation and examination to be made of such building or structure by the Township Engineer. If such investigation or examination indicates such building or structure to be dangerous in accordance with the standards of the definition of "dangerous building" in § 150-3 of this chapter, a written report of such investigation by the Township Engineer shall be submitted to the Board, specifying the exact condition of such building or structure and setting forth whether or in what respect the structure is dangerous and whether the structure is capable of being properly repaired or whether it shall be removed as a dangerous building.
A.
The following standards shall be followed in substance by the Board
in ordering repair, vacation or demolition of dangerous buildings:
(1)
If the dangerous building can be repaired so that it will no longer
exist in violation of the terms of this chapter, it shall be ordered
to be repaired;
(2)
If the dangerous building is in such condition as to make it dangerous
to the health, safety or general welfare of its occupants, it shall
be ordered to be vacated within 30 days;
(3)
In any case where a dangerous building cannot be reasonably repaired
as determined by the Township Engineer, it shall be demolished or
in cases where a dangerous building is a fire hazard existing or erected
in violation of the terms of this chapter, or any statute of the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania, it shall be demolished; provided, the cost of repairs
to rectify or remove the dangerous conditions exceed 50% of the market
value of the building at the time the demolition is proposed.
A.
If any structure is deemed to be a "dangerous building" within the standards set forth in the definition of "dangerous building" in § 150-3 of this chapter, the Board shall forthwith cause written notice to be served upon the owner, occupant, lessee, mortgagee, agent and all other persons having an interest in said buildings as shown by the deed of registration in the Recorder's Office of York County, Pennsylvania of any such dangerous building.
B.
The notice required by this section shall be served personally upon
the owner of a dangerous building if the owner resides in the Township.
If personal service as required herein cannot be obtained or if the
owner resides outside of the Township, such notice shall be sent to
the owner of a dangerous building by certified mail at the last known
address thereof.
C.
The notice shall identify the building or structure deemed dangerous and contain a statement of the particulars which made this building or structure a dangerous building as a result of the investigation required by § 150-5 hereof and an order requiring the same to be put in such condition as to comply with the terms of the order of this chapter, provided, in any case where the notice prescribes the repair of any structure, the owner thereof shall have the option to remove such structure in lieu of making the repairs thereto within the specified time limits.
D.
Such notice shall require any person notified to repair, vacate or demolish any building to commence the work or act required by the notice, or to request a hearing pursuant to § 150-8 hereof, within 10 days of such notice and to complete such repair, demolition and/or removal within 50 days of receipt of such notice if no hearing is requested.
E.
The Board shall cause to be placed on all dangerous buildings a notice
reading substantially as follows:
"This building has been found to be a dangerous building by
the Board of Supervisors of the Township of Lower Windsor, York County,
Pennsylvania. This Notice is to remain on this building until it is
repaired, vacated or demolished in accordance with the Notice which
has been given to the owner, occupant, lessee, mortgagee or agent
of this building. It is unlawful to remove this Notice until compliance
is made under the terms contained in the Notice given to the above
named party."
The Board of Supervisors of the Township shall:
A.
Upon receipt of a report in accordance with § 150-5 of this chapter, give written notice to the owner or owners of said dangerous buildings as determined by the records of the office of the Recorder of Deeds of York County, Pennsylvania' and failing to find any owner or owners, then to such occupant, mortgagee, lessee, agent or any other person having an interest in said dangerous building, to appear before the Board on the date specified in the notice to show cause why the building or structure reported to be a "dangerous building" should not be repaired, vacate or demolished in accordance with the statement of particulars set forth in the notice provided for herein in § 150-7C;
B.
Upon request of said owner, hold a hearing and hear such testimony
as the owner, occupant, mortgagee, lessee, neighbors or other person
having an interest in said building shall offer relative to the "dangerous
building";
D.
Issue an order based upon findings of fact made pursuant to § 150-3 of this section demanding the owner, occupant, mortgagee, lessee or any other person having an interest in said building to repair, vacate or demolish any building found to be a "dangerous building" within the terms of this chapter. Such action shall be commenced within 10 days of the date of such order and completed within 50 days of the date of said order.
A.
The owner, occupant, mortgagee, lessee or any other person who shall
fail to comply with any notice or order to repair, vacate or demolish
any such dangerous building given by any person authorized by this chapter,
or any regulation or any order issued thereunder, shall, upon conviction
in a summary proceeding brought before a Magisterial District Judge
under the Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal Procedure, be guilty of a
summary offense and shall be punishable by a fine of not more than
$1,000, plus costs of prosecution. In default of payment thereof,
the defendant may be sentenced to imprisonment for a term not exceeding
90 days. Each day or portion thereof that such violation continues
or is permitted to continue shall constitute a separate offense, and
each section of this chapter that is violated shall also constitute
a separate offense.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. I)]
B.
Any person removing the notice provided for in § 150-7E hereof, shall, upon conviction in a summary proceeding brought before a Magisterial District Judge under the Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal Procedure, be guilty of a summary offense and shall be punishable by a fine of not more than $1,000, plus costs of prosecution. In default of payment thereof, the defendant may be sentenced to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 90 days. Each day or portion thereof that such violation continues or is permitted to continue shall constitute a separate offense, and each section of this chapter that is violated shall also constitute a separate offense.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. I)]
C.
If the owner, occupant, mortgagee, lessee or any other person having an interest in said building, as shown by the land records of the Recorder of Deeds of York County fails to comply with any notice or order to repair, vacate or demolish any dangerous building within 50 days of the receipt of such notice, the Board is empowered to cause such building or structure to be repaired, vacated or demolished by the Township and to cause the costs of such repair, vacation or demolition, together with the penalty of 10% of such costs to be charged against the land on which the building existed as a municipal lien, or to recover such costs in a suit at law against the owner or other such person having an interest in the building; provided, the recovery of such cost and expense, together with the penalty, may be in addition to the penalty imposed in Subsections A and B of this section.
In cases wherein it reasonably appears that there exists an immediate danger to the life or safety of any person caused or created by a "dangerous building" as defined herein, the Board shall cause the immediate repair, vacation or demolition of such dangerous building unless the owner shall request a hearing pursuant to § 150-8 hereof within five days. Such hearing shall be held within 10 days of declaration of such an emergency. The costs of such emergency repair, vacation or demolition of such dangerous buildings shall be collected in the same manner as provided for in § 150-9C.
A.
If any sentence, clause or section or part of this chapter is for
any reason found to be unconstitutional, illegal or invalid, such
unconstitutionality, illegality or invalidity shall not affect or
impair any of the remaining provisions, sentences, clauses or sections
or parts of this chapter. It is hereby declared as the intent of the
Board this chapter would have been adopted had such unconstitutional,
illegal or invalid sentence, clause, section or part thereof not been
included herein.
A.
Any ordinance or part of ordinance heretofore adopted by the Board
is hereby repealed insofar as the same conflicts with or affects this
chapter.
A.
This chapter shall become effective five days after date of enactment
as provided by law.
