Borough of Springdale, PA Chapter 465 Violation Tickets

[HISTORY: Adopted by the Borough Council of the Borough of Springdale 12-17-2019 by Ord. No. 1281. Amendments noted where applicable.]

§ 465-1 Form of notice.

Upon inspection and a determination that a provision of the Springdale Borough Code of Ordinances (hereinafter "Springdale Code") has been violated, a duly empowered Springdale Borough Code Enforcement Officer, Borough police officer, Zoning Code Official, Building Code Official, or other person deputized or directed by the Borough Council to enforce provisions of the Springdale Code (hereinafter collectively referred to as the "Code Enforcement Officer" or "Springdale Code Enforcement Officer") may notify the responsible party or parties of the violation, in writing, in the form of a notice of violation, a nontraffic citation or a violation ticket.

§ 465-2 Violation ticket contents.

Whenever the Code Enforcement Officer determines that there exists a violation of any provision of the Springdale Code that could, upon admission or conviction, constitute a summary offense, the Code Enforcement shall issue a violation ticket which shall:

A. Be in writing;

B. Include a brief description of the time, date and location of the violation;

C. Reference the particular section(s) of the Springdale Borough Code;

D. Set forth an amount of money that can be paid within a ten-day period of time that, along with satisfactory remediation of the violation in the manner set forth on the ticket by the Code Enforcement Officer, will excuse the violator from being served with a citation; and

E. Include a statement regarding the right to forgo paying the ticket and pleading guilty and instead challenge the citation before the Magisterial District Judge having jurisdiction over the matter.

§ 465-3 Service of violation ticket.

A. A violation ticket shall be served upon the owner, occupant or responsible party in the following manner:

(1) By handing it to the person to be served; or

(2) By handing it, at the residence of a person to be served, to an adult member of the family with which the person resides, or to an adult person in charge of such residence at the time of service; or

(3) By handing it to the person, his agent, or the person in charge at the time of service at any office or usual place of business of the person to be served; or

(4) By mailing the violation ticket to the last known address of the person or entity to be served by certified mail, return receipt requested, and if returned as unclaimed, to be sent first-class mail; or

(5) Such other method as authorized by relevant Pennsylvania law or provision of the Springdale Code.

B. If any person to whom the violation ticket is issued cannot be served in the above manner, the Code Enforcement Officer shall briefly note the appropriate facts in the file and shall make service upon such person by posting the violation ticket in a conspicuous place on the relevant premises.

C. For purposes of this section, a person "cannot be served" when the person to be served has no residence or office or usual place of business within the Borough and the mailed violation ticket is returned undelivered; or when the violation ticket cannot be served under Subsection A(1), (2), or (3) hereof after two trips on two separate days to the residence or office or usual place of business of the person to be served and if the mailed violation ticket is returned undelivered.

D. Notwithstanding the above service requirements, any violation ticket relating to a motor vehicle may be made by affixing the violation ticket to the vehicle under the front windshield wiper or other location on the vehicle reasonably believed to be conspicuous to a driver.

§ 465-4 Fines and fees.

A. The ticket fine amount shall be set forth on the ticket and in the relevant Borough Fee Schedule, to be amended from time to time by resolution by the Borough Council, in an amount less than the maximum daily fine provided for in the violated provision of the Springdale Borough Code.

B. The violation ticket must be paid within 10 days of the date appearing thereon. Violation tickets that remain unpaid after the aforementioned ten-day period may be converted or followed by the Code Enforcement Officer with the issuance of a nontraffic citation where, upon conviction, the full maximum daily fine provided for in the Springdale Borough Code will be imposed and the right to pay the lesser amount set forth in the violation ticket will be lost.

C. The violation ticket fine amount is hereby set at $25 and can be amended after enactment hereof by resolution.