[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Supervisors of Newberry Township 6-26-2018 by Ord. No. 406. Amendments noted where applicable.]
Unless otherwise specifically defined below, words or phrases used herein shall be interpreted so as to give them the same meaning as they have in common usage and so give this chapter its most reasonable application consistent with its intent:
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
The Newberry Township Board of Supervisors.
CODE ENFORCEMENT OFFICER
The Township's building code official or other designee from the Township responsible for enforcing this chapter or other ordinances regulating the construction and safety of structures within the Township.
DANGEROUS STRUCTURE
Any building or structure (to include house, commercial building, mobile home, shed, barn, garage, and the like) which has any or all of the following defects:
A. 
Building or structure that has been damaged by fire, wind, or other cause so as to fail utterly to provide the amenities essential to decent living and is unfit for human habitation.
B. 
Building or structure that has been damaged by fire, wind, or other cause so as to have become dangerous to the life, safety, morals, or the general health and welfare of the occupant or the people of the Township.
C. 
Building or structure which has become or is so dilapidated, decayed, unsafe, unsanitary, or which has so utterly failed to provide the amenities essential to decent living so that it is unfit for human habitation.
D. 
Building or structure which has become or is so dilapidated, decayed, unsafe, unsanitary, or which has so utterly failed to provide amenities essential to decent living and is likely to cause accidents, sickness, or disease, so as to injure the health, morals, safety, or general welfare of those living therein as well as other residents of the Township.
E. 
Building or structure which has parts thereof which are so attached that they might fall and injure members of the public or adjoining property.
F. 
Building or structure which because of its general condition is unsafe, unsanitary, or dangerous to the health, morals, safety, or general welfare of the residents of the Township.
G. 
Building or structure which is unsafe because of inadequate means of egress, inadequate light and ventilation, fire hazard, other dangers to human life or the public welfare, illegal or improper occupancy or inadequate maintenance, including a vacant structure that is not secured against entry.
TOWNSHIP
Shall be as defined in the recitals hereto.[1]
UCC
The Uniform Construction Code, 34 Pa. Code § 401.1 et seq.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
[1]
Editor's Note: "Newberry Township, York County, Pennsylvania."
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
This chapter shall be construed in a manner consistent with the UCC and shall provide remedies to the Township relative to dangerous structures in addition to those as set forth in the UCC, 34 Pa. Code §§ 403.83 and 403.84.
A. 
All dangerous structures are hereby declared to be public nuisances and shall be repaired, vacated, and/or demolished.
B. 
Each day a nuisance in the form of a dangerous structure continues after notice is given that said dangerous structure is to be repaired, vacated, and/or demolished shall constitute a separate offense in violation of this chapter.
A. 
Whenever it is reported or comes to the attention of any person, resident, Township official, or police officer that any building or structure completed or in the process of construction or any portion thereof is in a dangerous condition, such person shall report the same to the Code Enforcement Officer.
B. 
The Code Enforcement Officer shall make an investigation and examine the building or structure reported. If the Code Enforcement Officer, after said investigation, believes that the structure is a dangerous structure, then a written report of the investigation specifying the condition of the building or structure and in what respect it is dangerous shall be made and presented to the Board of Supervisors. The Code Enforcement Officer, at his/her discretion, may consult with the Township Fire Chief, a structural engineer, electrician, or other relevant subject matter expert to assist with the investigation and/or subsequent report. The report may recommend whether the building or structure can be repaired or whether it shall be removed as a dangerous structure.
C. 
In addition to the above-referenced report noted above, the Code Enforcement Officer may proceed under UCC, 34 Pa. Code § 403.83 or 403.84, to order the vacation of the dangerous structure.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
The Board of Supervisors shall:
A. 
Upon receipt of a report in accordance with the investigation set forth in § 157-4, give written notice to the owner or owners of such dangerous structures as determined by the records in the York County Tax Assessment and/or Recorder of Deeds offices, or failing to find any owner or owners, then notice shall be given to the occupant, mortgagee, lessee, agent, or any other person found with an interest in said dangerous structure as the Township may discover, and said notice shall inform the owner or other party to appear before the Board of Supervisors on a date specified to show cause why the building or structure reported as a dangerous structure should not be repaired, demolished, or vacated in accordance with any written report to the Board of Supervisors or determination made by the Board of Supervisors. In the event that the dangerous structure is located within a mobile home park, then notice shall be given to the mobile home park owner or manager and the owner of the mobile home, if such individuals can be located.
B. 
Within not less than 10 days nor more than 60 days from the date of such notice, hold a hearing and hear such testimony as the owner, occupant, mortgagee, lessee, or other person having an interest in said building or structure shall offer related to the dangerous structure.
C. 
Within 30 days of such hearing, make written findings of fact from the testimony offered pursuant to the hearing as to whether or not the building in question is a dangerous structure.
D. 
Within not more than 30 days following the hearing provided for by § 157-5B hereof, issue an order, based upon findings of fact made pursuant to § 157-5C hereof, demanding the owner of said building to repair, demolish, or vacate any building or structure found to be a dangerous structure.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
The following standards shall be followed in substance by the Board of Supervisors in ordering repair, demolition, or vacation of a dangerous structure:
A. 
If the dangerous structure can be repaired as determined by the Board of Supervisors so that it will no longer exist in violation of the terms of this chapter, it may be ordered repaired or demolished, at the discretion of the Board of Supervisors.
B. 
If the dangerous structure is in such condition as to make it dangerous to the health, morals, safety, or general welfare of its occupants, it shall be ordered to be vacated.
C. 
If the dangerous structure cannot be reasonably repaired as determined by the Board of Supervisors, it shall be demolished.
D. 
If the dangerous structure is a fire hazard or is existing or erected in violation of the terms of this chapter, any other ordinance of the Township or any statute of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, it shall be demolished.
A. 
If any building or structure is deemed to be a dangerous structure within the standards of this chapter after the hearing, then the Board of Supervisors within the time set forth in § 157-5D of this chapter shall cause notice of this order issued under § 157-5D of this chapter to be served upon the owner or owners of such dangerous structures as determined by the records previously or who appeared at the hearing, or to the occupant mortgage, lessee, agent, or any other person found with an interest in said dangerous structure who can be located.
B. 
The notice and order required by § 157-7A shall be served personally upon the owner or owners of a dangerous structure if such owner resides, or such owners reside, in the Township or personally upon his agent if such agent resides within the Township. If personal service required herein cannot be obtained, such notice shall be sent to the owner or owners of a dangerous structure by certified mail at the last known address according to the records available in the York County Tax Assessment office.
C. 
The notice and order shall identify the building or structure deemed dangerous, contain a statement of the particulars which made this building or structure a dangerous structure and include an order requiring the same to be put in such condition as to conform with the terms of this chapter; provided, further, in any case where the notice prescribes the repair of any building or structure, the owner thereof shall have the option to remove such building or structure, in lieu of making the repairs thereto within the time period provided.
D. 
The notice and order shall require any person notified to repair, demolish, or vacate any building or structure to commence the work or act required by the notice within 10 days of such notice and to comply with such repair, demolition, or vacation within 60 days from the receipt of such notice.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
A. 
Any owner, occupant, or lessee who is in possession of any dangerous structure who shall fail to comply with any notice or order to repair, demolish, or vacate any dangerous structure issued under § 157-7 of this chapter or who violates any of the other provisions of this chapter shall, upon conviction of a summary offense before a Magisterial District Judge, be subject to a fine not exceeding $1,000 plus costs, including reasonable attorneys' fees, and in default of payment of the fine and costs shall be subject to imprisonment for a period not to exceed 30 days. Each day of a violation shall be considered a separate violation and offense.
B. 
Any person having an interest in any building or structure who fails to comply with any notice or order to repair, demolish, or vacate any dangerous structure within 90 days of the receipt of such notice, by such failure does empower the Board of Supervisors to cause such dangerous structure to be repaired, demolished, or vacated by the Township and to cause the costs of such repair, demolition, or vacation together with a penalty of 10% to be charged upon the land upon which the building exists as a municipal lien, or alternatively to recover such costs and penalty in a suit at law against the owner or owners but failing to recover same to have a judgment therefor to be charged upon the land as a lien; and the penalty in this subsection is separate from and in addition to the fine, penalty, and costs which may be imposed by any other subsection of this § 157-8.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
In cases where it reasonably appears that there exists an immediate danger to the life or safety of any person caused or created by a dangerous structure, in addition to pursuing available remedies as set forth in the UCC 34 Pa. Code § 403.84, the Board of Supervisors shall cause the immediate repair, demolition, or vacation of such dangerous structure. The costs of such emergency repair, demolition, or vacation of such dangerous structure shall be collected as provided for in § 157-8B of this chapter.
A. 
In the event of any provision, section, sentence, clause, or part of this chapter is held to be invalid, such invalidity shall not affect or impair any remaining provisions, section, sentence, clause, or part of this chapter, it being the intent of the Township that such remainder shall be and shall remain in full force and effect and for this purpose the provisions of this chapter are hereby declared to be severable.
B. 
In the event any legislation by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania becomes effective dealing with the same or similar subject matter as that included herein, such shall remain in full force and effect if it is more restrictive, and not inconsistent with such legislation; but if such legislation is more restrictive than, inconsistent with, or both, then this chapter shall be interpreted according to such legislation and shall be superseded to the extent necessary to give such legislation appropriate effect. However, all the remainder of this chapter shall be and shall remain in full force and effect and, for this purpose, the provisions of this chapter are hereby declared to be severable.
All ordinances or parts of ordinances expressly inconsistent herewith or dealing with the same or similar subject matter of this chapter are expressly repealed.
This chapter shall become effective five days after date of enactment as provided by law.