The word "person" as used in this article shall
mean any natural person, partnership, association, firm or corporation.
The singular shall include the plural, and the masculine shall include
the feminine and the neuter.
[Amended 5-17-1976 by Ord. No. 380, approved 5-17-1976]
The Borough Council or its appointee shall be
in charge of the enforcement of this article and shall act as prosecutor
in all cases of violation of the health laws, ordinances, rules and
regulations or prosecution for the abatement of nuisances detrimental
to the public health.
[Amended 12-3-1984 by Ord. No. 426, approved 12-3-1984; 11-4-1985 by Ord. No.
434, approved 11-4-1985; 5-4-2004 by Ord. No. 595, approved 5-4-2004]
A. No person shall permit any noxious, putrid or decaying
animal or vegetable matter to remain on any property owned or occupied
by him for longer than 24 hours.
B. Animal defecation.
(1) No person having possession, custody or control of
any animals shall knowingly or negligently permit any dog or other
animal to commit any nuisance, i.e., defecation or urination upon
any driveway, alley, curb or sidewalk in the Borough of Pen Argyl,
or upon the floors or stairways of any building or place frequented
by the public or used in common by the tenants, or upon the outside
walls, walkways, driveways, alleys, curbs or stairways or any building
abutting on a public street or park, or upon the grounds of any public
park or public area other than streets or gutters, or upon any private
property other than the property of the animal owner.
(2) Disposal of animal feces. Any person having possession,
custody or control of any dog or other animal, which dog or animal
shall defecate on a public street or gutter, shall be required to
immediately remove any feces from such surface and place the same
in a nonleaking container for deposit in a trash or litter receptacle.
(3) Any person walking or accompanied by a dog or other
animal beyond the boundaries of that person's property shall be required
to have in his/her possession a nonleaking container for collection
and deposit in a trash or litter receptacle of any fecal material
deposited by such dog or animal.
(4) Dogs accompanying blind or handicapped persons exempted. The provisions of Subsection
B(1),
(2) and
(3) above shall not apply to a guide dog accompanying blind persons, or to a dog used to assist any other physically handicapped person.
C. No person owning or possessing an animal shall permit
the animal to bark, howl, yelp, bay or cause any other unseemly noise
continuously for a period of 10 minutes to the disturbance of any
person or permit the animal to make such noise intermittently for
a period of 30 minutes to the disturbance of any person.
[Amended 3-4-2008 by Ord. No. 643, approved 3-4-2008]
D. No person
shall keep or possess a rooster (defined as a male chicken over four
months of age) regardless of whether it is kept for commercial purposes
or as a pet.
[Added 3-2-2021 by Ord. No. 713, approved 3-2-2021]
[Amended 5-17-1976 by Ord. No. 380, approved 5-17-1976]
No person shall construct or begin to use a
privy upon any property in the Borough upon which a privy was not
maintained at the time of adoption of this article except with prior
approval of the Borough Council or its appointee. Such approval may
specify the location and manner of construction of such privy, and
no such privy shall be maintained in violation of any such conditions
or specifications. Every cesspool, privy or sink which, in the judgment
of the Borough Council or its appointee, after an examination of the
same, shall be deemed prejudicial to the public health, shall be a
nuisance, and such cesspool, privy or sink shall be cleaned, filled
in, repaired or discontinued as the Borough Council or its appointee
shall direct.
[Amended 5-17-1976 by Ord. No. 380, approved 5-17-1976]
Whenever any communicable disease shall be prevalent
in the Borough or whenever there shall be reason to believe that a
threat of the prevalence of any such disease exists, the Borough Council
or its appointee may order the owner of any premises to remove or
remedy any condition existing upon such premises when it shall deem
the removal or remedy of such condition advisable as a step toward
the prevention of the further spread of such disease.
[Added 7-6-2004 by Ord. No. 600, approved 7-6-2004]
A. It shall be unlawful for the owner or keeper of any
dog to suffer or permit such dog, whether licensed or unlicensed,
to be at large on any of the streets, sidewalks, alleys or public
grounds in the Borough or upon the property of anyone other than the
owner of that dog, unless said dog is accompanied by and under the
control of such owner or keeper. For purposes of this section, the
term "under control" shall be defined as attached to and/or restrained
by a leash not to exceed 25 feet in length, with the other end of
said leash being held or otherwise attached to the owner or keeper.
B. Any dog found in violation of this provision may be
seized and/or detained by any police officer of the Borough or by
the Borough's animal control officer. The police officer or animal
control officer shall then follow the procedures for seizure and detention
and, if necessary, destruction of the dog, as set forth in the Pennsylvania
Dog Law (3 P.S. § 459-101 et seq.).
[Amended 5-17-1976 by Ord. No. 380, approved 5-17-1976; 5-4-2004 by Ord. No.
595, approved 5-4-2004; 7-6-2004 by Ord. No. 600, approved 7-6-2004]
Any person violating any of the provisions of
this article shall, upon conviction in a summary proceeding before
a District Magistrate, be sentenced to pay a fine of a minimum of
$50 and a maximum of $1,000, and in default of such payment and fine
and costs, to imprisonment for a term not to exceed 30 days.