[Adopted 4-8-2024 by Ord. No. 2024-01]
Pursuant to Section 1601(d) of the Second Class Township Code, as amended, § 53 P.S. 66601(d), the codification of a complete body of legislation for the Township of Weisenberg, County of Lehigh, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, as revised, codified, and consolidated into chapters, articles, and sections by General Code, and consisting of Chapters
1 through
500, together with an Appendix, is hereby approved, adopted, ordained, and enacted as single ordinance of the Township of Weisenberg, which shall be known and is hereby designated as the "Code of the Township of Weisenberg," hereinafter referred to as the "Code."
The provisions of this Code, insofar as they are substantively the same as those of ordinances in force immediately prior to the enactment of this ordinance, are intended as a continuation of such ordinances and not as new enactments, and the effectiveness of such provisions shall be from the date of adoption of the prior ordinance or resolution. All such provisions are hereby continued in full force and effect and are hereby reaffirmed as to their adoption by the Board of Supervisors of the Township of Weisenberg, and it is the intention of said Board of Supervisors that each such provision contained within the Code is hereby reenacted and reaffirmed as it appears in said Code. Only such provisions of former ordinances as are omitted from this Code shall be deemed repealed or abrogated by the provisions of §
1-3 below, and only new or changed provisions, as described in §
1-6, below, shall be deemed to be enacted from the effective date of this Code, as provided in §
1-15, below.
The adoption of this Code and the repeal of ordinances provided for in §
1-3 of this ordinance shall not affect the following ordinances, rights, and obligations, which are hereby expressly saved from repeal; provided, however, that the repeal of ordinances pursuant to §
1-3 or the saving from repeal of ordinances pursuant to this section shall not be construed so as to revive any ordinance previously repealed, superseded, or no longer of any effect:
A. Any
ordinance adopted subsequent to November 13, 2023.
B. Any
right or liability established, accrued, or incurred under any legislative
provision of the Township prior to the effective date of this ordinance
or any action or proceeding brought for the enforcement of such right
or liability or any cause of action acquired or existing.
C. Any
offense or act committed or done before the effective date of this
ordinance in violation of any legislative provision of the Township
or any penalty, punishment, or forfeiture which may result therefrom.
D. Any
prosecution, indictment, action, suit, or other proceeding pending
or any judgment rendered prior to the effective date of this ordinance,
brought pursuant to any legislative provision of the Township.
E. Any
franchise, license, right, easement, or privilege heretofore granted
or conferred by the Township for any lawful contract, obligation,
or agreement.
F. Any
ordinance appropriating money or transferring funds, promising or
guaranteeing the payment of money, or authorizing the issuance and
delivery of any bond of the Township or other instruments or evidence
of the Township's indebtedness.
G. Any
ordinance adopting an annual budget or establishing an annual tax
rate.
H. Any
ordinance providing for the levy, imposition, or collection of special
taxes, assessments, or charges.
I. Any
ordinance authorizing the purchase, sale, lease, or transfer of property
or acquiring property by acceptance of deed, condemnation, or exercise
of eminent domain.
J. Any
ordinance annexing land to the Township.
K. Any
ordinance providing for or requiring the construction or reconstruction
or opening of sidewalks, curbs, and gutters.
L. Any
ordinance or part of an ordinance providing for laying out, opening,
altering, widening, relocating, straightening, establishing grade,
changing name, improvement, acceptance, or vacation of any right-of-way,
easement, street, road, highway, sidewalk, park, or other public place
or property or designating various streets as public highways.
M. Any
ordinance establishing water, sewer, or other special purpose districts
and designating the boundaries thereof providing for a system of sewers
or water supply lines; or providing for the construction, extension,
dedication, acceptance, or abandonment of any part of a system of
sewers or water supply lines.
N. Any
ordinance providing for the making of public improvements.
O. Any
ordinance providing fix the salaries and compensation of officers
and employees of the Township or setting the bond of any officer or
employee.
P. Any
ordinance concerning changes and amendments to the Zoning Map.
Q. Any
ordinance relating to or establishing a pension plan or pension fund
for municipal employees.
R. Any
ordinance or portion of an ordinance establishing a specific foe amount
for any license, permit, or service obtained from the Township.
S. Any
currently effective ordinance providing for intergovernmental cooperation
or establishing an intermunicipal agreement.
All ordinances of a general and permanent nature adopted subsequent to the date given in §
1-4A, above, and/or prior to the date of adoption of this ordinance are hereby deemed a part of the Code and shall, upon being printed, be included therein. Attested copies of all such ordinances shall be temporarily placed in the Code until printed supplements are included.
In interpreting and applying the provisions of the Code, such
provisions shall be held to be the minimum requirements for the promotion
of the public health, safety, comfort, convenience and general welfare.
Where the provisions of the Code impose greater restrictions or requirements
than those of any statute, other ordinance, resolution, or regulation,
the provisions of the Code shall control. Where the provisions of
any statute, other ordinance, resolution, or regulation impose greater
restrictions or requirements, the provisions of such statute, other
ordinance, resolution, or regulation shall control.
At least one copy of the Code in a post-bound volume shall be
filed with the Ordinance Book in the office of the Township Secretary
and shall remain there for use and examination by the public. Upon
adoption, such copy or copies shall be certified to by the Township
Secretary, as provided by law, and such certified copy or copies shall
remain on file in the office of the Township Secretary, available
to persons desiring to examine the same during all times while said
Code is in effect.
Any and all additions, deletions, amendments, or supplements
to the Code, when passed and adopted in such form as to indicate the
intention of the Board of Supervisors to be a part thereof: shall
be deemed to be incorporated into such Code so that reference to the
Code shall be understood and intended to include such changes. Whenever
such additions, deletions, amendments, or supplements to the Code
shall be adopted, they shall thereafter he printed and, as provided
hereunder, inserted in the post-bound book containing said Code as
amendments and supplements thereto.
It shall be the duty of the Township Secretary or someone authorized
and directed by him or her to keep up-to-date the certified copy or
copies of the book containing the Code required to be filed in the
office of the Township Secretary for the use of the public. All changes
in said Code and all legislation adopted by the Board of Supervisors
subsequent to the effective date of this codification which the Board
of Supervisors shall adopt specifically as part of the Code shall,
when finally adopted, be included therein by reference until such
changes or new legislation are printed as supplements to said Code
books, at which time such supplements shall be inserted therein.
The Township Secretary, pursuant to law, shall cause to be published
in the manner required by law a notice of the introduction of the
Code in a newspaper of general circulation in the Township. The enactment
and application of this ordinance, coupled with the publication of
the notice of introduction, the availability of a copy or copies of
the Code for inspection by the public and the filing of an attested
copy of this ordinance with the county, as required by law, shall
be deemed, held, and considered to be due and legal publication of
all provisions of the Code for all purposes.
It shall be unlawful for anyone to improperly change or amend,
by additions or deletions, or to alter or tamper with the Code or
any part or portion thereof in any manner whatsoever which will cause
the law of the Township to be misrepresented thereby. Any person who
violates or permits a violation of this section of this ordinance
shall, upon being found liable therefor in a civil enforcement proceeding,
pay a fine of not more than $600, plus all court costs, including
reasonable attorney's fees, incurred by the Township in the enforcement
of this chapter. If the defendant neither pays nor timely appeals
the judgment, the Township may enforce the judgment pursuant to the
applicable Rules of Civil Procedure. Each day a violation exists shall
constitute a separate offense. Further, the appropriate officers or
agents of the Township are hereby authorized to seek equitable relief,
including injunction, to enforce compliance herewith.
The provisions of this ordinance and of the Code adopted hereby
are severable, and if any clause, sentence, subsection, section, article,
chapter, or part thereof shall be adjudged by any court of competent
jurisdiction to be illegal, invalid, or unconstitutional, such judgment
or decision shall not affect, impair, or invalidate the remainder
thereof but shall be confined in its operation and application to
the clause, sentence, subsection, section, article, chapter, or part
thereof rendered illegal, invalid, or unconstitutional. It is hereby
declared to be the intent of the Board of Supervisors that this ordinance
and the Code would have been adopted if such illegal, invalid, or
unconstitutional clause, sentence, subsection, section, article, chapter,
or part thereof had not been included therein.
All provisions of this ordinance and of the Code shall be in
force and effect five days after adoption of this ordinance.