[12-3-2024 by Ord. No. 3827]
The term "public nuisance" shall mean:
(A) 
Conduct or property, or the condition or use of property, defined or declared to be a public nuisance under any provision of this part or other law.
(B) 
Conduct or property, or the condition or use of property, if the department of code enforcement determines that it endangers the health or safety of, or causes hurt, harm, inconvenience, discomfort, damage or injury to, a person or property in the city by reason of the conduct or property or the condition or use of the property, being any of the following:
(1) 
A menace, threat or hazard to the general health and safety of the community.
(2) 
A fire hazard.
(3) 
A building or structure that is unsafe for occupancy or use.
(4) 
Property that is so inadequately or insufficiently maintained that it diminishes or depreciates the enjoyment and use of other property in its immediate vicinity to the extent that it is harmful to the community in which the property is situated.
(C) 
Unauthorized accumulations of garbage and rubbish and the unauthorized storage of abandoned or junked automobiles or other vehicles on private or public property, and the carrying on of any offensive manufacture or business.
[12-3-2024 by Ord. No. 3827]
(A) 
The department of code enforcement shall have the authority to investigate, determine, and abate public nuisances in the manner provided by the Third Class City Code, 11 Pa.C.S.A. Chapter 127A.
(B) 
Unless another designee is appointed by the mayor at a public meeting, the city manager shall serve as the mayor's designee who may provide express authorization to utilize summary abatement as provided for in Third Class City Code, 11 Pa.C.S.A. Section 127A03(b) regarding conditions required for summary abatement without prior notice.
(C) 
Based on the severity, duration, quantity, quality, or combination of code violations affecting a subject property, which may or may not be individually identified as public nuisances by statute, the department of code enforcement shall have the authority to declare in its notice of violation that in its judgment the violation(s) is regarded as a public nuisance and shall explain its reasons in the notice. This declaration alone shall be regarded as a finding only and shall not be construed as prior notice of abatement under this article, nor as a separate or additional violation, and no additional penalty shall be imposed. However, this provision does not preclude any other determination of public nuisance related to an abatement action and the imposition of related costs, fees, and civil penalties for abatement.
[12-3-2024 by Ord. No. 3827]
(A) 
There is hereby created a public nuisance appeals board, to be constituted consistent with the Third Class City Code, 11 Pa.C.S.A. Chapter 127A.
(B) 
Property owners who are aggrieved by a notice for abatement of a public nuisance on their property may request an appeal of the determination of a public nuisance within 30 days of the date of the notice. The appellant shall deliver the appeal care of the public nuisance appeals board. The appeal shall be made in writing in a form prescribed by the city and shall state the specific reasons for the appeal.
(C) 
City council shall set a uniform fee via an annual fee schedule, which shall be paid by the appellant at the time the appeal is requested, sufficient to cover the costs of conducting a public appeals hearing.
(1) 
The city shall provide for an option and procedure for an appellant to request a deferment of the fee to appeal for reasons of true financial hardship, which option shall be offered in a statement on the notice of determination. Should the city find a true financial hardship and grant a deferment, and the appeal is found in favor of the determination of public nuisance and followed by abatement, the appeals fee shall be collected with the charges assessed for abatement.
(2) 
Any fees paid by a party to appeal a determination shall be returned to the appealing party by the city if the public nuisance appeals board, or any court in a subsequent appeal, rules in the appealing party's favor. The city shall not be liable for any expenses incurred by the appellant regarding the appellant's employment of counsel, stenographer, or other aid to the defense.
(D) 
The public nuisance appeals board shall set a date and time for a public hearing to consider the appeal for no sooner than 10 days and no later than 60 days following the date of receipt of a completed appeals request and fee. In the event that the appeals board fails to hear a properly requested appeal within this time period, the fee shall be returned to the appellant and the determination of public nuisance shall be considered voided until such time as a determination is made anew.
(E) 
The parties shall have the right to be represented by counsel and shall be afforded the opportunity to respond and present evidence and argument and cross-examine adverse witnesses on all relevant issues.
(F) 
The public nuisance appeals board may choose to have legal representation from either the city solicitor or a solicitor other than the city solicitor. The board's choice to retain a solicitor at any time shall not affect the fee set by council and charged to the appellant.
(G) 
Hearings and appeal proceedings shall be conducted in accordance with the provisions of the Pennsylvania Local Agency Law, 2 Pa.C.S.A. § 551 et seq., and in accordance with the applicable requirements of the Pennsylvania Sunshine Law, 65 Pa.C.S.A. § 701 et seq. Formal rules of evidence shall not apply, but irrelevant, immaterial, or unduly repetitious evidence may be excluded.
(H) 
The public nuisance appeals board may set its own rules of conduct and procedure consistent with state and local law.
(I) 
The public nuisance appeals board may uphold, amend, or modify the determination of the department or, as applicable, extend the time for compliance with the department's order if the extension is limited to a specific time period, consistent with Third Class City Code, 11 Pa.C.S.A. Chapter 127A.
(J) 
Following a determination of public nuisance, no subsequent action taken that remedies in whole or in part the cause of a public nuisance may be considered as evidence against the original determination.
[12-3-2024 by Ord. No. 3827]
(A) 
The city shall follow the methods and procedures of the Third Class City Code, 11 Pa.C.S.A. § 127A10 regarding the notification of costs of abatement, administrative review of costs, reduction or cancellation of assessment, and elimination of civil penalty.
(B) 
If a party aggrieved by the calculation of costs assessed for the abatement objects to the administrative review of the calculation by the director of code enforcement, then an appeal of the assessment may proceed before the public nuisance appeals board in the same procedure and manner as the appeal of determination of public nuisances of § 701.04.
[12-3-2024 by Ord. No. 3827]
(A) 
Whenever a public nuisance is abated by the city, the statement of the costs of the public nuisance shall include the city's actual cost of abatement, plus an administrative fee, not to exceed 10%, and a civil penalty.
(B) 
For the first abatement of a public nuisance upon any owner's property within the city in any two-year period, a civil penalty of $250 shall be imposed upon the owner.
(C) 
For second and subsequent abatements upon any properties of any owner within the city during any two-year period, the civil penalty shall be $500. The increased civil penalty shall be imposed and collected regardless of whether the second and subsequent public nuisances upon property or properties of an owner involve the same property or the public nuisances are of the same or different character.
[12-3-2024 by Ord. No. 3827]
(A) 
If deemed practicable by the department of code enforcement, the department may salvage and sell at private or public sale any material derived from an abatement of a public nuisance. The following shall apply to the proceeds obtained from the sale of any material salvaged as a result of an abatement:
(1) 
The proceeds shall be deposited into an activity item managed by the city's finance department under the city's general fund for the receipt of recovered costs, fees, and penalties of abatement and from which expenses related to abatement may be drawn.
(2) 
The proceeds shall be applied against the amount of the costs, fees and penalties relating to the abatement, in that order.
(3) 
If the amount of the proceeds exceeds the amount of the costs, fees and penalties, any excess shall be paid to the owner.