It shall be unlawful for any person or persons,
corporations or associates to place or maintain any bench, other obstruction
or leaves, grass, yard trimmings and tree branches of any kind whatsoever
upon any part of the legal right-of-way of any of the public highways
situate within the Township of Cheltenham, except that hereafter it
shall be lawful for the property owner situate in Cheltenham Township
abutting any public highway to place only leaves from said property
in the gutter of said highway in a reasonably safe manner so as not
to create a public safety hazard, in coordination with the annual
published dates of the township leaf collection program each fall
season. Said leaves shall not be placed in the gutter prior to 14
days before the scheduled collection date. In no case shall leaves
be placed in the gutter after the last published collection date.
Bus shelters, pursuant to agreement approved by Cheltenham Township,
are exempt from the provisions of this chapter.
[Amended 3-21-1989 by Ord. No. 1686]
On or after the passage of this chapter, it
shall be unlawful for any person or persons to conduct a public eating
or drinking place or stand upon any sidewalk, street or highway, situate
in the Township of Cheltenham.[1]
[Amended 1-20-1987 by Ord. No. 1644]
A.
When any person or persons shall be about to erect
or repair any house, building, wall or other structure within the
Township of Cheltenham and shall be desirous to occupy a part of the
public street or road for placing building material, mortar boxes
or dumpster thereon, he or they shall make application to the Township
Manager at the Township Building, stating the number and extent of
such building, etc., for the accommodation of which he may desire
to occupy said street or road, and thereupon, the Township Manager
shall issue a printed permit to occupy said part of any public street
or road in the neighborhood for the purpose aforesaid, not exceeding
in extent the dimensions of the front of the premises about to be
built upon or repaired and, further, not exceeding eight feet in width,
13 feet in height and one foot over curbstone, with a gutter left
along the curb 15 inches in height, with cleanout holes, 12 by 18
every 25 feet in length. In case it is desired to mix mortar and place
any mortar boxes upon any of the public streets or highways during
the erection and repair of buildings, walls or other structures, it
shall be required that a watertight box be used, provided that, in
all cases, building materials shall be neatly maintained and reflectorized
or lighted barricades used and cartway shall at all times be left
unencumbered between said materials or mortar boxes and the opposite
curbstone for the passage of vehicles; and, provided further, that
no building materials or dumpster shall be placed within 15 feet of
any fire hydrant or flagstone crossing or within 50 feet of a railroad
track.
B.
In the case of a dumpster, should the applicant not
be able to place the same on his or their private property, a permit
may be issued. The placement of said dumpster shall be in accordance
with all requirements of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Motor Vehicle
Code[1] and the Township Traffic Code.[2] The dimensions of the dumpster shall not exceed eight
feet in width by 20 feet in length, shall be lighted or reflectorized
or lighted barricades used and shall not inhibit vehicle sight distance
visibility. The applicant shall provide the township with the name
and telephone number of the company furnishing the dumpster. Should
it be proven subsequent to the placement of a dumpster in the right-of-way
that said dumpster creates a hazard, even though a permit has been
issued, the Director of Public Works shall have the right to require
the permittee to have the dumpster removed within 24 hours.
C.
If any damage or injury to the roadbed shall be caused
or done by the use or occupancy of any street or road hereunder, the
party to whom such permit shall have been issued shall be responsible
and liable for the same and shall restore the roadbed to its original
condition and proceed to collect the cost of the same from said party,
according to law.
It shall be unlawful for any person or persons
to place any obstruction whatsoever upon any part of the sidewalks
situate within the Township of Cheltenham or to use any part of said
sidewalks for the purpose of storing, selling or displaying goods
or merchandise of any kind or description.
[Amended 9-15-1987 by Ord. No. 1655; 3-21-1989 by Ord. No.
1686; 11-21-1995 by Ord. No. 1846-95; 4-16-2014 by Ord. No.
2280-14]
A.
LAST KNOWN ADDRESS
OCCUPANT
OWNER
Definitions. As used in this Article, the following terms shall have
the meanings indicated:
The address for the owner or occupant as listed in the records
of the Montgomery County Board of Assessment.
The tenant or tenants with respect to one- or two-family
dwellings, or the manager or person having care, custody or control
of the building or lot with respect to three-family or larger dwellings,
commercial businesses, industrial premises, vacant lots or unoccupied
buildings.
The property owner as listed with the Montgomery County Board
of Assessment.
B.
It shall be the duty of the owner or occupant of any building or lot fronting or alongside a sidewalk ordinarily open to the public to remove all accumulations of snow and ice from the sidewalk no later than 24 hours after snow and/or ice (as applicable) has ceased to fall. Failure to comply will result, upon summary conviction before a Magisterial District Judge, to be sentenced to pay a fine in accordance with § 255-22.
(1)
The cleared pathway shall not be less than 24 inches wide and shall
be thoroughly cleared to that extent of snow and ice or other obstructions.
A minimum of passage of not less than 24 inches shall also be cleared
to the street. Handicapped access ramps shall be cleared to a minimum
of passage of 24 inches.
(2)
Should the snow and/or ice on the sidewalk be frozen so hard that
it cannot be removed without injury to the pavement, the person charged
with the responsibility for the snow and ice removal shall cause the
sidewalk fronting or alongside building or lot to be strewn and to
be kept strewn with sand, salt or any suitable abrasive material and
shall, as soon thereafter as the weather shall permit (but no later
than 48 hours thereafter), remove all such abrasive material as well
as all ice and snow from such sidewalks.
(3)
Service of Notice. Service of notice may be completed by personal
service, service by mail, or by posting.
(a)
Personal service. Service of notice may be completed by handing
a copy to the defendant, or by handing a copy, at the residence of
the defendant, to an adult member of the family with whom the defendant
resides, but if no adult member of the family is found, then to an
adult person in charge of such residence where the nuisance exists.
(b)
Service by mail. Service of the notice may also be accomplished
by mailing the notice to the last known address of the owner or occupant.
Service by mail is complete upon mailing.
(c)
Service by posting. Service of the notice may also be completed
by posting a copy thereof in a conspicuous place upon the building
or lot where the nuisance exists.
[Amended 3-21-1989 by Ord. No. 1686]
A.
Every person of corporation who or which shall excavate
any street, road or highway of the township under permit duly issued
by the township or who shall deposit building materials on such street,
road or highway shall place or cause to be placed and kept burning
during the night sufficient danger signals of red color so as to properly
warn travelers and vehicles upon said streets, roads or highways,
but in no event shall there be at any time fewer than three such warning
signals.
B.
It shall be the duty of the applicant to furnish suitable
protection to the traveling public surrounding the location of all
openings, excavations, stored materials and buildings or other structures
within the permit area by means of suitable flags and barricades supplemented
by red lanterns, where necessary, which shall be kept lighted from
sunset to sunrise or provide such other means of protection as may
be required by the Township Engineer.
A.
No official of the township, other than the Township
Engineer, is empowered to give or define grades or lines for the setting
of a curb along the highways, nor shall any act on the part of any
other official or employee bind the township or make it liable therefor.
B.
No curb upon the highways of the township shall be
set or reset, unless the property owner or his contractor or agent
shall first procure from the Township Commissioners a permit therefor,
which shall define or determine the manner in which the curb may be
set or reset, and shall not be done otherwise.
C.
An applicant for a permit shall file a written application
with the Township Engineer stating specifically the desired line or
grade of the curb to be set or reset and its location and length and
shall pay a minimum charge, to be set forth from time to time by resolution
of the Board of Commissioners, and if the length of the line of the
proposed curb shall exceed 75 feet, he shall pay an additional charge.[1]
[Amended 11-21-1995 by Ord. No. 1846-95]
D.
The Township Engineer, after making the necessary
survey, shall establish and fix the line and grade of the curb proposed
to be set or reset, and no curb shall be set or reset except after
a permit is thus obtained and after the Township Engineer shall have
given the line and grade.
E.
Property owners and their contractors or agents shall
protect the public, by proper guards and lights, against any danger
of injury while the highway is open in the work of setting the curb
or any matter pertaining thereto, including the guarding against injury
by material that may be placed in the highway for that purpose.
[Amended 3-21-1989 by Ord. No. 1686; 12-15-1992 by Ord. No.
1766-92; 3-16-1993 by Ord. No. 1773-93]
A.
It shall be the duty of all owners of property abutting
upon any public street within the township to keep and maintain the
sidewalk and/or curb and gutter in front of their respective properties
in good order, condition and repair; upon notice to do so from the
Township Manager or his duly authorized representative, and within
90 days after its receipt, to replace in front of their respective
properties at the owner's expense the concrete cement sidewalk and/or
curb or either of them; and, in order to have uniformity, the sidewalk
shall be not less than four feet in width, four inches in thickness;
and if the same extends to the curb, with a grade or fall toward the
curb of one-fourth (1/4) inch to each foot.
[Amended 9-19-1995 by Ord. No. 1843-95]
B.
Any driveway crossing a curb and pavement shall be
constructed of the same materials as the curb or pavement over which
it passes, except it shall be six inches thick, and in such a manner
as will not cause any obstruction to or interference with the safe
use of the same by pedestrians.
C.
Wherever a curb is to be set at a corner of a street,
a curved curb shall be placed, cut to such a radius as may be determined
by the Township Engineer. Existing curbs at street corners shall be
replaced with curved curbs with handicapped ramps in accordance with
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) specifications whenever sidewalk
and/or curb replacement at a corner is undertaken.
D.
No covered gutters shall hereafter be constructed
without the written permission of the Township Engineer.
E.
The aforementioned notices may be served upon the
owner, or any adult member of the family, or upon the tenant or occupier
of the property, but should the owner reside elsewhere or the premises
be unoccupied, then such notice may be posted upon a conspicuous portion
of the premises.
F.
It shall be the duty of all owners of the abutting
property to keep the adjacent sidewalk and curb, together with any
portion of such owner’s property paved and used as a sidewalk
or public walk, in good order and repair, and at all times free and
clear of all obstructions to safe and convenient passage. Sidewalks
with more than one horizontal crack, spalling, or a difference in
elevation of more than 3/4 inch, and curbs with multiple cracks, spalling,
visible signs of integrity degradation, misalignment or leaning over
the roadway shall be deemed not in a safe condition and shall be replaced.
Patching of sidewalks or curbs is prohibited.
[Added 3-21-2006 by Ord. No. 2107-06]
G.
Areas of
the Township which have been reconstructed as streetscape enhancement
areas, as listed below, shall be restored, after any street or sidewalk
opening, to the same condition and with the same material as that
which existed prior to any such opening. Any replacement granite curbing
or replacement sidewalk paver material shall be approved by the Township
Engineer or a designated Township official prior to installation.
All work within the streetscape enhancement areas shall conform to
the official Township specifications and details on file in the office
of the Public Works Department.
[Added 7-21-2009 by Ord. No. 2190-09]
H.
Any public
or private utility corporation, including their representatives, contractors,
and/or designees, disturbing the surface, sidewalk, curb, or pavement
of any public street in the Township shall replace or repair such
disturbed areas at its expense and without undue delay in accordance
with the requirements of the Township Engineer. Such work shall be
subject to the Township Engineer's supervision and approval.
[Added 2-15-2023 by Ord. No. 2451-23]
(1)
For all restoration work contemplated in Subsection H immediately above, the corporation shall be held responsible for a period of two years from the date of the Township's final inspection and approval of such work. If, during this two-year period, the restored surface settles, deteriorates, cracks, or otherwise fails, as reasonably determined by the Township, the Township shall inform the corporation, in writing, and that corporation, or their representative, contractor, or designee, shall make the necessary corrections and/or repairs at their own expense, as reasonably directed by the Township.
[Amended 3-21-1989 by Ord. No. 1686; 12-15-1992 by Ord. No.
1766-92; 3-16-1993 by Ord. No. 1773-93]
A.
No person or legal entity shall break any sidewalk
or curb within the limits of the Township of Cheltenham, or change
the same from the established grade thereof, without first having
obtained a permit for such purpose from the Township Manager or his
duly authorized representative.
B.
Upon failure to comply with notices given, any person or legal entity violating the provisions of this chapter shall, upon summary conviction before a District Justice, pay a fine as set forth in § 255-22, together with costs of suit, collectible in the manner provided by Law. Each violation after notice of an offense or service of a summons shall constitute a distinct and separate offense.
[Amended 11-21-1995 by Ord. No. 1846-95]
