[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Supervisors of the Township of
Chestnuthill as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Parks and recreation areas — See Ch. 78.
[Adopted 7-23-1992 by Ord. No. 1992-03]
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings
indicated:
Includes any person having the right of proprietorship or ownership,
keeping or harboring one or more animals. An animal shall be deemed to be
harbored if it is fed or sheltered or permitted to remain on or about any
premises occupied by the owner.
As referred to in this article, the term "animal" shall refer to any
kept for pleasure and/or utility; however, nothing in this article shall be
construed to preclude or restrict "normal agricultural operation" as that
term is defined by the State Legislature in its Act of June 10, 1982, P.L.
454, No. 133, Section 2 (3 P.S. § 952), as amended.
The animal control officer shall be any person designated by the Township
as a law enforcement officer to perform such duties as pertain to animal control
and enforcement. It shall be a violation of this article to interfere with
an animal control officer in the performance of his duties.
It shall be unlawful for the owner of any canine (male or female) to
permit said canine to cause nuisance to the citizens, residents or other persons
lawfully in the Township by barking, yelping, howling or causing any other
unseemly noise for extended periods of time, whether confined inside a residence
or to the outside area.
Every female animal in heat shall be confined in a building or secured
in an enclosure so such animal cannot escape and cause a nuisance to the area.
A.Â
It shall be unlawful for the owner of any animal to damage
or injure the personal or real property of another resident or landowner.
[Amended 9-3-1992 by Ord. No. 1992-15][1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Former Subsection B, which required the daily cleanup
of animal excrement and immediately followed this subsection, was repealed
9-3-1992 by Ord. No. 1992-15.
B.Â
It shall be the duty of the owner of any animal to pick
up and remove in its entirety any excrement from said animal from all public
and private property. Excrement must not be deposited in a street or at a
curbside but must be removed from the area completely.
C.Â
No animal will be permitted to place excrement upon any
sidewalk in the Township or upon the floors or stairways of any building or
place frequented by the public or used in common by tenants or upon walls
or stairways of any building.
Any person, firm or corporation violating any provision of this article
shall, upon being found liable therefor in a civil enforcement proceeding
commenced by the Township before a District Justice, 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 article. No judgment shall be imposed
until the date of the determination of the violation by the District Justice.
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.
