This chapter shall be known as the "Media Borough Tenant Security Ordinance."
[HISTORY: Adopted by the Borough Council of the Borough of Media 1-19-1984 by Ord. No. 755. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Tenant registration — See Ch. 271.
The provisions of this chapter shall apply to tenant-occupied residences of three or more separate units.
No portion of this chapter shall supersede any local, state or federal law, regulation or code dealing with life safety.
Responsibility for compliance with this chapter shall be with the legal or equitable owner of leased housing or his/her designated rental agent.
The Borough of Media shall incur no liability for injuries or losses caused by a violation of this chapter, whether known to the borough or not, nor for injuries or losses which could have been avoided by the implementation of additional security devices and measures beyond those required by this chapter.
The provisions of this chapter are not in any way intended to discourage or prevent the installation of additional or superior security devices or measures by the owner or occupant of any building. Rather, such additional or superior devices or measures are specifically encouraged by the Council of the Borough of Media.
Sliding glass doors leading into any building covered by this chapter or a dwelling unit shall be secured as follows:
All main entrances into any building covered by the provisions of this chapter, if without other means of external visibility, shall be equipped with a door viewer with a minimum one-hundred-eighty-degree field of vision.
All exterior doors in rental buildings containing three or more dwelling units shall be provided with five footcandles of artificial light at the level of the lock cylinder. Doors leading into individual dwelling units from common areas of multifamily buildings shall be illuminated with an intensity of at least three footcandles of power within a three-foot horizontal radius of the lock cylinder. Parking areas and facilities, exterior walks and common areas within a building shall be illuminated with an intensity of at least 1 1/2 footcandles at the ground or floor level. Lighting devices required pursuant to this section shall be protected by vandalism-resistant and, if necessary, weather-resistant covers.
Upon a change of occupancy of a dwelling unit, the lock cylinders of all doors providing access to the unit shall be changed. The owner of the building shall maintain or cause to be maintained a log recording each cylinder's removal from or installation in a dwelling unit door. Each cylinder, upon removal, shall have an identifying number inscribed or affixed so as to allow positive identification of the cylinder. The log shall be kept readily available for inspection by the Borough of Media. The log shall be signed by the person performing the removal or installation. No cylinder shall be installed in any dwelling unit within two years of its removal from that unit.
All windows and window-locking devices shall be maintained so that they provide no less protection than that provided by the manufacturer's original locking device at the time of the window's fabrication.
Sliding glass window panels shall be installed so that they cannot be lifted from their tracks while in their closed positions.
Louvered doors and windows shall be designed or modified so that the individual louvers cannot be removed from the exterior of the door or window.
At each building or complex consisting of six or more individual dwelling units, there shall be an illuminated diagrammatic representation of the building or complex which depicts the individual units. This representation shall be so located so as to be readily visible to emergency service personnel.
Windows and doors which are, in the opinion of the Code Enforcement Officer, clearly inaccessible to potential intruders shall not be required to conform to the requirements of this chapter.
New construction subject to this chapter shall comply with its provisions prior to occupancy. Existing construction shall be brought into compliance within one year of the effective date of this chapter. Maintenance and repair necessary to maintain compliance with this chapter shall be performed within 30 days of receipt of notice by the legal or equitable owner or his designated agent of the need for such maintenance or repair.
Nothing in this chapter shall impair any lessor's right of action against a lessee for damage to a leased premises.
[Amended 11-19-1992 by Ord. No. 846]
Any person, firm, partnership or corporation responsible for compliance with this chapter shall be subject, for each and every offense, to a fine or penalty not exceeding $600, plus costs of prosecution and, in default of payment of such fine and costs, to imprisonment for a period not exceeding 90 days. Each day a violation continues it shall be a separate offense punishable by a like fine or penalty. Such fines or penalties shall be collected as like fines or penalties are now or shall be collected. Enforcement of this chapter shall be the responsibility of the Borough Code Enforcement Officer.