[Adopted 2-20-2001 by Ord. No. 911]
This article shall be known and may be cited
as the "Morrisville Borough Dangerous Structure Ordinance."
Pursuant to the authority contained in the Act
of February 1, 1966 (1965 P. L. 1656, No. 581), as amended, Morrisville
Borough hereby enacts this article.
The purposes of this article include, but are
not limited to:
A.
Providing for the identification of structures or
parts of structures within the Borough which, by virtue of their condition,
are considered to be dangerous to the public health, safety and welfare.
B.
Preventing dangerous structures from further deterioration.
C.
Providing an orderly process according to law by which
dangerous structures may be repaired, removed, demolished, and/or
vacated.
D.
Providing a procedure through which the repair, removal,
demolition or vacation of a dangerous structure is accomplished by
the Borough with regard to the rights under the United States and
Pennsylvania Constitutions of any person, entity, etc., occupying,
owning, or having any property interest in either the dangerous structure
itself or the real property upon which the dangerous structure is
located.
E.
Promoting and protecting the health, safety and general
welfare of the residents of the Borough of Morrisville and the general
public.
Unless otherwise expressly stated, the following
words used in this article shall have the meanings indicated below.
The present tense includes the future tense, the singular number includes
the plural number, the plural number the singular, and the masculine
gender includes the feminine and neuter genders.
The BOCA National Building Code as published by the Building
Officials and BOCA Code Administrators International, Incorporated.
The Borough of Morrisville, Bucks County, Pennsylvania.
The duly elected governing body of the Borough of Morrisville,
Bucks County, Pennsylvania.
Any structure having a roof, self-supported or supported
by walls, columns or air pressure, which is fixed to the ground, whether
permanently or otherwise, used or occupied or intended to be used
or occupied for the shelter, housing, storage or enclosure of any
individual, animal, process, equipment, goods or materials of any
kind or nature.
The CABO Code as published by the Council of American Building
Officials.
Any structure, or part thereof, which has any of the following
defects:
A structure which has been damaged by fire,
wind, or any other cause to a degree which has rendered the structure
dangerous to life, safety, general health or welfare of persons, whether
occupying such structures or not; or
A structure which has become deteriorated, decayed,
unsafe, unsanitary, or which, by virtue of a violation of any code
of any nature applicable to such structure, has become unfit for human
habitation or is likely to cause accident, sickness, or disease to
the occupants thereof or any other person;
Any part, portion, extension, etc., of any structure
which by virtue of improper attachment or otherwise is or has become
unsafe to such a condition that such portion, etc., may fall and/or
collapse and injure or otherwise be deleterious to the health, safety,
or general welfare of the occupants of the structure or any other
person; and
A structure which by virtue of its general condition
is unsafe, unsanitary or dangerous to the health, safety or general
welfare of any person, whether an occupier of the structure or otherwise.
The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Code for
Safety to Life from Fire in Buildings and Structures.
Any man-made object having an ascertainable stationary location
on or in land or water, whether or not affixed to the land; any building
or other improvement to real property is hereby declared to be a structure
for purposes of this article.
The Statewide Building Code as passed by the Legislature
of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
All dangerous structures as defined by this
article are hereby declared by the Morrisville Borough Council to
be public nuisances and shall be repaired, removed, demolished or
vacated in accordance with this article.
A.
Whenever it shall be reported to or come to the attention
of any Borough Councilor, any Borough Officer (as defined by the Borough
Code), the Borough Engineer, the Borough Solicitor, Fire Marshall,
Fire Chief, any member of any Fire Company (whether in the Borough
or otherwise) or any Borough police officer that any structure, whether
complete or in the process of construction, or any portion of such
structure is in a dangerous condition, that person shall provide either
oral or written notification of the dangerous condition to the Borough
Manager. This notification shall briefly describe the structure, the
dangerous condition, and the street address of the property on which
such structure is located. If the initial notification to the Borough
Manager is oral, the person making said notification shall be required
to send a follow-up written notification to the Borough Manager within
30 days.
B.
Upon receipt of the notification described in Subsection A above, the Borough Manager shall direct the Code Enforcement Officer or other authorized official to conduct an inspection of the reported structure. If this inspection indicates that it may be a dangerous structure as defined in this article, a written report shall be submitted, within 30 days of the inspection, to the Borough Council for further action as provided for in Subsection C below.
C.
Upon receipt of the written notification from the
Code Enforcement Officer, the Borough Council, whether in executive
session or regular session, may order an investigation, examination
and report to be made of the subject structure; the investigation
required by this section shall be undertaken by the Code Enforcement
Officer and Borough Engineer plus, if appropriate, any other person
(including any agent, servant, employee or contractor of the Borough)
authorized by the Borough Council.
D.
The investigation report ordered by the Borough Council pursuant to Subsection C above shall be in writing and shall contain sufficient information to permit the Borough Council to determine whether the structure which is the subject of the investigation is in a dangerous condition as defined by this article and shall:
(1)
Specify the exact condition of the structure.
(2)
State in what respect the structure is dangerous.
(3)
State whether the structure is capable of being repaired
to the standards of the BOCA Code, CABO Code, Life Safety Code, and
any other federal, state or local regulations adopted by the Borough,
or whether the structure has deteriorated to such a condition as to
warrant its removal, demolition or vacation.
E.
Upon receipt of the report required by Subsection D above, the Borough Council shall determine whether the structure is in a dangerous condition. Upon such a determination, Borough Council shall direct that the notice procedure in § 129-58 below, and the hearing procedure in § 129-59 below, be commenced.
A.
Upon receipt of the report required by § 129-57D, the Borough Council shall give written notice to the persons and/or entities listed in Subsection B stating that the structure or a portion of it has been determined to be dangerous by the Council of the Borough of Morrisville and that the Council will hold a hearing to determine whether this structure should be vacated and/or repaired and/or removed and/or demolished.
C.
For purposes of determining the owner of record of
any property subject to the provisions of this article, the Borough
Manager or his designee shall secure from the Office of the Recorder
of Deeds of Bucks County, Pennsylvania, or any title or abstract company
authorized to do business in Pennsylvania, a copy of any deed or other
indenture for the subject property and shall ascertain the existence
of any mortgagee from the Office of the Recorder of Deeds or the title
or abstract company.
D.
Service of the notice shall be made by any form of mail requiring a receipt signed by any person identified in Subsection B above or that person's authorized agent. Service shall be complete upon delivery of the mail. If the mail is returned with a notation by the U.S. postal authorities that the addressee refused to accept the mail, the Borough Council shall have the right of service by mailing a copy of the notice to the person at the same address by regular mail, postage prepaid, with the return address of the Borough appearing thereon. Service by ordinary mail shall be considered complete if the mail is not returned to the Borough within 15 days after mailing.
E.
In addition to the requirement pertaining to mailing
of the notice, a copy of the notice may be personally served upon
any adult occupant of the dangerous structure.
G.
A copy of the notice required by Subsection A shall include the following:
(1)
A statement that notice is given to all owners, occupiers
and other persons having an interest in the property;
(2)
The tax parcel number and street address;
(3)
The authority for and requirements of the hearing;
(4)
The date, time and location of the hearing; and
(5)
The defendants' right to legal counsel.
A.
The public hearing shall be conducted by the Borough Council, and the hearing shall be held by the Borough Council not less than 30 days after service of the notice required by § 129-58A.
B.
The hearing to be held by the Borough Council, and
any adjudication rendered by the Borough Council pursuant thereto,
shall be held in accordance with the provisions of the Local Agency
Law, Act of April 28, 1978, P.L. 202 (2 Pa.C.S.A. § 551
et. seq.), as amended.
C.
At the conclusion of the last hearing required by
this article, the Borough Council shall issue an adjudication. The
adjudication shall be in writing, shall contain findings of fact,
reasons for the adjudication, conclusions of law, and an order.
D.
The adjudication and order required by Subsection C
shall be rendered by the Borough Council within 60 days after the
conclusion of the hearing, but the time may be extended by any party
with the consent of the Borough Council.
E.
The adjudication and order of the Borough Council
shall be served upon all parties or their attorney of record by first
class regular mail, postage prepaid.
F.
Any order issued as part of the adjudication above
may contain provisions requiring the subject structure or any portion
thereof to be repaired, removed, demolished, or vacated, or may contain
such other directives as the Borough Council shall deem appropriate
in order to protect the public health, safety and welfare.
G.
Any appeal of the adjudication and order issued by
the Borough Council shall be filed with the Court of Common Pleas
of Bucks County within 30 days after the date of any such adjudication
and order.
The Borough Council, in preparing the order
accompanying the adjudication, shall consider whether:
A.
The evidence presented during the hearing is sufficient
to permit the Borough Council to conclude that the dangerous structure
can be repaired to the standards of the BOCA Code, CABO Code, and
Life Safety Code and any other federal, state, or local regulation
adopted by the Borough, so that the Council may order the dangerous
structure to be repaired;
B.
The evidence presented during the hearing is sufficient
to permit the Borough Council to conclude that the dangerous structure
or any portion thereof is in such a condition that it is dangerous
to the health, safety, or general welfare of the occupant or occupants
thereof, and cannot be repaired to meet the standards of the BOCA
Code, CABO Code, Life Safety Code, and any other federal, state or
local regulation adopted by the Borough, so that the Council may order
the dangerous structure to be vacated immediately; or
C.
The evidence presented during the hearing is sufficient
to permit the Borough Council to conclude that the dangerous structure
cannot be reasonably repaired to meet the standards of the BOCA Code,
CABO Code and Life Safety Code and any other federal, state or local
regulations in effect, so that the Borough Council may order the dangerous
structure to be demolished.
A.
When an adjudication and order become final, and if
no appeal to the Court of Common Pleas of Bucks County or other appellate
court is then pending, and the owner, occupant, mortgagee, lessee,
or other person or entity having any interest of any nature in a dangerous
structure fails to comply with the order issued by the Borough Council,
or any provision thereof, Council shall be and is hereby empowered
to cause such structure or portion thereof to be repaired, removed,
demolished or vacated and all costs (including attorney's fees) and
expenses of any such repair, removal, demolition or vacation (together
with an administrative charge of 10%) may be charged against the real
property on which the structure is situate as a municipal lien or
municipal claim.
B.
In addition to the right of the Borough to recover all costs and expenses by means of a municipal lien or municipal claim pursuant to Subsection A, the Borough shall have the ability to recover such costs in an action at law or in equity against any and all persons or entities identified in § 129-58B, it being the specific intent of the Borough Council that the provisions of this section shall be in addition to the rights of the Borough set forth in Subsection A.
In addition to any other provision of this article, any person or entity who or which shall fail to comply with the order issued by the Borough Council pursuant to § 129-59 shall be subject to proceedings before a District Justice and, upon a determination of that person's or entity's failure to comply with the order, shall be subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $1,000, together with costs and attorney's fees, or imprisonment for a term not to exceed 30 days.
A.
In any case where it reasonably appears to the Borough
Council that there exists an immediate danger to the life, safety
or health of any person by virtue of the existence of a dangerous
structure or any portion thereof as defined in this article, the Council
may, but need not be obligated to, cause the immediate repair, removal,
demolition or vacation of any dangerous structure.
