[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Supervisors of the Township of
Skippack 12-13-1995 by Ord. No. 195. Amendments
noted where applicable.]
A.
PERSON
The following words or phrases, unless the context clearly
indicates otherwise, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section:
Includes any natural person, partnership, association, firm or corporation.
B.
The singular shall include the plural, the plural shall
include the singular, and the masculine shall include the feminine and the
neuter.
No person, owning or occupying any property in the Township of Skippack
shall permit any grass or weeds or any vegetation whatsoever, not edible or
planted for some useful or ornamental purpose, to grow or remain upon such
premises so as to exceed a height of 10 inches or throw off any unpleasant
or noxious odor or to conceal any filthy deposit. Any grass, weeds or other
vegetation growing upon any premises in the Township of Skippack in violation
of any of the provisions of this section is hereby declared to be a nuisance
and detrimental to the health, safety, cleanliness and comfort of the inhabitants
of the township. The provisions of this section shall not apply to agricultural
lands or wetlands.
The owner of any premises in the township upon which the construction
of residential dwellings or commercial buildings is taking place shall comply
with the requirements of this chapter upon said construction reaching 75%
completion.
The owner of any premises, as to vacant or unoccupied premises or as
to premises occupied by the owner, shall remove trim or cut all grass, weeds
or other vegetation growing or remaining upon such premises in violation of
any provision of this chapter. As to premises occupied by a person other than
the owner thereof, upon notice, the occupant or owner shall remove, trim or
cut all grass, weeds or other vegetation growing or remaining upon such premises
in violation of this chapter.
The Board of Supervisors or any officer or employee of the township designated thereby for the purpose is hereby authorized to give notice, by personal service or by United States Mail, to the owner or occupant, as the case may be, of any premises where grass, weeds or other vegetation shall be growing or remaining in violation of any provision of § 73-2 of this chapter, directing and requiring such owner or occupant to remove, trim or cut such grass, weeds or other vegetation, so as to conform with the requirements of this chapter, within five days after issuance of such notice, weather permitting. In the event that any person shall neglect, fail or refuse to comply with such notice, within the period of time stated therein, the township authorities may remove, trim or cut such grass, weeds or other vegetation, and the cost thereof, with any additional penalty authorized by law, may be collected by the township from such person in default, in the manner provided by law.
Any person who violates or permits a violation of this chapter, upon
being found liable therefor in a civil enforcement proceeding, shall 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 chapter. No judgment
shall be imposed until the date of the determination of the violation by the
District Justice and/or Court. 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.
The expense of any abatement or removal performed by the Township of
Skippack shall be a lien upon the lands upon which the nuisance was maintained,
for which a lien may be filed by the Board of Supervisors in the name of the
township, in the Court of Common Pleas of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania,
within six months from the date of completion of the work or abatement or
removal, subject to the same proceedings for entry and revival of judgment
and execution as are provided by law for other municipal liens. Said Board
of Supervisors may also maintain an action against such owner or occupant
in the name of the township to recover the amount of such expense, in the
same way as debts of like amount are receivable by law; and the same when
recovered either by enforcement of the lien or by personal action, shall be
paid to the Township Treasurer, to be held and used for township purposes,
but a final recovery of the amount in one proceeding shall be a bar to the
further continuance of the other.
