[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Supervisors of the Township of
Skippack 8-24-1983 by Ord. No. 103. Amendments
noted where applicable.]
It is hereby declared that the storage of junked and/or abandoned automobiles
or other motorized vehicles or parts thereof or machinery or discarded equipment
of any kind, whether on public or private property, is prohibited when the
same has been found to be a nuisance in fact.
The following standards shall be taken into account in determining whether
or not the personal property subject to this chapter is junked, abandoned
or discarded and is a nuisance in fact. These standards shall not be exclusive
but shall merely serve as a guideline in such a determination. In determining
whether a nuisance in fact exists, the township, through its agents or employees,
shall determine whether there exists a hazard and danger to the health, safety
and welfare of the township's citizens.
B.
Continuous exposure to the elements and the accumulation of rust and the general deterioration of the personal property set forth in § 182-1.
C.
The existence of a condition or conditions whereby the personal property set forth in § 182-1 has become:
(1)
An attractive nuisance and presents a danger to children.
(2)
Overgrown or entangled with grass, weeds or other foliage.
(3)
An obstruction to the free flow of pedestrian, automobile
or other forms of traffic.
(4)
An area which has become a home for rodents or other
vermin or where rodents or other vermin have been seen frequently.
D.
Absence of a valid registration plate, current inspection
certificate or ascertainable vehicle identification number on an automobile
or other motorized vehicle.
[Added 6-12-1985 by Ord. No. 116]
E.
Failure to move a vehicle that is present on private
property without the consent of the owner or person in control of said private
property for more than seven days.
[Added 6-12-1985 by Ord. No. 116]
F.
Failure to move an inoperable vehicle that is present
on a highway or other public property for more than seven days.
[Added 6-12-1985 by Ord. No. 116]
A.
Any person, partnership, firm, association, corporation
or other business entity found to be maintaining a nuisance in violation of
the terms of this chapter shall be served with a notice thereof requiring
that the condition be made safe, corrected or removed. Said notice may be
served by regular or certified mail, addressed to such party's last known
address, or may be personally delivered by any agent or employee of the township.
B.
The owner, owners, tenants and/or occupants of any real
property within the limits of this township upon which such storage is made,
and also the owner, owners and/or tenants of said personal property involved
in such storage, shall jointly and severally abate said nuisance by promptly
making safe, correcting or removing said personal property.
Should any person, partnership, firm, association, corporation or other business entity cause or permit the continuance of a nuisance after 20 days from the date of notice given pursuant to § 182-3 of this chapter, the township may, upon resolution of the Board of Supervisors, cause the removal or abatement of the nuisance by such means as may be required. The township shall, in such event, have the right and power to enter upon the premises causing or contributing to such nuisance to accomplish the abatement thereof. In the event that the township shall have expended moneys to abate a nuisance under the terms of this chapter, the township shall recover the costs thereof, together with a penalty of 6% and an attorney's fee of 5% by a Municipal Claim Proceeding under the Act of May 16, 1923, P.L. 207, as amended;[1] or by summary proceedings under the Act of May 1, 1933, P.L. 103,
Article VII, Section 702, as amended,[2] or by such other remedies as may be provided by law, at the election
of the township. In addition to other remedies as shall be provided for hereby,
the township may institute proceedings in a court of equity to enforce the
provisions of this chapter.
[Amended 7-24-1996 by Ord. No. 202]
A.
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 or 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 the township are hereby authorized to seek equitable relief,
including injunction, to enforce compliance herewith.[1]
B.
The Code Enforcement Officer or other officer of the Township authorized to do so by the Board of Supervisors shall determine in each instance whether a violation has occurred. Upon determining that a violation has occurred, the officer shall impose a civil penalty in accordance with the amounts specified in Subsection A upon the violator. Notice of a violation shall be served upon the violator by registered or certified mail. In the event the register or certified mail is returned unclaimed, such notice shall be served by first class mail.
