[HISTORY: Adopted by the Borough Council
of the Borough of Wilkinsburg 7-27-1992 as Ord. No. 2405. Amendments
noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Property maintenance — See Ch. 200.
As used in this chapter, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
Any employee of the borough who has been designated or who
has been assigned the duties of code enforcement under the BOCA Building
Code, the Wilkinsburg Housing Code or Fire Code,[1] who has been assigned the duties of building inspection
within the borough or has been authorized to enforce the borough's
ordinances.
Any property, in whole or in part, used or intended
to be used to facilitate any violation of the act of April 14, 1972
(P.L. 233, No. 64), known as the "Controlled Substance, Drug, Device
and Cosmetic Act,"[2] or similar act of the United States or any other state.
The use, sale, distribution, storage, transportation
or manufacture of any controlled substance in violation of the act
of April 14, 1972 (P.L. 233, No. 64), known as the "Controlled Substance,
Drug, Device and Cosmetic Act,"[3] or similar act of the United States or any other state.
The person, persons, entity or entities which own legal or
equitable title to the real estate or property within the Borough
of Wilkinsburg according to the borough's records and/or as shown
in the public records of the Recorder of Deeds of Allegheny County,
Pennsylvania. In the case of a corporation, partnership or other entity,
"owner" shall include the partners, shareholders, directors, officers
or other principals, as the case may be.
Any structure or building within the Borough of Wilkinsburg
that, as a result of a deteriorated condition or by actions committed
by the occupants of a dwelling, constitutes a danger to public health,
safety or welfare; or constitutes an attractive nuisance to children;
or as a result of the actions of the occupants causes illegal or immoral
acts to be committed in the dwelling; or constitutes a drug-related
nuisance or as a result of the actions of the occupants, may cause
injury to persons or property; or as a result of the actions of the
occupants may cause the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania or
the borough's ordinances to be violated.
A.
Code enforcement employees of the borough, with or
without the assistance of the borough's Police Department, shall have
the right to enter upon any property within the borough and shall
have the right to enter into any structure within the borough for
the purposes of conducting an inspection of the property and structure
concerning the conditions of said property or structure. If necessary,
the Borough Police Department shall obtain a warrant in accordance
with normal procedures.
B.
The Code Enforcement Officer shall file a report with
the borough concerning the condition of any dangerous structure or
the nuisance actions of the occupants. Said report shall specify the
reasons why the structure is deemed to be dangerous or a public nuisance.
Said report shall specify all violations of the BOCA Building Code,
the Wilkinsburg Housing Code or Fire Code and shall specify if illegal
activities are being conducted on the premises. Said report shall
include all Police or Fire Department activities, investigations,
incident reports, citizen complaints concerning the activities or
structure or the occupants of the dwelling. Said report may rely,
in whole or in part, upon the activities, investigations, incident
reports, citizen's complaints and other records of the borough's Police
or Fire Department. Said report shall also include all citizen complaints
made to municipal officials concerning the activities of the occupants
of the dwelling and/or the structure of the dwelling. Said report
shall specify what conditions need to be repaired, removed, discontinued
or corrected in order to abate the nuisance.
C.
The Code Enforcement Officer shall serve a copy of
said report upon the owner of the property, either by personal service
or by certified mail. The Code Enforcement Officer shall also, at
the same time, serve a notice of violation upon the owner of the property
requesting the owner of the property to begin the repair or removal,
discontinuance or correction of the nuisance within fifteen (15) days
of the date of the order and to complete the repair, removal, discontinuance
or correction of the nuisance within thirty (30) days of the date
of the order. At the end of thirty (30) days, if the nuisance is not
abated, the Code Enforcement Officer shall file a citation with the
District Justice having jurisdiction.
Any and all actions which are contrary to the
safety and welfare of the Borough are hereby declared to be public
nuisances and shall be repaired, corrected, discontinued, vacated
and/or demolished pursuant to the report of the Code Enforcement Officer.
If a nuisance can reasonably be corrected so that it will no longer
constitute a violation of this chapter, the property owner shall be
ordered to correct the condition. If a nuisance is not abated, the
Code Enforcement Officer may revoke any occupancy permit and shall
perform any other actions to ensure the abatement of the nuisance.
A.
If a property owner fails to comply with an order
of the Code Enforcement Officer to abate the public nuisance, the
Code Enforcement Officer shall file a complaint or citation with the
District Justice having jurisdiction, and the property owner shall
be subject to a fine of not more than $1,000 (or greater amount if
authorized by law) for each offense, plus costs. Each day's continuation
of any violation of the provisions of this chapter shall constitute
a separate offense. Upon failure to pay such costs and fine, the owner
shall be subject to imprisonment not exceeding 30 days.
B.
Whenever there is reason to believe that a drug-related
nuisance exists, the Solicitor for the Borough is authorized to file
an action in the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County to abate,
enjoin and prevent the drug-related nuisance. Such action shall be
commenced by the filing of a complaint alleging the facts constituting
the drug-related nuisance.
C.
The Borough
may institute proceedings under this section by the issuance of a
"notice of violation letter," assessing a civil penalty ranging from
$10 to $1,000 for each offense, and provide the parties in violation
of said Code section the opportunity to abate the violation and pay
said civil penalty in lieu of the institution of proceedings and the
imposition of the other stated penalties set forth herein.
[Added 5-9-2012 by Ord. No. 2892]
[Added 2-23-1994 by Ord. No. 2453]
A.
The owners of all rental apartment buildings or rental
building complexes within the Borough containing eight or more units
are hereby required to provide a responsible manager for any such
apartment building or rental complex, either as a resident manager
or a manager who is otherwise available on the premises as needed.
A sign shall be posted on all rental apartment buildings or rental
building complexes within the Borough containing eight or more units
which identifies the name and telephone number of the building manager.
The identity of the building manager shall be designated on the sign,
either by the name of the person or company or by the general designation
"building manager." Said sign shall be posted, in plain view, prominently
on the exterior surface of the building facing the street upon which
the building fronts. Said sign shall otherwise comply with all regulations
of the borough relating to on-site signs.
B.
The apartment building manager shall be responsible to provide for the proper building maintenance, to monitor tenant conduct and to report, in a timely manner, any illicit activity in or around the building to the Wilkinsburg Police Department and to require compliance by tenants with all borough law and regulations of the Allegheny County Health Department and to ensure that the building premises are maintained in compliance with Chapter 222, Solid Waste, and all other health and safety regulations of the Borough, county and state governments.
C.
The manager must be reasonably available at all times
to respond to inquiries of any Borough officer or employee regarding
operation of the building or conduct of tenants. Within 30 days of
passage, the owner is required to file with the Borough Manager the
name and telephone number of the person or persons responsible for
providing on-site management.
[Added 2-23-1994 by Ord. No. 2453]
Multifamily rental apartment buildings containing
two or more dwelling units must be equipped with locked, secure entryways
that suitably protect tenants from intrusion and reserve the use of
building common areas to authorized tenants. In addition, separate
doorbells or speaker buzzers are required to be provided for each
unit.
