[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Supervisors of the Township
of Forks 3-4-1999 by Ord. No. 250. Amendments noted where applicable.]
The title of this chapter shall be known as the "Uniform Vector
Control Ordinance."
The purpose of this chapter is to protect the public health,
safety and general welfare by:
A.
Preventing or controlling the spread of vector-borne disease.
B.
Averting the blighting affects which the presence of vector infestation
places on an affected neighborhood, including undermining the desirability
of housing, causing decline in property value and contributing to
the image of an environmentally unfit area.
C.
Facilitating the services of the Joint Vector Control Program staff
by making more uniform municipal regulations concerning vector control.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
The control and elimination of vectors by eliminating harborage
areas, by removing food sources or making them inaccessible, by poisoning,
spraying, fumigating, trapping or any other legal vector elimination
method which is not injurious to human health or the safety of domestic
animals.
The animal and/or vegetable waste resulting from the handling,
preparation, cooking, serving or nonconsumption of food.
The presence of vectors within or contiguous to a structure
or premises.
The Municipal Health Inspector, a staff member of the Joint
Vector Control Program and/or any other persons authorized, in writing,
by the governing body of the Township of Forks to conduct inspection
and administrative procedures to enforce the provisions of this chapter.
All large items of rubbish, including but not limited to:
Any person living, sleeping, cooking or eating in or actually
having possession of a dwelling unit or a rooming unit, except that
in dwelling units a temporary guest will not be considered an occupant.
Any person who, alone or joint-severally with others:
Shall have legal title to any premises, dwelling or dwelling
unit, with or without accompanying actual possession thereof; or
Shall have charge, care or control of any premises, dwelling
or dwelling unit, as owner or agent of the owner, or an executor,
administrator, trustee, assignee of rents or guardian of the estate
of the owner. Any such person thus representing the actual owner shall
be bound to comply with the provisions of this chapter to the same
extent as if he were the owner.
Any individual, business, firm, corporation, association
or partnership.
All areas of a property, including all interior, exterior,
grounds and yard spaces.
Solid wastes other than garbage, consisting of either:
Any man-made construction or building which is located on
any part of the premises.
Any area which is located within 1,000 feet of either:
An organism which, either directly or indirectly, via microorganisms
which it carries, can transmit disease to man. For the purposes of
this chapter, the term "vector" shall ordinarily but not exclusively
refer to rodent, insect or vermin species.
Any area, interior or exterior, where vectors can live, nest,
breed or seek any form of shelter.
Describing a form of construction which prevents the ingress
or egress of vectors to and from a given space or structure or which
prevents vectors from gaining access to food, water or harborage.
A.
Inspection procedures shall be conducted by the Inspection Officer.
B.
The Inspection Officer shall be empowered to inspect any structure
or premises in the Township of Forks at any reasonable time. The Inspection
Officer is authorized to conduct the inspection on any part of the
premises, including any interior spaces.
C.
In the event that the owner or occupant refuses to permit the Inspection
Officer to inspect the premises, the Inspection Officer shall obtain
an administrative search warrant from the District Justice of competent
jurisdiction authorizing entry to the premises in question.
D.
The Inspection Officer shall continue to inspect the premises periodically,
as he or she deems necessary, until he or she has certified that the
violation has been corrected.
E.
The Inspection Officer shall reinspect any premises which has been
previously cited for violating the terms of this chapter within 180
days of the date on which the violation has been certified as having
been corrected.
F.
Inspection of specific types of land uses which are prone to vector
harborage shall occur regularly, as indicated below:
(1)
Commercial, industrial or institutional establishments in which foodstuffs
are sold, handled, processed or stored: semiannual inspection.
(2)
Commercial, industrial or institutional establishments in which large
quantities of materials must be regularly located in outside storage
areas: semiannual inspection.
G.
Any owner or occupant within the Township of Forks may issue a complaint
requesting action by the Inspection Officer. The complaint must be
signed and in writing. The identity of the complainant shall be kept
confidential unless otherwise requested by the complainant or a court
of competent jurisdiction. Within 15 days of the receipt of the complaint,
the Inspection Officer shall indicate, in writing, the action taken
on the complaint.
A.
When the Inspection Officer has deemed any premises in violation
of this chapter, he or she shall issue a written notice of violation
to the owner and/or occupant, depending on the nature of the violation,
and shall require the owner and/or occupant to correct the cited violation.
B.
The written notice of violation shall contain, at a minimum, the
following information:
(1)
Indicate the address and/or the location of the premises.
(2)
Describe all violations, including the date(s) on which they were
observed, and indicating where on the premises the violations exist
or were practiced.
(3)
At the discretion of the Inspection Officer, indicate alternative
techniques or practices which are satisfactory to correct the cited
violation.
(4)
Issue an order to correct and indicate the penalties for noncompliance.
(5)
Specify a period of time by which the violation must be corrected.
(6)
Carry the signature or a facsimile of the signature of the Inspection
Officer.
(7)
Indicate the name, office mailing address and office telephone number
of the Inspection Officer.
C.
The notice of violation shall be served upon the owner of record
or the occupant of the structure by any one of the following methods:
(1)
Delivering the notice directly to the hands of the owner or occupant
or responsible person in his or her household who will sign for him
or her; or
(2)
Mailing the notice, or a copy thereof, by return-receipt mail to
the last known address of the owner or occupant; or
(3)
If the letter is returned showing that it cannot be delivered, posting
a copy of the notice in a conspicuous place in or about the cited
premises.
D.
The Inspection Officer shall certify to the correction of the violation
cited in the notice. Such certification, at a minimum, shall consist
of the Inspection Officer's signature and the date on which the
certification is made.
A.
Each day that a violation remains uncorrected after the period stated
for correction in the notice of violation shall constitute a separate
offense.
B.
This chapter shall be enforced by action brought before a District
Justice in the same manner provided for the enforcement of summary
offenses under the Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal Procedure. Any person
who violates or permits the violation of this chapter shall, upon
conviction in a summary proceeding, be punishable by a fine of not
less than $500 nor more than $1,000 or by imprisonment for a term
not exceeding 90 days. Each day or portion thereof that such violation
continues, or is permitted to continue, shall constitute a separate
offense. Each section of this chapter that is violated shall also
constitute a separate offense.
C.
In cases of extended noncompliance or in cases of a clear and present
danger to the health, safety or general welfare of the citizenry,
the governing body of the Township of Forks shall be empowered to
exercise any of the following actions, subject to adequate notice
to the owner of the property:
(1)
Order the Inspection Officer to cause the immediate vacancy of the
cited premises by any and all individuals. The Inspection Officer
shall post in plain view a notice stating "unfit for human occupancy"
and requiring the vacancy of said premises until the violation is
corrected.
(2)
Order the correction of the violation by municipal staff.
(3)
Engage a qualified contractor to correct the violation.
(4)
Authorize the condemnation and demolition of the cited premises.
D.
Reimbursement for municipal costs incurred in the correction of violations
or in demolition shall be recouped from the owner and/or occupant
in any of the following ways:
A.
General requirements for all property owners.
(1)
The interior and exterior of all premises shall be maintained in
a clean and sanitary condition which shall prevent vector harborage.
(2)
During construction activities, preventive measures shall be taken
which shall preclude vector harborage.
(3)
If vectorproofing materials are removed from a structure during structural
renovations, these materials shall be comparably replaced.
(4)
Upon receipt of a notice of violation, proper techniques of vectorproofing
and/or extermination must be taken by the owner to correct the identified
violation. If continued reapplication is necessary to correct the
problem, the owner shall continue the extermination techniques as
determined by the Inspection Officer.
B.
General requirements of occupants and lessees.
(1)
Every occupant of a dwelling unit or a rooming unit and every lessee
of space of a commercial, office or industrial premises shall be responsible
to maintain said unit or space in a clean and sanitary condition which
shall prevent vector harborage.
(2)
Every occupant and lessee shall dispose of all garbage and rubbish
in a safe, clean and sanitary manner. Garbage must be temporarily
stored prior to its collection for ultimate disposal in a tightly
sealed, metal or heavy plastic container designed specifically for
this purpose. Garbage may not be stored in plastic garbage bags unless
they are placed in an acceptable container as described above. Rubbish
must be temporarily stored in a closed container.
(3)
An occupant or lessee shall be held responsible for the extermination
of vectors rather than the property owner when the unit or space occupied
by the occupant or lessee is the only one in which infestation is
detected on a multiple-occupancy premises. However, where infestation
is found to be a direct result of owner neglect, the owner shall be
held responsible for extermination.
(4)
Upon receipt of a notice of violation, proper steps must be taken
by the occupant or lessee to correct the identified violation. If
continued reapplication is necessary to correct the problem, the occupant
or lessee shall continue the extermination techniques as determined
by the Inspection Officer.
C.
Building requirements.
(1)
All openings, including any openings for utility lines, must be protected
by vectorproof material, such as screening.
(2)
The walls, flooring, porches and basements of any structure must
be vectorproofed.
(3)
Every plumbing and waste pipe shall be properly maintained in good
sanitary condition in order to prevent a point of vector harborage
on the premises.
D.
Yard and grounds requirements.
(1)
The exterior spaces of all premises shall be kept free of all accumulated
garbage, rubbish and junk.
(2)
Firewood stacks shall be raised at least 12 inches above ground level.
(3)
Any exterior spaces located in an urbanized area shall be kept free
of high grass or weed growth that may serve as a vector harborage.
(4)
Any exterior space located in an urbanized area shall be kept free
of standing pools of stagnated water that may serve as a vector harborage.
(5)
No material, including firewood or building lumber, which may serve
as a vector harborage shall be stored or stacked directly against
the exterior wall of any structure.
E.
Requirements for animal shelters. An animal shelter for more than
two animals must be properly and regularly sanitized and fumigated
as necessary in order to prevent vector harborage. Feed materials
must be stored within vectorproofed, sealed containers or structures
inaccessible to vectors.
Interpretation of the language of this chapter. In interpreting
the language of this chapter, the singular shall be construed to include
the plural, the masculine to include the feminine and the present
tense to include the past and future tense.
