[HISTORY: Adopted by the City Council of the City of Bradford 6-26-2001
by Ord. No. 2936.4. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Administration of government — See Ch. 3.
A.
The citizens of the City of Bradford, Pennsylvania (hereinafter
the "city") have an imperative need to be free from diverse public nuisances
which injure, or which threaten to injure, their health, safety and welfare,
including, but not limited to, any inadequately protected well, shaft, basement,
excavation, abandoned or nondrivable motor vehicle or equipment, structurally
unsound fence or building, lumber, trash, debris or vegetation, such as poison
ivy, oak or sumac, or other condition which is or may be detrimental to the
safety or health of persons, any condition which may prove attractive but
detrimental to the health or safety of children, whether in a building on
the premises or upon an unoccupied lot, physical conditions dangerous to human
life or detrimental to the health of persons on or near the premises where
the conditions exist, whatever renders air, food or drink unwholesome or detrimental
to the health of human beings, fire hazards and any public nuisance known
at public law or in law or equity jurisprudence or as provided by the statutes
of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania or the ordinances of the city.
B.
Accordingly, these regulations of the city's Board of
Health (as prescribed in 53 P.S. § 37301, hereinafter the "Board")
are promulgated to better enable the city to remove, abate, suspend, alter,
prevent or avoid public nuisances, to better enable the city to recover any
and all costs pertaining to the removal, abatement, suspension, alteration,
prevention or avoidance of public nuisances, to ensure adequate notice to
property owners and to those responsible for public nuisances, to afford property
owners and those responsible for public nuisances an opportunity to eliminate
public nuisances at their own cost prior to the imposition of fines, penalties
and the costs of the city's abatement action, to provide due process to persons
adversely affected by orders of the Board and to afford a record appeal to
persons adversely affected by formal action of the Board.
The Board is the local agency with the duty and with the authority to,
inter alia, ascertain whether a public nuisance, as defined in 53 P.S. § 37320,
exists and to order it removed, abated, suspended, altered or otherwise prevented
or avoided.
The Health Officer, the Building Inspector, the Code Enforcement Officer
and all Health Department and code enforcement personnel employed by the city
shall be, and hereby are appointed, duly authorized agents of the Board. They
shall, inter alia, make such investigations, examinations and reports as shall
suffice to inform the judgment of the Board, and they shall faithfully execute
its orders.
A.
An order of the Board shall set forth the information
prescribed by 53 P.S. § 37322.
B.
An order of the Board shall provide that any and all
expenses, costs and charges incurred by the Board and by the city, including,
but not limited to, the labor and personnel cost of their agents and employees,
the cost of any and all services utilized by them and the cost of any and
all materials employed by them, shall be charged to any person determined,
in an order of the Board, to be responsible for a nuisance.
C.
An order of the Board shall provide that any and all
expenses, costs and charges shall be promptly and fully paid upon presentation.
An order of the Board shall state that failure or refusal to promptly pay
said expenses, costs and changes upon presentation shall be a violation of
the Board's order within the meaning of 53 P.S. § 37340.
D.
An order of the Board may also contain sufficient directives
to permit the Board and the city and any of their agents, employees, representatives,
experts and contractors to take any compliance action authorized by, inter
alia, Article XXIII of the Third Class City Code and by these regulations.
E.
An order of the Board may also contain a directive that
no person shall obstruct, impede or otherwise interfere with the entry and
conduct of the Board or its agents, employees, representatives, experts or
contractors. An order of the Board may also contain ancillary directives not
inconsistent with the laws of the commonwealth.
The notice of the Board's order shall clearly specify:
A.
The place and manner of the nuisance or anticipated nuisance
as determined by the Board.
B.
The nature or condition thereof.
C.
The Board's order with respect to the nuisance or anticipated
nuisance.
D.
The names of the persons found by the Board to be responsible
therefor or concerned therewith and the name of the owner, if any, of the
land or premises involved.
E.
The date of the Board's order and the number of days
therefrom allowed for compliance with it.
F.
The alternative remedy of the Board in case of noncompliance.
G.
Notice that the persons affected thereby may apply, within
the time set for compliance with the order, to the Board for a hearing and
may request such stay of execution or modification or rescission of said order
as they shall believe just and proper.
H.
The signature of the President of the Board, attested
by the Secretary.
Any condition or usage whatsoever in or about the buildings, structures
or land, or the streets or private ways and places, or elsewhere, within the
city, whether public or private, which the Board shall find to be detrimental
to the public health is hereby declared to be a public nuisance. Whenever
in these regulations the words "public nuisance" or "nuisance" is used, they
shall be deemed to mean a nuisance detrimental to the public health unless
a different meaning is specified. The powers of investigation and entering
upon premises vested in the Board and its agents and employees pursuant to
its orders shall be available for the determination of public nuisances. The
agents of the Board are authorized to enter any structure or premises at reasonable
times to inspect, subject to constitutional restrictions on unreasonable searches
and seizures. If entry is refused or not obtained, the agents of the Board
are authorized to pursue recourse as provided by law, including, but not limited
to, seeking the issuance of a search warrant.
Whenever the Board shall determine, after such examination, investigation
or hearing as shall suffice to inform its judgment, that a public nuisance
exists or is about to exist, it may order the nuisance to be removed, abated,
suspended, altered or otherwise prevented or avoided. Notice of such order,
bearing the official title and the official seal of the Board and the number
of days for compliance therewith and the alternative remedy of the Board in
case of noncompliance, shall be served upon the person, if any, whom the Board
deems responsible therefor or concerned therein, and upon the owner or abutting
owner of the land, premises or other places whereon such a nuisance is or
is about to be, if any. In case no such party or parties can be discovered
by the Board, the order shall be served by posting a copy or copies thereof
conspicuously upon the premises for a period of at least 10 days.
A.
In any case where the persons ordered by the Board to
abate or prevent a public nuisance or anticipated public nuisance refuse or
neglect to do so within the time specified in the original or any subsequent
order of the Board, then, unless the said order shall have been suspended
by a proper appeal to the McKean County Court of Common Pleas and proper bond
posted, the Board may direct its Health Officer and employees to execute said
order; or if the execution of said order requires the grading, paving or repaving
of private alleys or any similar work upon any property whatsoever within
the city or any other work or services that may best be performed or contracted
for by the agencies and employees of the city itself, then the Board shall
certify its order to City Council under its official seal, and Council shall
thereupon proceed to cause the execution of the order.
B.
In any case where the Board or the Council thus abates
or prevents or causes the abatement or prevention of a public nuisance, the
cost and expense of such work, services and materials shall be charged to
the persons affected in their proper proportions; and upon nonpayment of such
charges, the city may file a lien therefor upon the affected premises in the
name of and for the use of the city, as provided by law for municipal claims,
in addition to the other remedies available for collection of debts due the
city. The lien shall attach as of the time the work was commenced, which shall
be fixed by the certificate of the Health Officer or of the City Engineer
filed with the City Clerk.
A.
If a violation of the Building Ordinance, the Housing
Ordinance, the Property Maintenance Ordinance, the Fire Prevention Ordinance,
the Electrical Ordinance or the Plumbing Ordinance[1] is determined by the Board to constitute a nuisance in fact which
poses a threat to the public's health, safety or property and the person responsible
for the nuisance does not comply with the terms of the Board's order, said
noncompliance shall constitute a second violation if the continuing and uncorrected
nuisance in fact constitutes a violation of the same subsection of any such
ordinance on the same property. An order of the Board may provide that, in
such event, the person responsible for the nuisance shall be fined not less
than $500 nor more than $1,000.
B.
Any order of the Board may further provide that, in the
event the city does not, for whatever reason, remove, abate, suspend, alter
or otherwise prevent or avoid the nuisance within five calendar days after
the compliance date set by the Board, the continuing and uncorrected nuisance
in fact which poses a threat to the public's health, safety or property shall
constitute a third violation if the continuing and uncorrected nuisance in
fact constitutes a violation of the same subsection of such ordinance on the
same property. Any order of the Board may provide that, in such event, the
person responsible for the nuisance shall be fined not less than $1,000 nor
more than $10,000.
C.
If the nuisance is not determined by the Board to constitute
a nuisance in fact which poses a threat to the public's health, safety and
or property based upon a violation of such ordinances, any order of the Board
may provide that, if the person responsible for the nuisance does not comply
with the terms of the Board's order, they shall be fined not more than $1,000.
D.
An order of the Board shall provide that any and all
costs, charges and expenses necessarily incurred in carrying these regulations
into effect, including, but not limited to, the costs of temporarily housing
any innocent persons displaced by an order of the Board and the costs of proceedings
incident thereto, shall be recoverable for the use of the city.
E.
In the event of noncompliance with any order of the Board,
the city may cause the removal, abatement, suspension or alteration of the
nuisance or otherwise prevent or avoid the nuisance and, thereafter, may,
in the manner prescribed by law, recover any and all costs thereof, together
with a penalty of 10% per annum of such costs from the person responsible
for the nuisance.
In addition to any fines imposed by the Board for noncompliance with
its orders, any person violating any order of the Board, or who shall obstruct
or interfere with any person in the execution of any order of the Board, or
willfully and illegally omit to obey any such order, shall be guilty of a
misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be sentenced to pay a fine not exceeding
$100 or undergo imprisonment not exceeding 90 days, or both, at the discretion
of the Court.
A.
Any order of the Board and any subsequent notice required
to be given by the Board pursuant to Article XXIII of the Third Class City
Code and these regulations shall conclusively be deemed to have been properly
served if a copy thereof is:
B.
In case no responsible parties or property owners can
be discovered by the Board, its order may be served by posting a copy or copies
thereof conspicuously upon the premises for a period of at least 10 days.
If any person affected by an order of the Board shall apply for a hearing
within the time provided in the order, the Board shall promptly notify all
interested parties of the time and place of the hearing. The Board shall enter
upon its minutes the facts and proofs as it may receive and its proceedings
on such hearing and thereafter may rescind, modify or reaffirm its order and
require execution of the original or of a new or modified order as it shall
determine and direct. The persons affected shall be notified of the Board's
final order and within 10 days from the mailing or personal delivery of such
notice may appeal therefrom to the Court of Quarter Sessions, which appeal
may operate as a supercedes if the Court, upon proper cause shown, so orders,
and provided that the appellants post bond, approved by the Court, for the
use of the city, with sufficient surety to cover all the expense and costs
of executing the Board's order.
A.
The application for an appeal hearing before the Board
shall have attached to it a copy of the Board's order. The application for
an appeal hearing shall precisely and thoroughly set forth, in separate numbered
paragraphs, any and all factual and legal bases upon which the person adversely
affected by the Board's order seeks to challenge said order at the appeal
hearing. The application for an appeal hearing shall set forth the address
to which the Board shall deliver notice of when and where the appellant is
to appear for the appeal hearing. The application for an appeal hearing shall
set forth the appellant's telephone number. Any appellant from an order of
the Board shall file a minimum of 10 copies of his application for an appeal.
B.
The request for an appeal hearing before the Board shall
be filed with the Secretary of the Board on the second floor of Bradford City
Hall, 24 Kennedy Street, Bradford, Pennsylvania, 16701. Subject to the time
limitations set forth in the order of the Board, a request for an appeal hearing
before the Board may be filed by mail. Subject to the time limitations set
forth in the order of the Board, a request for an appeal hearing before the
Board may also be filed in person at the aforesaid address Monday through
Friday, between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., prevailing time. Any
request for an appeal hearing before the Board which is received after the
filing deadline shall be rejected as untimely filed.
C.
In all cases in which a corporation is a property owner
of record or is adversely affected by the order of the Board, all requests
for hearings before the Board shall be executed by an officer of said corporation,
stating the title of such officer, or by a duly authorized employee of the
corporation which shall be accompanied by a verified certification that he
is authorized to act on behalf of the corporation. In all cases in which a
partnership or sole proprietorship is a property owner of record or is adversely
affected by the order of the Board, a principal of such business organization
shall execute the request for an appeal hearing before the Board.
D.
The application for an appeal hearing, any subsequent
communications with the Board and any documents or written matter sought to
be introduced before the Board at the appeal hearing shall be submitted in
a minimum of 10 copies. The required number of copies of any and all documentary
evidence sought to be introduced before the Board shall be delivered to the
Secretary of the Board on the second floor of Bradford City Hall, 24 Kennedy
Street, Bradford, Pennsylvania 16701, not later than 24 hours prior to the
scheduled appeal hearing. Failure to comply with this requirement shall, in
the discretion of the Board, constitute grounds to disqualify the proposed
documentary evidence.
E.
The Board will generally allow approximately one hour
for an appeal hearing. If the appeal hearing involves unusually complex issues
of law or fact, additional time may, in the discretion of the Board, be allotted
only if said request is made with the filing of an application for an appeal
hearing.
F.
Failure of any person adversely affected by the Board's
order to appear at the appeal hearing, after due notice thereof, shall be
considered an abandonment of the appeal hearing request and shall cause the
dismissal of the appeal. The Board may, at its discretion, grant an appeal
hearing continuance of no more than 30 days. All requests for a continuance
of any appeal hearing shall be made in writing and shall, unless wholly impracticable,
be filed with the Board at least five business days before the date set for
the appeal hearing. Said written postponement request shall, in numbered paragraphs,
precisely and thoroughly set forth the grounds relied upon in support thereof.
G.
The Board will not be bound by the strict rules of evidence
normally applied in the Courts. The Board may, in its discretion, hear any
and all evidence which it considers probative and helpful in deciding the
appeal hearing.
H.
All parties will be required to exercise proper and appropriate
decorum during the appeal hearing. Eating and drinking, with the exception
of water for counsel and persons on the witness stand, are not permitted in
the hearing room. The Board's telephones are not available for use by parties,
counsel or witnesses unless calls are, in the judgment of the Board, necessary
to assure the orderly conduct of the appeal hearing. All copying of materials
required for the appeal hearing before the Board shall be done by the parties
prior to the hearing. When the need for copies could not be anticipated beforehand,
copies may be made on the Board's copying machine at a cost of $2 per page
and $10 per one-half hour of Board staff time, where applicable. At the close
of each hearing, the parties are responsible for assuring that any discarded
papers and other refuse on the counsel table and seating area occupied by
the party and its witnesses are disposed of in the proper containers in either
the hearing room or outside its doors.
I.
In all cases, any person appealing from an order of the
Board shall submit, not later than 24 hours prior to the scheduled appeal
hearing, a list of all proposed witnesses, together with a brief synopsis,
not exceeding one paragraph per witness, of each witness's anticipated testimony.
Failure to comply with this requirement shall, in the discretion of the Board,
constitute grounds to disqualify the testimony of any proposed witness.
J.
In all cases involving expert witnesses, the written
qualifications of any proposed expert witness, including proof of compliance
with Pennsylvania licensing and certification, and the written reports of
any proposed expert witness shall be submitted to the Board at least 72 hours
prior to the proposed expert testimony. Expert witnesses shall not be permitted
to express opinions other than those contained in their submitted report.
Failure to comply with this requirement shall, in the discretion of the Board,
constitute grounds to disqualify the proposed expert witness.
K.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, failure to timely produce
the requisite number of any documents or written matter required by these
regulations may, in the discretion of the Board, constitute a failure to perfect
the appeal and may result in a dismissal, with prejudice, of the appeal.
L.
The Board expressly reserves the right to waive any specific
requirement with regard to these regulations which, in its judgment, shall
expedite the appeal hearing and better enable it to make a final determination.
A.
All appeal hearings before the Board shall be open to
the public and shall be conducted in accordance with these regulations and
in accordance with the Local Agency Law, 2 Pa.C.S.A. § 557 et seq.
All testimony before the Board shall be stenographically recorded, and a full
and complete record shall be kept of the proceedings before the Board. All
factual findings of the Board shall be supported by substantial evidence.
B.
At the conclusion of the hearing before the Board and
after such review and consideration as may be required, the Board will render
its decision and therein may rescind, modify or reaffirm its order and may
require execution of the original or of a new or modified order.
C.
The order of the Board after hearing shall be entered
in its minutes by the Secretary of the Board, and a copy of such order shall,
within five days after the appeal hearing before the Board, be delivered to
the person(s) who appealed from the Board's order, either in person or by
mail to the address shown on the application for hearing. The agents of the
Board shall, unless excused, attend each appeal hearing of the Board and shall
furnish the Board with such information relating to the nuisance as the Board
may require.
A.
When approved, printed and advertised by the City Council
as required in the case of ordinances, these regulations shall have the force
of ordinances of the city.
B.
All prior ordinances, rules and regulations and parts
thereof inconsistent with these regulations are hereby specifically repealed.
Nothing contained in an order of the Board or in these regulations is
intended, or shall be construed, as a waiver by the Board or by the city of
their rights to take additional or further enforcement actions or investigations
with respect to any violations of law or nuisances caused by a party to an
order of the Board or existing on property owned or occupied by a party to
an order of the Board.
If any sentence, clause, section or part of these regulations is, for
any reason, found to be unconstitutional, illegal or invalid, such unconstitutionality,
illegality or invalidity shall not affect or impair the remaining provisions,
sentences, clauses, sections or parts of these regulations. It is hereby declared,
as the intent of the City Council and of the Board, that these regulations
would have been adopted had such unconstitutional, illegal or invalid sentence,
clause, section or part hereof not been included herein.
This amendment shall take effect upon final passage.
