[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Supervisors
of the Township of Thornbury as indicated in article histories. Amendments
noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 6-4-2002 by Ord. No. 2002-4]
As used in this chapter, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
Includes every person having right of proprietorship or ownership
in a dog and every person who keeps or harbors a dog or has it in
his care and any person who permits a dog to remain on or about any
premises occupied by him.
Being upon a public highway, street, alley, park or any other
public land, or upon property of another person other than the owner,
or not being on a leash and accompanied by or under the control of
the owner or any other person having custody of a said dog.
Includes only chickens, hens, ducks, and roosters of a noncrowing
species. Such animal shall not include any exotic, wild, and/or dangerous
animal, including but not limited to those designated and regulated
as such by the Pennsylvania Game Commission or other federal or state
law.
[Added 10-15-2013 by Ord. No. 2013-1]
A.Â
The owners of every dog within the Township of Thornbury
shall at all times keep such dog either:
B.Â
No person owning, harboring, keeping or in charge
of a dog shall cause, suffer or allow the dog to soil, defile, defecate
on or commit any nuisance on any common thoroughfare, sidewalk, passageway,
bypath, play area or any place where people congregate or walk, or
on any public property whatsoever, or on any private property without
the permission of the owner of said property. The restriction set
forth in this subsection shall not apply to the portion of the street
lying between the curblines, which shall be used to curb such dog
under the following conditions:
(1)Â
The person who so curbs such dog shall immediately
remove all feces deposited by the dog by any sanitary and reasonable
manner.
(2)Â
The feces removed from the aforementioned designated
area shall be disposed of in a sanitary manner by the person owning,
harboring, keeping or in charge of any dog curbed in accordance with
the provisions of this article.
It shall be unlawful for the owner of any dog
to permit such dog to run at large in Thornbury Township. Any such
dog found to be running at large, either upon the public streets or
highways of the commonwealth, or upon the property of a person other
than the owner of such dog, and unaccompanied by the owner or keeper,
whether licensed or unlicensed, shall be subject to seizure, detention
and disposition by any Thornbury Township police officer or agency
employed by Thornbury Township to carry out such seizure, detention
and disposition in accordance with the provisions of Section 302 of
the Pennsylvania Dog Law, Act of December 7, 1982, P.L. 784, No. 225,
as from time to time amended.
If the enforcement officer is unable for any
reason to deliver immediate possession of the dog to its owner or
custodian, he shall deliver the same to the Society for the Prevention
of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA), and notice shall be given to the owner
or custodian as soon as possible. The owner or custodian may reclaim
the same at the office of the SPCA upon complying with that organization's
rules, subject to the following conditions:
A.Â
The owner or custodian, in return for the release
of his dog, before paying the penalty hereinafter specified, agrees
to keep and hold it thereafter in compliance with terms of this article;
and
B.Â
The owner or custodian recognizes the violation of
this article and agrees to pay to the Township, at the Secretary's
office, the penalty as prescribed in the fine schedule within five
days following said release.
If the owner or custodian of the dog shall fail
to pay the applicable penalty within the five-day period, he shall
be subject to prosecution before a District Justice or other court
having jurisdiction, and be charged with violation of this article.
If the owner or custodian fails to claim the dog within three days
following seizure, it shall be considered abandoned, and subject to
disposition in accordance with the rules of the SPCA. Such abandonment
shall not, however, relieve the owner or custodian from the consequences
of violating this article.
Any person violating any of the provisions of
this article shall be subject to the following fines and penalties:
It shall be unlawful within the Township of
Thornbury for any person or persons to own, possess, harbor or control
any dog which makes noise continuously and/or incessantly to the disturbance
of any reasonable person for a period of 30 minutes or more between
the hours of 8:00 a.m. through 10:00 p.m. or for a period of 30 minutes
or more between the hours of 10:00 p.m. through 8:00 a.m, provided
that at the time the dog is making such noise, it does so without
reasonable provocation. Prior to the filing of any complaint, it must
be demonstrated that reasonable attempts have been made by the aggrieved
parties to resolve the dispute.
No person shall own, keep or harbor within the
Township any dog six months or older unless such animal is licensed
by the County of Chester and unless such dog wears a collar and a
license tag. This provision is not intended to apply to dogs whose
owners are nonresidents, and temporarily in the Township, nor to any
Seeing eye dog or Hearing ear dog properly trained to assist blind
persons or hearing-impaired persons when such dog is actually used
by a blind person or a hearing-impaired person for the purpose of
going from place to place.
Any person who violates or permits a violation
of this article shall, upon conviction in a summary proceeding brought
before a District Justice under the Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal
Procedure, be guilty of a summary offense and shall be punishable
by a fine of not more than $1,000, plus costs of prosecution. Each
day or portion thereof that such violation continues or is permitted
to continue shall constitute a separate offense, and each section
of this chapter that is violated shall also constitute a separate
offense.
[Adopted 10-15-2013 by Ord. No. 2013-1]
A.Â
The keeping of small domestic fowl for noncommercial purposes is
allowed on a residential property, provided that the following conditions
are met:
(1)Â
The keeping of roosters of a crowing species is specifically prohibited.
(2)Â
The total number of small domestic fowl shall not exceed one per
each 1/5 acre of gross lot area.
(3)Â
Fencing and an enclosed animal house structure, either fixed or movable,
shall be located pursuant to an approved zoning permit issued by the
Township. The fenced area and animal house structure shall be located
only in the rear yard and shall comply with the following requirements:
(a)Â
The setback for the fenced area and animal house structure shall
be at least 50 feet from any property line, unless written permission
has been given from the adjoining property owner. If the applicant
requests permission from the adjoining property via certified mail,
and no response is provided within 30 days, then permission to locate
closer than 50 feet from the property line is implied.
(b)Â
Animal waste must be disposed of in an enclosed container, or
composted in a designated area.
(c)Â
Composted animal waste must either be placed in a location that
either drains inward onto the property, or is at least 20 feet from
a neighboring property. At no time shall composted animal waste drain
onto a neighboring property.
(4)Â
At no time may the keeping of small domestic fowl be allowed to be
a nuisance, as defined in the Township Code, due to odor, noise, or
otherwise disturbing the peace as determined by the Township Code
Enforcement Officer or police officer, as applicable.
