West Penn adopts revised property maintenance ordinance

West Penn Township officially has a revised property maintenance ordinance on the books.

On a 2-1 vote, the township’s board of supervisors on Monday agreed to adopt the West Penn Township Property Maintenance Ordinance. Supervisor Ted Bogosh was opposed.

Before the vote, Bogosh again expressed concerns with several aspects of the ordinance, such as a section that pertains to a stop work order.

However, Supervisor Tony Prudenti said he doesn’t believe that the ordinance is designed to shut people down.

Township engineer Bill Anders concurred with Prudenti, and said the intent is not to be a headache to people.

“We work with the residents,” Anders said. “We’re there to support what they’re doing.”

Bogosh said he’s more concerned that if the supervisors eventually decide to take a hard-nosed approach, that there’s something in writing in the ordinance that protects the residents.

Further, Bogosh said he’d also like to see a fee schedule with a list of fines.

Township solicitor Holly Heintzelman said, “These have been the fines for quite some time.”

“You can’t set your own fines on this,” Heintzelman said. “It’s up to the magistrate.”

Bogosh added, “It can add up to a lot of money.”

Board Chairman Jim Dean stated, “We’re not reinventing the wheel.”

“We are behind the times,” Dean said. “It think it’s a good way to update it. All we did is add a little more teeth to it.”

Last month, supervisors on a 2-1 vote, with Bogosh opposed, agreed to advertise to enact the revised West Penn Township Property Maintenance Ordinance.

Anders said that in the International Property Maintenance Code — which supervisors considered but ultimately decided not to adopt because they thought it was too restrictive — if a person is found guilty of a violation, they would be guilty of a misdemeanor, which is a criminal offense that could go on their record.

He said the West Penn Township Property Maintenance Ordinance is a blend of the township’s existing ordinance, as well as some things they felt should be taken from the International Property Maintenance Code.

Anders said the board will not be adopting the International Property Maintenance Code, but rather, a revision to their existing West Penn Township Property Maintenance Ordinance.

If a person is found guilty under the West Penn Township Property Maintenance Ordinance, that would be considered a summary offense, he said.

Anders said in that event, the township would cite them under a summary offense, and if they would have to go before the magistrate and the magistrate finds a person guilty over an issue they didn’t address, it would be up to the magistrate to file an arrest warrant.

Dean previously said the township’s current ordinance was put into play in 1997, and that while it has its good points, it needs to be improved.