Franklin Property Owners Will Have More Responsibilities Under Property Maintenance Code Amendments

| September 25, 2018

FRANKLIN, Pa. (EYT) – New amendments to the city’s property maintenance code mean more responsibilities for property owners in Franklin.

The new amendments were approved at the September city council meeting in a roll-call vote of 4-2 with council members Fred Mays and Mike Dulaney opposing the measure and Mayor Doug Baker as well as council members James Marshall, James Johnson, and Donna Fletcher voting in favor of it. Councilman Sam Lyons was excused from the meeting.

Council member Mike Delaney said his no vote wasn’t a problem with the idea behind the changes in the code, but rather an issue with the wording of the new code.

“I just felt that some of the terms were a little too vague. It was a little broad for my liking, but that was really the only reservation I had about it,” Delaney said.

According to Chuck Gibbons, Code Enforcement Officer for the City of Franklin, though the changes do place some more responsibility on property owners, the main impetus for the change was to combine separate ordinances to simplify them for residents.

“We had separate ordinances that had to do with maintaining the sidewalk. This kind of put it all into one code to make it less confusing. I hope that’s what it does for the residents,” Gibbons said.

The new code requires property owners to keep all sidewalks, walkways, stairs, driveways, parking spaces, and similar areas in a “proper state of repair and maintained free from hazardous conditions,” including the space between the sidewalk and the street curb.

“We have had some people who have installed fences or plantings that obstruct the view (in the space between the sidewalk and curb), like rose bushes that people end up stepping into getting out of cars,” Gibbons said.

Gibbons also noted that some residents had put landscaping stone in that area between the sidewalk and the street, which tend to make for slippery footing during wet weather and can cause a hazard if the stones get out into the street.

“I’ve received complaints from residents, neighbors, and council members that that was dangerous, that it was not very safe for people getting out of cars, and I’m investigating that,” he noted.

The ordinance also moves the section where “all snow and ice shall be removed from sidewalks, walkways, and stairs within six hours after the same has fallen or formed and shall remain clear of snow and ice thereafter” into the same section mentioned above, which is a policy that has been in place since 1915, according to solicitor Brian Spaid.

The changes also move enforcement of the snow regulation from the street department to the code enforcement officer.

Spaid noted this is not a new policy and, in fact, has been in place since 1915, but he also said that the city wouldn’t be the “snow police” and as in the past would most likely understand that if it snows at midnight or on a weekend when a business wasn’t open, property owners would be given leeway on the six hours to remove the snow and ice.

Another change in the ordinance requires that all boarded up building in the city need to be done in a similar manner.

The third portion of the ordinance requires property owners to keep all trees and shrubs trimmed in order to avoid obstructions or interference with pedestrians using sidewalks, walkways, and stairs.

“This is really about anything that impedes the right the use public property in a safe manner. We took two or three ordinances and included them in the property management code. This makes it more clear and more resident friendly, so property owners understand they have to manage that area,” Gibbons said.

“There will be enforcement notices going out int he near future for things we’ve deemed dangerous or hazardous in that right of way, and we’re going to be sending tree notices out soon, too.”


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