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Saying they want to put more teeth into their zoning ordinance enforcement, North Annville Township supervisors on Monday hired a Lancaster-based company to investigate nuisance complaints.
Commonwealth Code Inspection Service of Manheim was unanimously selected during a meeting on March 9. The vote was in response to a recent rise in the number of complaints from residents to municipal officials about ordinance infractions.
The company’s fee schedule is $50 per address and an additional $35 for the issuance of a payment of violation notice. If the issue goes to court, an additional $75 is charged for a non-traffic violation and $200 for a court hearing.
Prior to hiring the firm, it was noted board secretary Adam Wolfe would investigate an issue and report his findings to supervisors at public meetings. Following discussion between the board and meeting attendees, township solicitor Paul Bametzreider was usually asked to draft a letter to the property owner in violation of the zoning ordinance to seek compliance.
“I think the intent is instead of taking the nuisance violations and having them have to run through Paul, we hire somebody who’s geared specifically towards that,” said board member Aaron Miller. “They cost less, and they also have the processes in place. They’re used to going for the appropriate authorities with the issues. And I think it would help speed things up a little bit when we’re having problems.”
Miller noted other benefits.
“I think the other intent is it sort of separates it a little bit from the township right now because currently it would be us, mostly Adam, almost always Adam, going out and having to look at these things and then take that action,” Miller said. “This would be somebody who’s got some training in it, who would be reading our ordinances, and would be going out and would be more of an independent person – although the intent is we’re still working on revising our nuisance ordinance in planning.”
Board chairman Clyde Meyer said township residents who wish to file a complaint about a possible violation must first contact the municipality, who will then pass the investigation over to the inspection service.
“Neighbors getting into a squabble will be turning each other in for all kinds of things and we figure this would do away with some of that,” Meyer said, in explaining the process being implemented to report a possible violation.
Other township business
In other business, supervisors:
- Received the annual report from Annville Free Library. Readership is up, and 44% of library cardholders reside in the township. The annual book sale fundraiser is scheduled for April 15-18.
- Announced that discussion is continuing in the planning department concerning implementation of a Jake Brake ordinance. Bametzreider said such an ordinance is prohibited on highways with a speed limit of 55 mph or higher and is mostly written for higher-density population areas, like Bellegrove, which sits along Route 934.
- Learned there were 43 police-reported incidents for February, including six motor vehicle accidents. There were also complaints about solicitors working for Verizon within the township, and a fraud case involving PayPal.
- Announced that the annual report had been conducted by the elected auditors and that the financial statements have been submitted to the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development.
- Authorized insurance coverage for Penn Township Fire Police for an upcoming fundraising event.
- Received the North Annville Fire Company report, including five fire incidents, two EMS calls and two police incidents, for nearly 51 hours of service. Combined calls, along with training, administrative duties, maintenance and other company duties totaled just under 383 service hours by fire department personnel in February.
- Announced street sweeping on March 24-26 in the township.
- Requested PennDOT to conduct a study to determine the number of “do not pass” signs needed on Hill Church Road for enforcement purposes.
- Agreed to purchase 350 tons of rock salt from the commonwealth for next winter. The price per ton will be set this summer by the state. Last year’s price was $92 per ton.
- Signed an agreement with North Lebanon Township to sealcoat about 500 feet of Emma Road for the portion of the highway in North Annville Township.
- Announced a countywide tire collection day at the expo center in North Cornwall Township from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on April 29.
- Read and approve payment of the monthly bills.
- Approved the minutes of their Feb. 9 meeting.
- Accepted the treasurer’s report as of Feb. 9.
North Annville Township supervisors meet the second Monday of the month at 7:30 p.m. in the social hall of the former Union Water Works Fire Company, 2875 Water Works Way, Annville.
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