Title 1. General Provisions
Article 101
MEADVILLE MUNICIPAL CODE*
Sections:
101.01 Codification adopted – Saving clause.
101.03 Amendments and supplements –Numbering – Minor changes.
101.04 Definitions and interpretation.
101.05 Separability of provisions.
101.06 Sections and ordinances repealed.
101.07 Exemptions from repeal.
*Editor’s note: The provisions of this article are incorporated in the ordinance which adopts the Meadville Municipal Code of Meadville, Pennsylvania, 1993.
101.01 Codification adopted – Saving clause.
(A) Adoption. The Meadville Municipal Code, as prepared and published for the City of Meadville, a true copy of which is attached hereto, consisting of the general administrative and regulatory ordinances, permanent in nature, of the City of Meadville, including previously codified ordinances of the City of Meadville, and as consolidated, revised and codified, are hereby ordained and adopted as the Meadville Municipal Code.
(B) Saving Clause. The provisions of the Meadville Municipal Code of the City of Meadville, so far as they are the same as those ordinances and regulations in force immediately prior to the adoption of said Meadville Municipal Code, are intended as a continuation of such ordinances and regulations and not as a new enactment. The ordinances of the City of Meadville which are being consolidated and codified in the Meadville Municipal Code of the City of Meadville are hereby ratified as ordained and as revised and included in this Meadville Municipal Code. Any codes and maps adopted by reference by the ordinances being consolidated and codified in these codified ordinances are likewise adopted by reference in this Meadville Municipal Code as referenced. (Ord. 3582 §§ 1, 3, 2001; Ord. 3350, 1993)
101.02 Contents.*
The "Meadville Municipal Code of the City of Meadville," hereby adopted and a true copy of which is attached hereto, is comprised of the following administrative regulatory codes organized as set forth in the Table of Contents of the Meadville Municipal Code as follows:
Part 1. Administrative Code
Title 1. General Provisions
Articles:
101 Meadville Municipal Code
103 Official Standards
105 Real Estate Registry
107 Street Improvement Proceedings
108 Notices and Orders
109 Authorized Investments
Title 3. Legislative
Articles:
111 City Council
113 Ordinances and Resolutions
Title 5. Administrative
Articles:
121 Administration Generally
123 City Manager
125 City Treasurer
127 City Controller
129 City Assessor
131 Department of Law
133 Department of Public Works – City Engineer
135 Department of Records
137 Department of Finance
139 Department of Police
141 Department of Fire
143 Department of Personnel
145 Department of Purchasing
147 Officers and Employees Generally
151 Police Magistrate
153 Joint Environmental Advisory Council
155 French Creek Council of Governments
Title 7. Pensions
Articles:
161 Firemen’s Pension Fund
163 Police Pension Fund
165 City Employees’ Retirement and
Pension Fund
Title 9. Authorities, Boards and Commissions
Articles:
171 Authorities
173 Boards and Commissions Generally
175 City Planning Commission
177 Civil Service Commission
178 Citizen Advisory Committees
Title 10. City Employee Specialty Funds
Articles:
179 City Employee Prescription Drug Reimbursement Account
180 City of Meadville Accident and
Sickness Disability Plan
Part 3. Business Regulation and Taxation Code
Title 1. Business Regulation and Licensing
Articles:
305 Circuses and Menageries
309 Dances and Dance Halls
313 Peddlers, Hucksters and Solicitors
317 Transient Retail Merchants
321 Vehicles for Transportation
Title 3. Taxation
Articles:
341 Earned Income Tax
345 Repealed
349 Occupational Privilege Tax
353 Juke Box and Mechanical Amusement Device Tax
357 Per Capita Tax
358 Repealed
360 Realty Transfer Tax
Part 5. Traffic Code
Articles:
501 General Regulations
503 Traffic Regulations
505 Unmetered Parking Regulations
507 Snow and Ice Emergency
513 Pedestrians
518 School Bus Loading Zones
519 Handicapped Parking Regulations
521 On-Street Parking
525 Off-Street Parking
526 Prohibiting Parking and Unattended Vehicles
529 Bicycles
530 Bridge Weight Limits
531 Regulation of the Use of Skates, Skateboards and Similar Devices
Part 7. General Offenses Code
Articles:
705 Abandoned Refrigerators
709 Curfew
713 Disorderly Conduct and Disturbing the Peace
717 Disorderly Houses
721 Pet Code
725 False Fire Alarms – Injuring System
729 Gambling
733 Handbills and Samples
737 Minors and Liquor Control
741 Parades and Public Assemblages
745 Street and Sidewalk Code
749 Weapons and Explosives
750 Prohibiting the Operation of Motor Vehicles in City Parks and Upon City Property
Part 9. Streets, Utilities and Public Services Code
Title 1. Street and Sidewalk Areas
Articles:
901 Street Base Lines and Datum Line
903 Street Excavations
905 Sidewalk Construction and Repair
907 Repealed
908 Construction of Curb Cuts
909 Trees on Sidewalks
Title 3. Utilities
Articles:
911 Sewer and Water Connections
912 Publicly Owned Treatment Works
Pretreatment Requirements
913 Sanitary Sewer Rentals
915 Water Regulations and Rates
917 Watercourses
Title 5. Other Services
Articles:
931 Refuse Storage, Collection and
Disposal
932 Source-Separation and Collection of Recyclable Materials
933 City Market
935 Parks and Public Property
Part 11. Health Code
Articles:
1103 Board of Health – Health Officer
1111 General Sanitary Regulations
1115 Vacant Lots
1119 Public Eating and Drinking Places
Part 13. Zoning Code
Title 1. Zoning
Articles:
1301 General Provisions
1302 Definitions
1303 Residential and Transitional Districts
1304 Institutional Districts
1305 Business and Economic Development Districts
1306 Supplementary Regulations
1307 Nonconforming Uses and Structures
1308 Off-Street Loading and Parking
1309 Sign Regulations
1310 Administration, Enforcement and Appeals
1311 Zoning Hearing Board
1312 Amendments
1313 Reserved
1314 Reserved
1315 Streetscape Advisory Committee
Title 3. Subdivisions
Articles:
1351 Title, Purpose, Application and
Interpretation
1353 Definitions
1355 Design Standards
1357 Plan Requirements
1359 Plan Processing Requirements
1361 Improvement Construction
Requirements
1363 Conditions of Acceptance
1365 Variances, Amendment and Penalty
Part 15. Fire Prevention Code
Articles:
1503 Fire Prevention Code
1505 Disposition of Insurance Covering Fire-Damaged Structures
Part 17. Building Code
Title 1. Standards Adopted
Articles:
1701 Code Appeals Board
1703 Building Code
1705 Electrical Code
1707 Plumbing Code
1709 Mechanical Code
Title 3. Local Provisions
Articles:
1711 Swimming Pools
1713 Signs and Awnings
1715 Building Lines
1717 Numbering Buildings
1721 Property Maintenance Code
Part 19. Housing Code
Articles:
1901 Policy, Scope and Conflict
1903 Definitions
1905 Enforcement, Hearings, Orders and Penalty
1907 Rooming Houses and Bed and Breakfast Residences – Permits
1909 Dwellings Unfit for Human Habitation
1911 Structural Requirements
1913 Utilities and Fixtures
1915 Habitable Rooms
1917 Rodent and Pest Control
1919 Rooming Houses and Bed and Breakfast Residences - General Standards
1921 Facilities and Services
(Ord. 3582 § 2, 2001; Ord. 3350, 1993)
* Editor’s note: The contents of the Meadville Municipal Code set out in this section are current as of the 2001 codification and do not reflect amendments made in subsequent supplements.
101.03 Amendments and supplements –Numbering – Minor changes.
(A) The Meadville Municipal Code of the City of Meadville may be amended or supplemented at any time and, when any amendment or supplement is adopted in such form as to indicate the intention of council to make the same a part thereof, such amendment or supplement shall be incorporated in and deemed a part of the Meadville Municipal Code, so that a reference to the Meadville Municipal Code shall be understood and construed as including the Meadville Municipal Code of the City of Meadville and any and all such amendments and supplements.
(B) All amendments and supplements enacted as a part of the Meadville Municipal Code shall be integrated therewith by following the form of arrangement and plan set forth in the original Meadville Municipal Code as follows: each code shall be subdivided into titles; each title shall be subdivided into articles and each article shall be subdivided into sections, which shall be numbered in accordance with the decimal numbering system. The numbering of all sections, except penalty sections, shall be consecutive within each article commencing with the first section of Article 101, which shall be numbered 101.01, the first "1" signifying Code 1, and the two figures "01" before the decimal signifying the article within the code, and the two figures "01" after the decimal signifying the first section in Article 101 of the code. Penalty sections shall be designated "99" and shall be the last section of the article.
(C) Changes. The following minor nonsubstantive changes have been made to existing City of Meadville ordinances in this Meadville Municipal Code:
(1) Grammatical and spelling errors have been corrected where necessary;
(2) Minor changes have been made to correct obsolete terms and usages;
(3) Changes have been made to the numbering of the sections to conform to the codification organization. (Ord. 3582 §§ 4, 5, 2001; Ord. 3350, 1993)
101.04 Definitions and interpretation.
In the construction of the Meadville Municipal Code, the following rules shall control, except those inconsistent with the manifest intent of council as disclosed in a particular provision, section or article:
(A) "Adopting ordinance" means the ordinance of the city adopting the Meadville Municipal Code of Meadville, Pennsylvania, 1993, in conformity with the Third Class City Code of Pennsylvania and this article.
(B) Authority. Whenever in the Meadville Municipal Code "authority" is given to an officer or an act is required to be performed, such authority may be exercised and such act may be performed, at the instance of such officer, by a deputy or subordinate, unless contrary to law or to the clear intent of any such particular provision.
(C) Calendar Computation of Time. "Month" and "year" mean the calendar month or year. The time expressed in days within which an act is to be done or a period is to expire shall be computed by excluding the first and including the last day, except if the last is Sunday, it shall be excluded. If time is expressed in hours, the whole of Sunday shall be excluded.
(D) "City" and "municipality" mean the City of Meadville, Pennsylvania.
(E) Conjunctions. "And" includes "or" and "or" includes "and," if the sense so requires.
(F) "Council" means the elected council of the City of Meadville, Pennsylvania.
(G) "County" means the county of Crawford, Pennsylvania.
(H) Gender. Words importing the masculine shall extend and be applied to the feminine and neuter genders.
(I) General Rule. Except as otherwise provided in this section, words and phrases shall be construed according to the common usage of the language; provided, however, that technical words and phrases and such others as may have acquired a special meaning in the law shall be construed according to such technical or special meaning.
(J) Joint Authority. Words giving authority to a board, commission, authority or to three or more officers or employees or other persons shall be construed as giving authority to a majority thereof, unless otherwise specifically provided.
(K) "Keeper" or "proprietor" means and includes persons, firms, associations, corporations, clubs and copartnerships, whether acting by themselves or as a servant, agent or employee.
(L) "Land" or "real estate" includes rights and easements of incorporeal nature.
(M) Number. Words in the plural include the singular and the singular include the plural number.
(N) "Oath" includes affirmation. When an oath is required or authorized by law, an affirmation in lieu thereof may be taken by a person having conscientious scruples to taking an oath. An affirmation shall have the same force and effect as an oath.
(O) "Owner," when applied to property, includes a part owner, joint owner or tenant in common of the whole or any part of such property.
(P) "Person" extends and applies to associations, clubs, corporations, firms, partnerships and bodies politic, as well as to individuals.
(Q) "Premises," when used as applicable to property, extends to and includes land and buildings.
(R) "Property" includes real and personal and any mixed and lesser estates or interests therein. "Personal property" includes every kind of property except real property, and "real property" includes lands, tenements and hereditaments.
(S) Reasonable Time. In all cases where provision is made for an act to be done or notice to be given within a reasonable time, it shall be deemed to mean such time only as may be necessary for the prompt performance of such act or giving of such notice.
(T) "Sidewalk" means any portion of a street between the curb line and the adjacent property line, intended for the use of pedestrians, excluding parkways.
(U) "State" or "commonwealth" means the commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
(V) "Street" includes alleys, avenues, boulevards, lanes, roads, streets and other public ways in the city.
(W) "Tenant" or "occupant," as applied to buildings or land, shall extend and be applied to any person holding a written or oral lease of or who occupies the whole or any part of a building or land, alone or with others.
(X) Tenses. The use of any verb in the present tense includes the future.
(Y) "The Third Class City Code" means the Pennsylvania Act of June 28, 1951, (P.L. 662), as amended.
(Z) The "Optional Third Class City Charter Law" means the council-manager plan of the Pennsylvania Act of July 15, 1957, (P.L. 901), as amended.
(AA) Time. Whenever any time established in the Meadville Municipal Code for the taking of any action expires on a Sunday or legal holiday, such time shall not expire on such day but shall expire on the next weekday. (Ord. 3350, 1993)
101.05 Separability of provisions.
It is hereby declared to be the intention of the city council that the parts, articles, sections, paragraphs, sentences, clauses and phrases of this codification are severable. If any section, paragraph, sentence, clause or phrase of the Meadville Municipal Code is declared unconstitutional, illegal or otherwise invalid by the judgment or decree of a court of competent jurisdiction, that invalidity shall not affect any of the remaining parts, articles, sections, paragraphs, sentences, clauses or phrases of this Meadville Municipal Code. (Ord. 3582 § 7, 2001; Ord. 3350, 1993)
101.06 Sections and ordinances repealed.
All ordinances or resolutions or parts thereof in conflict with provisions of the Meadville Municipal Code of the City of Meadville, and the ordinance codified in this article, are hereby repealed. (Ord. 3582 § 6, 2001; Ord. 3350, 1993)
101.07 Exemptions from repeal.
The repeals provided for in MMC 101.06 shall not affect:
(A) Any offense or act committed or done, or any penalty or forfeiture incurred or any contract or right established or accruing before the adoption of this Meadville Municipal Code.
(B) Any suit or prosecution pending or to be instituted to enforce any preexisting ordinance or regulation.
(C) Any ordinance or resolution promising or guaranteeing the payment of money by or to the city, or authorizing the issuance of any notes or bonds of the city, or any evidence of the city’s indebtedness or any contract or obligation assumed by the city.
(D) The administrative ordinances or resolutions of council not in conflict or inconsistent with the provisions of the Meadville Municipal Code.
(E) Any right, license or franchise conferred by any ordinance or resolution of council on any person or corporation.
(F) Any ordinance or resolution affecting the disposition of real or personal property.
(G) Any ordinance establishing, naming, relocating or vacating any street or public way.
(H) Any ordinance or part thereof providing for the establishment of positions, for salaries or compensation.
(I) Any prosecution, suit or other proceeding pending, or any judgment rendered on or prior to the adopting of this Meadville Municipal Code.
(J) Any ordinance levying or imposing taxes or assessments.
(K) Any ordinance establishing or changing the boundaries of the city.
(L) Any ordinance or resolution adopted by council after the adoption of the Meadville Municipal Code.
(M) Floodplain Management Ordinance No. 3347 adopted August 28, 1993. (Ord. 3582 § 6, 2001; Ord. 3350, 1993)
101.08 Costs of prosecution.
Whenever in the Meadville Municipal Code or in any ordinance of the city there is no specific direction or authority for the taxing and collection of costs of prosecution, such costs shall be charged and collected as provided by law. (Ord. 3350, 1993)
101.99 General penalty.
Whenever in the Meadville Municipal Code or in any ordinances of the city an act is prohibited or is made or declared to be unlawful or an offense, or whenever in the Meadville Municipal Code or in any ordinance the doing of any act is required or the failure to do any act is declared to be unlawful, where no specific penalty is provided therefor, the violator of any such provision or of any such ordinance shall be fined not more than $300.00 or imprisoned not more than 90 days, or both. (Ord. 3350, 1993)