At Hellertown Borough Council\u2019s July 20 meeting, council formally adopted Ordinance 864, which is a rewriting of Chapter 385 of the borough code governing streets and sidewalks.<\/p>\n
Borough Manager Cathy Hartranft told council the committee \u2014 which included Zoning and Codes Officer Terri Fadem\u2014 went through each section of Chapter 385 and made line-item changes, all of which were documented and posted publicly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Borough Solicitor Michael Corriere then summarized the key policy changes for the record:<\/p>\n
Excavations: The rewrite gives Bryan Smith, as borough engineer, latitude on excavation restoration. On any excavation running more than 100 feet, the borough can require full street replacement rather than a patch.<\/p>\n
Sidewalk enforcement: The rewrite stiffens penalties. Contractors who fail to contact Fadem for a required preliminary inspection now face a fine or a mandatory redo of the work.<\/p>\n
Standards adopted by reference: The rewrite adopts the International Property Maintenance Code and the PennDOT Publication 408, Section 4084 requirements for sidewalks, including ADA standards.<\/p>\n
Sale-of-property compliance window: Corriere told council the committee researched language that would have required sidewalks to be installed prior to a sale, but that a recently passed act of the Pennsylvania General Assembly limits how far the borough can go. The rewrite instead requires sidewalks to be brought into compliance within 12 months of the property transfer.<\/p>\n
Tree preservation: Under the rewrite, sidewalks may be diverted from a straight line at Fadem\u2019s discretion in order to save a tree.<\/p>\n
Fines and enforcement: The rewrite raises fines to $1,000. It also gives the borough three enforcement tools: performing the work directly, placing a lien on the property or filing an equity action to force the property owner to complete the work.<\/p>\n
Councilman Larry O\u2019Donnell said he felt more confident moving forward with sidewalk inspections under the new language.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome of the things are a lot more clear and some (are) common sense things, like the tree diversion and things like that,\u201d he said. \u201cIf we can fix a sidewalk and save a tree, that\u2019s awesome, rather than cut down a tree.\u201d<\/p>\n
O\u2019Donnell said the borough\u2019s next enforcement push will focus on Main Street and Walnut Street, along with other \u201chot spots\u201d flagged during a walk-through.<\/p>\n
Sheetz Grand Opening<\/p>\n