State College City Zoning Code
PART I
Remedies/Penalties/Validity
§ 19-2501 Remedies.
[Ord. 559, 6/20/1959, Section 2001; amended by Ord. 1284, 7/10/1990, Section 19]
In case any building, structure, landscaping or land is, or is proposed to be, erected, constructed, reconstructed, altered, converted, maintained, or used in violation of this Ordinance or of any other ordinance or regulation supplementing this ordinance, the Municipal Council or an officer of the Municipality, or any aggrieved owner or tenant of real property who shows that his property or person will be substantially affected by the alleged violation, in addition to other remedies, may institute any appropriate action or proceeding to prevent, restrain, correct or abate such building, structure, landscaping or land or to prevent, in or about such premises, any act, conduct, business or use constituting a violation. When any such action is instituted by a landowner or tenant, notice of that action shall be served upon the municipality at least 30 days prior to the time the action is begun, by serving a copy of the complaint on the governing body of the Municipality. No such action may be maintained until such notice has been given.
§ 19-2502 Enforcement Remedies.
[Ord. 559, 6/20/1959, Section 2002; amended by Ord. 599, 9/13/1961, Section 2-E(5); Ord. 834, 12/4/1973, Section 8,{360} and by Ord. 1284, 7/10/1990, Section 20]
a.
Any person, partnership or corporation who or which has violated or permitted the violation of any provisions of this Ordinance shall, upon being found liable therefor in a civil enforcement proceeding commenced by a municipality, pay a judgment of not more than $500 plus all court costs, including reasonable attorney fees, incurred by a Municipality as a result thereof. No judgment shall commence or be imposed, levied or payable until the date of the determination of a violation by the District Justice. If the defendant neither pays nor timely appeals the judgment, the Municipality may enforce the judgment pursuant to the applicable rules of civil procedure. Each day that a violation continues shall constitute a separate violation, unless the District Justice, determining that there has been a violation, further determines that there was a good faith basis for the person, partnership or corporation violating the Ordinance to have believed that there was no such violation, in which event there shall be deemed to have been only one such violation until the 5th day following the date of the determination of a violation by the District Justice and, thereafter, each day that a violation continues shall constitute a separate violation. All judgments, costs and reasonable attorney fees collected for the violation of zoning ordinances shall be paid over to the Municipality.
b.
The Court of Common Pleas, upon petition, may grant an order of stay, upon cause shown, tolling the per diem fine pending a final adjudication of the violation and judgment.
c.
Nothing contained in this section shall be construed or interpreted to grant to any person or entity, other than the Municipality, the right to commence any action for enforcement pursuant to this section.
§ 19-2503 Responsibility for Compliance.
[Ord. 1073, 4/11/1984, Section 3]
Any person, partnership or corporation who acts in such manner as to cause a violation of this ordinance{370} shall be in violation hereof. This section specifically requires landowners, lessors, realtors, rental agents, property managers, tenants, residents, occupants and guests responsible to refrain from any act, conduct, business or use which constitutes a violation of this ordinance, including Section 2001(d).