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ARTICLE VII:
Ordinances
Section
701.  Actions
Requiring an Ordinance
In
addition to other acts required by law or
by specific provision of this Charter to
be done by ordinance, those acts of the
Township Council shall be done by
ordinance which:
1.
Adopt
or amend the administrative
code;
2.
Provide
for a fine or other penalty or
establish a rule or regulation for
violation of which a fine or other
penalty is imposed; provided, however,
that actions establishing traffic
regulations shall not require an
ordinance although a fine or penalty
may be provided therein;
3.
Levy
taxes and appropriate funds for
operating and capital expenditures.
Increases in the Real Property Tax rate
are limited to a maximum of three (3)
mills or five per cent (5%) of the
prior year's budget per annum approved
through the action of public
referendum.
4.
Grant,
renew, or extend a
franchise;
5.
Authorize
the borrowing of money, except loans in
anticipation of taxes;
6.
Authorize
the purchase or conveyance of fee
simple title to real property; provided
that the leasing of real property and
the acquisition or conveyance of rights
of way shall not require the enactment
of an ordinance, but that such actions
shall be approved by Council by
resolution;
7.
Amend
or repeal any ordinance previously
adopted;
8.
Establish,
alter, or amend any zoning ordinance,
subdivision procedure, land development
and land use regulations;
9.
Create
a Charter commission or proposals for
Charter amendments;
10.
Any
power and function which the Township
may exercise that does not require an
ordinance under this section may be
enacted by resolution upon approval of
a majority of Council.
Section
702. Ordinances
in General
A.
Form.
Every
proposed ordinance shall be introduced in
writing and in the form required for final
adoption. No ordinance shall contain more
than one (1) subject, which shall be
clearly expressed in its title. The
enacting clause shall be "Upper Darby
Township hereby ordains..." Any ordinance
which repeals or amends an existing
ordinance shall set out in full the
ordinance sections or subsections to be
repealed or amended, and shall indicate
matter to be omitted by enclosing it in
brackets or by strikeout type, and shall
indicate new matter by underscoring or by
italics.
B.
Procedure.
A
proposed ordinance may be introduced by
any member of Council at any public
meeting. Upon introduction of any proposed
ordinance, a copy shall be distributed to
each member of Council, to the Mayor, and
to the Chief Administrative Officer; and a
reasonable number of copies shall be filed
in such other public places as Council may
from time to time designate. Council shall
provide for the publication of the
proposed ordinance or a summary thereof,
together with a notice setting out the
time and place for a public hearing
thereon. The pubic hearing shall follow
the publication by at least seven (7) days
and may be held separately or in
connection with a regular or special
Council meeting and may be adjourned from
time to time; all persons interested shall
have an opportunity to be heard at the
public forum preceding the public meeting.
After the hearing, the Council may adopt
the ordinance, with or without amendment,
or reject it; but if it is amended, the
Council may not adopt it until the
ordinance or its amended sections have
been subjected to all the procedures
herein before required in the case of a
newly introduced ordinance. When an
ordinance is passed by Council, it shall
be sent within three (3) days to the Mayor
for his approval or disapproval with a
statement of the action Council has taken
thereon. If said ordinance is vetoed by
the Mayor, it may be reconsidered by
Council at the next public meeting and
shall take effect if approved by at least
seven (7) members of Council.
C.
Effective
Date. Except
as otherwise provided in this
Charter,
1.
Ordinances
passed by Council and approved by the
Mayor shall become effective
immediately after the Mayor has signed
such ordinance or at any later date
specified therein;
2.
Ordinances
passed by Council but neither approved
nor vetoed by the Mayor shall become
effective fifteen (15) days after the
last day on which the Mayor can approve
or veto such ordinance or at any later
date specified therein;
3.
Ordinances
passed by Council notwithstanding the
Mayor's veto shall become effective
fifteen (15) days after Council's
adoption of such ordinance or at any
later date specified
therein.
D.
"Publish"
Defined. As
used in this section, the term "publish"
means to print at least one (1) time in
one or more newspapers of general
circulation in the Township: (1) the
ordinance or a summary thereof, and (2)
the places where copies of the ordinance
have been filed and the times when they
are available for public
inspection.
Section
703. Emergency
Ordinances.
To
meet a public emergency affecting life,
health, property, or the public peace, the
Council may adopt one (1) or more
emergency ordinances; but such ordinances
may not levy taxes; grant, renew, or
extend a franchise; or authorize the
borrowing of money except
as otherwise provided by this
Charter
or by law. A proposed emergency ordinance
shall be introduced in the form prescribed
for ordinances generally except that it
shall be plainly designated as an
emergency ordinance and shall contain,
after the enacting clause, a declaration
stating that an emergency exists and
describing it in clear and specific terms.
An emergency ordinance may be adopted,
with or without amendment, or rejected at
the meeting at which it is introduced and
shall become effective with or without the
approval of the Mayor, but the affirmative
vote of at least seven (7) Council members
shall be required for adoption. It shall
become effective upon adoption or at such
later time as it may specify. Every
emergency ordinance shall automatically
stand repealed as of the sixty-first
(61st) day following the date on which it
was adopted, but this shall not prevent
the reenactment of the ordinance in the
manner specified in this section if the
emergency still exists. An emergency
ordinance may also be repealed by adoption
of a repealing ordinance in the same
manner specified in this section for
adoption of emergency
ordinances.
[
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]
Section
704. Codes
of Technical Regulations.
The
Council may adopt any code of technical
regulations by reference thereto in an
adopting ordinance. The procedure and
requirements governing such an adopting
ordinance shall be as prescribed for
ordinances generally except
that:
1.
The
requirement of Section 702 of this
Article for distribution and filing of
copies of the ordinance shall not be
construed to include copies of the code
of technical regulations. Such code of
technical regulations shall be on file
in the office of the Township for
inspection by any interested
person.
2.
A
copy of each adopted code of technical
regulations, as well as the adopting
ordinance, shall be authenticated and
recorded.
Section
705. Authentication
and Recording;
Codification;
Printing
A.
Authentication
and Recording. Ordinances
and resolutions shall be authenticated by
the Mayor and attested by the Chief
Administrative Officer and recorded in
full in properly indexed books.
B.
Codification.
Within
three (3) years after adoption of this
Charter and at least every ten (10) years
thereafter, the Council shall provide for
the preparation of a general codification
of all Township ordinances and resolutions
having the force and effect of law. The
general codification shall be adopted by
the Council by ordinance and shall be
published promptly, together with this
Charter and any amendments thereto,
pertinent provisions of the Constitution
and other laws of the State of
Pennsylvania, and such codes of technical
regulations as the Council may specify.
This compilation shall be known and
officially cited as the Upper Darby
Township Code. Copies of the code shall be
furnished to Township officers, placed in
libraries and public offices for public
reference, and made available for purchase
by the public at a reasonable
price.
C.
Printing.
Council
shall make such arrangements as it deems
desirable with respect to the printing and
distribution of ordinances, resolutions,
and Charter amendments.
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