Buffalo Township municipal Building. Shane Potter/Butler EagleWEB DME

BUFFALO TWP — The Butffalo Township board of supervisors voted unanimously to approve the addition of a new ordinance which would grant the power to regulate disruptive properties.

The new ordinance, approved during the board meeting on Wednesday night, Sept. 11, would levy a fine of up to $600 against the owner of a property in Buffalo Township deemed to be disruptive. According to the language of the ordinance, that would be a property which has been the site of three citations, summons, or arrests within a period of 60 days.

“It has to be definitive. It can't just be that 911 gets called out and they come on the site,” said township solicitor Brian Farrington. “Something actually has to result from that.”

If a property owner starts eviction proceedings against a tenant that was the source of a prior violation, the clock would be reset to zero days for that property.

Farrington says that the possibility of the township actually needing to enforce the disruptive property ordinance is remote.

“I do find it somewhat unlikely that someone would be able to accumulate three citations, summons or arrests in a two-month period,” Farrington said. “The predominant way that this ordinance would be utilized is just to keep people accountable and understand that there are consequences.”

The ordinance also says that the township will give the property owner proper notice of each violation and of their intention to enforce the ordinance, until the third and final strike.

During the public comment portion of the meeting, one resident expressed concern that the ordinance could potentially lead to tenants getting discouraged from calling the police in genuine emergencies for fear of incurring a strike against their landlords and risking later eviction. The resident brought up a hypothetical example of a tenant encountering someone who broke a restraining order and followed them home.

Acting on this concern, Farrington inserted language into the ordinance aimed at preventing this scenario from occurring.

“Disorderly properties should not include citations, summons, or arrests arising out of the enforcement of any protection from abuse order or a domestic dispute in which one or more individuals at the property possess a reasonable fear of bodily harm,” read the added section.

This passed muster with the resident and with the supervisors, who unanimously voted to approve the ordinance.

At the same meeting, the board of supervisors also approved a new ordinance that would give structure to the regulation of solar energy systems in the township.

While there is a section of the township’s zoning ordinance which does reference solar energy systems, the separate ordinance for solar energy approved on Wednesday night would cover more types of use.

“This is a more comprehensive ordinance that is going to cover accessory uses on someone’s roof, and also large-scale solar farms,” Farrington said. “It’s to create a framework for putting a solar farm, or just a few panels on your roof.”