Springdale could start cracking down on 'disorderly houses'

It could be three strikes and you’re out for Springdale residents whose behavior brings police or other first responders to their homes.

The borough is considering revising its “disorderly house” ordinance to set the number of complaint calls to three per year before residents or landlords face charges.

Common complaints include loud music or noise, fighting or yelling and drunken behavior.

Council on Tuesday voted to advertise amending the ordinance to clarify the number of times officers need to be called to a property before enforcement action can be taken.

“If we’re dispatched more than three times in a rolling year to that address for the same issue, you could potentially be cited and taken in front of the magistrate judge for action against you, or the tenant, or the property owner for that,” police Chief Derek Dayoub said.

“It also controls absentee landlords in town from buying up properties and then turning them over and renting them, and letting the residents run amok in the town,” he said.

Dayoub said, in 2018, the borough adopted rules by which, if police, fire or EMS are dispatched to a residence repeatedly, the property owner could be cited — be it for drunken and disorderly conduct, fighting or any quality-of-life issues.

But, Dayoub said, police sometimes run into issues where the ordinance isn’t specific enough about the number of calls needed before charges are filed.

“It wasn’t defined in the ordinance, so it’s ambiguous as to how many times would warrant generating a citation,” Solicitor Craig Alexander said.

Council will consider approving the updated rules at its next meeting April 16.

Alexander said the proposal is “clear” and “unambiguous.”

“Now, it says in there: If it’s more than three, that a citation is going to be generated,” Alexander said. “Whether the police start at three, or whether they wait … they are within their rights to issue a citation once they get three calls.”