Unity takes comment on proposed anti-blight effort, eyes street resurfacing in Whitney

Unity plans to target blight by taking a new tack in efforts to get owners to clean up junk and trim high grass on their properties.

One resident pointed out this week at a related hearing that keeping streets in repair is another way to promote good property maintenance in township neighborhoods.

Gary Klosky, of Hostetter, told the supervisors streets are in a “deplorable condition” in the small community of Whitney.

“Maybe if you put some money back into these communities, people would be more apt to try and take care of them,” Klosky said.

Supervisor Mike O’Barto said the township intends to apply for a Community Development Block Grant to help resurface streets in Whitney. He said the township has yet to calculate the amount of the grant request and noted the money, if approved, likely wouldn’t be available until the 2021 paving season.

For a project to qualify for a block grant , at least 51% of residents who would benefit must meet low- and moderate-income guidelines, which O’Barto believes will be the case in Whitney.

“Income surveys are going to be sent out in the very near future” to residents there, he said.

About a dozen people attended the hearing Monday to learn about proposed changes in enforcement of township property maintenance guidelines.

Supervisors will consider at their March 12 meeting adding a new level of enforcement against owners of properties whose exteriors “are not maintained in a clean, safe and sanitary condition” and have become a nuisance through accumulation of excessive rubbish, including junk vehicles, run-down porches or decks, overgrown grass exceeding 10 inches in height, or infestation with rodents or insects, Solicitor Gary Falatovich said.

The new guidelines would empower the township’s code enforcement staff to cite property owners for infractions, charge them a $50 penalty and require them to correct the problem by a deadline.

Township officials hope the proposed new procedure will give owners who are in violation an added incentive for promptly getting their properties in shape. If they fail to pay the fine and remedy the situation by the deadline, the township could file a citation with the local district judge — which has been the enforcement procedure used to date.

“If it’s something minor, you would want to see that cleaned up relatively quickly,” Falatovich said of the proposed new enforcement process, which he said has worked in other municipalities that he serves. “If it’s a severe set of circumstances, (township code officials) don’t even have to use this. They can still go straight to the district judge.”

Falatovich noted it may take a month to schedule a hearing before the district judge in such cases. He said it’s not uncommon for offenders to become repeat violators, allowing property conditions to deteriorate once more after making improvements in response to a citation.

Klosky expressed surprise that Unity allows grass to reach a 10-inch height before taking action. He observed that many other municipalities set a maximum height of just 6 inches for grass.

Falatovich said the 10-inch height has been in force for at least five years in the township.

O’Barto noted the township has not cited many people for high grass. “When you live out in an agricultural area, it’s not like living next to a development,” he said. “We’d just like to see people who clean up their garbage keep it that way.”

O’Barto said he doesn’t want the enforcement process to unduly burden older residents. “There are many times when senior citizens do not have the means to clean up their properties in a relatively quick fashion,” he said.

He suggested periodically providing dumpsters in some communities to help owners clean up their properties.