Bristol Township, PA Code Violation Reporting: Response Times (2026)

Chapter 134 of the Bristol Township Code is the nuisance chapter, adopted by the Board of Commissioners, now Township Council, on 9-18-1985 by Ord. No. 1103. The enforcement timeline starts when a nuisance is found to exist within the Township or within its extraterritorial jurisdiction. Under § 134-4 the Managing Director or another duly designated officer of the Township gives written notice to the owner or occupant of the property, or to the person causing or maintaining the nuisance. Section 134-6 provides that the notice is served as any other legal process may be served pursuant to law.

Section 134-5 fixes what the notice contains. It must order abatement within a stated time that is reasonable under the circumstances but not less than 10 days, or alternatively let the recipient request a hearing to contest the notice within 10 days after receipt. It must give the location if the nuisance is stationary, describe what constitutes the nuisance, and state the acts necessary to abate it. It must also warn that if the nuisance is not abated within 10 days of receipt, a citation will be issued through the office of the District Justice.

The clock continues after judgment. Section 134-7 requires the nuisance to be abated within 30 days from the date of the District Justice's judgment. Under § 134-8, if the nuisance has not been abated 30 days after the finding, the Township sends a notice of intent to abate and then proceeds itself. If the Township official cannot gain access, an application for an administrative search warrant goes to a judge of the Magisterial District Court after approval by the Township Solicitor, and the warrant must be executed and returned within the time stated in it, not to exceed 30 days, or within 15 days of issuance if no period is stated. One enumerated nuisance carries its own short clock: pits or excavations left exposed for 24 hours or longer under § 134-2(E). The chapter prints no deadline for the Township to answer a complaint; every printed deadline runs against the property owner.