Millcreek, PA Property Maintenance: Property Blight (2026)
Key Facts
- Blight trigger
- Structure unsafe, unusable, fire hazard, or shelter for vermin, § 40-7G
- Fine for § 40-7G
- $600 to $1,000 per violation plus costs and attorney's fees
- Fine for junk accumulation, § 40-7F
- $250 to $500 plus costs and attorney's fees
- Township abatement
- Removal of nuisance or dangerous structure after notice, costs collected
- Weed limit
- Plant growth in excess of eight inches, Section 302.4
- Penalty type
- Summary offense; each day a separate offense
Summary
In Millcreek Township, Erie County, Pennsylvania, deterioration of a structure or property to a state where it is unsafe, unusable, a fire hazard or shelter for vermin is a declared nuisance under § 40-7G. The Township can abate or remove a dangerous structure after notice to the owner and collect the costs, and fines run $600 to $1,000 per violation.
F. The excessive or unreasonable accumulation of scrap, junk, trash, garbage, solid waste, recyclable materials, leaf waste, compost, humus or other material upon a premises causing odors, fumes or unsightly appearance to neighboring property owners; G. The deterioration of any structure or property to such a state where it becomes unsafe and/or is unusable for its intended purpose, and/or constitutes a fire hazard endangering surrounding structures, property or persons and/or provides shelter for rats or other wild animals or vermin, and/or creates a hazard to the health, welfare and/or safety of children or adults who reside, play or work thereabouts;
Full Breakdown
Section 40-7G of the Nuisance Ordinance (Chapter 40, Article II) declares a nuisance the deterioration of any structure or property to a state where it becomes unsafe or unusable for its intended purpose, constitutes a fire hazard endangering surrounding structures, property or persons, provides shelter for rats or other wild animals or vermin, or creates a hazard to the health, welfare or safety of children or adults who reside, play or work nearby. Section 40-7F separately covers the excessive or unreasonable accumulation of scrap, junk, trash, garbage, solid waste, recyclable materials, leaf waste, compost, humus or other material that causes odors, fumes or unsightly appearance to neighbors.
Section 40-6A makes it unlawful for any person to cause, commit, establish, allow or permit to exist a public nuisance within Millcreek Township. Section 40-6B authorizes the Township, through its duly authorized representatives, to abate and remove any nuisance or dangerous structure on public or private grounds after notice to the owner and, on the owner's default, to collect all costs of removal together with the penalty. Under § 40-9D the Township can act to abate before or independent of enforcement proceedings, and § 40-8B states that the Board of Supervisors waives none of its civil and equitable rights to abate a nuisance.
The Property Maintenance Code in Chapter 29, Part 5 works alongside it. Amended Section 302.4 requires premises and exterior property to be free of weeds and plant growth in excess of eight inches, and Section 308.1 requires all exterior property and premises to be free from any accumulation of municipal waste and recyclable materials. Amended Section 107.3 covers notices: if the property owner or an encumbrance holder cannot be found, a notice or order is served by posting a copy on the main entrance of the building and publishing it one time in two separate publications authorized to provide service by publication.
Violations & Fines
Under § 40-10D(2), a violation of § 40-7G carries a fine of not less than $600 and not more than $1,000 for each violation, plus costs and attorney's fees incurred by the Township. A violation of § 40-7F falls in § 40-10D(1): not less than $250 and not more than $500, plus costs and fees. Section 40-9B makes § 40-7G a summary criminal offense under Section 1601(c.1)(2) of the Second Class Township Code, and § 40-10B counts each day as a separate offense. Property Maintenance Code fines under Section 106.4 run $250 to $1,000.
Frequently Asked Questions
What makes a building a nuisance in Millcreek Township?
Can the Township remove a dangerous structure?
What if the owner cannot be found?
Who is cited when a tenant lives in a deteriorated property?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Millcreek
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