Millcreek, PA Property Maintenance: Vacant Lot Maintenance (2026)

Millcreek Township's vacant lot dumping rule is in Chapter 110, Solid Waste and Recycling, § 110-4B(1). It sits in the list of general prohibitions that the Township declares unlawful, and it names vacant lots alongside streets, highways, homes and any land publicly or privately owned. The only exception is where the chapter or other laws expressly permit the deposit. Section 110-4A applies the chapter's requirements to all properties in Millcreek Township and to their owners, residents, tenants and occupants, along with managers and agents.

Weeds are handled in a different place. The Property Maintenance Code, as amended in § 29-78T, requires all premises and exterior property to be free from weeds and plant growth in excess of eight inches and prohibits noxious weeds. Its text covers all premises and exterior property, and the only exclusions are trees, shrubs, and cultivated flowers and gardens. The fine runs from $300 to $1,000, and if the owner fails to cut after notice, a Township employee or contractor can enter, cut and destroy the weeds, with the cost paid by the owner or agent responsible.

Enforcement of the dumping rule follows § 110-16. The Board of Supervisors, the Police Department and code enforcement personnel authorized by the Board can investigate alleged violations, issue enforcement notices, impose administrative fines and commence civil actions, and they can issue cease-and-desist orders. Violations that the chapter or Chapter 40, Article II (Nuisances) declares to be nuisances can be enforced under either ordinance, and the Board can abate the nuisance and recover its costs from the responsible party.

The procedure is in § 110-17C. A written enforcement notice comes first, directing the violator to take the action the Township determines necessary. If the violation is not remedied within the time allowed, the Township commences a civil enforcement action in the office of the District Magisterial Judge having jurisdiction. A judgment includes the prescribed fine, court costs and all attorney's fees the Township incurs (§ 110-17E).