Local Municipality "Codes" and "Ordinaces"

[Penguini66]

In researching a potential real estate investment, I was reading some of the code in the municipality. I came accross this statement regarding "Weapons".

§ 286-1. Discharge of deadly weapons prohibited; exceptions.

It shall be unlawful for any person or persons to discharge any gun or firearm, bow and arrow, flobert rifle, air gun, spring gun or other deadly weapon, except in defense of person or property, or while engaged in lawful hunting, within the limits of Swatara Township.

§ 286-2. Hunting on private property without permission of owner prohibited.

It shall be unlawful for any person or persons to trespass or hunt for, shoot at, chase, catch, or kill, or attempt to shoot at, chase, catch, or kill, with or without dogs, any game on private property without first securing the specific advance permission of the property owner or tenant thereof.

§ 286-3. Hunting within safety zone prohibited.

It shall be unlawful for any person or persons to hunt for, shoot at, chase, catch, or kill or attempt to shoot at, chase, catch, or kill, with or without dogs, any game, or to shoot or discharge any firearm or other deadly weapon within 150 yards of any occupied dwelling house, residence, or other building or camp occupied by human beings, or any barn, stable, or other building used in connection therewith, the area within said distance being hereby defined as a "safety zone," without first securing the specific advance permission of the property owner or tenant thereof.

§ 286-4. Target shooting restrictions.

It shall be unlawful for any person or persons to engage in any form of target shooting with any firearm, bow and arrow, flobert rifle, air gun, spring gun, or other deadly weapon, except at designated times and in areas designated and approved by the Swatara Township Board of Commissioners.

§ 286-5. Loaded weapons in vehicles on or along highways prohibited.

Except as otherwise provided by law, it is unlawful for any person or persons to have in his or their possession a loaded revolver, rifle or shotgun from which the magazine or shells and cartridges have not been removed, in or on any vehicle or conveyance, or its attachments, while standing upon or along, or being driven upon or along any public highway or a highway open to use or used by the public within Swatara Township. The provisions of this section shall not be construed to apply to a public officer engaged in the performance of his official duty.

§ 286-6. Violations and penalties. [Amended 4-14-1976 by Ord. No. 1976-14; 4-11-1990 by Ord. No. 1990-1]

Any person who shall violate any provisions of this chapter shall, upon conviction thereof, be sentenced to pay a fine of not less than $30 nor more than $600 and costs of prosecution, or, in default of payment of such fine and costs, to undergo imprisonment for not more than 30 days. Every day that a violation of this chapter continues shall constitute a separate offense.

Thought it interesting. What's that code actually good for? Nothing at all right?

(I also found it interesting that there is a curfew for minors. 10:00PM for 13 or younger. 11:PM for 14-17 year olds. I didn't actually know curfews existed.)

And noteworthy is this little tidbit (topic came from another thread):

§ 104-6. Threatening dogs. Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).

Dogs that, in the opinion of any police officer or dog warden, constitute a threat to public health and welfare may be killed by the police, dog warden, an employee of the Department of Agriculture, or an animal control officer (3 P.S. § 459-302).

I'd like to know and understand the procedure one has to go through to forum an opinion that a dog is threatening. Our dog is threatening. That's why we have him. He guards our house. But I guess that's a whole nother topic.

Anything interesting in your municipality?: http://www.generalcode.com/webcode2.html#penn
Not all municipalitys are listed there but I thought it might be interesting or useful for somebody someday.

[LastManOut]

I would go to the next township supervisor's meeting and address with the board. It should be an interesting meeting.

[P89]

The next step is to read the Comprehensive Plan that supports the Zoning Ordinance. Every Municipality has one, that may give you some more insight, they are all different but it does not superceed State Laws.

[chesire17201]

apparently all I need to do is get me a permit from the cheif and I can take care of my pests......kool link...rep pts for you....




[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Town Council of the Borough of Chambersburg 11-22-1978 by Ord. No. 78-32. Amendments noted where applicable.]

§ 147-1. Permission required to discharge firearm.

No person shall, except in necessary defense of person or property, fire or discharge any gun or other firearm within the Borough of Chambersburg, unless granted advance permission in writing by the Chief of Police, as hereinafter provided.

§ 147-2. Issuance of permits.

The Chief of Police or other members of the police force designated by him may grant permission in writing to permit persons to discharge a gun or other firearm within the Borough of Chambersburg for the purpose of shooting or frightening birds which have become nuisances, rats, or other animal pests, or for the purpose of maintaining a shooting range for target practice, or for participating in public events where firing or discharging a gun or other firearm may be appropriate, all of which permits shall be subject to such conditions and restrictions as may be indicated in the written permission granted, and to fire or discharge a gun or other firearm in violation of any such conditions or restrictions shall be a violation of this chapter. All such permits may be revoked by the Chief of Police.
§ 147-3. Exceptions.

The provisions of this chapter shall not apply to members of federal, state or local law enforcement agencies, when engaged in the performance of their duties within the Borough of Chambersburg, nor to the use of starter pistols for the purpose of starting or officiating at athletic events, use in dramatic productions, or other similar events.

§ 147-4. Applicability of state regulations.

In the event that any of the provisions of this chapter are in conflict with any laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania dealing with the use of firearms while hunting, then the provisions of this chapter shall not apply and the provisions of the state law shall prevail.

§ 147-5. Violations and penalties.

Any person violating any of the provisions of this chapter shall, upon conviction thereof, be sentenced to pay a fine of $75 and costs of prosecution or undergo imprisonment not to exceed 30 days.

[God's Country]

I'm sure this is not an uncommon situation. Most municipalities have board members that have little to knowledge of law. I would think before such laws could be enacted they would need to vetted by the county, township, or Borough solicitor, but who knows. I wouldn't be surprised to find that many of these laws preexist the UFA. It would be quite interesting to attend a board meeting where the legality of them is brought to light. All the gasps from those attending to discover someone could posses a firearm.

[P89]

I would think before such laws could be enacted they would need to vetted by the county, township, or Borough solicitor, but who knows.

Your thought is correct, before it goes into the Ordinance it must first be reviewed by the Township or Borough Soliciter then voted on by Council. Zoing Ordinances are usually updated every 10 years or so, depending on what has occured in that time period like the adoption of IBC codes or such. I have seen small municipalities that have not updated their ordinances since the late 80's. These towns usually have less than 500 people and not much infastructure to concern themselves with. Bigger towns or cities updated them annually either by rewriting the whole deal or by addendum.

[Statkowski]

Agreed that township or borough ordinances should be reviewed by their respective solicitor, but that doesn't guarantee that said solicitor is knowledgeable of the Uniform Firearms Act (UFA). Nothing against my borough's solicitor, and I'm sure he's more than up to speed on contract law and other borough-related issues, but, based on my proposed home defense ordinance November a year ago, he does not give me warm fuzzies regarding his knowledge of the UFA.

We, PAFOA members, are probably more knowledgeable than most township supervisors and borough councilmembers when it comes to firearms. And, our police chiefs? They only view the issue from one of people control.

We must all remain vigilant, research our local ordinances, and point out the errors in law at township/borough meetings. Remember, we have the power.

[LastManOut]

Agreed that township or borough ordinances should be reviewed by their respective solicitor, but that doesn't guarantee that said solicitor is knowledgeable of the Uniform Firearms Act (UFA). Nothing against my borough's solicitor, and I'm sure he's more than up to speed on contract law and other borough-related issues, but, based on my proposed home defense ordinance November a year ago, he does not give me warm fuzzies regarding his knowledge of the UFA.

We, PAFOA members, are probably more knowledgeable than most township supervisors and borough councilmembers when it comes to firearms. And, our police chiefs? They only view the issue from one of people control.

We must all remain vigilant, research our local ordinances, and point out the errors in law at township/borough meetings. Remember, we have the power.

This is 100% accurate. That is why, as I suggested earlier, we MUST be active in our local/municipal governments. This is the level where we have the most power as citizens.

I am sure there are enough legal-eagles here that could advise anyone with an archaic local ordinance, how best to proceed to effect a change towards freedom.

Don't sit on your duff on township meeting night to see who wins Survivor. I am on the Zoning Board in my municipality and I can tell you almost no-one shows up, unless they have an appeal before us. SWame goes for the Supervisor's meeting and the Planning Commission. It only takes a small handfull of people to get things done at this level.

[ANTHONY03]

Many towns (including mine) post their ordinances on this site:

http://www.e-codes.generalcode.com/globalsearch.asp

You can do a "root word" search on firearms or guns and it will return the chapters pertaining to that- just click on "Matches Found in ### number of chapters

[Statkowski]

Thanks for the e-codes link. I think it's a fantastic tool. Recommend looking in the borough's Parks & Recreation section first. Rummaging through it I found a nearby borough (Ebensburg, Cambria County), and sent the following to them via U.S. Postal Service (far more impact than an e-mail):

Dear President Nesbella,

From your Borough Code, posted on-line, specifically Chapter 16 (Parks and Recreation), Part 1 (Regulation for Use of Parks and Recreational Areas), Section 16-103 (Prohibited Conduct), the following subsections are found:

I. Carry or discharge any firearms, slingshots, firecrackers, fireworks or other missile propelling instruments or explosives or arrows, or other dangerous weapons which have such properties as to cause annoyance or injury to any person or property, unless permission has been granted by the borough council in designated areas; police officers in the performance of their duties will be exempt from these provisions. (Ord. 494, 11/27/2000) [Emphasis added]

R. Hunt for, capture or kill, or attempt to capture or kill, or aid or assist in the capturing or killing of, in any manner, any wild bird or wild animal of any description, either game or otherwise, and to that end, it is unlawful for any person to carry onto or possess in any park, a shotgun or rifle or pistol or firearm of any make or kind unless specific permission is granted for a designated area by authority of the borough council. (Ord. 494, 11/27/2000) [Emphasis added]

Perhaps your borough’s solicitor overlooked this or was unfamiliar with the law governing such, but the emphasized selections are in violation of the Commonwealth’s Uniform Firearms Act (1995), which reads as follows:

18 Pa. C.S. §6120. Limitation on the Regulation of Firearms and Ammunition.

(a) General rule. No county, municipality or township may in any manner regulate the lawful ownership, possession, transfer or transportation of firearms, ammunition or ammuni­tion components when carried or transported for purposes not prohibited by the laws of this commonwealth. [Emphasis added]

What does this mean? Well, the emphasized portions of Ordinance 494 are unenforceable, and are null and void since they’ve exceeded the authority of the borough council. Additionally, should a borough police officer “enforce” such ordinance, wrongful arrest and abuse of office charges could be laid on the officer, the police department and the borough – not an inexpensive proposition for the borough.

As one Borough Council President to another, I recommend you take the necessary steps to remove the offending portions in order to protect the Borough of Ebensburg from any adverse actions.

Most respectfully yours,