PETERSBURG – At its Aug. 13 meeting, Upper Township Committee unanimously passed an ordinance on property maintenance. It gives the municipality the right to enter properties where there is probable cause or suspicion of building and housing code violations.
During public comments related to consideration of the ordinance, several residents explained their reservations that the measure was “not respectful of private property,” did not provide property owners “the right to be left alone,” and that enforcement of the ordinance “allowed Upper to use its own discretion regarding violations.”
Solicitor Daniel Young explained that the core provisions of the ordinance had been on the books in Upper since 1986 and that the updated version followed revised national building standards as well as state law.
