Upper Darby may dole out ‘quick tickets’ for overgrown grass, improper trash disposal, and other property violations

Upper Darby may soon hand out tickets for more than a dozen property maintenance and “quality of life violations,” including improper waste disposal, overgrown grass, and illegal dumpster placement.

Upper Darby’s council earlier this month advanced an ordinance that would allow the township’s licenses and inspections department to dole out “quick tickets” for 17 property-related violations. Tickets would range from $50 to $100 and would, according to officials, allow the township to enforce property-related infractions without engaging in a drawn-out compliance process each time.

“This is something that we really need. Our inspectors really need it,” Amrinder Singh, Upper Darby’s director of licenses and inspections, said at an Aug. 19 meeting.

Singh said the program would give inspectors “another practical tool to address routine violations more quickly and encourage prompt, corrective action” with the ultimate goal of “trying to change human behavior.”

Council voted to advertise an ordinance establishing the property maintenance quick ticket program and is set to vote on the ordinance on Sept. 2.

Upper Darby currently addresses property issues through a violation and compliance process, which Singh said can be lengthy and delay corrective action. Under the existing system, code enforcement officers conduct an inspection, either proactively or following complaints. If a violation is detected, the property owner receives written notice describing the infraction and required action with a deadline. After the compliance period, the property is reinspected, and, if the issue isn’t corrected, enforcement actions can be taken, including fines, citations, and criminal proceedings before a district judge.

Ultimately, Singh said, many property owners just ignore the citations.

The proposed program would send tickets straight to property owners after violations are documented, bypassing the existing, and sometimes protracted, process. Money collected through tickets would go into Upper Darby’s general fund. Property owners will be able to appeal tickets to the township, Singh said. The township’s existing violation process would still exist, Singh said, and would work in tandem with the quick tickets.

Norristown and Reading have implemented similar programs.

The township selected the 17 specific violations because they contribute to unsafe conditions, neighborhood blight, pests, and pedestrian obstructions, Singh said.

Upper Darby’s licenses and inspection department has received over 7,000 complaints this year, according to Singh, with around 40% being for grass and trash violations.

At recent council meetings, residents have complained of rat infestations and improper trash storage in their neighborhoods.

If passed by council, the quick ticket program ordinance would go into effect immediately, but fees and penalties wouldn’t be collected until Jan. 1. Singh said the four-month wind-up would allow the department to train inspectors, establish payment procedures, and engage in education and outreach with residents.

Council members at the Aug. 19 meeting seemed poised to approve the program. Council member Myron McNeely said it is “way overdue.”

Here’s a full list of the violations proposed for enforcement under the quick ticket program:

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