City Code, ExplainedBetaPardon our dust while we build this out — expect some changes along the way.

This chapter sets up a city system for recording property ownership records and establishes rules for public access to and use of city-owned (governmental) property.

Who this affects

Property owners and the Sheriff of Schuylkill County, who must present deeds from judicial sales for registration with the City Engineer; and any resident using city-owned property, buildings, or facilities, who must follow posted access rules set by City Council or the Director of Parks and Public Property.

Key rules

• The City Engineer is responsible for registering real estate in the city and maintaining books, maps, and plans showing each property's location, dimensions, city number, and chain of ownership.
• The City Engineer has free access to public records needed to complete these records and may search other sources for evidence of title.
• Certified copies of registration entries are admissible as evidence and cost five dollars ($5.) per certificate.
• The Sheriff of Schuylkill County must present for registry the deeds of city properties sold at judicial sales, whether by execution, in partition, or otherwise.
• City Council may regulate public access to and use of governmental property by resolution, including designating hours of access and other rules.
• The Director of Parks and Public Property may set or change access times and rules where Council has not already done so, or change Council's rules, but generally may not alter Council-established times or rules within thirty (30) days of Council's action except in an emergency.
• Any regulation or change made by the Director must be posted via signs erected on the property.
• Director-issued regulations take effect once signs are posted and remain in effect until the next regular Council meeting, where the Director must report on them; absent further Council action, the regulation is deemed ratified.
• Prosecution under 18 Pa.C.S.A. § 3503 of the Pennsylvania Crimes Code may be pursued instead of prosecution under this chapter's penalty section, where appropriate.

Penalties

Violations of the real estate registration article (Article I) carry a fine of not more than six hundred dollars ($600.), with imprisonment of not more than ninety (90) days if the fine and costs go unpaid. Violations of the governmental property access rules (Article II) carry a fine of not less than fifteen dollars ($15.) nor more than six hundred dollars ($600.) plus costs of prosecution, with imprisonment not exceeding ninety (90) days in default of payment.

Notable and archaic details

• The certified-copy fee for property registration records has remained set at five dollars ($5.) since at least the 1966 code, with no indication of adjustment.
• The chapter explicitly preserves the city's ability to pursue municipal or tax claims even if a claim isn't assessed or levied against the officially registered owner.