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

This chapter creates and governs the City's boards, bureaus and commissions: the Bureau of Police, Bureau of Fire, Recreation Commission, Bureau of Community and Economic Development, Planning Commission, Historical Architectural Review Board, Garfield Square Monument Committee, and Blighted Property Review Committee.

Who this affects

City employees in the police and fire bureaus, volunteer fire company members, appointees to the various commissions and boards, and any resident or property owner seeking a building permit for work within the Historic Pottsville district.

Key rules

• The Bureau of Police is under the direction, supervision and control of the Mayor, and consists of a Chief of Police, two Captains, and not more than 30 patrolmen (with limits on how many may be Sergeants, Corporals, or patrolmen detectives).
• Sergeants and Corporals must have "achieved those respective ranks in accordance with competitive testing procedures adopted and administered by the Civil Service Board."
• Police paid holidays, uniform allowances, and residency requirements are set by the current collective bargaining agreement.
• The Bureau of Fire is composed of a full-time Fire Chief, seven part-time Assistant Fire Chiefs, Duty Officers, and the City's volunteer fire companies; the Fire Chief and Assistant Fire Chiefs are nominated by the volunteer fire companies' Board of Trustees and confirmed by majority vote of Council.
• The Fire Chief serves a four-year term; Assistant Fire Chiefs serve two-year terms (Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, as of 2019 onward).
• The Recreation Commission has nine members: seven appointed by the Mayor with Council approval, two appointed by the Pottsville Area School District Board; all members must obtain a PA Child Abuse History Clearance, a PA State Police Criminal History Check, and an FBI Criminal History Record Information Check (fingerprints) before serving. Members serve five-year terms.
• The Bureau of Community and Economic Development is headed by a Director appointed by the Mayor with advice and consent of Council, and plans/administers federal, state and other financial assistance programs; the Mayor must submit quarterly reports to Council on community development project status.
• The Planning Commission has seven members, all City citizens, serving staggered four-year terms.
• No building permit for erection, reconstruction, alteration, restoration, demolition or razing within the Historic Pottsville district may be issued until City Council issues a certificate of appropriateness, based on written counsel from the Historical Architectural Review Board.
• The Historical Architectural Review Board has seven members appointed by Council, required to include a registered architect, a licensed real estate broker, and the Deputy Code Enforcement Officer.
• In reviewing historic-district applications, the Board and Council must consider the proposed change's effect on the district's historic and architectural character, the appropriateness of exterior features visible from a public street, and the design, arrangement, texture, material and color relative to nearby buildings.
• Council must render its decision on a certificate of appropriateness "no later than 30 days of the receipt of the written recommendations" of the Board.
• The Garfield Square Monument Committee has five members, four-year terms coinciding with the Mayor's term, and must include the Mayor, the Director of Parks and Public Property, and an active member of the Pottsville Joint Veterans Association.
• The Blighted Property Review Committee, created under the state Urban Redevelopment Law, has five members appointed by Council, required to include one Council member, one Redevelopment Authority member, and one Planning Commission member, plus two additional resident members, serving staggered five-year terms.

Penalties

The chapter does not state fines or criminal penalties. It does authorize the Building Inspector to "institute any proceedings at law or in equity necessary for the enforcement of this article" regarding the historic district, in the same manner as enforcement of the City's Building Code. It also states that any unauthorized change to the Official Historic Pottsville Map "shall be considered a violation of this article."

Notable and archaic details

• Article VI includes a highly detailed, street-by-street metes-and-bounds description of the Historic Pottsville district boundaries, referencing specific buildings such as the Reading Freight Station (built 1851) and named properties like 541 and 571 South Centre Street.
• The amendment citation for § 9-47 reads "[Amended 1-27-2026 by Ord. No. 938eels ]" — an apparent typo or stray text in the source amendment history.
• Recreation Commission members must undergo state and federal criminal background checks, including fingerprinting, before serving — a requirement not applied to any other board or commission in this chapter.