Upper Darby launches effort to spruce up its streets
UPPER DARBY » Upper Darby has rolled out a beautification program meant to clean up neighborhoods and to ease the job of public works and public safety employees.
“The mayor ran because she wants to improve the day to day life of people in Upper Darby,” Upper Darby Chief Administrative Officer Vincent Rongione said, adding that these laws had already been on the books.
The difference, Mayor Barbarann Keffer explained, is that violations to these code standards will result in a warning, then followed by a citation 48 hours later, a move meant to streamline the process and free up the court system.
“It’s not meant to bang people right away or to be punitive,” she said. “These are all public safety and public health issues. It’s meant to get the most people, most quickly into compliance.”
Rongione added, “This system tries to keep the court out of it and get the issue addressed more quickly.”
In a message sent to residents via Delco Alert, township officials explained that this Property Maintenance Code Ordinance centralized existing codes into one.
“As with any new program, there will be growing pains and we are evaluating this program on a daily basis to make any necessary adjustments and improve as we go along,” the message said. “To be clear, the goal of the program is to improve our daily quality of life in Upper Darby by adhering to our already-existing codes.”
The program has four major points to it: Grass should not be too high and shrubbery should not extend over the right-of-way; discarded mattresses should be wrapped in bags; house numbers should be visible in the front of the house, and in the back if there is a shared driveway; and trash should be contained in trash cans.
In the first message the mayor sent, she said trash cans should have lids. A visit to a local big box hardware store the weekend after that announcement found lidded trash cans in very short supply.
Since then, and after various comments on social media, the emphasis is on having the trash be placed in a trash can, lidded or not - just in the trash can, to make it easier and safer for sanitation crews to do their jobs.
“In general, the lids are to keep the rain out and to keep the rodents out,” the mayor said. “Nobody is getting a ticket for not having a lid on the trash lid.”
The concern with uncovered mattresses is bed bugs, Keffer explained.
She also addressed the procedures with violations.
The township has been divided into 15 regions, not based on political wards, she said. Each month, Public Works and Licensing & Inspection staff will be evaluating properties in a particular zone. If a property is not in compliance, the owner will receive a warning and will have 48 hours to come into compliance. Then, if the violation remains, the owner will receive a $25 citation for each item not in compliance.
The mayor explained that the notices have a telephone number on them so that residents who may have difficulty with the 48-hour deadline can call to work out a schedule with the appropriate department.
“This is going to be a way for us to get a better understanding of our community, too,” she said. “We want people to stay in their homes and enjoy it.”
Both the mayor and the CAO said this effort is part of a larger effort, including the township working on its own infrastructure, repairing old sewer inlets and manhole covers. In the last few months, the Public Works Department purchased a power washer and has been using it on the township’s main corridors to clean the sidewalks.
“If people see us taking care of our property and our infrastructure, they’ll take care of theirs,” Rongione said.
Keffer agreed, “This is a beautiful community, very diverse, very crowded. We just want to start by leading by example.”
The mayor explained that the beautification program will have impact in the short term “but the long term, it’s going to be a great thing. Upper Darby is going to look a lot different a year from now. This’ll create a virtual cycle of pride in Upper Darby. We care about every neighborhood.”