Code Enforcement / Ordinances

One of the many basic services Blair Township provides is to ensure that our neighborhoods are orderly, clean, and free of public nuisances. For those purposes, the Township has adopted various laws and policies that promote appropriate and compatible land uses in our neighborhoods, and promote orderly and desirable development over time.

Laws have been established that regulate nuisances within the Township, such as unsafe buildings, junk and abandoned vehicles, accumulations of objectionable material, and yards that are not maintained.

Having those regulations, however, is not enough unless they are effectively enforced. By enforcing these regulations, the Code Enforcement Officer promotes and protects the public health, safety and welfare. In Blair Township, Code Enforcement is based on six distinct and important items:

> Whenever possible work to achieve compliance without the need for formal enforcement proceedings
> Prioritize needs and focus on improving quality
> Work to inform involved parties rather than process a large number of complaints quickly, with little or no personal contact
> Ensure open and effective communication with the public and other departments
> Work to educate the general public about the role of code enforcement and ordinance requirements
> Take the time necessary to conduct general surveillance of the Township, as well as review ordinance and develop project and initiatives, that will address areas of concern

Remember, the Blair Township Police Department is here to help. Working together will prevent blight in our neighborhoods and throughout the Township, and further influence and enhance the quality of life in our Township. You can reach the Police Department at 814-696-3846 or email at [email protected].

Persons of firms planning to conduct a direct sales, door-to-door business in the Township of Blair, shall make official application to do so when such business transaction shall be considered as soliciting of orders, vending, or peddling. Click on the link to view Blair Township’s Solicitor and Peddler License Permit.

SOLICITOR & PEDDLER LICENSE PERMIT >>

On May 8, 2018, the Blair Township Board of Supervisors adopted Ordinance 2018-01, Code of the Township of Blair. This Code effectively codified all relevant ordinances adopted by the Township from its earliest beginnings, now presented as one document. The Code is highly-indexed, cross-referenced and, via its online version, easily searched by specific subject matter.

To proceed with accessing the Code, use the link as follows: https://www.ecode360.com/BL3608.

Storm Water Management

What is Stormwater?:
Rain or snow that falls either soaks into the ground to become groundwater, evaporates, is used to help plants grow, or flows off over the land surface. The overland flow is called runoff or stormwater. This water eventually flows into streams, rivers, or lakes.

As stormwater flows over the land it washes along or dissolves some of the materials in its path. Vegetation growing on surfaces can slow the flow down, filter out sediments, and can break down or trap pollutants in the root zone. If there is no vegetation where the stormwater must flow, such as where there are buildings, pavement covered roads, parking areas, and walkways, the volume and speed of stormwater runoff increases since the stormwater cannot soak in. When there are no plants that need the water to grow, the hard surfaces present little resistance to flow. This is why stormwater must be managed when we develop the surface of the land.

Stormwater Management:
To prevent flooding and protect property in developed areas, stormwater drainage systems are used to collect stormwater runoff and carry it away from roadways and structures to a discharge point. Stormwater drainage systems consist of curbs, gutters, storm drains, channels, ditches, pipes, and culverts. These types of systems do not treat stormwater. Most of these discharge directly into streams, rivers, and lakes.

Issues With Stormwater:
Stormwater becomes a transportation system for pollutants. Soil that erodes from a construction site, cigarette butts and other litter from parking lots, antifreeze and oil dripped from cars, fertilizers and pesticides from turf management, and grit and salt left from de-icing operations on roadways can be deposited untreated into our waterways. Water can contain and transport sediments, metals (such as copper, cadmium, chromium, lead, and zinc), nutrients (such as nitrates, phosphates, and ammonia), salt, petroleum products and coliform bacteria among other materials. This is why stormwater is such a significant contributor to water pollution. Polluted stormwater runoff that discharges in urbanized areas cause serious water-quality problems. Polluted stormwater runoff that discharges in urbanized areas can cause serious water-quality problems. Polluted runoff to waterbodies can affect aquatic plant and animal life in streams and lakes, reduce recreational activities such as boating and swimming, and increase flooding conditions.

What Blair Township Is Doing:
To comply with Federal and State stormwater permit requirements, Blair Township must not only manage stormwater by collecting and conveying away from roads and buildings, but now must also reduce the amount of pollution that reaches the streams and rivers in the Township and find ways to manage the additional volume of runoff that results when surfaces are changed from vegetation to pavement. New stormwater management techniques involve creating more natural facilities to handle the runoff. These stormwater best management practices that are planted with native vegetation, like rain gardens and swales, mimic the way nature dealt with stormwater before human development of land surfaces.

What You Can Do:
Even homeowners can do things at their home and property to manage stormwater. By installing a rain barrel to collect roof water, planting a rain garden, or even by not cutting your lawn so short, you can help manage the stormwater that runs off your property. For more information about what government, businesses, and homeowners in Blair County can do to manage stormwater, please visit the Blair County Water website.

Homeowners Guide to Stormwater BMP Maintenance

VISIT WEBSITE >>

Marshland