Court Opinion

ID: 9751142
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-28 16:08:34.879897+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:26:36.444579
License: Public Domain

CONCURRING AND DISSENTING OPINION BY
Judge COHN.
I respectfully concur in part and dissent in part from the majority opinion.
I agree with the majority’s thorough analysis and holding that the Borough’s Code Enforcement Officer was authorized to institute summary criminal proceedings for a violation of a municipal ordinance. However, I do not agree with the majority’s conclusion that the trial court erred in finding Property Owner guilty of violating Borough Ordinance No. 339, specifically, Section 2905.2 of the BOCA Code.
Section 2905.2 sets out the requirement for building owners: Required Capacity: Where the required capacity of potable water supply is available from public water mains at the site, every building *1279or structure shall be supplied from such mains to provide for all service equipment.
(Emphasis added.) The majority interprets Section 2905.2 to “provide that where there is a public water supply, a connection has to be made to that system and water from other sources cannot be provided.” (Opinion, p. 9.) Thus, the majority finds the fact that Property Owner’s building is connected to the public water supply, even though the connection is devoid of water, is sufficient to satisfy the requirements of the Borough Ordinance. However, I believe the majority’s interpretation undercuts the meaning of the phrase “shall be supplied” in Section 2905.2.
When interpreting the meaning of municipal ordinances, we are to follow the principals of statutory construction. Borough of Fleetwood v. Zoning Hearing Board, 538 Pa. 586, 649 A.2d 651 (1994). Words and phrases in an ordinance are to be construed in accordance with their common and accepted usage. 1 Pa.C.S. § 1903. The word “shall” has ordinarily been interpreted as being mandatory and not discretionary. Roush v. Department of Transportation, 690 A.2d 1278, 1282 (Pa.Cmwlth.1997). “Supply” is not defined in the ordinance, but is defined in Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, 1180 (10th ed.2001), in pertinent part as meaning, “to provide for”; “to make available for use.” Thus, the fact that Property Owner’s building is connected to the Borough water supply is not sufficient to comply with these common definitions; public water must actually flow through the connection onto the property and into the building for it to be provided or made available for use. There is no supply of public water where the water has been turned off for non-payment.
Consequently, I believe that the trial court was correct in its determination that Property Owner was guilty of violating Section 2905.2 of the Borough Ordinance, because it was Property Owner’s action in failing to pay his water bill that prevented the supply of public water onto the property in question.