April 2018 Salisbury Township News
REAL ESTATE NEWS
As of January 1, 2018, Salisbury Township has ELIMINATED the municipal real estate tax. If you have any questions about your County real estate tax, please contact 717-299-8222. The Township will strive to keep this tax from being reinstated. A way that we are able to do this is that we have developed our programs and services so that they are user based. For example, if you are applying for a permit for your property, you will pay the cost associated with processing your permit, which makes the program self-sustaining. The Township strives to operate as efficiently and effectively as possible, while still providing the necessary services to our residents and performing state and federal mandates that we are required to enforce.
RECYCLING NEWS
All residents that live in Salisbury Township are required to recycle the following items: glass, aluminum, steel cans, plastic, newsprint, yard waste, tires and white goods. Salisbury Township will provide a recycling bin, free of charge, in which you are able to recycle glass, aluminum, steel cans, plastic and newsprint. The bin is then placed at the curb on the day that is designated by your trash hauler.
Commercial and industrial properties are required to recycle glass, aluminum, steel, plastic, yard waste, high grade office paper, corrugated cardboard, tires and white goods. Weights must be reported to the township annually, normally in February of each year. Please maintain weight tickets/receipts in order to validate this information.
Salisbury Township has a yard waste recycling center at the township building. All residents may apply to the township to receive a free access code so that the site can be accessed by the residents 24/7. Please complete the form on the website or stop by the office to apply for the access code. The items that are accepted at the site are leaves, branches, tree trimmings, shrubbery, garden residue etc. We are NOT able to accept grass clippings. Once the materials are dropped off at the site, Salisbury Township processes the material into mulch. The mulch is then donated to the fire companies, who sell the mulch as a fundraiser for the volunteer fire departments.
Since Salisbury Township is mandated to recycle the above listed materials, these items MAY NOT BE BURNED. The only items that are permitted to be burned in Salisbury Township are household paper items.
ON-LOT SEWAGE DISPOSAL SYSTEM (OLDS) PUMPING REQUIREMENTS
Beginning in 2011, notices were mailed to all residents that have an OLDS (septic system, sand mound, holding tank, etc.), stating that all systems must be pumped and reported to the township at least once every 3 years. This requirement is not a township requirement, but a State-mandated requirement that the township must enforce. Salisbury Township designed this program that, as long as the property owner handles this responsibility on their own, there will be no fee to the owner to administer this program. If the owner fails to have the system pumped every 3 years, and the Township needs to send out a reminder notice, there will be a $30 fee for the first notice and a $90 fee for the second notice. Some of the pumpers will mail out a reminder card or put residents on a 3 year pumping schedule, but we still recommend property owners to track this information themselves, in order to make sure their properties are maintained on a regular schedule, as it is ultimately the owners’ responsibility.
ZONING/BUILDING PERMITS
Permits are required for the construction/installation of any structure, whether it is affixed to the land or not. Alterations to existing structures that increase the dimensions of or alter the interior of that structure in many cases also require a permit. Should a permit be required, it must be obtained prior to any proposed improvements occurring. The following are a few examples of items that require permits:
Sheds/Barns/Garages
Decks
Swimming Pools (≥ 24-inches depth)
Signs
Increasing building/living space by:
Constructing additions
Finishing a basement or other space
Alterations:
Moving/Demolishing walls
Modifications to structure and egress components
Additions to and/or relocation of electrical, plumbing and HVAC systems
These are only a few examples of when a permit is required and there are variations in how and what types of permits are required. It is always best if there are questions to contact the Zoning Office. Please note that if a permit is required and subject to the PA Uniform Construction Code (UCC), smoke and carbon monoxide detectors must be installed in a manner acceptable to the UCC.
STORMWATER MANAGEMENT
Stormwater Management has now become a term familiar with anyone proposing improvements to a property. Under federal and state mandates, municipalities have been required to update their stormwater management ordinances to comply with requirements promulgated under the federal Clean Water Act and Pennsylvania Storm Water Management Act. As such, in June of 2014, the Board of Supervisors adopted a new SWM Ordinance which now complies with these requirements.
Past regulations dealt more with the volume of water captured and the speed at which it was released. Today’s regulations have added a stormwater quality component. This means that not only is stormwater detained, but a portion of that is held to allow percolation back into the ground. Besides recharging the water table, this reduces the amount of sediment and nutrient laden runoff that reaches our surface waters. In Pennsylvania today, non-point source runoff from rain and snow is the second largest contributor to the impairment of the streams, creeks and rivers. This runoff carries sediment from construction activities and farming, fertilizers, pesticides and other contaminants.
Salisbury Township now has a limitation on the amount of impervious coverage that can be added to a property before some sort of stormwater control must be initiated. Information packets can be picked up at the office or online at (www.salisburytownship.org).
April 2018 Salisbury Township News