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Lehigh Township debates adopting Property Maintenance Code; board weighs outreach versus enforcement
Summary
Supervisors and residents disagreed over whether to adopt the International Property Maintenance Code after a recent EMS call revealed dangerously dilapidated housing; some urged a formal code and enforcement, others warned the measure could be weaponized and recommended an outreach program and targeted emergency rules instead.
The Lehigh Township Board of Supervisors spent the bulk of its Feb. 10 meeting debating whether to adopt the International Property Maintenance Code after an EMS call to a severely deteriorated home prompted calls for stronger life‑safety authority.
Supervisor Janet Sheats described the condition of the dwelling that prompted the discussion, saying responders had to lay plywood inside to reach a patient and that the home lacked heat and had snow inside because of holes in the roof. She said those conditions are a life‑safety issue for residents and first responders and urged the board to consider a Property Maintenance Code.
Zoning Officer Roxann Colfer outlined what a…
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