Charleroi to crack down on occupancy permits

By TAYLOR BROWN

tbrown@yourmvi.com

Charleroi wants to crack down on occupancy permits and home inspections.

Councilman Frank Paterra brought up the issue of stricter enforcement several weeks ago and was given the go ahead to move forward and coordinate a plan to help code enforcement.

Paterra brought up the issue a second time during a meeting Wednesday.

“I want people to understand what I am about to say could seem kind of frightening,” he said. “Could terrorists live in Charleroi?”

Paterra said as a member of the code committee, he thinks council should know who is living in the borough and who is moving in or out of the borough.

Currently, landlords are supposed to report when a tenant moves out of a home to council, so a home inspection can be done and a new occupancy permit can be issued for the resident moving in.

Paterra said enforcing those permits and inspections is a matter of safety, for other residents and for police.

“These have never been enforced, but it is there on the books,” he said. 

“We have some good landlords and we have others that slide through the cracks. We need to prioritize code, in reference to who is coming in, who is leaving and who is living in Charleroi because we could have terrorists in our town.”

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