Donora OKs ordinance to deal with portable storage containers

Donora council voted to create an ordinance dealing with portable storage containers due to recent issues.

According to council President Cindy Brice, the containers have become a problem throughout the borough.

“Well we had them up on the main street for months,” Brice said during a recent council meeting. “There was a pod on the street — it was there for months. When you came out you couldn’t see around the corner to make the bend, so it actually was a problem safety wise.”

The new ordinance will require residents to register the date of the proposed placement and the location of the container and the intended location with the borough code office.

Once the container unit is placed, it can only be there for up to 30 days. If the unit is still there, the person responsible can ask council for an extension. The ordinance states that no hazardous materials, flammable and biohazard substances are to be stored in the containers.

“PSCs shall be used for storage of household items relating to the premises on which the unit is located only. No storage of any commercial or business-related items is permitted,” reads the ordinance.

Council voted 6-0 with President Cindy Brice, Fred Berestecky, James Brice, Michael McDowell, DeAnne Pavelko and Casey Perrotta voting for the new update. Tommy Thompson recently resigned from his council seat.

“This is not to restrict you from using pods, or any pods, this is just to keep it from people putting it in the middle of the street and leaving it there for months. That is literally what happened this year,” Brice said.

The ordinance also requires PSC units to be placed on paved off-street surfaces or on a location that was approved by the borough’s code office. The placement of PSC’s must also adhere to building and fire code regulations.

The ordinance also adds that PSCs can’t have any advertising beyond the name of the company name on the container.

Places where PSC’s can’t be placed are:

• Setback areas

• Required open space

• Landscaped area

• Any sidewalk or trail

• Any location that blocks or interferes with any vehicular and/or pedestrian circulation “We don’t want a pod taking up a parking space on a residential street for more than 30 days, especially when it was placed on the corner of an intersection,” Perrota said.

Anyone who violates the ordinance will be charged a fine of $500 each day that it continues.