[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Commissioners
of the Township of Springfield 6-8-2004 by Ord. No. 1418; amended
in its entirety 12-12-2006 by Ord. No. 1455. Subsequent amendments
noted where applicable.]
This municipality hereby elects to administer
and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act,
Act 45 of 1999, 35 P.S. §§ 7210.101 through 7210.1103,
as amended from time to time, and its regulations.
The Uniform Construction Code, contained in
34 Pa. Code, Chapters 401 through 405, as amended from time to time,
is hereby adopted and incorporated herein by reference as the municipal
building code of this municipality.
This adoption shall include all the codes and
their appendices specifically incorporated by reference in the Uniform
Construction Code.
Administration and enforcement of the code within
this municipality shall be undertaken in any of the following ways
as determined by the governing body of this municipality by resolution:
A.
By the designation of an employee of the Municipality
to serve as the municipal code official to act on behalf of the municipality;
B.
By the retention of one or more construction code
officials or third-party agencies to act on behalf of the municipality;
C.
By agreement with one or more other municipalities
for the joint administration and enforcement of this Act through an
intermunicipal agreement;
D.
By entering into a contract with another municipality
for the administration and enforcement of this Act on behalf of this
municipality;
E.
By entering into an agreement with the Pennsylvania
Department of Labor and Industry for plan review, inspections and
enforcement of structures other than one-family or two-family dwelling
units and utility and miscellaneous use structures.
A Board of Appeals shall be established by resolution
of the governing body of this municipality in conformity with the
requirements of the relevant provisions of the code, as amended, and
for the purposes set forth herein. If at any time enforcement and
administration is undertaken jointly with one or more other municipalities,
said Board of Appeals shall be established by joint action of the
participating municipalities.
All relevant ordinances, regulations and policies
of this municipality not governed by the code shall remain in full
force and effect. All building code ordinances or portions of ordinances
which were adopted by this municipality on or before July 1, 1999,
and which equal or exceed the requirements of the code shall continue
in full force and effect until such time as such provisions fail to
equal or exceed the minimum requirements of the code, as amended.
Those exceptions are delineated as follows:
A.
Violation penalties. Any person who shall violate a provision of the code or shall fail to comply with any requirement thereof or who shall erect, construct, alter or repair a building or structure in violation of an approved plan or directive of the Building Code Official, Construction Code Official or Fire Marshal of a permit or certificate issued under the provisions of this code shall, upon judgment against the person by summary conviction or by proceedings by summons before any District Justice, be subject to the penalties provided in Chapter 1, Article II, of the Code of the Township of Springfield.
B.
Fire-damaged structures. All structures damaged by
fire shall commence restoration within 60 days of the damage and shall
be restored in accordance with the following requirements:
(1)
All burned materials will be removed from the building
and discarded and new building material will replace that damaged
by fire.
(2)
All smoke-damaged wood from the fire must be painted
to eliminate the smoke odor.
(3)
All insulation in the ceiling and dropped ceiling
tiles must be removed and replaced.
C.
Fire suppression systems.
(1)
Permit. Before any automatic fire alarm system is
installed, altered, engaged or extended, a permit shall be obtained
from the Fire Official.
(2)
Where required. A fire suppression system shall be
installed and maintained in full operating condition in the locations
described below:
(a)
Use Groups A, B, E, F, H, I, M, R and S: in
all buildings or structures or portions thereof.
(b)
Use Group U: in all buildings or structures
or portions thereof of Use Group U that exceed 2,000 square feet in
gross area.
(c)
Temporary structures: in all temporary structures
used for human occupancy or for the storage of combustible material
located within 30 feet of an occupied structure.
(d)
In existing buildings of the use groups above
before a new certificate of use is issued.
[Added 12-12-2006 by Ord. No. 1455]
D.
Automatic fire alarm systems.
(1)
Permit. Before any automatic fire alarm system is
installed, altered, engaged or extended, a permit shall be obtained
from the Fire Official.
(2)
Where required. An automatic fire alarm system shall
be installed and maintained in full operating condition in the locations
described below:
(a)
In existing buildings of the Use Groups A, B,
E, F, H, I, M, R, S and U when a change of occupancy occurs.
(b)
In existing buildings of Use Groups A, B, E,
F, H, I, M, R, S and U when a change of ownership occurs.
(c)
In existing buildings of the use groups above
before a new certificate of use is issued.
(d)
In all buildings or structures or portions thereof
of Use Groups A, B, E, F, H, I, M, R, S and U, as defined in the Code.
E.
Access to crawl space. A minimum of thirty-inch clearance
shall be provided in all crawl spaces. Clear space will be measured
from the underside of the joist to the concrete slab below.
F.
Wood frame construction.
(1)
Design and construction. Exterior walls, interior
partitions, floors and roofs of wood construction shall be designed
and constructed with 16 inches on center.
(2)
Sills. Where sills are installed on block walls, a
termite shield of a material compatible with the pressure-preservative-treated
lumber being used shall be installed.
[Amended 12-12-2006 by Ord. No. 1455]
G.
Fire prevention. Standards and practices for the prevention
of fire. The recognized standards and practices for the prevention
of fire shall be and to be known as the "International Fire Code,"
and the Code known as the "Life Safety Code" (N.F.P.A. 101) being
particularly the 2006 edition, both of which shall be referred to
as the "Fire Prevention Code" which are hereby referred to, adopted
and made a part hereof, as is fully set out in this ordinance.
H.
Sanitary sewer connection. All connections to the
sanitary sewer main must be made with a saddle Y properly connected
in conjunction with materials being used.
I.
Sewer depth. Sewer depth shall be 24 inches minimum.
J.
Residential floor drains. No floor drains are permitted
to be connected into the sanitary sewer lines in residential properties.
K.
Public sewer availability. A public sewer system shall
be considered available to a building when the building is located
within 300 feet of the public sewer. The proper fall shall be directed
by the Township Engineer.
L.
Minimum size building sewer. The gravity building
sewer shall not be less than four inches in size.
M.
Slope of horizontal drainage piping. Horizontal drainage
piping shall be installed in uniform alignment at uniform slopes.
The minimum slope of a horizontal drainage pipe shall be 1/4 (inch
per foot).
Fees assessable by the municipality for the
administration and enforcement undertaken pursuant to this ordinance
and the code shall be established by the governing body by ordinance
and delineated in the consolidated fee schedule.[1] In case any work for which a permit is required by this
code is started or proceeded with prior to obtaining said permit,
the fees shall be doubled, but the payment of such double fee shall
not relieve any person from fully complying with the requirements
of this code in the execution of the work or from any other penalties
prescribed herein.
This ordinance shall be effective immediately
upon adoption of this ordinance.
If any section, subsection, sentence or clause
of this ordinance is held, for any reason, to be invalid, such decision
or decisions shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions
of this ordinance.
