[Adopted 3-16-2005 by Ord. No. 2005-07]
[Amended 12-20-2006 by Ord. No. 2006-05; 7-21-2021 by Ord. No. 2021-02]
The Board of Supervisors of East Caln Township hereby adopts the International Property Maintenance Code, 2021 Edition, Chapters 1 through and including 8, as now and hereafter supplemented, reissued, amended and revised as published by the International Code Council, Inc with Appendix A as now and as hereafter supplemented, reissued, amended and revised, as published by the International Code Council, Inc. One ( 1) copy of the International Property Maintenance Code, 2021 Edition, is filed at the Township administrative offices and may be examined there without charge and the same is hereby adopted and incorporated as fully as if set out at length herein.
[Amended 12-20-2006 by Ord. No. 2006-05; 7-21-2021 by Ord. No. 2021-02]
The following amendments, additions, deletions and changes are
hereby made to the International Property Maintenance Code, 2021 Edition:
A.
Section
101.1 is amended by the insertion of "the Township of East Caln" in
the [NAME OF JURISDICTION] blank.
B.
Section 102.3 is amended to read as follows: "Repairs, additions
or alterations to a structure, or changes of occupancy, shall be done
in accordance with the procedures and provisions of the International
Building Code, International Existing Building Code, International
Fire Prevention Code, International Residential Code for One- and
Two-Family Dwellings, International Plumbing Code, International Mechanical
Code, International Fuel and Gas Code, International Electrical Code,
and International Wildland-Urban Interface Code, as adopted by East
Caln Township. Nothing in this code shall be construed to cancel,
modify or set aside any provision of the East Caln Township's
Zoning Ordinance."
C.
Section 103.1 is amended by the insertion of "Township Manager, Zoning
Officer, Assistant Zoning Officer and Building Code Official" in the
[INSERT NAME OF DEPARTMENT] blank and by the addition of the following
sentence: "For purposes of this code, the Township Manager, Zoning
Officer, Assistant Zoning Officer and the Building Code Official shall
be referred to as the code official."
D.
Section 104.1 is amended to read as follows: "The fees for activities
and services performed by the code official in carrying out its responsibilities
under this code shall be established by resolution of the Township
Board of Supervisors, as may be amended from time to time."
E.
Section 104.2 is amended to read: "The Board of Supervisors are authorized
to establish a refund policy."
F.
Section
107.1 is amended to read: "In order to hear and decide appeals of
orders, decisions or determinations made by the code official relative
to the application and interpretation of this code, there shall be
and is created a board of appeals. In particular, the board of appeals
shall be the Western Chester County Regional UCC Board of Appeals,
as set forth in Chapter 9, Board of Building Appeals, in the Township
Code of Ordinances, as amended. Chapter 9, Board of Building Appeals,
in the Township Code of Ordinances, as amended, shall control proceedings
before the Board of Appeals."
G.
Section
107.2 is marked "[Reserved]".
H.
Section
107.3 is marked "[Reserved]".
I.
107.4 is
marked "[Reserved]".
J.
Section 108.1 is amended to read as follows: "Chapter 9, Board of
Building Appeals, in the Township Code of Ordinances, as amended,
shall control proceedings before the Board of Appeals."
K.
The first sentence of Section 109.3 is amended to read as follows:
"Any person failing to comply with a notice of violation or order
served in accordance with Section 111.4 shall be deemed guilty of
a summary offense and the violation shall be a strict liability offense."
L.
Section 109.4 is amended to read as follows: "Any person who violates
or permits the violation of any provision of this article or who shall
fail to comply with any of the requirements thereof or who shall violate
a provision of this code or shall fail to comply with any of the requirements
thereof shall, upon conviction thereof, in a summary proceeding brought
before a Magisterial District Judge under the Pennsylvania Rules of
Criminal Procedure, be guilty of a summary offense and shall be subject
to the payment of a fine of not less than $250 and not more than $1,000,
plus court costs of prosecution. In default of payment thereof, the
defendant may be sentenced to imprisonment in the County Prison for
a term of not more than 90 days. Each section or provision of this
article that is violated shall constitute a separate offense, and
each day or portion thereof in which a violation of this chapter is
found to exist shall constitute a separate offense, each of which
violations shall be punishable by a separate fine imposed by the Magisterial
District Judge of not less than $250 and not more than $1,000, plus
costs of prosecution, or upon default of payment thereof, the defendant
may be sentenced to imprisonment in the county prison for a term of
not more than 90 days. All fines and penalties collected for the violation
of this chapter shall be paid to the Township Treasurer."
M.
Section 201.3 is amended to read as follows: "Where terms are not
defined in this code and are defined in the International Building
Code, International Existing Building Code, International Fire Prevention
Code, International Residential Code for One- and Two-Family Dwellings,
International Plumbing Code, International Mechanical Code, International
Fuel and Gas Code, International Electrical Code, and International
Wildland-Urban Interface Code, as adopted by East Caln Township, such
terms shall have the meanings ascribed to them as stated in those
codes. Exception: when used within this code the terms unsafe and
dangerous shall have only the meaning ascribed to them in this code
and shall not have the meanings ascribed to them by the International
Existing Building Code."
N.
Section 302.4 is amended by the insertion of "10 inches" in the [JURISDICTION
TO INSERT HEIGHT IN INCHES] blank.
O.
Section 304.14 is amended by the insertion of "May 1" in the first
[DATE] blank and "October 1" in the second [DATE] blank.
P.
The following sentence shall be added to Section 302.8: "For purposes
of this section, campers, motor homes and boats are in included within
the common meaning of motor vehicle."
Q.
Section 602.3 is amended by the insertion of "October 15" in the
first [DATE] blank and "April 15" in the second [DATE] blank.
R.
Section 602.4 is amended by the insertion of "October 15" in the
first [DATE] blank and "April 15" in the second [DATE] blank.
S.
A new Chapter 9 shall be created to read as follows:
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Chapter 9
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COMMUNICATIONS AMPLIFICATION SYSTEMS
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§ 900. Definitions. The following words
and terms shall, for the purposes of this section and as used elsewhere
in this code, have the meaning shown herein.
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APCO — Associates Public Safety Communications Official
International.
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CCDES — Chester County Department of Emergency Services.
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FCC — Federal Communications Commission.
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NABER — National Association of Business and Education
Radio.
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NPSPAC — National Public Safety Planning Advisory Committee.
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PCIA — Personal Communications Industry Association.
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§ 901. General provisions.
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Except as otherwise provided, no person shall erect, construct,
alter, refit, change the use of, or provide an addition of more than
20% of the existing floor area to any building, structure or any part
thereof, or cause the same to be done, which fails to support adequate
radio coverage for CCDES, the Downingtown Fire Department and Ambulance,
Downingtown Police Department and Pennsylvania State Police.
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For the purpose of this section, adequate radio coverage shall
include all the following:
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1.
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A minimum signal strength of -95 dBm available in 98% of the
area of each floor of the buildings when transmitted from the closest
CCDES radio communications system site;
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2.
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A minimum signal strength of -95 dBm received at the closest
CCDES radio communications site when transmitted from 98% of the area
of each floor of the building.
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3.
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The frequency range which must be supported shall be between
821.0125 MHz and 868.6095 MHz.
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4.
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A 95% reliability factor.
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5.
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Signal strength measurements, for the purpose of measuring the
performance of a bidirectional amplifier, shall be based on one input
signal adequate to obtain a maximum continuous operating out level.
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6.
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The provisions of this section shall become applicable upon
notification to the property owner that unacceptable performance levels
exist. The property owner shall have 90 days from the date of notification
to enhance radio coverage and bring it within the acceptable limits
of these provisions.
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§ 902. Amplification systems allowed.Buildings and structures which cannot support the required level
of radio coverage shall be equipped with either a radiating cable
system or an internal multiple antenna system with or without FCC-type
accepted bidirectional 800 MHz amplifiers as needed. If any part of
the installed system or systems contains an electrically powered component,
the system shall be capable of operating on an independent battery
and/or generator system for a period of at least 12 hours without
external power input. The battery system shall charge in the presence
of an external power input. If used, bidirectional amplifiers shall
include filters to reduce adjacent frequency interference at 35 dB
below the NPSPAC band. Settings used should not attenuate the NPSPAC
frequencies and further provided that they are not more than one MHz
from the NPSPAC frequencies.
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§ 903. Testing procedures.
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903.1. Acceptance test procedure When an in-building
radio system is required, and upon completion of installation, it
will be the building owner's responsibility to have the radio
system tested to ensure the two-way coverage on each floor of the
building is a minimum of 98%. Each floor of the building shall be
divided into a grid of approximately 20 equal areas. A maximum of
two nonadjacent areas will be allowed to fail the test. In the event
that three of the areas fail the test, in order to be more statistically
accurate, the floor may be divided in 40 equal areas. In such event,
a maximum of four nonadjacent areas will be allowed to fail the test.
After the forty-area test, if the system continues to fail, the building
owner shall have the system altered to meet the 98% coverage requirement.
The test shall be conducted using the most current E.F. Johnson portable
radio or its equivalent, available from the Emergency Services Providers
or CCDES, as specified by the authority having jurisdiction. A spot
located approximately in the center of a grid area will be selected
for the test, then the radio will be keyed to verify two-way communications
to and from the outside of the building through CCDES. Once the spot
has been selected, prospecting for a better spot within the grid area
will not be permitted. The gain values of all amplifiers shall be
measured and the test measurement results shall be kept on file with
the building owner so that the measurements can be verified each year
during the annual tests. In the event that the measurements results
became lost, the building owner will be required to rerun the acceptance
test to reestablish the gain values.
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903.2. Annual tests. When an in-building radio
system is required, the building owner shall test all active components
of the system including but not limited to the amplifiers, power supplies
and backup batteries, a minimum of once every 12 months. Amplifiers
shall be tested to ensure that the gain is the same as it was upon
initial installation and acceptance. Backup batteries and power supplies
shall be tested under load for a period of one hour to verify that
they will properly operate during an actual power outage. If within
the one-hour test period, in the opinion of the testing technician,
the batteries exhibit symptoms of failure, the test shall be extended
for an additional hour until the testing technician confirms the integrity
of the battery. All other active components shall be checked to determine
that they area operating within the manufacturer's specifications
for the intended purpose.
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903.3. Five-year tests. In addition to the annual
test, the building owner shall perform a radio coverage test of a
minimum of once every five years to ensure to that the radio system
continues to meet the requirements of the original acceptance test.
The procedure set forth above shall apply to such tests. A copy of
accepted tests shall be provided to the CCDES.
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§ 904. Field testing.Police, Fire or
Code Personnel, after being provided reasonable notice to the owner
or his representative, shall have the right to enter onto the property
to conduct field testing to be certain that the required levels of
radio coverage is present.
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§ 905. Exemptions. This section shall
not apply to structures of Use Group R-3 and R-4. For the purposes
of this section, parking structures and stairwells are included in
the definition of "building" and stair shafts are included in the
definition of "all parts of a building," but elevators may be excluded.
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§ 906. Existing buildings and structures.Any non-exempt building or structure, existing, under construction,
or for which a building permit application is pending or has been
approved as of the effective date of this section shall comply with
the requirements of this section, if CCDES, East Caln Township or
the Downingtown Fire Department, determines that adequate radio coverage,
as defined in § 800, does not exist in the building or structure.
The owner of the building or structure shall be notified in writing
of the inadequacy of the coverage and shall have a period of 90 consecutive
calendar days from the date of notice to comply with this section,
including but not limited to enhancing radio coverage and bringing
it within the acceptable limits of this section.
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