[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Commissioners of Penn Township 6-21-2004 by Ord. No.
612 (Ch. 67 of the 1975 Code). Amendments noted
where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Building construction — See Ch. 100.
Building permits — See Ch. 105.
Fire prevention — See Ch. 160.
Floodplain management — See Ch. 166.
Mobile homes — See Ch. 200.
Plumbing — See Ch. 218.
Property maintenance — See Ch. 225.
Subdivision of land — See Ch. 280.
Zoning — See Ch. 325.
A.
Penn Township hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions
of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act, Act 45 of 1999, as amended
from time to time, and its regulations, 34 Pa. Code, Chapters 401
to 405.
B.
The Uniform Construction Code (UCC) is hereby adopted and incorporated
herein by reference as the Township Building Code.
Administration and enforcement of the code within this Township
shall be undertaken in any of the following ways, as determined by
the Board of Commissioners of Penn Township from time to time by resolution:
A.
By the designation of an employee of the Township to serve as the
municipal code official to act on behalf of the Township for administration
and enforcement of the code.
B.
By the retention of one or more construction code officials or third-party
agencies to act on behalf of the Township for administration and enforcement
of the code.
C.
By agreement with one or more other municipalities for the joint
administration and enforcement of this Act through intermunicipal
agreement under 53 Pa.C.S.A. Ch. 23, Subchapter A (relating to intergovernmental
cooperation).
D.
By entering into a contract with the proper authorities of another
municipality for the administration and enforcement of this Act on
behalf of this Township. When such contract has been entered into,
the municipal code official shall have all powers and authority conferred
by law in the municipality which has contracted to secure such services.
E.
By entering into an agreement with the Pennsylvania Department of
Labor and Industry for plan reviews, 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 the Board of Commissioners
of Penn Township in conformity with the requirements of the relevant
provisions of the code, as amended from time to time, and for the
purposes set forth therein. The board of appeals may be established
by joint action of the Township and other participating municipalities
as provided by law. 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.
A.
The Penn
Township Building Code Ordinance No. 539-98, together with any amendments,
is hereby repealed for all buildings for which permits are issued
after the effective date of this chapter. It shall remain in full
force and effect for any improvements for which complete permit applications
were filed before the effective date of this chapter.
B.
The Penn
Township Building Permit Ordinance No. 190-75, together with any amendments,
is hereby repealed for all buildings for which permits are issued
after the effective date of the chapter. It shall remain in full force
and effect for any permits for which complete applications were filed
before the effective date of this chapter.
C.
All building code ordinances or portions of ordinances which were
adopted by this Township 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 from time to time,
at which time the provisions of such ordinances shall be amended to
provide for the minimum requirements of the regulations promulgated
under the code.
D.
All building code ordinances or portions of ordinances which are
in effect as of the effective date of this chapter, and whose requirements
are less then the minimum requirements of the code, are hereby amended
to conform to the comparable provisions of the code.
E.
All relevant ordinances, regulations and policies of this Township
not governed by the code shall remain in full force and effect, and
any permits required by the Township ordinances or state or federal
statutes or regulations which are not superseded by the code, including
but not limited to zoning, driveway, sewage, highway or NPDES permits,
as applicable, shall continue to be required.
It is the intent of this chapter that, by adopting the code,
the Township adopts all building or other codes which have been adopted
and mandated by the UCC, including but not limited to: the provisions
of Chapters 2 through 29 and 31 through 35 of the International Building
Code; the ICC Electrical Code; the International Mechanical Code;
the International Fuel Gas Code; the International Plumbing Code;
the International Residential Code; the International Fire Code; the
International Energy Conservation Code; Sections AE501 through AE503
and AE601 through AE605 of Appendix E of the International Residential
Code; the International Existing Building Code; the International
Urban-Wildland Interface Code; Appendixes E and H of the International
Building Code; Appendix G of the International Residential Code, and,
as the code is amended to include or adopt new or updated versions
of any building or other codes, such codes automatically shall be
updated as part of this chapter.
Fee assessable by the Township for the administration and enforcement
undertaken pursuant to this chapter and the code and time periods
for payment of the fees shall be established by the Board of Commissioners
by resolution from time to time.
Final inspections and occupancy certificates as required under
or issued in conjunction with the code shall be conducted and issued
with and at the same time as final inspections and use and occupancy
certificates required by the Township's Zoning Ordinance. No inspection
or permit shall be conducted or issued under either this chapter or
the Zoning Ordinance separately from the other. It shall be the responsibility
of the applicant to request such inspections or permits from both
the Township's Building Code Official and Zoning Enforcement Officer,
who shall be responsible between them for coordinating the inspections
and the issuance of the required permits within the time set by the
code and the Township's Zoning Ordinance.
Any owner or person, as those terms are defined in the code,
who violates or permits the violation of any provision of this chapter
or the code shall commit a summary criminal offense and, upon conviction
by a Magisterial District Judge, shall be subject to a fine of up
to $1,000 plus costs and imprisonment to the extent allowed by law
for summary offenses for each violation. Each day of a violation and
each separate violation of the chapter or the code shall be considered
a separate violation.
