[HISTORY: Adopted by the Borough Council of the Borough of Oakmont
as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 12-22-2003 by Ord. No. 041-2003]
From and after the effective date of this article, the following ordinance
shall be in full force and effect in the Borough of Oakmont (hereinafter "the
Borough").
This article shall be known as the "Borough of Oakmont Building Permit
Ordinance."
Any ordinance, or part thereof, conflicting with the provisions of this
article is hereby repealed insofar as the same affects this article.
It is the intent of this article to:
A.
Promote, protect and facilitate the public health, safety
and general welfare of the community.
B.
Encourage and facilitate the orderly growth and development
of the Borough.
C.
Protect and maintain the character, stability and value
of developed residential, commercial, and industrial areas within the Borough.
D.
Encourage the utilization of appropriate construction
practices in order to prevent or minimize flood damage in the future.
E.
Minimize danger to the public health by protecting water
supplies and natural drainage.
F.
Reduce financial burdens imposed on the community, its
governmental units, and its residents, by preventing excessive development
in areas subject to flooding.
No building or other structure shall be erected, moved, extended, demolished
or structurally altered without a building permit having been issued by the
Building Inspector. A building permit shall not be required for minor repairs
to existing buildings or structures, provided that no structural changes or
modifications are involved.
Every application for a building permit shall be deemed to be an application
for a certificate of use and occupancy.
It shall be a violation of this article to construct or building or
structure without a building permit in the Borough of Oakmont.
A.
It is a violation of this article to construct, erect,
move, extend, demolish or structurally alter a building or structure in the
Borough of Oakmont without a building permit, and no person, partnership,
business or corporation shall undertake, or cause to be undertaken, any construction,
development or demolition of any building or structure anywhere in the Borough
of Oakmont without previously obtaining an approved building permit from the
Borough Building Inspector.
B.
For subdivision and land developments, as defined by
the Municipalities Planning Code, no building permit shall be issued prior
to completing the review and approval requirements of the Allegheny County
Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance.
All applications for building permits shall be made on forms furnished
by the Building Inspector, shall be completed in full with accurate information,
and submitted in duplicate with a plat plan prepared and sealed by a land
surveyor or architect registered to do business in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Each plat plan shall show the following information and data with a narrative
statement and detailed building plans attached.
A.
Owner's name.
B.
Bearings and distances along all property lines.
C.
Public streets abutting property with right-of-way width.
D.
Area of property.
E.
Deed book volume and page, as well as lot and block number.
F.
Lot number, plan name and where plan is recorded if property
is located in a recorded plan.
G.
All existing dwellings, buildings and accessory structures
indicating descriptions and height of each with floor and basement elevations.
H.
All proposed dwellings, buildings and accessory structures
indicating dimensions, descriptions and height of each with proposed floor
and basement elevations.
I.
Front yard, side yard and rear yard dimensions.
J.
Off-street parking and loading areas and driveways indicating
the dimensions and number of parking spaces as required by this article.
K.
Location of signs with size and details.
L.
Location and size of all existing utilities abutting
or crossing property.
M.
Topography with two-foot contours and/or elevations showing
existing and finished grades, except property used for the construction of
a single-family or two-family dwelling requiring no greater than five feet
of fill or cut.
N.
Stormwater management facilities to collect and control
surface runoff from property, with calculations of predevelopment and postdevelopment
surfacewater runoff, except in cases in which an exemption or exception is
provided in the applicable stormwater management regulations adopted by the
Borough.
O.
Soil erosion and sedimentation control measures and facilities
conforming to the requirements and specifications of the latest edition of
the Pennsylvania Soil Erosion and Sedimentation Control Manual.
R.
If the proposed construction is within any identified
flood-prone area, the applicant shall submit a document, certified by a registered
professional engineer or architect, stating that the proposed construction
has been adequately designed to withstand the one-hundred-year-flood elevations,
pressures, velocities, impact, and uplift forces and other hydrostatic, hydrodynamic
and buoyancy factors associated with the one-hundred-year flood, including
a statement containing a description of the type and extent of floodproofing
measures which have been incorporated into the design of the structure.
S.
Detailed building plans conforming to the requirements
and specifications of the International Construction Code of 2003, as adopted
by the Borough. The plans must be approved and sealed by the State Department
of Labor and Industry for all structures other than single-family residences
or any other structures specifically excluded from this requirement by Section
49.2(b) of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Code Title 34, Labor and Industry
(34 Pa. Code § 49.2[b]).
T.
A narrative statement describing in detail the work to
be done and indicating the proposed use for each building or structure to
be constructed on the property, the number and nature of businesses proposed
in each building, and if Commercial or Industrial, with the number of employees
anticipated for each.
U.
If the application is made by someone other than the
owner of the property, the application shall be accompanied by a duly verified
affidavit from the owner authorizing such application to be made.
W.
No building (or zoning) permit shall be issued pursuant
to this article until the stormwater management plan for the property or lot
has been approved, in accordance with the County or Borough ordinance. Further,
the municipality shall not issue the permit until any required floodplain,
dam safety, or obstructions or erosion/sedimentation approvals/permits have
been received from the applicable local, county or state agencies. Copies
of the approval/permit must be filed with the municipality.
X.
Applications for a building permit shall be accompanied
by a fee, payable to the Borough of Oakmont, based upon the estimated cost
of the proposed construction, as determined by the Building Inspector and
as established by Borough Council. Borough Council may, from time to time
by resolution, either increase or decrease said fee.
A.
The Building Inspector shall issue a building permit
only after it has been determined that the proposed work to be undertaken
will be in conformance with the requirements of this and all other governing
codes and ordinances.
B.
Prior to the issuance of any building permit, the Building
Inspector shall review the application for the permit, to determine if all
other necessary governmental permits and approvals, such as those required
by county, state and federal laws, have been obtained, including those required
by Act 537, the Pennsylvania Sewage Facilities Act, the Allegheny County Subdivision
and Land Development Ordinance, the Water Obstruction Act of 1913 and the
Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972, Section 404 (33 U.S.C., § 1334).
No building permit shall be issued until this determination has been made
by the Building Inspector.
C.
The Building Inspector shall render a decision either
approving or disapproving the application for a building permit within 90
days after the application is filed, provided that any disapproval of the
application shall contain a brief explanation setting forth the reasons for
said disapproval and the manner in which the application can be corrected
and/or modified to obtain the required approval. If no decision is rendered
on the application within 90 days, the application shall be deemed to be approved
and the permit shall be deemed to have been granted immediately unless the
applicant has agreed, in writing, to an extension of time. No agreement to
an extension of time for action may be made a part of an application form,
nor may any such agreement be required of any applicant under threat of denial
of the application.
After the issuance of a building permit by the Building Inspector, no
changes of any kind shall be made to the application, permit, or any of the
plans, specifications or other documents submitted with the application without
the prior written consent of approval of the Building Inspector.
In addition to the building permit, the Building Inspector shall issue
a placard which shall be displayed on the premises at all times while construction
is in progress. The placard shall show the number of the building permit,
the date of its issuance, and shall be signed by the Building Inspector.
Work on the proposed construction shall begin within six months after
the date of the issuance of the building permit, or the permit shall automatically
expire unless a time extension is granted, in writing, by the Building Inspector.
A.
Construction shall be considered to have started with
the first placement of permanent construction of a structure on the site,
such as the pouring of slabs, or footings, or any work beyond the stage of
excavation.
B.
For a structure without a basement or poured footings,
the start of construction shall be considered to have started with the first
permanent framing or assembly of the structure, or any part thereof, on it
pilings or foundation, or the affixing of any prefabricated structure or mobile
home to its permanent site.
C.
"Permanent construction" does not include land preparation,
land clearing, grading, filling, excavation for basement, footings, piers,
or foundations, erection of temporary forms, the installation of piling under
the proposed subsurface footings, or the installation of sewer, gas and water
pipes, or electrical or other service lines from the street.
During the construction period, the Building Inspector or other authorized
official may inspect the premises at any time to determine that the work in
progressing in compliance with the information provided on the permit application,
and with all applicable Oakmont Borough laws, codes and ordinances. In the
event the Building Inspector discovers that the work does not comply with
the permit application, or any applicable laws, codes or ordinances, or that
there has been a false statement or misrepresentation by any applicant, the
Building Inspector shall revoke the building permit and report such fact to
the Borough Manager and Borough Council for whatever additional action the
Manager or Council deems necessary or appropriate.
A.
Any person, firm, corporation, association or other entity
that violates any provision of this article shall pay to the Borough, for
each and every separate offense, a sum of not less than $50 nor more than
$1,000 to be used for and recovered as other fines and penalties are now by
law recoverable and, in default of payment of the fine and costs of prosecution,
shall be committed to the Allegheny County jail or workhouse for a period
not exceeding 90 days.
B.
Each violation shall constitute a separate offense and
shall be deemed committed on each day during on which violation occurs or
continues and shall constitute a separate offense. Nothing contained herein
shall be deemed to preclude the Borough from seeking other relief or avail
itself of any remedy that may be at law or in equity to prevent continuing
violations of the terms of this article.
[Adopted 12-22-2003 by Ord. No. 042-2003]
The 2003 International Building Code, the 2003 International Fire Code,
the 2003 International Residential Code, the 2003 International One- and Two-Family
Dwelling Code, the 2003 International Mechanical Code, and the 2003 International
Property Maintenance Code, and are hereby adopted as "The Building Code,"
"The Fire Code," "The Residential Code," "The Mechanical Code," and "The Property
Maintenance Code" of the Borough of Oakmont for the regulation of buildings
and structures as therein provided; and each and all of the regulations, provisions,
penalties, conditions and terms of these said codes are hereby referred to,
adopted and made a part hereof, as if fully set out in this article.
In addition to the violation and penalties in the codes set forth above,
any person or entity violating any provisions of this article shall, upon
summary conviction thereof before any magistrate, pay a fine in an amount
not exceeding $1,000, together with costs of prosecution, and, in default
of the payment of the fine and costs, shall be subject to imprisonment in
the Allegheny County jail or workhouse for a period not to exceed 30 days.
Each day that a violation of this article continues to exist shall be considered
a separate offense and may be punishable as such.
