[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.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Alarm systems — See Ch. 4.
Building maintenance — See Ch. 22.
Contractor registration — See Ch. 31.
Fee schedule — See Ch. 40.
Fire Prevention — See Ch. 45.
Numbering of buildings — See Ch. 82
Sewers — See Ch. 111.
Sewer connections — See Ch. 112
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.
(3) 
Exception:
(a) 
Owner-occupied single-family detached and semidetached dwellings;
[Amended 3-12-2013 by Ord. No. 1539]
(b) 
In buildings protected throughout by an approved automatic suppression system.
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.
[1]
Editor's Note: See Ch. 40, Fee Schedule.
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.