Township of Hempfield, PA
Westmoreland County
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Chapter 41: BUILDING PERMITS
[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Supervisors of the Township of Hempfield at time of adoption of Code as readoption of Resolution No. 68-6 adopted 5-13-1968; see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I. Other amendments noted where applicable.]

GENERAL REFERENCES

Fire prevention — See Ch. 47.
Flood damage prevention — See Ch. 49.
Mobile home parks and rental property — See Ch. 57.
Subdivision of land — See Ch. 76.
Zoning — See Ch. 87.

§ 41-1 Purpose.

This chapter is adopted for the following purposes:
A. To assist the orderly, efficient and integrated development of the Township.
B. To promote the health, safety, morals and general welfare of the residents of the Township.
C. To secure equitable handling of all building, razing or altering of structures by providing uniform procedures and standards.

§ 41-2 Usage and definitions.

A. Usage. Words in the singular include the plural, and words in the plural include the singular. The word "persons" includes a corporation and unincorporated association; and the word "building" includes "structure" and shall be construed as if followed by the words "or parts thereof." The word "street" includes "drain," "ditch" and "streams." The word "shall" is mandatory.
B. Definitions. For the purpose of this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated unless otherwise specifically stated:
ALLEY
A permanent serviceway providing secondary means of access to abutting lands.
ALTERATION
Any enlargement of any building, or any work of repair, rearrangement, removal or replacement of any exterior or interior wall, roof, floor or support or any part thereof of any building.
BLOCK
Property abutting on one side of a street and lying between the two nearest intersecting or intercepting street and railroad right-of-way, waterway, unsubdivided area or other definite barrier.
BUILDING
Any structure or part thereof affixed to the land.

§ 41-3 Permit required.

It shall be unlawful to construct, alter or raze any building or structure in the Township, except fences, when the cost of such construction or alteration exceeds $100 or where the effect of such construction or alteration is to enlarge the capacity or affect the bearing walls of any building or the roof thereof, without having first secured a permit therefor.

§ 41-4 Application for permit.

Application for such permits shall be made to the Secretary of the Township or an agent designated by the Township Supervisors and shall be accompanied by plans and specifications in duplicate showing the work to be done; such plans shall be verified by the signature of either the owner of the premises or the architect or contractor in charge of the operations.

§ 41-5 Approval of plans.

Such applications with plans shall be referred to the Building Inspector, who shall examine the same to determine whether the proposed construction or alteration will comply with the provisions of this chapter relative thereto and shall issue or reject the permit in writing within five working days from receipt of the application. Upon approval, one set of plans shall be returned to the applicant with a permit and the other shall be retained by the Building Inspector. No permit shall be issued until after approval of the plans.

§ 41-6 Variations.

It shall be unlawful to vary materially from the submitted plans and specifications unless such variations are submitted in an amended plan to the Building Inspector and approved by him.

§ 41-7 Enforcement.

The Building Inspector shall make or cause to be made such inspections as are necessary to see to the enforcement of the provisions of this chapter.

§ 41-8 Fees.

[Amended 8-14-1989 by Ord. No. 89-16; 10-27-2003 by Ord. No. 2003-18]
Any person, partnership, corporation or any other type of entity filing an application for a building permit within the Township of Hempfield shall, at the time of said filing, pay to the Township of Hempfield a fee as set forth in a resolution duly adopted by the Board of Supervisors of the Township of Hempfield.

§ 41-9 Storage of materials in streets.

The use of streets for the storage of materials in the process of construction or alteration of a building may be granted when the same will not unduly interfere with traffic and will not reduce the usable width of the street to less than 18 feet; no portion of a street other than that directly abutting on the premises on which work is being done shall be used except with the consent of the owner or occupant of the premises abutting on such portion. Any person seeking to make such use of the street shall file an application with the Secretary, to indemnify the Township for any loss or damage which may be incurred by reason of such use and occupation.

§ 41-10 Night operations.

No construction or alteration operations shall be carried on at nighttime if the same are accompanied by loud or annoying noises.

§ 41-11 Obstruction or removal of sidewalks.

No sidewalk shall be obstructed in the course of building operations without a special permit from the Secretary; and whenever a removal of a sidewalk is required, such work shall not be done until a special permit is secured from the Secretary.

§ 41-12 Safeguards.

A. It shall be the duty of a person or corporation doing any construction, altering or wrecking to do the same with proper care for the safety of persons and property.
B. Warning barricades and lights shall be maintained whenever necessary for the protection of pedestrians or traffic; and temporary roofs over sidewalks shall be constructed whenever there is danger from falling articles or materials to pedestrians.

§ 41-13 Time for commencement of work.

If any work authorized by any permit issued under this chapter shall not have been commenced within six months after the issuance of such permit, the Township Secretary shall require the permit holder to relinquish such unused permit, which shall thereupon become invalid. Under such conditions, neither the permit fee nor any part thereof shall be returned to such permit holder, and if at any future time such permit holder shall make application for another permit for the same work, he shall follow the same procedure and pay the same fee as if no previous permit had been issued.

§ 41-14 Violations and penalties.

[Amended 6-12-1989 by Ord. No. 89-13; 4-8-1996 by Ord. No. 96-4; 6-9-1997 by Ord. No. 97-9]
A. Any person who shall violate or fail to comply with any of the provisions of this chapter or the members of a copartnership or the officers of a corporation responsible for such violation or noncompliance shall, upon conviction thereof by the District Justice in a summary criminal proceeding, be punishable by a fine not to exceed $1,000 for each offense, together with all costs of prosecution, court costs and reasonable attorney fees incurred by Hempfield Township in the enforcement of this chapter or, in default of the payment thereof, by imprisonment for not more than 30 days.
B. In the enforcement of this section, the Code Enforcement Officer of Hempfield Township may, at his sole discretion, utilize a citation notice, in a form to be approved by the Board of Supervisors, notifying the person responsible as to the violation of this chapter and providing that person an opportunity to remedy said violation within five days of the date of that notice and to impose a fine not to exceed $50 payable to the Township of Hempfield, without the necessity of a court proceeding and the imposition of attorney fees and court costs.
C. When and where necessary to protect the interests of the Township of Hempfield, the Code Enforcement Officer be and hereby is authorized to serve upon the offending person or entity a stop-work order, compelling the cessation of all construction activity in violation of the within chapter.