[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Supervisors
of Mount Pleasant Township as indicated in article histories. Amendments
noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 5-26-2004 by Ord. No. 96]
Mount Pleasant Township hereby elects to administer
and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act
45 of 1999, 35 P.S. §§ 7210.101 to 7210.1103, as amended
from time to time, and its regulations.
The Uniform Construction Code, contained in
34 Pa. Code, Chapters 401 to 405, as amended from time to time, is
hereby adopted and incorporated herein by reference as the Municipal
Building Code of Mount Pleasant Township.
Administration and enforcement of the code within
the Township shall be undertaken in any of the following ways as determined
by the Township Board of Supervisors 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.
B.
By the retention of one or more Construction Code
Officials or third-party agencies to act on behalf of the Township.
C.
By agreement with one or more other municipalities
for the joint administration and enforcement of the Act through an
intermunicipal agreement.
D.
By entering into a contract with another municipality
for the administration and enforcement of the Act on behalf of the
Township.
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 Township Board of Supervisors in conformity with the requirements
of the relevant provisions of the code, as amended from time, and
for the purposes set forth therein. 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.
All building code ordinances or portions of ordinances
which were adopted by the 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 those provisions fail
to equal or exceed the minimum requirements of the code, as amended
from time to time.
B.
All building code ordinances or portions of ordinances
which are in effect as of the effective date of this article and whose
requirements are less than the minimum requirements of the code are
hereby amended to conform with the comparable provisions of the code.
C.
All relevant ordinances, regulations and policies
of the Township not governed by the code shall remain in full force
and effect.
Fees assessable by the Township for the administration
and enforcement undertaken pursuant to this article and the code shall
be established by the Township Board of Supervisors by resolution
from time to time.
[Adopted 7-27-2016 by Ord. No. 135]
A certain document, a copy of which is on file in the office of the Secretary of Mount Pleasant Township, marked and designated as the "International Property Maintenance Code, 2015 Edition," by the International Code Council, Inc., also available online at http://codes.iccsafe.org/app/book/toc/2015/I-Codes/2015_IPMC_HTML/index.html, be and is hereby adopted as the Property Maintenance Code of Mount Pleasant Township, Washington County, in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, for regulating and governing the conditions and maintenance of all property, buildings and structures, by providing the standards for supplied utilities and facilities and other physical things and conditions essential to ensure that structures are safe, sanitary and fit for occupation and use, and the condemnation of buildings and structures unfit for human occupancy and use and the demolition of such structures in Mount Pleasant Township; providing for the issuance of permits and collection of fees therefor; and each and all of the regulations, provisions, penalties, conditions and terms of said Property Maintenance Code are hereby referred to, adopted, and made a part hereof, as if fully set out in this article, with the additions, insertions, deletions and changes, if any, prescribed in § 78-8 of this article.
The 2015 International Property Maintenance Code is amended
and revised, with additions, deletions and changes noted in the following
respects:
A.
Section 101.1, page 1, second line: Insert "Mount Pleasant
Township" in space provided.
B.
Section 103, Department of Property Maintenance Inspection: Delete the reference to "Department of Property Maintenance Inspection"
and replace the deleted reference with a reference to "Code Official."
(1)
Revise Section 103.1 to read:
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103.1. General.
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The official in charge of enforcing this article shall be known
as the "Code Official." The Code Official may be an individual or
a corporation or other organization providing Property Maintenance
Code enforcement services.
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(2)
Revise Section 103.5 to read:
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103.5. Fees.
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Fees shall be as set forth in the Mount Pleasant Township Fee
Schedule as adopted by the Board of Supervisors from time to time.
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C.
Section 106. Violations: Delete Subsection 106.4, Violation
Penalties, and replace it with the following:
106.4. Penalties. Any person, firm or corporation
who shall violate any provision of this code shall, upon conviction
thereof, be subject to a fine of not more than $1,000. Each day that
a violation continues shall constitute a separate offense.
D.
Section 109.5: Delete Subsection 109.5, Costs of Emergency
Repairs, and replace it with the following:
Section 109.5. Costs of Emergency Repairs. Costs
incurred in the performance of emergency work may be paid by the Township.
Said costs incurred shall be a municipal claim and municipal lien
on the property. The legal counsel of the Township shall institute
appropriate action to enforce the municipal claims and lien on the
property and may also institute such other legal action against the
property owner or agent of the premises where the unsafe structure
is or was located for the recovery of such costs, plus attorney's
fees, including but not limited to filing of municipal claims pursuant
to 53 P.S. § 7107 et seq. for the cost of the emergency
work, 6% interest per annum, plus a penalty of 5% of the amount due
plus attorney's fees and costs incurred by the Township in connection
with the emergency work and filing of the municipal claim.
E.
Section 111, Means of Appeal: Delete Section 111, Means
of Appeal, in its entirety and replace it with the following:
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Section 111, Means of Appeal
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111.1 Application for Appeal. Any person aggrieved
by a decision of the Code Official or a notice or order issued under
this code shall have the right to appeal, within 20 days after the
date of the decision, notice or order appealed from, to the Mount
Pleasant Township Uniform Construction Code Board of Appeals ("UCC
Board of Appeals"), which shall have jurisdiction to hear and rule
on appeals filed hereunder. Such appeal shall be filed in writing,
shall state the grounds for appeal, be accompanied by the required
appeal fee, in the amount of $100, or in such other sum as may be
set hereafter by resolution under the Mount Pleasant Township Fee
Schedule as adopted or modified from time to time, and shall be processed
and heard in accordance with the procedural requirements of the UCC
Rules of Procedure and Operation, provided further that any substantive
requirements of such Rules of Procedure and Operation applicable only
to appeals under the UCC shall not apply to appeals under the Property
Maintenance Code.
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111.2 All appeals under the Property Maintenance
Code must be based on a claim that the true intent of this code or
the rules legally adopted thereunder have been incorrectly interpreted,
that the provisions of this code do not apply, that the requirements
of this code are satisfied by other means or that the strict application
of the code would cause an undue hardship due to the unique circumstances
involving the property in question such that strict application of
the code would prevent the property owner or occupant from making
reasonable use of the property.
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111.3 The Board may consider the following factors
in deciding a claim of hardship:
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111.3.1 Whether the owner or occupant has complied
with prior orders or agreements covering maintenance of the property;
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111.3.2 Whether the owner or occupant has a history
of investment or improvement at the property;
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111.3.3 Whether the cost of repair or compliance
is reasonable in relation to the value of the property and the danger
presented by the property;
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111.3.4 Whether enforcement of the Code would result
in a taking without compensation;
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111.3.5 The length of time any violations have
existed;
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111.3.6 Degree of mitigation attempted;
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111.3.7 Number and severity of violations at the
property;
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111.3.8 Visibility of violations from the street
and neighboring properties;
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111.3.9 Existence of similar conditions at neighboring
properties;
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111.3.10 Danger presented by the violations to
children, sick or elderly.
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111.4 The Board of Appeals shall have no authority
to waive requirements of the Property Maintenance Code except upon
a finding of undue hardship made pursuant to Sections 111.1, 111.2
and 111.3.
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111.5 Stays of Enforcement. Appeals of notices
and orders of the Code Official (other than imminent danger notices)
shall stay the enforcement of the notice and order until the appeal
is heard by the UCC Board of Appeals.
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111.6 UCC Board of Appeals Hearing and Decision. A hearing shall be held before UCC Board of Appeals, within 30 days
of the appeal, to determine the propriety of the decision, notice
or order in accordance with the criteria set forth in Section 111.A.[1] The UCC Board of Appeals shall render a decision in the
matter within 45 days of the close of the hearing. The written decision
shall be served upon appellant by U.S. Mail, first class, mailed within
five business days of the date of the decision.
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111.7 Administration of UCC Board of Appeals` Decision. The Code Official shall take immediate action in accordance with
the decision of the UCC Board of Appeals.
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111.8 Court Review. Any property owner or other
person aggrieved by a decision of the UCC Board of Appeals shall have
the right to apply to the appropriate court for a petition for a writ
of certiorari to correct errors of law. Applications for review shall
be made in the manner and within such time required by law following
the date of the notice of decision.
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[1]
Editor's Note: So in original.
F.
Chapter 3, General Requirements, Section 302, Exterior Property Areas.
(1)
In Section 302.4, Weeds, delete the first sentence and replace it
with the following:
All premises and exterior property shall be maintained free
from weeds or grasses in excess of 12 inches (or 203.2 mm) in height.
(2)
Add new Subsection 302.10, Prohibited Furniture, to read as follows:
302.10 Prohibited Furniture. Furniture which would
be adversely affected by the elements and is susceptible to infestation
by insects, rats or other vermin is prohibited from being placed or
stored on exterior property. Such prohibited furniture shall include,
but is not limited to, upholstered couches and couches, davenports,
beds, sofas and any other interior-type fabric-covered articles not
designed or intended for use in an exterior area.
G.
Section 304, Exterior Structure, Section 304.14, Insect
Screens: Reserved.
H.
Section 308.2, Disposal of Rubbish. Amend this section
to read as follows:
308.2 Disposal of Rubbish
Both the owner and occupant of a structure shall be responsible
for the disposal of all rubbish in a clean and sanitary manner by
placing such rubbish in approved containers.
I.
Section 308.3, Disposal of Garbage. Amend this section
to read as follows:
308.3 Disposal of Garbage.
Both the owner and occupant of a structure shall be responsible
for the disposal of garbage in a clean and sanitary manner by placing
such garbage in an approved garbage disposal facility or approved
garbage containers.
J.
Section 602.3, Heat Supply. Insert dates as follows
in the space provided: "from October 31 to April 1."
K.
Section 602.4. Occupiable Work Spaces. Insert dates
as follows in the space provided: "from October 31 to April 1."
