Township of West Hanover, PA Property Maintenance

A certain document, three copies of which are on file in the office of the Secretary of the Township of West Hanover, being marked and designated as the "International Property Maintenance Code, First Printing, 2009," as published by the International Code Council, Inc., be and is hereby adopted as the International Property Maintenance Code of the Township of West Hanover in the State of Pennsylvania, for the control of buildings and structures as herein provided, 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 chapter, with the additions, insertions, deletions and changes, if any, prescribed in § 148-2 of this chapter.

§ 148-2 Additions, insertions and changes.

[Amended 4-4-2005 by Ord. No. 2005-5; 10-2-2006 by Ord. No. 2006-5]

The following sections are hereby revised as follows:

Section 101.1	Title. Insert: "West Hanover Township."
Section 110.1.1	Demolition. Add: "Transfer of ownership. It shall be unlawful for the owner of any dwelling unit or structure who has received a compliance order upon whom a notice of violation has been served to sell, transfer, mortgage, lease or otherwise dispose of to another until the provisions of the compliance order or notice of violation have been complied with, or until such owner shall first furnish the grantee, transferee, mortgagee or lessee a true copy of any compliance order or notice of violation issued by the Code Enforcement Officer and shall furnish to the Code Enforcement Officer a signed and notarized statement to the grantee, transferee, mortgagee or lessee, acknowledging the receipt of such compliance order or notice of violation and fully accepting the responsibility without condition for making the correction or repairs required by such compliance order or notice of violation.”
Section 302.2	Exception. Delete in its entirety.
Section 302.4	Weeds. Delete this section.
Section 305.3	Interior surfaces. Delete in its entirety.
	Add: “Floors, walls, windows, doors, ceilings and other interior surfaces shall be maintained in good, clean and sanitary condition. Peeling paint, cracked or loose plaster, decayed wood and other defective surface conditions shall be eliminated. Only substantial areas of peeling paint, cracked and/or loose plaster and the presence of any decayed wood shall constitute violations under this Code. The dwelling must be free of hazardous conditions that seriously threaten the structural integrity of the interior wall or ceiling or pose other health and safety risks as evidenced by any leaning, large holes, loose surface materials, severe buckling or bulging, or noticeable movement under walking stress. Any defects that allow air to infiltrate or penetrate into the interior, such as large areas of loose material, shall be considered violations under this Code. Cracks of 1/8” width or less that are not accompanied by large areas of loose material shall not be deemed violations under this code.”
Section 305.3.1	Bathroom and kitchen floors. INSERT: “Every toilet, bathroom and kitchen floor surface shall be constructed and maintained to be substantially impervious to water. Such floors shall be easy to clean and maintain in a sanitary condition. Bathroom flooring shall not have any defects that would either render the surface uncleanable or allow water penetration. Small holes, tears, depressions, slits or seams in kitchen floors that are not in close proximity to plumbing fixtures shall be acceptable, unless such defects present a tripping hazard.”
Section 307.3.3	Containers. Must be in compliance with Ordinance 1998-9, Installation of Trash Receptacle Enclosures.
Section 602.3	Heat supply. Insert: "November 1 to April 1."
Section 602.4	Occupiable workspaces. Insert: "November 1 to April 1."
Section 604.2	Service. Delete: “Dwelling units shall be served by a 120/240 volt, single-phase electrical service having a rating of not less than 60 amperes.” “Every dwelling shall be served by a main service that is not less than 100 amperes, three-wire, 220 volt three-wire, single-phase electrical service.”
Section 702.5	Basement bedrooms. Every basement used for sleeping shall comply with Chapter 4 and shall have a second means of egress in accordance with Section 702.4 as well as Section 704.

§ 148-3 Violations and penalties.

Any person who shall violate any provisions of this chapter shall, upon conviction thereof, be sentenced to pay a fine not exceeding $1,000. Each day that a violation continues beyond the date fixed for compliance shall constitute a separate offense. It is further provided that, upon judgement against any person by summary conviction, or by proceedings by summons on default of payment of the fine or penalty imposed and the costs, the defendant may be sentenced and committed to the county prison for a period not exceeding 30 days.

§ 148-4 Saving clause.

Nothing in this article or in the code hereby adopted shall be construed to affect any suit or proceeding impending in any court, or any rights acquired, or liability incurred, or any cause of action acquired or existing, nor shall any just or legal right or remedy or any character be lost, impaired or affected by this article.