[Adopted 7-14-1980 by Ord. No. 80-11 (Ch. 32 of the 1971 Code)]
[Amended 6-8-1981 by Ord. No. 81-11; 9-13-1988 by Ord. No. 88-16]
BOCA Basic Building Code. There is hereby adopted in its entirety by the township, copies of which are on file in the office of the township, that certain Building Code, known as the "BOCA Basic Building Code, 1988 Edition," including future supplements which may from time to time be published by the Building Officials and Code Administrators International, Inc., and the "One- and Two-Family Dwelling Code, 1986 Edition," save and except such portions as are hereinafter deleted, modified or amended. All such future editions as are published shall be adopted and supersede any previous BOCA Codes.
A. 
Office of Code Enforcement. All of the provisions of the Code Enforcement Ordinance of the township are hereby adopted with this article. The administration and enforcement of this article and of the BOCA Basic Building Code adopted herein shall be carried out by the Office of Code Enforcement of the township, in accordance with the procedures established by the BOCA Basic Building Code adopted herein. Said Code Enforcement Ordinance provides for certain powers and duties of a Code Enforcement Officer, for the creation of a Code Hearing Board and for procedures relative to applications, fees, permits, inspections, appeals, penalties and other matters. The following terms, as used in the BOCA Basic Building Code adopted herein, shall have the following meaning:
BOARD OF APPEALS — Code Hearing Board.
BUILDING OFFICIAL — Code Enforcement Officer.
CORPORATION COUNSEL — Solicitor of the township.
DEPARTMENT OF BUILDING INSPECTION — Office of Code Enforcement.
NAME OF JURISDICTION —  The Township of Marple.
A. 
Deletions. The following sections of the BOCA Basic Building Code adopted herein are hereby deleted in their entirety.
[Amended 6-8-1981 by Ord. No. 81-11]
(1) 
Section 109.0, Department of Building Inspection.
(2) 
Section 114.0, Fees.
(3) 
Section 123.0.
(4) 
Section 124.2 through 124.7.3.
B. 
Amendments. The following sections of the BOCA Basic Building Code are hereby amended to read as follows:
(1) 
The boundaries of the Fire Districts referred to in Section 501.2 shall be as follows: All land zoned B Business, B-1 Shopping Center District, I Light Industrial District, A Apartment District and O Office District.
[Amended 6-8-1981 by Ord. 81-11]
(2) 
Section 118.2, Unlawful continuance. The penalty referred to in this section shall be the same as the penalty for other violations as specified in the Code Enforcement Ordinance of the township.
[Amended 6-8-1981 by Ord. No. 81-11; 4-9-2001 by Ord. No. 2001-8]
(3) 
Section 124.1, Application for appeal. The owner of a building or structure or any other person may appeal from a decision of the Building Official refusing to grant a modification of the provisions of the Basic Code covering the manner of construction or materials to be used in the erection, alteration or repair of a building or structure to the Board of Commissioners. Application for appeal may be made when it is claimed that the true intent of the Basic Code or the rules legally adopted thereunder have been incorrectly interpreted, the provisions of the Basic Code do not fully apply or an equally good or better form of construction can be used.
[Amended 6-8-1981 by Ord. No. 81-11]
(4) 
[Amended 6-8-1981 by Ord. No. 81-11] Section 622.2, Lanes and parking areas. Access lanes not less than 12 feet in width shall be provided for each row of cars; and the parking space shall be not less than 10 feet by 20 feet in area for each motor vehicle.
(5) 
Section 622.3, Change to off-street parking.
[Amended 6-8-1981 by Ord. No. 81-11; 5-9-1983 by Ord. No. 83-5]
All dwellings hereafter constructed in the Township of Marple shall provide a minimum of one off-street paved parking space per dwelling unit, except as otherwise required by the Zoning Ordinance. Said off-street paved parking space may be provided in a garage with a paved drive leading from the street to the garage or on a paved pad with a minimum dimension of 10 feet by 20 feet. Driveways leading to the garage or paved parking pad must be a minimum of eight feet wide. All drives and off-street paved parking spaces in residential districts shall be constructed of a minimum of four inches of compacted crushed stone base on a thoroughly compacted subgrade with a minimum of two inches of ID-2 wearing course or six inches of reinforced concrete or seven inches of unreinforced concrete. Concrete shall have a certified minimum compressive strength of 3,500 pounds per square inch. Drives and off-street paved parking spaces in all districts other than residential shall be designed by a registered engineer to withstand the anticipated loads but shall, at a minimum, have a base course of six inches of crushed stone compacted over a thoroughly compacted subgrade with 2 1/2 inches of ID-2 placed as 1 1/2 inches of binder course and one inch of wearing course. Off-street parking pads shall not be permitted within the street right-of-way. Every application for a permit to construct or alter a building requiring off-street parking under the terms of the provisions hereinbefore set forth shall have indicated on it, and in the plans and specifications which accompany it, sufficient information regarding the off-street parking which it is proposed to provide so as to enable the Building Official to determine that the requirements with respect to off-street parking are being complied with. Every building permit issued pursuant to an application and plans which include off-street parking shall be deemed to be a permit onditioned upon the completion of the required off-street parking facilities. Failure to complete the required off-street facilities shall be a violation of the terms of the permit and shall constitute a violation of this article. No certificate of occupancy shall be issued until the required off-street parking facilities have been completed.
Driveways.
Location. Driveways shall be so located as to provide reasonable sight distance at intersection with streets and not closer than five feet from side lot lines. A stopping area measured 20 feet behind the right-of-way line shall be provided not to exceed a four-percent grade.
Intersections. Driveways shall be located not less than 40 feet from the street intersection and shall provide access to the street of a lesser classification when there are streets of different classes involved.
Pavement widths and grade. Driveway paving widths and grade shall be as follows:
Land Use
Minimum
Paving
Width
(feet)
Maximum
Curb Cut
(feet)
Maximum
Grade
Maximum
Change of
Grade per
10 Feet
Single-family
8
15
14%
10%
residential
Multifamily
12
23
8%
10%
residential
(one-way)
24
35
8%
10%
(two-way)
Commercial,
12
23
5%
7%
industrial
(one-way)
and
24
35
5%
7%
institutional
(two-way)
All driveways shall be located, designed and constructed in such a manner as not to interfere or be inconsistent with the design maintenance and drainage of the highway.
Frontage of 50 feet or less shall be limited to one driveway. Normally not more than two driveways need to be provided to any single property, tract or business establishment. Exceptions may be made where the frontage exceeds 300 feet in length.
Driveway cut at curb area shall be independent from the apron. The sidewalk area under the driveway shall have a minimum thickness of six inches of concrete. The concrete apron including the sidewalk area in the driveway shall be reinforced with wire, six inches by six inches, number 9 wire (minimum). Two layers of this wire shall be utilized with a minimum of two-inch spacing between layers. The wire shall be installed so that it is not closer than 1/2 inch from the top or bottom surfaces of the driveway.
All concrete used in the construction of improvements shall be certified to develop a compressive stress of at least 3,500 pounds per square inch air entrained at 28 days with certification of the mix furnished to the Township Engineer or the Township Director of Code Enforcement.
A one-half-inch premolded expansion joint shall be placed between all joints where concrete sidewalk abuts a concrete curb.
(6) 
Section 627.9, Swimming pool safety devices. This section is supplemented by the following:
[Amended 6-8-1981 by Ord. No. 81-11]
All gates must be self-latching and self-closing with latches placed four feet above the underlying ground or otherwise made inaccessible from the outside to small children. All gates must be kept closed except during ingress and egress.
(7) 
Fire suppression systems. Section 1002.0 of the 1987 National Building Code is amended as follows:
[Added 3-13-1989 by Ord. No. 89-8]
SECTION 1002.0 FIRE SUPPRESSION SYSTEMS
1002.1 Where required: Fire suppression systems shall be installed and maintained in full operating condition, as specified by this code, in the locations indicated in Sections 1002.2 through 1002.23.
1002.2 Use Group A-1: In all buildings or structures or portions thereof when more than 1,500 square feet.
1002.3 Use Group A-2: In all buildings or structures or portions thereof of Use Group A-2:
1.
When more than 1,500 square feet (1,116 square meters) in area.
1002.4 Use Group A-3: In all buildings or structures or portions thereof of Use Group A-3 when more than 1,500 square feet (1,116 square meters) in area.
1002.5 Stages and enclosed platforms: Stages under the roof and gridiron, in the tie and fly galleries, and in all places behind the proscenium wall of the stage; over and within enclosed platforms in excess of 500 square feet (465 square meters) in area; and in dressing rooms, lounges, workshops and storerooms accessory to such stages or enclosed platforms.
Exceptions
1.
Stages or enclosed platforms open to the auditorium room on three or more sides.
2.
Altars, pulpits or similar platforms and their accessory rooms.
3.
Stage gridirons when sidewall sprinklers with one-hundred--thirty-five-degree-Fahrenheit (fifty--seven-degree-Celsius) rated heads with heat-baffle plates are installed around the perimeter of the stage except for the proscenium opening at points not more than 30 inches (762 millimeters) below the gridiron nor more than six inches (152 millimeters) below the baffle plate.
4.
Under stage or under enclosed platform areas less than four feet (1219 millimeters) in clear height used exclusively for chair or table storage and lined on the inside with materials approved for one-hour-fire-resistance-rated construction.
1002.6 Use Group B; R-1, R-2, R-3 and R-4: In all buildings or structures or portions thereof when more than 1,500 square feet.
1002.7 Use Group E: In all buildings or structures or portions thereof when more than 1,500 square feet.
1002.8 Use Group H: In all buildings or structures or portions thereof of Use Group H.
1002.9 Use Group I: In all buildings or structures or portions thereof when more than 1,500 square feet.
1002.10 Use Groups M, S-2, F and U: In all buildings or structures or portions thereof when more than 1,500 square feet.
1002.11 Public garages (Groups 1 and 2): In all public garages when more than 1,500 square feet. Exception: open parking structure as defined in Section 607.1.
1002.12 All use groups: An automatic suppression system shall be installed in any portion of a structure below a residential occupancy, regardless of floor area.
1002.13 Bus garages: In all bus garages:
1.
When required by Section 1002.10.
2.
When used as passenger terminals for four or more buses.
3.
When used for storage or loading of four or more buses.
1002.14 Unlimited area buildings: In unlimited area buildings as required by Section 504.0.
1002.15 Storage and workshop areas: In all portions of Use Groups A, B, E, I, R-1 and R-2 occupied for storage, workshop or similar purposes and as provided in Sections 610.2 and 611.7 for Use Groups I-2 and I-3, respectively.
1002.16 All use groups: An automatic suppression system shall be installed in any below-grade area of 1,500 square feet or more.
1002.17 Painting rooms: In spray-painting rooms or shops where painting, brushing, dipping or mixing is regularly conducted using flammable materials.
1002.18 Trash rooms and chutes: In rooms or areas used for incineration, trash and laundry collection and similar uses and at alternate floor levels and at the top of all chutes used in conjunction with these rooms or areas.
1002.19 Furnace rooms: In furnace rooms, boiler rooms and rooms for similar uses.
1002.20 Unenclosed vertical openings: In unenclosed vertical openings between floors as required by Section 606.3.
1002.21 Kitchen exhaust systems: In commercial exhaust systems when such systems are required by the Mechanical Code listed in Appendix A.
1002.22 Hazardous exhaust systems: In duct systems exhausting hazardous materials in accordance with the Mechanical Code listed in Appendix A.
1002.23 Alternate protection: In special use areas of buildings or structures, an automatic fire alarm system may be installed in lieu of a fire suppression when approved by the code official and Chief Fire Official and when such fire suppression system installation would be detrimental or dangerous to the specific use or occupancy.
[Amended 6-8-1981 by Ord. No. 81-11]
Insertion of words or phrases in the BOCA Basic Building Code shall be as follows (in the sections where insertions are necessary):
A. 
Section 100-1: "Township of Marple."
B. 
Section 1807.2.1: "three feet."
C. 
Section 1807.2.2: "three feet."
Nothing in this article or in the BOCA Basic Building Code herein adopted shall be construed to affect any suit or proceedings now pending in any court or any rights acquired or liability incurred or any cause or causes of action accrued or existing, under any act or ordinance repealed hereby. No right or remedy of any characters shall be lost, impaired or affected by this article.
The invalidity of any section or provisions of this article or of the BOCA Basic Building Code herein adopted shall not invalidate other sections or provisions thereof.
This article, together with the BOCA Basic Building Code adopted herein, shall be known and may be cited as the "Building Code of the Township."