[Adopted 2-3-1953 by Ord. No. 11]
No building permit shall be issued by the Building Inspector
of the Township of Bethel unless the plans and specifications conform
to the Building Code of the Township and amendments thereto.
No one-story dwelling shall be erected in the Township of Bethel
unless it complies with the following requirements of the Township:
A. One-story dwellings shall contain at least 900 square feet of floor
space on the first floor, exclusive of offsets or additions.
B. That the height of the rooms between floor and ceiling shall be not
less than seven feet six inches.
C. That no flat roof shall be permitted on a one-story dwelling, except
by special consent of the Board of Supervisors.
D. The pitch of the roof of a one-story dwelling shall be not less than
eight inches vertical for 12 inches horizontal.
No two-story dwelling shall be erected in the Township unless
it complies with the following requirements of the Township:
A. That on the first floor thereof there shall be at least 675 square
feet, exclusive of offsets or additions.
B. That on the second floor thereof there shall be at least 500 square
feet.
C. That the height of the rooms on the first floor shall be at least
seven feet six inches between floor and ceiling.
D. That the height of the rooms on the second floor shall be at least
seven feet six inches between floor and ceiling.
No one-and-one-half-story dwellings shall be erected in the
Township unless it complies with the following requirements of the
Township.
A. One-and-one-half-story dwellings shall contain at least 850 square
feet of floor space on the first floor, exclusive of offsets or additions.
B. The height of the rooms between floor and ceiling shall be not less
than seven feet six inches.
C. The pitch of the roof of a one-and-one-half-story dwelling shall
be not less than eight inches vertical for 12 inches horizontal.
D. That to use the space between the first floor rafters and the roof
for dwelling purposes, there shall be at least 300 square feet of
floor space with a minimum ceiling of seven feet six inches between
floor and ceiling covering the entire 300 square feet of floor space.
[Adopted 6-8-2004 by Ord. No. 162]
The Township of Bethel elects to administer and enforce the
provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act, Act 45 of 1999,
35 P.S. §§ 7210.101-7210.1103, as amended from time
to time, and its regulations.
The Uniform Code contained in 34 Pa. Code, Chapters 401-405,
as amended from time to time, is hereby adopted and incorporated herein
by reference as the municipal building code of this municipality,
excluding Section 403.62(c)(1)(xvii).
Administration and enforcement of the Code within the Township
of Bethel shall be undertaken in any of the following ways as determined
by the governing body of the Township of Bethel from time to time
by resolution:
A. By the designation of an employee of the Township of Bethel to serve
as the Township of Bethel code official to act on behalf of the Township
of Bethel.
B. By the retention of one or more construction code officials or third-party
agencies to act on behalf of the Township of Bethel.
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 the Township of Bethel.
E. By entering 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 by the
Board of Supervisors of the Township of Bethel in conformity with
the requirements of the relevant provisions of the Code, as amended
from time to 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.
Fees assessable by the Township of Bethel for the administration
and enforcement undertaken pursuant to this article and the Code shall
be established by the governing body by resolution from time to time.
[Added 1-8-2008 by Ord. No. 180]
A. A building permit shall be required for all residential construction,
erection, replacement or enlargement of decks, porches, and stoops.
An exception to this requirement is the replacing of deck flooring
and minor repairs to existing decks, porches or stoops.
B. A building permit shall be required for all residential utility and
miscellaneous use structures with a building area exceeding 200 square
feet.
C. A building permit shall be required for the refinishing of a residential
basement to make said area into a recreation room or other habitable
space.
D. A building permit and an electrical permit, if any electrical work
is to be performed, shall be required to replace, repair or enlarge
any apron or concrete area around a residential swimming pool.
E. A building permit shall be required to replace or repair roofing
materials or roof structures on residential buildings; provided, however,
that repairs of areas less than 25% of the aggregate roof area shall
not require a permit; provided further, that an owner may make only
one minor repair in a year and no more than two total minor repairs
without obtaining a building permit.