[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Supervisors of the Township of Bethel as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Fences — See Ch. 203.
Floodplain management — See Ch. 222.
Land disturbance activities — See Ch. 254.
Occupancy permits — See Ch. 285.
Property maintenance — See Ch. 315.
Sewers — See Ch. 338.
Soil removal — See Ch. 359.
Stormwater management — See Ch. 384.
Subdivision and land development — See Ch. 395.
Zoning — See Ch. 480.
[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.
A. 
All building code ordinances or portions of ordinances which were adopted by the Township of Bethel 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 such 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 of Bethel not governed by the Code shall remain in full force and effect.
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.