Warwick Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, hereby elects to administrator and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act, Act 45 of 1999, 35 P.S. § 4 7210.101 through § 7210.1103, as amended from time to time, and its regulations.
The Uniform Construction Code, contained within Title 34 Pa. Code, Chapters 401 through 405, as amended from time to time, is hereby adopted and incorporated herein by reference as the municipal building code for Warwick Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania.
Administration and enforcement of the code within Warwick Township shall be undertaken, as determined by the Board of Supervisors for Warwick Township. Bucks County, Pennsylvania, in accordance with the regulations of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act.
This code may be changed and/or modified by the governing body of Warwick Township in accordance with the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act, Act 45 of 1999, 35 P.S. § 7210.101 through § 7210.1103, Section 503.
A fee schedule assessable by Warwick Township for the administration and enforcement undertaken pursuant to this chapter and the code shall be established by the governing body of Warwick Township by resolution from time to time.
In accordance with Section 403.102, (1) of Title 34, Part XIV, Chapter 403, the following regulations set forth in the Pennsylvania Code are amended as set forth below:
A. Section 403.43(g). Delete the words "5 years" and replace with the words "three years."
B. Section 403.43(h): The permit holder shall keep a copy of the permit on the work site until the completion of the construction or the issuance of a use and occupancy permit, whichever comes later.
C. Section 403.62.(c).(1).(xvii) is deleted in its entirety.
D. Section 403,64.(d). Delete numbers 1through 4 and replace with the following:
(5) Plumbing, mechanical and electrical system inspection.
(6) Frame and masonry inspection.
E. 34 Pa Code 403.82 is hereby amended to read as follows: A building code official shall follow the following procedures if an inspection of an occupied building reveals a violation of the Uniform Construction Code:
(1) A construction code official shall discuss the inspection results with the permit holder at the completion of the inspection.
(2) The building code official may issue a written notice of violations to the permit holder. The notice is to contain a description of the violations and an order requiring correction of the violations within a reasonable period determined by the building code official. When a violation relates to an unsafe building, structure or equipment, a building code official shall act in accordance with § 403.84 (relating to unsafe building, structure or equipment).
(3) After the compliance date contained in the order, the building code official shall inspect the building, structure or equipment to determine whether the violation was corrected. The building code official shall close the order if the violation was corrected. The building code official may issue an order to show cause under § 403.83 (relating to order to show cause/order to vacate) to the owner for a violation that was not corrected.
[Added 6-6-2005 by Ord. No. 2005-5]
A. In accordance with Section 503.0 of Act 93, Warwick Township may propose and enact an ordinance that exceeds the minimum requirements of Act 45, adopts additional code requirements for alterations associated with residential buildings or adopts stricter code requirements for the regulation of utility and miscellaneous use structures.
B. In accordance with this section, Warwick Township shall keep in full force and effect the following requirements in its Building Code, which provisions were in effect as of July 1, 1999, and were previously retained within Ordinance No. 2004-03:
(1) All repairs and alterations to residential buildings and all repairs and alterations that increase habitable area, with the exception of certain finished basements as described below, shall comply with the Building Code of Warwick Township adopted on June 7, 2004, and any successor code adopted by the Township pursuant to Act 45 of 1999.
[Amended 9-5-2006 by Ord. No. 2006-2]
(a) R-3 detached single-family dwellings (fully suppressed with a sprinkler system conforming to NFPA 13D), R-2 townhouses, R-2 attached single-family dwellings, that were constructed prior to June 7, 2004, and which meet the following conditions are exempt from the egress requirements for habitable basements set forth in the International Residential Code at Section R310.1, provided that:
[1] No sleeping rooms shall be permitted in the basement;
[2] No structural changes will be made during the remodeling of the basement area;
[3] Interconnected smoke detectors must be provided throughout the dwelling, on each floor and in every bedroom;
[4] If a sprinkler system is present, it must be fully operational, and sprinkler head coverage shall meet the NFPA 13D standard for residential sprinkler systems; and
[5] A 10 ABC UL-approved fire extinguisher shall be available in the basement area within five feet of the egress stairs.
(2) Construction, alteration, enlargement, replacement, repair, removal and demolition of utility and miscellaneous use structures which are greater than 144 square feet in area shall comply with the Warwick Township Building Code adopted on June 7, 2004, and any successor code adopted by the Township pursuant to Act 45 of 1999.