[Adopted 2-25-2015 by Ord. No. 317 as Ch. 6, Art. II, of the 2015 Pittsfield
Charter Township Code]
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
The Department of Building Services, created in this article.
A.
The
Township Department of Building Services is hereby established.
B.
The
Department shall administer and enforce State Construction Code adopted
pursuant to the Stille-DeRossett-Hale Single State Construction Code
Act, MCL 125.1501 et seq.
C.
The
Department shall administer and enforce such other and further ordinances
and perform such other duties as the Township Board of Trustees may
authorize by resolution.
The Building Official shall be in charge of the Department.
The Building Official and inspectors in the Department are designated
as Ordinance Enforcement Officers.
B.
Appointment;
term of office; qualifications. The Construction Board of Appeals
shall consist of five members who shall serve for terms of five years
pursuant to the adopted codes. Members of the Board of Appeals shall
be appointed by the Township Board of Trustees and shall be qualified
by experience and training to perform the duties of the Board of Appeals
and registered in accordance with state law. The Building Official
shall serve as the Secretary to the Board of Appeals.
C.
Open
Meetings Act; Freedom of Information Act. The business of the Board
shall be conducted at a public meeting held in compliance with the
Open Meetings Act, MCL 15.261 et seq. Public notice of the time, date,
and place of the meeting shall be given in the manner required by
such Act. A record of decisions made by the Board, properly indexed
and any other writing prepared, owned, used, in the possession of,
or retained by the Board in the performance of an official function
shall be made available to the public in compliance with the Freedom
of Information Act, MCL 15.231 et seq.
Residential builders, maintenance and alteration contractors,
plumbing, mechanical, electrical, alarm or sign contractors who are
lawfully licensed by the state or, in the case of an electrical contractor,
a recognized municipality, shall, upon payment of a fee as provided
by resolution of the Township Board of Trustees, be permitted to do
the work for which they are licensed in the Township upon registering
as a contractor with the Department. The application must be made
by the license holder.
A.
No
person engaged in any construction or work regulated pursuant to this
section and this article shall operate a truck or commercial vehicles
upon the streets and highways of this Township unless the vehicle
has displayed upon it information relative to the name and address
of the person or business operating such vehicle.
B.
This
information shall be conspicuously placed upon the vehicle. For the
purpose of this section, "commercial vehicle" shall include all motor
vehicles used for the transportation of employees, goods, services
and wares, including vehicles signed to tow other vehicles. Vehicles
belonging to employees of contractors, and used only for personal
transportation to a job site, shall not be included.
The Township Board of Trustees shall, by resolution, establish
reasonable fees to be charged by the Department for acts and services
performed by the Department, the Fire Department, the Construction
Board of Appeals, the Planning Commission, and the Zoning Board of
Appeals, which fees shall be intended to bear a reasonable relation
to the cost, including overhead, to the Township of the acts and services,
including, without limitation, those services and acts as, in case
of the Department and the Fire Department, issuance of building permits,
examination of plans and specifications, inspection of construction
undertaken pursuant to a building permit, and the issuance of certificates
of use and occupancy and, in the case of Construction and Zoning Boards
of Appeals, hearing appeals in accordance with law and ordinances
of this Township. Fees adopted by resolution, unless otherwise provided
for in the resolution, shall be effective upon publication in a newspaper
having general circulation in the Township.
A.
Application;
form; contents. Except as otherwise provided by ordinance adopting
a nationally recognized code pursuant to Public Act No. 230 of 1972
(MCL 125.1501 et seq.), before commencing any construction of, or
in, a building or structure, the owner or agent shall submit an application
in writing to the Department for a building permit. A site plan showing
the dimensions and the location of the proposed building or structure
and other buildings or structures on the same premises shall be submitted
with the application. The application shall state in full the name
and residence, by street and number, of the owner in fee of the premises
on which the building or structure will be constructed and the purposes
for which it will be used. If construction is proposed to be undertaken
by a person other than the owner of the land in fee, the statement
shall contain the full name and residence, by street and number, of
the owner and also of the person proposing the construction. The application
may be made by an owner, or the owner's attorney, agent, engineer,
architect or builder. A person shall not be recognized as the agent,
attorney, engineer, architect or builder of another person unless
the person files with the Department a written instrument, which could
be an architectural, engineering or construction contract, power of
attorney or letter of authorization signed by the owner designating
the person as the agent, attorney, architect, engineer or builder
and, in case of a builder, setting forth the builder's state
license number.
B.
Freedom
of Information Act. The application for a building permit shall be
filed with the Department, and the application and any other writing
prepared, owned, used, in the possession of or retained by the Department
in the performance of an official function shall be made available
to the public in compliance with Public Act No. 442 of 1976 (MCL 15.231
et seq.). An application shall not be removed from the custody of
the Department after a building permit has been issued.
C.
Other requirements. Section 6-8 shall be construed to allow the imposition of requirements in the nationally recognized codes adopted pursuant to Public Act No. 230 of 1972 (MCL 125.1501 et seq.), or in other laws or ordinances, for addition permits for particular kinds of work, including plumbing and electrical or in other specified situations. The requirements of nationally recognized codes adopted by the Township may provide for issuance of construction permits for certain of the systems of a structure and allow construction to commence on those systems approved under that permit even though the design and approval of all systems of the structure have not been completed and subsequent construction permits have not been issued.
D.
Zoning
and other ordinances. Before the issuance of a building permit, the
applicant shall comply with the provisions of the Zoning Ordinance
of the Township, as amended, the land development standards of the
Township, as amended, and other ordinances.
A.
A building or structure shall not be used or occupied in whole or
in part until a certificate of use and occupancy has been issued by
the Department. A building or structure altered in whole or in part
shall not be used or occupied until such a certificate has been issued,
except that a use or occupancy in an already existing building or
structure that was not discontinued during its alteration may be continued
for 30 days after completion of the alteration without issuance of
a certificate of use and occupancy. A certificate of occupancy shall
be issued by the Zoning Administrator when the work covered by a building
permit and/or site plan has been completed in accordance with the
permit, this article and other applicable laws and ordinances.
B.
On request of a holder of a building permit the Department may issue
a temporary certificate of use and occupancy for a building or structure,
or part thereof, before the entire work covered by the building permit
has been completed, if the parts of the building or structure to be
covered by the certificate may be occupied before completion of all
work in accordance with the permit, this article and other applicable
laws and ordinances, without endangering the health or safety of the
occupants or users.
C.
When a building or structure has received final or temporary final
approval, the Department shall issue a certificate of use and occupancy
within five business days for single-family residential and 10 business
days for all other uses, after approval of the final building inspections
and receipt of a written application therefor on a form to be prescribed
by the Department. The certificate of use and occupancy shall certify
that the building or structure has been constructed in accordance
with the building permit and/or site plan, this article and other
applicable laws and ordinances.
Violation of this article shall be a municipal civil infraction subject to the penalties established by Chapter 2, Article V, Municipal Civil Infractions; Civil Fines and Penalties, of this Code. Each day a violation exists shall be deemed a separate offense. The imposition of any sentence shall not exempt the offender from compliance with the requirements of this article.
