The Township hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions
of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act, Act 45 of 1999, as amended
from time to time, and its regulations.
The Uniform Construction Code, contained in 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 of the Township.
Administration and enforcement of the code within the Township
shall be undertaken in any of the following ways, as determined by
the Council of the Township from time to time by resolution:
A. By the designation of an employee of the Township to serve as the
municipal code official to act on behalf of the Township;
B. By the retention of one or more construction code officials or third-party
agencies to act on behalf of the Township;
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;
E. By entering into an agreement 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 of Council
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 for the administration and enforcement
undertaken pursuant to this article and the code shall be established
by Council by resolution from time to time.
[Added 12-12-2004 by Ord.
No. 1123]
The following existing requirements, including those required
under Township Ordinance No. 1008 (the "Prior Building Code"), continue
to be valid and enforceable regulations pursuant to Section 303 of
the code:
A. Permits shall not be required for the following. Exemption from the
permit requirements of this code shall not be deemed to grant authorization
for any work to be done in any manner in violation of the provisions
of this code or any other laws or ordinances of this jurisdiction.
(1) Building: One-story detached accessory structures, provided the floor
area does not exceed 200 square feet (18.58 m2).
B. Any owner or authorized agent who intends to construct, enlarge,
alter, repair, move, demolish or change the occupancy of a building
or structure, or to erect, install, enlarge, alter, repair, remove,
convert or replace any electrical, gas, mechanical or plumbing system
the installation of which is regulated by this code, or to cause any
such work to be done, shall first make application to the Building
Official and obtain the required permit.
C. Smoke alarms.
(1) When
interior alterations, repairs or additions requiring a permit occur
or when one or more sleeping rooms are added or created in existing
dwellings, the individual dwelling unit shall be provided with smoke
alarms located as required for new dwellings; the smoke alarms shall
be interconnected and hardwired.
(2) Exceptions:
(a) Smoke alarms in existing areas shall not be required to be interconnected
and hardwired where the alterations or repairs do not result in the
removal of interior wall or ceiling finishes exposing the structure,
unless there is an attic, crawl space, or basement available which
could provide access for hardwiring and interconnection without the
removal of interior finishes.
(b)
Repairs to the exterior surfaces of dwellings are exempt from
the requirements of this section.
D. Naturally cut trees shall be regulated by Section 804 of the 2003
International Fire Code.
E. The requirements relating to the necessity of having a registered
architect's or engineer's seal on residential dwellings shall remain
in effect.
F. All relevant ordinances, regulations and policies of the Township
not governed by the code shall remain in full force and effect. Undefined
terms in this article shall have the meaning ascribed to it in the
Building Code.