[HISTORY: Adopted by the City of Rochester 6-6-1995 as Ch. 40 of the 1995 Code. Amendments
noted where applicable.]
The provisions of New Hampshire Revised Statutes Annotated Chapter
673, as amended, pertaining to an inspector of buildings, building
plans, regulations, and appeal are hereby adopted.
The power of a Building Code Board of Appeals in Chapter 673
of the New Hampshire Revised Statutes Annotated shall be vested in
the Rochester Zoning Board of Adjustment.
[Amended 4-19-2005]
The City of Rochester hereby recognizes that the State Building
Code under RSA 155-A and the State Fire Code under RSA 153 are applicable
within the City of Rochester and for enforcement purposes adopts the
provisions of the same.
[Amended 4-19-2005; 10-15-2013]
For enforcement purposes by the City of Rochester, all references
in the State Building Code under RSA 155-A, or in any applicable successor
code, to the "department of building safety" shall be deemed to refer
to the Department of Building, Zoning, and Licensing Services for
the City of Rochester, and all duties as defined therein, including
those imposed upon the "Building Official," shall be assumed by said
Director of the Building, Zoning, and Licensing Services Department,
along with the right to enforce the same.
[Amended 4-19-2005; 9-4-2007; 5-18-2010; 10-15-2013; 8-6-2019; 4-6-2021]
A.
Pursuant to the provisions of RSA 42:8, 47:17, 47:22, 674:51 and
674:51-a and any other State law delegating authority to do so, there
are hereby adopted by the City of Rochester for the purpose of establishing
rules and regulations, including the issuance of permits for the construction,
alteration, removal, demolition, equipment, location, maintenance,
use and occupancy of buildings and structures, installation of plumbing,
use of concrete, masonry, metal, iron and wood, and other building
material, the installation of electric wiring, and fire protection
incident thereto and for the prevention of fires, the following codes:
(1)
International
Property Maintenance Code (2015 edition), published by the International
Code Council, Inc., Copyright 2015 with the following additions and
deletions:
(a)
Section
101.1. Insert: [City of Rochester].
(b)
Section
304.14. Insert: [May 15th to September 1st].
(c)
Section
602.3. Insert: [September 1st to May 15th].
(d)
Section
602.4. Insert: [September 1st to May 15th]
(e)
[A] 102.3 Application of other codes. Repairs, additions or alterations to a structure, or changes of occupancy, shall be done in accordance with the procedures and provisions of the State Fire Code as defined in RSA 153:1, VI-a and the State Building Code as defined in RSA 155-A:1, IV. Nothing in this code shall be construed to cancel, modify or set aside any provision of the Rochester Zoning Ordinances contained in Chapter 275.
(f)
[A]
112.4 Failure to comply. Any person who shall continue any work after
having been served with a stop work order, except such work as that
person is directed to perform to remove a violation or unsafe condition,
shall be liable to a fine in accordance with RSA 676:17.
(g)
Delete
sections 103.5, 302.4, 304.1.1, 305.1.1, and 306.1.1.
(2)
International
Existing Building Code, as codified at RSA 155-A.
B.
Three copies of each of the aforesaid codes have been and are now
on file in the office of the City Clerk of the City of Rochester and
three copies of such codes are filed with the Department of Building,
Zoning, and Licensing Services for the City of Rochester. Such codes
are hereby adopted and incorporated as fully as if set out at length
herein, and from the date on which this section shall take effect,
the provisions thereof shall be controlling on the construction of
all buildings and other structures within the corporate limits of
the City of Rochester. There are annexed to such of the aforesaid
codes, as filed in the office of the City Clerk and the Department
of Building, Zoning, and Licensing Services, as set forth below, the
following exhibits setting forth the insertions in, deletions from,
exceptions to and/or changes in such codes, which insertions, deletions,
exceptions and/or changes are adopted as part of the aforementioned
codes:
(1)
Exhibit
A, Statement dated January 4, 2011, of insertions in, deletions from,
exceptions to and changes in the International Existing Building Code
(2009 edition) by the City of Rochester, New Hampshire.
[Amended 4-19-2005; 8-6-2019]
The duties defined in and the enforcement of the Life Safety
Code, as codified at RSA 153 or any applicable successor code, shall
be assumed by the Fire Chief of the City of Rochester or his/her authorized
representative.
[Amended 4-19-2005; 9-4-2007; 10-15-2013; 8-6-2019; 6-1-2021]
The duties defined in and the enforcement of the NEC 2005, National
Electrical Code, as codified by RSA 155-A, and the International Property
Maintenance Code (2015 edition), or any applicable successor codes,
shall be assumed by the Director of Building, Zoning, and Licensing
Services or his/her authorized representative.
[Amended 4-19-2005; 9-4-2007; 10-15-2013; 3-5-2019; 8-6-2019]
The duties defined in and the enforcement of the International Plumbing Code, as codified at RSA 155-A, or any applicable successor code, shall be assumed by the Director of Building, Zoning, and Licensing Services, or his/her authorized representative, except as otherwise provided in Chapter 200, Sewers, of the Code of the City of Rochester where the same are defined as the duties of the Commissioner of Public Works, with inspections to be done by the Director of Building, Zoning, and Licensing Services or an authorized member of the Division of Water Supply Works or Division of Sewage and Waste Treatment Works.
Any individual or entity engaged in excavation, development,
construction, building, and/or similar project within the City and
involving the outside storage of construction and/or related equipment
and/or materials shall forthwith cease to store such equipment and/or
materials upon the premises involving such excavation, development,
construction, building and/or similar project upon the expiration
of the building permit or other similar authorization for such project,
or upon the written notification by the City Engineer that such project
has been completed, whichever event shall first occur. Upon removal
of such equipment and/or material upon the completion of a project,
the land disturbed by such storage shall be returned to its original
state.
[Amended 10-15-2013]
The Director of Building, Zoning, and Licensing Services, the
Fire Chief, or their authorized representatives in the discharge of
their official duties and upon proper identification shall have authority
to enter any building, structures, or premises at any reasonable hour.
Where the word "municipality" is used in any code adopted herein,
it shall be deemed to mean the City of Rochester. Where the words
"corporate counsel" or "legal representative" are used in any code
adopted herein, they shall be deemed to refer to the Rochester City
Solicitor.
A.
Any person who shall violate any provisions of any code adopted herein,
or fail to comply therewith or with any requirements thereof, or who
shall erect, construct, alter, or repair or has erected, constructed,
altered, or repaired a building or structure or portion thereof in
violation of a detailed statement or plan submitted and approved thereunder,
or of a permit or certificate issued thereunder, shall be punishable
by a civil penalty of two hundred seventy-five dollars ($275.) for
the first offense and five hundred fifty dollars ($550.) for subsequent
offenses, for each day that such violation is found by a court to
continue after the conviction date or after the date on which the
violator receives written notice from the City that he/she is in violation
thereof, whichever date is earlier. Each day that a violation continues
shall be a separate offense. The owner of a building or structure
or portion thereof or of the premises where anything in violation
of any code adopted herein shall be placed or shall exist, and an
architect, building contractor, agent, person or corporation employed
in connection therewith and who may have assisted in the commission
of such violation, shall be guilty of a separate offense and upon
conviction thereof shall be punishable by a civil penalty of two hundred
seventy-five dollars ($275.) for the first offense and five hundred
fifty dollars ($550.) for subsequent offenses, for each day that such
violation is found by a court to continue after the conviction date
or after the date on which the violator receives written notice from
the City that he/she is in violation thereof, whichever date is earlier.
Each day that a violation continues shall be a separate offense.
[Amended 4-5-2016; 3-5-2019]
B.
The imposition of the penalties herein prescribed shall not preclude
the City Solicitor from instituting an appropriate action or procedure
to prevent any unlawful erection, construction, reconstruction, alteration,
repair, conversion, maintenance or use, or to restrain, correct or
abate a violation or to prevent the occupancy of a building, structure,
or premises, or portion thereof, or of the premises, or to prevent
an illegal act, conduct, business or use in or about the premises.
[1]
Editor's Note: Former § 40-13, Fire limits established,
as amended, was repealed 6-1-2021.
When the provisions of any codes adopted herein cover essentially
the same subject matter, the more restrictive provisions shall apply.
A.
Permits shall be obtained from the Director of Building, Zoning,
and Licensing Services for the construction, alteration, removal,
demolition, or repair of any foundation, footing, building or structure
or for the installation of plumbing, use of concrete, masonry, metal,
iron and wood, and other building material, the installation of electric
wiring, and fire protection incident thereto for the prevention of
fires, including but not limited to swimming pools, signs, and fences,
except that no permit shall be required for painting, papering, laying
floors, or upkeep in maintenance of any structure. Separate permits
shall be required for building, electrical, plumbing, mechanical,
fire protection, and demolition. Prior to the issuance of a foundation
or building permit by the Director of Building, Zoning, and Licensing
Services, the applicant for such permit shall file with the Department
of the Building, Zoning, and Licensing Services a foundation certification
plan bearing the stamp of a New Hampshire licensed land surveyor and
containing a statement from such surveyor to the effect that the proposed
building or structure complies with all applicable building or structure
setback requirements and that no portion of the new building or structure
is located within any of the setback areas required by law. The requirement
for a foundation certification plan may be waived, in writing, by
the Director of Building, Zoning, and Licensing Services if, in the
discretion of the Director of Building, Zoning, and Licensing Services
there are reasonable grounds to conclude that the preparation and
submission of a foundation certification plan is unnecessary to ensure
that the new building or structure does not violate any required setback.
[Amended 6-15-1999; 6-15-2004; 10-15-2013]
(1)
The following fees shall be charged for said permits, based upon
the estimated cost of construction as presented to the Director of
Building, Zoning, and Licensing Services upon application forms provided
by him/her: on proposed work, the fee of nine dollars ($9.) per one
thousand dollars ($1,000.) of estimated cost of work, or any portion
thereof, with a minimum fee of ten dollars ($10.), in addition to
an application fee of ten dollars ($10.) for each permit. The following
permits shall be a charged only the minimum permit fee of ten dollars
($10.), in addition to an application fee of ten dollars ($10.) for
each permit:
[Amended 10-1-2019]
(2)
Each building permit shall expire 12 months from the date of issuance
unless renewed by the Director of Building, Zoning, and Licensing
Services prior to the expiration date. Any renewal shall require reapplication
and payment of required fees based on the remaining work to be done.
The Director of Building, Zoning, and Licensing Services may issue
no building permit until such other permits or approvals as may be
required by any code, other ordinances, or state statutes have been
acquired.
(4)
Fees for building permits shall be waived for an honorably discharged
veteran or an active duty, National Guard or reserve member of the
United States Armed Forces who plans to construct or have constructed
for himself/herself a home or appurtenance to a home already owned
by him/her for exclusive occupancy by himself/herself and his/her
immediate family.
[Amended 1-12-2016]
(5)
Permits issued to or for the City of Rochester are exempt from the
above fees.
B.
The estimated cost of construction for purposes of Subsection A of this section shall be calculated on the following basis:
[Amended 9-4-2007; 1-4-2011]
(1)
For contract work, new buildings and newly constructed additions,
the building permit fee shall be based on the greater of all contract/construction
costs associated with the total construction project or the cost of
construction as determined using the latest "Building Valuation Data"
as published periodically by the International Code Council. When
construction costs are determined using the "Building Valuation Data"
as published by the International Code Council, such costs shall be
multiplied by a modification factor of 0.60. Construction costs shall
include, but not be limited to, pile driving, foundations, structural
and nonstructural framing, interior finish (as regulated by this chapter),
fire protection systems and any other work which would render the
building complete and ready for occupancy.
[Amended 3-5-2019]
(2)
For non-contract work, not covered under Subsection B(1), such as when a homeowner furnishes his/her own or has furnished free labor but purchases the materials, the fee shall be based on the actual cost of all materials with a multiplier of two applied. For example, total materials of five thousand dollars ($5,000.): $5,000 x 2 = $10,000. The permit fee would therefore be ninety dollars ($90.) (or 10.0 x $9). If, in the opinion of the Building Official, the cost of construction is underestimated on the application, the permit shall be denied, unless the applicant can show detailed documentation to meet the approval of the Building Official. Final building permit cost of construction shall be approved by the Building Official.
(3)
Any person who is found to have demolished, constructed, altered, removed, or changed the use of a building or structure without the benefit of a building, electrical, plumbing, mechanical, fire protection or demolition permit shall, before issuing the permits, be assessed a permit fee of twice the normal rate outlined in Subsection A of this section or twenty-five dollars ($25.), whichever is greater. Example: Cost of materials = $15,392; Labor = Self; Permit Fee = 16.0 x $9 x 2 (self labor) x 2 (added fee) = $576.
[Amended 6-1-2021]
(4)
In the case of a revocation of a permit or abandonment or discontinuance
of a building project, the portion of the work actually completed
shall be computed and any excess fee for the uncompleted work shall
be returned to the permit holder upon written request. All plan examination
and permit processing fees and all penalties that have been imposed
on the permit holder under the requirements of this chapter shall
first be collected. The permit processing fee shall be 10% of the
building permit application fee with a minimum fee of ten dollars
($10.).
[Amended 3-5-2019]
Nothing in this chapter or in the codes hereby adopted shall
be construed to affect any suit or proceeding now pending in any court
or any rights acquired or liability incurred, nor any causes of action
accrued or existing, under any act or ordinance repealed hereby, nor
shall any right or remedy of any character be lost, impaired, or affected
by this chapter. This chapter shall have prospective application only.
The invalidity of any section or provision of this chapter or
of the codes hereby adopted shall not invalidate any other sections
or provisions thereof.
[Amended 2-4-1997; 10-15-2013]
Within 30 days of the issuance of a certificate of occupancy
or, in the case of a project which is terminated or delayed indefinitely,
within 30 days of appropriate notification by the Director of Building,
Zoning, and Licensing Services, the land at any construction site
must be reclaimed. Such reclamation includes removal of all vehicles,
equipment, materials, and temporary structures related to the construction
project and restoration of any disturbed land to a grassed, planted,
or otherwise erosion-free condition.
