West Leechburg Borough hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act, Act 45 of 1999, 35 P.S. §§ 7210.101 through 7210.1103, as amended from time to time, and its regulations.
[HISTORY: Adopted by the Borough Council of the Borough of West Leechburg as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 4-14-2004 by Ord. No. 279]
Administration and enforcement of the code within West Leechburg Borough shall be undertaken in any of the following ways as determined by the governing body of West Leechburg Borough from time to time by resolution:
A.
By the designation of an employee of the municipality to serve as the Municipal Code Official to act on behalf of the municipality:
B.
By the retention of one or more Construction Code Officials or third-party agencies to act on behalf of the municipality;
C.
By agreement with one or more other municipalities for the joint administration and enforcement of this chapter through an intermunicipal agreement;
D.
By entering into a contract with another municipality for the administration and enforcement of this chapter on behalf of West Leechburg Borough;
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 the governing body of West Leechburg Borough 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 West Leechburg Borough 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 West Leechburg Borough not governed by the code shall remain in full force and effect.
Fees assessable by the municipality 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.
If any section, subsection, sentence, or clause of this article is held, for any reason, to be invalid, such decision or decisions shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this article.
This article shall be effective five days after the date of passage of this article.
[Adopted 4-14-2009 by Ord. No. 298]
That a certain document, copies of which are on file in the office of the Borough Secretary of Borough of West Leechburg, being marked and designated as the International Property Maintenance Code, 2009 edition, as published by the International Code Council, be and is hereby adopted as the Property Maintenance Code of the Borough of West Leechburg, in the State of Pennsylvania for regulating and governing the conditions and maintenance of all property, buildings and structures; by providing the standards for supplied utilities and facilities and other physical things and conditions essential to ensure that structures are safe, sanitary and fit for occupation and use; and the condemnation of buildings and structures unfit for human occupancy and use, and the demolition of such existing structures as herein provided; providing for the issuance of permits and collection of fees therefor; and each and all of the regulations, provisions, penalties, conditions and terms of said Property Maintenance Code on file in the office of the Borough of West Leechburg are hereby referred to, adopted, and made a part hereof, as if fully set out in this article, with the additions, insertions, deletions and changes, if any, prescribed in § 137-11 of this article.
Those certain documents, copies of which are on file in the office of the Borough Secretary of Borough of West Leechburg, being marked and designated as the International Fuel Gas Code, 2009 edition, and Building Code, 2009 edition, as published by the International Code Council, be and is hereby adopted as the Fuel Gas Code and Building Code of the Borough of West Leechburg, in the State of Pennsylvania for regulating and governing the conditions and maintenance of all property, buildings and structures; by providing the standards for supplied utilities and facilities and other physical things and conditions essential to ensure that structures are safe, sanitary and fit for occupation and use; and the condemnation of buildings and structures unfit for human occupancy and use, and the demolition of such existing structures as herein provided; providing for the issuance of permits and collection of fees therefor; and each and all of the regulations, provisions, penalties, conditions and terms of said Fuel Gas Code and Building Code on file in the office of the Borough of West Leechburg are hereby referred to, adopted, and made a part hereof, as if fully set out in this article, with the additions, insertions, deletions and changes, if any, prescribed in § 137-11 of this article.
The following sections are hereby revised:
All ordinances of the Borough of West Leechburg that pertain to Property Maintenance, Fuel Gas, and Building Code and all other ordinances or parts of ordinances in conflict herewith are hereby repealed and/or to the extent that it is necessary; Ordinance No. 279, that adopted the Uniform Construction Code as the Building Code for the Borough of West Leechburg, is amended to include the provisions of the 2009 Edition of the International Property Maintenance Code, Fuel Gas Code and Building Code.
That if any section, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase of this article is, for any reason, held to be unconstitutional, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this article. The Council hereby declares that it would have passed this article, and each section, subsection, clause or phrase thereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more sections, subsections, sentences, clauses and phrases be declared unconstitutional.
That nothing in this article or in the Property Maintenance Code, Fuel Gas Code, and Building Code hereby adopted shall be construed to affect any suit or proceeding impending in any court, or any rights acquired, or liability incurred, or any cause or causes of action acquired or existing, under any act or ordinance hereby repealed as cited in § 137-12 of this article; nor shall any just or legal right or remedy of any character be lost, impaired or affected by this article.
A.
Violations. Any activity conducted in violation of this article is declared to be a nuisance.
B.
Notification of violation.
(1)
Whenever any person shall have violated the terms of this article, the Municipal Codes Enforcement Officer shall notify the owner, developer, or person responsible for the property of the violations, directing them to comply with all terms of this article within 10 days, or such additional period, not to exceed 30 days, as the Municipal Codes Enforcement Officer deems necessary and reasonable.
(2)
Further, provided the owner, developer or person responsible for the property in violation does not make the necessary and required corrections, West Leechburg Borough may make the necessary and required corrections and charge the owner, developer, or person responsible for the property for the cost thereof plus penalties as specified herein for failure to comply.
(3)
Such notice of violation must be delivered, in writing, by mail or by posting of the property in a conspicuous place.
C.
Penalties. Any person who fails to comply with this article, within the period stated in the notice of violation, shall, upon conviction thereof, be guilty of a summary offense:
(1)
And shall be sentenced to pay a penalty of not more than $1,000.
(2)
Each and every day of continued violation shall constitute a separate violation.
(3)
In the event that the owner, developer or person responsible fails to comply with the terms of this article within the time specified:
(a)
The municipality may take any actions necessary to remove the public nuisance; or
(b)
The municipality may institute injunctive, mandamus or any other appropriate action or proceeding at law or in equity for the enforcement of this article. Any court of competent jurisdiction shall have the right to issue restraining orders, temporary or permanent injunctions, mandamus, or other appropriate forms of remedy or relief.
(c)
The cost of removal of the violation shall be in addition to any penalties for violations for failure to comply.
(4)
The cost of removal, fine, and penalties hereinabove mentioned may be entered by West Leechburg Borough Council as a lien against such property in accordance with existing provisions of law.
That this article and the rules, regulations, provisions, requirements, orders and matters established and adopted hereby shall take effect and be in full force and effect immediately from the date of its final passage and adoption.