[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Supervisors of the Township of Pennsbury as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 3-15-2004 by Ord. No. 2004-3]
Pennsbury Township 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.
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 Pennsbury Township.
Administration and enforcement of the code within Pennsbury Township shall be undertaken in any of the following ways as determined by the Board of Supervisors of Pennsbury Township from time to time by resolution:
A. 
By the designation of an employee of Pennsbury Township to serve as the municipal code official to act on behalf of Pennsbury Township;
B. 
By the retention of one or more construction code officials or third-party agencies to act on behalf of Pennsbury 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 Pennsbury 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 the Board of Supervisors of Pennsbury Township 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 Pennsbury Township 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 provisions fail to equal or exceed the minimum requirements of the code, as amended from time to time.
B. 
All building code ordinance 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 Pennsbury Township not governed by the code shall remain in full force and effect.
Fees assessable by Pennsbury Township for the administration and enforcement undertaken pursuant to this article and the code shall be established by the Board of Supervisors by resolution from time to time.
This article shall be effective five days after the date of the passage of this article.
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.
[Adopted 3-23-2011 by Ord. No. 2011-03-23-1B]
A certain document, three copies of which are on file in the office of the Manager of the Township of Pennsbury, 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 Township of Pennsbury, Commonwealth 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 Township of Pennsbury 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 § 78-10 of this article.
A. 
The following sections of the International Property Maintenance Code, 2009 edition, are hereby amended and revised:
(1) 
All references to the International Building Code or International Existing Building Code shall mean the Pennsbury Township Building Code.
(2) 
Section 101.1. Insert: Pennsbury Township.
(3) 
Section 101.3. Delete the words "as required herein" at the end of the last sentence.
(4) 
Section 102.3. Delete the last sentence.
(5) 
Section 102.6. Insert "by the Pennsbury Township Zoning Ordinance" after the words "historic buildings."
(6) 
Section 103: Delete the title and change it to "ADMINISTRATION OF THE CODE."
(7) 
Section 103.1. Delete and insert: "This code shall be administered, interpreted and enforced by the Code Official who shall be appointed by the Board of Supervisors of Pennsbury Township. The Board may appoint additional individuals or entities to administer, interpret and enforce this code."
(8) 
Sections 103.2 and 103.3. Delete.
(9) 
Section 103.5. Delete and insert: "The fees for activities and services performed by the Code Official in carrying out his or her responsibilities under this code shall be as set in the Fee Schedule adopted from time to time by resolution of the Board of Supervisors of Pennsbury Township."
(10) 
Section 104.3. Add the following sentence before the last sentence of Section 104.3. "Provided, however, the Code Official shall not enter unoccupied structures or premises without appropriate proper legal authority (e.g., a search warrant) except in circumstances requiring immediate action to protect health or safety."
(11) 
Section 104.6. Delete the phrase "of the department specified in this code."
(12) 
Section 105.1. Delete "department" and insert "Township" on the last line.
(13) 
Section 106.3. Delete the first sentence of Section 106.3 and insert: "Any person violating any provision of this code shall be prosecuted under the Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal Procedure as a summary offense, and upon conviction, shall pay a fine of not more than $1,000 per day plus costs of prosecution. Each day a violation continues after due notice has been served shall be a separate offense."
(14) 
Section 111.2. Delete Section 111.2 and insert: "The Board of Appeals shall be the same as the Board of Appeals appointed under the Pennsbury Township Building Code; and shall have the same Chairman and alternate members, if any. The code official shall be an ex officio member but shall have no vote on any matter before the Board."
(15) 
Section 111.2.1. Delete and insert: "Alternate members of the Board of Appeals may be called by the Board Chairman to hear appeals during the absence or disqualification of a member."
(16) 
Section 111.2.4. Delete in its entirety and insert: "The Township Secretary or his/her designee shall serve as secretary to the Board. The Secretary shall take minutes of the proceedings before the Board and record them in a minute book which shall be kept in the office of the Township Manager."
(17) 
Section 111.2.5. Delete in its entirety.
(18) 
Section 111.4.1. Delete in its entirety and insert: "Formal rules of evidence shall not apply at the hearing, but hearsay, irrelevant, immaterial or repetitious evidence may be excluded."
(19) 
Section 111.5. Delete in its entirety and insert: "The Board may postpone and reschedule a hearing if three regular or alternate members are not available for a hearing. If at least two Board members are not available or present at a hearing, the appellant may request a postponement of the hearing. The appellant may agree to a hearing and decision by a board consisting of two members or a single member."
(20) 
Section 111.6. Delete in its entirety and insert: "The decision of the Board shall be by a majority vote of those board members present at the hearing."
(21) 
Section 111.7. Delete in its entirety and insert: "An appeal may be taken from the Board's decision in accordance with applicable law."
(22) 
Section 112.4. Insert: $100; $1,000.
(23) 
Section 302.4. Insert: 10 inches. Insert the following at the end of the first paragraph: "Premises lawfully used for agricultural operations as defined by the Pennsbury Township Zoning Ordinance and premises subject to a conservation easement or other development restriction where fields, pastures and similar areas are mowed semiannually or annually for conservation purposes, or left in a natural or uncultivated state shall be exempt from this Section 302.4."
(24) 
Section 302.7. Delete in its entirety and insert:
"Accessory Structures. All accessory structures, including detached garages, fences and walls, shall be maintained structurally sound and in good repair, including specifically walls and fences utilized to control livestock, required for safety, or used as retaining walls or to control erosion. This section shall not apply, however, to walls and fences located in remote or nonresidential areas where lack of maintenance would not have an adverse effect on neighboring properties."
(25) 
Section 302.8. Delete the phrase "no inoperative or unlicensed motor vehicle" and insert "not more than one inoperable motor vehicle or motor vehicle which does not bear a current certificate of inspection or a current registration plate."
(26) 
Section 302.8. Also insert:
"Exception: A premises on which is operated a legally permitted business enterprise operated in a lawful place and in a lawful manner, when the keeping or maintaining of a motor vehicle which is inoperable or does not bear a current certificate of inspection or a current registration plate is related to the operation of such business enterprise; and a premises owned or controlled by Pennsbury Township or any other governmental entity."
(27) 
Section 304.14. Insert: "April 1; November 1."
(28) 
Section 602.3. Insert: "October 1; June 1."
(29) 
Section 602.4. Insert: "October 1; June 1."
(30) 
Section 606. Delete in its entirety.
(31) 
The Boarding Standard in Appendix A is adopted as part of this article.
Ordinance No. 2001-2 of the Township of Pennsbury titled Property Maintenance Code and all other ordinances or parts of ordinances in conflict herewith are hereby repealed.
The Board of Supervisors hereby adopts the latest edition of the International Property Maintenance Code as published by the International Code Council from time to time and simultaneously repeals the prior edition. Any additions, insertions, deletions and changes in the latest edition will be specified and adopted by resolution of the Board of Supervisors adopted at a public meeting. By way of example, if a 2012 edition is published, it will automatically become the Property Maintenance Code of the Township of Pennsbury, along with any additions, insertions, deletions and changes adopted by resolution.
If any section, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase of this article is, for any reason, held to be unconstitutional, illegal or invalid, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this article. The Board of Supervisors of Pennsbury Township 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, illegal or invalid.
Nothing in this article or in the Property Maintenance Code hereby adopted shall be construed to affect any suit or proceeding pending 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 § 78-10 of this article; nor shall any just or legal right or remedy of any character be lost, impaired or affected by this article.
This article shall be effective five days from enactment.