[HISTORY: Adopted by the Council of the Borough
of West Chester 6-13-1973. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Building construction — See Ch. 43.
Fire prevention — See Ch. 57.
Housing and property maintenance — See Ch. 66.
Mechanical standards — See Ch. 72.
Sewers — See Ch. 89.
Streets and sidewalks — See Ch. 95.
Trees — See Ch. 102.
Water — See Ch. 107.
Water system conveyance — See Ch. A115.
[Amended 9-29-1986 by Ord. No. 8-1986; 5-10-1989 by Ord. No. 11-1989; 7-21-1993 by Ord. No. 14-1993; 7-17-1996 by Ord. No. 15-1996; 4-21-2004 by Ord. No. 14-2004]
There is hereby adopted by the Borough of West
Chester for the purpose of providing standards and regulations for
the design and installation of plumbing within the Borough, for the
licensing of all plumbers and for the supervision and inspection of
all plumbing within the Borough the International Plumbing Code, 2003
Edition, as now and as hereafter supplemented, reissued, amended and
revised as published by the International Code Council, Inc. Not fewer
than three copies of the International Plumbing Code, 2003 Edition,
are filed in the Borough's office of Building, Housing and Codes Enforcement,
and the same is hereby adopted and incorporated as fully as if set
out at length herein.
[Added 9-29-1986 by Ord. No. 8-1986; amended 5-10-1989 by Ord. No. 11-1989; 12-30-1991 by Ord. No. 19-1991; 7-21-1993 by Ord. No. 14-1993; 7-17-1996 by Ord. No. 15-1996; 3-17-1999 by Ord. No. 5-1999; 4-21-2004 by Ord. No. 14-2004]
The following amendments, additions, deletions,
and changes are hereby made to the International Plumbing Code, 2003
Edition:
A.
Section 101.1 shall be amended by the deletion of
the words "[NAME OF JURISDICTION]" and the replacement thereof with
the words, "the Borough of West Chester."
B.
The heading of Section 103 shall be deleted in its
entirety and replaced with the following: "SECTION 103 DEPARTMENT
OF BUILDING, HOUSING AND CODES ENFORCEMENT."
C.
Section 103.1 shall be deleted in its entirety and
replaced with the following:
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"103.1 Code official. The Department
of Building, Housing and Codes Enforcement shall administer and enforce
the provisions of this code. The executive official in charge of the
Department of Building, Housing and Codes Enforcement shall be known
as the "code official."
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D.
Section 103.2 shall be deleted in its entirety and
reserved.
E.
Section 104.2 shall be amended by the addition of
the following: "Such rules and regulations may include but not be
limited to rules and regulations for installation, repair or alteration
of air-conditioning systems, water treatment equipment and such other
water-operated devices as the code official may deem necessary to
properly protect the water supply system."
F.
Section 104.4 shall be deleted in its entirety and
replaced with the following:
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"104.4 Inspections. The code official
shall not perform any plumbing inspections but instead shall rely
on an approved plumbing inspection agent to perform all inspections
required by this code."
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G.
Section 106.1 shall be deleted in its entirety and
replaced with the following:
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"106.1 Permit required. Plumbing
work shall not be commenced until a permit for such work has been
issued by the code official to a master plumber, except that any permit
required by this chapter may be issued to a bona fide owner of a single-family
dwelling to do any plumbing work on said single-family dwelling or
any of its accessory buildings which is regulated by this code, provided
that said owner personally purchases all material and performs all
labor in connection therewith. In addition, no permit shall be required
for repairs that involve only the working parts of a faucet or valve,
the clearance of stoppages or the repairing or replacement of defective
faucets or valves, provided that alterations are not made in the existing
piping to fixtures."
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H.
Section 106.6.2 shall be deleted in its entirety and
replaced with the following:
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"106.6.2 Fee schedule. The fee
for the permit for plumbing work shall be paid in accordance with
the fee schedule approved and adopted by the Borough Council and amended
from time to time by resolution, which schedule shall be available
for public inspection at the Department of Building, Housing and Codes
Enforcement."
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I.
Section 106.6.3(2) shall be amended by the deletion
of the words, "[SPECIFY PERCENTAGE"] and the replacement thereof with
"50%."
J.
Section 106.6.3(3) shall be amended by the deletion
of the words, "[SPECIFY PERCENTAGE]" and the replacement thereof with
"100%."
K.
Section 108.4 is deleted and replaced with the following:
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"108.4 Violations and penalties. Any person who violates or permits the violation of any provision
of this code or shall fail to comply with any of the requirements
thereof or who shall erect, install, alter or repair plumbing work
in violation of the approved construction documents or directive of
the code official or of a permit shall, upon conviction thereof in
a summary proceeding brought before a District Justice, be guilty
of a summary offense and shall be subject to the payment of a fine
of not less than $25 and not more than $1,000, plus the costs of prosecution.
Upon default of payment thereof, the defendant may be sentenced to
imprisonment in the county prison for a period of not more than 30
days. Each section or provision of this chapter that is violated shall
constitute a separate offense, and each day or portion thereof in
which a violation of this chapter is found to exist shall constitute
a separate offense, each of which violations shall be punishable by
a separate fine imposed by the District Justice of not less than $25
and not more than $1,000, plus the costs of prosecution, and, upon
default of payment thereof, the defendant may be sentenced to imprisonment
in the county prison for a term not more than 30 days."
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L.
Section 108.5 is deleted and replaced with the following:
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"108.5. Stop-work orders. Upon
notice from the code official that plumbing work is being done contrary
to the provisions of this code or in a dangerous or unsafe manner,
such work shall immediately cease. Such notice shall be in writing
and shall be given to the owner of the property or to the owner's
agent or to the person doing the work. The notice shall state the
conditions under which work is authorized to resume. Where an emergency
exists, the code official shall not be required to give a written
notice prior to stopping the work. Any person who shall continue any
work on the plumbing 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, upon conviction thereof in a
summary proceeding brought before a District Justice, be guilty of
a summary offense and shall be subject to the payment of a fine of
not less than $25 and not more than $1,000, plus the costs of prosecution.
Upon default of payment thereof, the defendant may be sentenced to
imprisonment in the county prison for a period of not more than 30
days. Each section or provision of this chapter that is violated shall
constitute a separate offense, and each day or portion thereof in
which a violation of this chapter is found to exist shall constitute
a separate offense, each of which violations shall be punishable by
a separate fine imposed by the District Justice of not less than $25
and not more than $1,000, plus the costs of prosecution, and, upon
default of payment thereof, the defendant may be sentenced to imprisonment
in the county prison for a term not more than 30 days."
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M.
Section 109 shall be deleted in its entirety and replaced
with the following:
[Amended 8-15-2012 by Ord. No. 15-2012; 9-16-2015 by Ord. No. 13-2015]
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"SECTION 109. BOARD OF APPEALS
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109.1 General. The Borough, along
with five other municipalities in Chester County, is a member of the
West Chester Area Council of Governments (WCACOG) pursuant to an intergovernmental
cooperation agreement to create the West Chester Area Council of Governments
dated the 1st day of April, 2003. The WCACOG has formed a Board of
Appeals for the members in the WCACOG, which Board shall hear and
decide appeals of orders, decisions or determinations made by the
respective municipalities' building official relative to the
application and interpretation of the municipalities' building
code and all other related codes that are published by the International
Code Council, Inc., and are referenced in Chapter 35 of the International
Building Code, 2003 Edition, including the municipalities' plumbing
code. The Board of Appeals shall be appointed by the WCACOG and shall
be governed by rules and regulations adopted by the WCACOG pursuant
to the agreement. The Board of Appeals shall adopt rules of procedure
for conducting its business."
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N.
Section 110 shall be created and established as follows:
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"SECTION 110 REQUIRED LICENSES
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110.1 Plumber's license. No person
shall engage in the practice of plumbing, either on his or her own
behalf or on behalf of another, either as a master plumber or journeyman
plumber, until such person has presented proof that he or she was
licensed by the Borough prior to the adoption of this chapter, or
has a valid license from the International Code Council, Inc., to
perform such work."
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O.
Section 202 shall be amended as follows:
(1)
The definition of "Approved Agency" shall be deleted
and replaced with the following definition:
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"APPROVED PLUMBING INSPECTION AGENT. An individual or entity that has been licensed and certified by
the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to perform plumbing inspections and
plan reviews."
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(2)
The following definitions shall be added:
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"PLUMBER, JOURNEYMAN. Any person,
other than a master or apprentice plumber, who has demonstrated to
the examining board his or her practical knowledge of the installation
of plumbing and has been licensed by the board to install plumbing
under the direction of a master plumber."
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"PLUMBER, MASTER. A person who
has demonstrated his or her skill in planning, superintending and
installing plumbing and who, having satisfied the examining board
as to his or her knowledge of the rules and regulations governing
the same and as to his or her business integrity, has been granted
a license as a master plumber."
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P.
Section 305.6.1 shall be amended by the deletion of
the words, "[NUMBER]" and the replacement thereof with "36 inches"
in both spaces.
Q.
Section 413.2 shall be deleted and replaced with the
following:
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"413.2 Domestic food waste grinders. Domestic food waste grinders shall be connected to a three-conductor
cord and grounded-type plug which can be plugged into a receptacle
under the sink within the base cabinet."
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R.
Section 904.1 shall be amended by the deletion of
the word, "[NUMBER]" and the replacement thereof with "12 inches."
S.
Sections 102.3, 102.5, 102.9, 103.3, 104, 104.1, 104.2,
104.3, 104.4, 104.5, 104.6, 104.7, 104.8, 105.1, 105.3, 105.4.4, 105.4.5,
106.1, 106.3, 106.3.1, 106.5.3, 107.1 and 107.1.1 shall be amended
by the addition of the words "and/or approved plumbing inspection
agent" after the words "code official," wherever such term appears
in the aforementioned sections.
The code adopted hereby shall be known popularly
and cited as the "Plumbing Code of the Borough of West Chester." It
shall be administered by the Plumbing Inspector, who shall take such
action as may be reasonable and necessary to secure compliance with
it. The Borough Council may appoint such assistants, clerks and other
employees as may be required to administer such code, and fix their
compensation.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Former §§ 82-3
through 82-13, as amended, were repealed 7-21-1993 by Ord. No. 14-1993.
The provisions of the code are supplemental
to all other ordinances relating to plumbing which are not referred
to herein and shall not be construed to modify, repeal or in any way
affect any provision of any other legislation not expressly repealed
herein.
[1]
Editor's Note: Former § 82-15, Violations
and penalties, was repealed 9-29-1986 by Ord. No. 8-1986.
