[HISTORY: Adopted by the Council of the Borough of West Chester 6-13-1973. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[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; 8-15-2012 by Ord. No. 15-2012; 9-16-2015 by Ord. No. 13-2015; 6-18-2025 by Ord. No. 06-2025]
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:
"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."
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:
"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."
G. 
Section 106.1 shall be deleted in its entirety and replaced with the following:
"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."
H. 
Section 106.6.2 shall be deleted in its entirety and replaced with the following:
"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."
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:
"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."
L. 
Section 108.5 is deleted and replaced with the following:
"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."
M. 
Section 109 shall be deleted in its entirety and replaced with the following:
"SECTION 109. BOARD OF APPEALS
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."
N. 
Section 110 shall be created and established as follows:
"SECTION 110 REQUIRED LICENSES
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 successfully passed an examination by the International Code Council, Inc., to perform such work."
O. 
Section 202 shall be amended as follows:
(1) 
The definition of "Approved Agency" shall be deleted and replaced with the following definition:
"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."
(2) 
The following definitions shall be added:
"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."
"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."
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:
"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."
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.