[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Council of the Town of West Hartford as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Historic District Commission — See Ch. 5, Art. XII.
Land use and planning — See Ch. 25.
Burglary security — See Ch. 62.
Historic districts and properties — See Ch. 103.
Housing and property maintenance — See Ch. 105.
Sprinkler systems — See Ch. 153.
Zoning — See Ch. 177.
Subdivision regulations — See Ch. A184.
[Adopted as 9-12-1972 (Secs. 4-1 and 4-2 of the 1972 Code)]
[Amended 6-28-1994]
No building permits for the erection of buildings or structures abutting unaccepted highways or streets shall be issued unless the Director of Community Services shall certify that facilities, such as sewerage, water mains and laterals, pavement of streets and sidewalks, fire hydrants and streetlighting, as the Director may deem necessary, have been satisfactorily completed or unless the owner of such highway or street shall have filed with the Town acceptable surety guaranteeing that facilities such as aforesaid as may be deemed necessary by the Director of Community Services shall be completed without cost to the Town; provided, however, that at the time of the issuance of such building permit, the highway or street shall be passable for the movement of police and fire motor vehicular traffic.
The provisions of § 58-1 shall not be applicable to building permits for the construction of farm or farm accessory buildings which are not in violation of any zoning or building regulations of the Town.
[Added 3-22-1977]
Prior to the start of actual construction on any new Town building or addition or renovation of any Town building, the Manager shall submit to the Council, unless this requirement is specifically waived by the Council, a report on the projected annual energy use for said building or a statement of the impact of the project on the energy use of the building.
[Adopted 9-26-1972]
[1]
Editor's Note: C.G.S. § 29-253 provides that the Connecticut State Building Code will be the building code for all towns, cities and boroughs.
[Amended 6-27-1989; 6-14-1994; 6-28-1994; 5-10-2005; 9-9-2008; 10-7-2019]
A. 
Pursuant to those sections of Chapter 1 of the State of Connecticut Building Code, as those sections may be renumbered from time to time, and as amended by the State Building Code, Connecticut Supplement, the following standards are amended as follows:
1. 
Fees: No permit to begin work for new construction, alteration, removal, demolition or other building operation shall be issued until the fees prescribed in this section shall have been paid to the Division of Building Inspection or other authorized municipal agency, nor shall an amendment to a permit necessitating an additional fee because of an increase in the estimated cost of the work involved be approved until the additional fee shall have been paid. In the event that any work is undertaken without a permit required by this section, a fine equal to the amount of the fees otherwise required by this section (but not to exceed $150, consistent with C.G.S. § 8-12a, shall be paid at the time a permit application relating to such work is subsequently filed.
a. 
Certificate of Occupancy: The fee for a certificate of occupancy shall be at the rate of $5 per certificate and shall be paid at the time of application for a building permit. A copy of the certificate of occupancy may be obtained at the rate of $1.
b. 
New Construction and Alterations: For new or repair work of buildings, electrical, plumbing, heating or oil burner classification or any other class of work included in the Connecticut Basic Building Code: permits for the first $1,000 of construction, or fraction thereof: $32; and for every additional $1,000 of costs or every fractional part thereof: $17. In addition, each building which is subject to the provisions of C.G.S. § 29-276b, by virtue of meeting the threshold limit defined therein, shall be subject to an additional fee in an amount equivalent to the costs borne by the Town in complying with the provisions of C.G.S. § 29-276b in connection with that building.
c. 
Moving of Buildings: The fee for a building permit for the removal of a building or structure less than 16 feet in height on the same lot shall be $5; for moving a building 16 feet or more in height on the same lot, the fee shall be $25; for moving a building in the street so as to become an obstruction in said street, the fee shall be $100 and shall include the cost of moving plus the cost of new foundations and all work necessary to place the building or structure in its completed condition in the new location.
d. 
Demolition: The fee for a permit for the demolition of a building or structure shall be as specified in Subsection b hereof.
e. 
Signs: The fee for signs, billboards and other display structures for which permits are required under the provisions of the State of Connecticut Basic Building Code shall be as specified in Subsection b hereof.
B. 
IRC Section R113 and IBC Section 114, Violation penalties, of the Connecticut State Building Code, as those sections may be renumbered from time to time and as may be amended by State Building Code, Connecticut Supplement, is hereby amended as follows:
IRC Section R113.4, and IBC 114.4, Violation penalties: Any person who shall violate a provision of the State Building Code or who shall fail to comply with any of the requirements thereof or shall erect, construct, alter or repair a building or structure in violation of any approved plan or directive of the Building Official or of a permit or certificate issued under the provisions of the Code shall be guilty of a Class B misdemeanor and shall be punished by a fine not less than $200 or more than $1,000 or by imprisonment not exceeding six months, or by both such fine and imprisonment, as provided in C.G.S. § 29-254a. Each day that a violation continues shall be deemed a separate offense.
C. 
IRC Section R114 and IBC Section 115, Stop-work order, as that section may be renumbered from time to time, and as may be amended by State Building Code, Connecticut Supplement, is hereby amended as follows:
IRC Section R114.2 and IBC Section 115.3, Unlawful Continuance: Any person who shall continue any work in or about the building after having been served with a stop order, except such work as such person is directed to perform to remove a violation or unsafe condition, shall be liable for a fine of $150, consistent with C.G.S. § 8-12a. Each day that a violation continues shall be deemed a separate offense.
D. 
All provisions of the Town Code in conflict herewith are hereby repealed, and if, for any reason, any word, clause, paragraph or section of this article shall be held to make the same unconstitutional, this article shall not hereby be invalidated, and the remainder of the article shall continue in effect. Any provision herein which is in conflict with the Connecticut General Statutes is hereby repealed, it being understood that said statutes shall take precedence over this article.
[Added 1-10-1984; amended 6-28-1994; 5-23-2000]
A. 
No permit for the demolition of any building or part thereof which is 500 square feet in size or larger and more than 50 years old shall be issued until the following requirements are satisfied:
(1) 
The filing of an application for a demolition permit with the Division of Building Inspection upon a form provided by the Town Demolition Officer, which form shall contain, in addition to such other information as may be required, the name and address of the owner of the building to be demolished and the address of the building to be demolished.
(2) 
Publication by the Town Demolition Officer of notice of the demolition permit application in a newspaper having substantial circulation in the municipality. The notice shall be published within seven days following the filing of the demolition permit application.
(3) 
Notification by mail, within seven days following the filing of the demolition permit application, of any organization concerned with the preservation of structures within the municipality and any organization concerned with the social and economic development of the neighborhood in which the building is located. To be entitled to notification under this provision, any such organization shall register with the Town Demolition Officer and indicate a desire to be notified of demolition permit applications affecting its area of concern, and such registration must be renewed annually each January 1 following the initial registration.
(4) 
Notification by mail, within seven days following the filing of the demolition permit application, of the owners of all property adjoining the property on which the building(s) to be demolished is located. The identity of the owners entitled to notification under this provision shall be those adjoining property owners as shown on the then current West Hartford Assessor's Map.
(5) 
The completion of a waiting period of 90 days following the filing of the application for the demolition permit. No waiting period shall be required in any of the following circumstances:
(a) 
The demolition of the building was proposed as part of a land use application which underwent a public hearing and decision making process pursuant to Chapter 177 of this Code of Ordinances or pursuant to the Subdivision Regulations[1] of the Town of West Hartford and a final decision to approve said application has been rendered.
[1]
Editor's Note: See Ch. A184, Subdivision Regulations.
(b) 
The owner of the property obtains a written determination from the West Hartford Historic District Commission and from the Connecticut Historical Commission, or from their successor agencies, that the structure to be demolished is of no historical significance.
(c) 
The Building Official determines that the condition of the structure is such that the delay of its demolition would pose significant risks to public safety. The Building Official shall notify the Chair of the West Hartford Historic District Commission as soon as practicable after making such a determination.
B. 
No demolition permit shall be required of any person who has been ordered to demolish a structure by the Director of Health or his or her designee once the period for the appeal of such order has expired. The Director of Health shall notify the Chair of the West Hartford Historic District Commission as soon as practicable after issuing such an order.