Home Rule Borough of Edinboro

Home Rule Borough of Edinboro

ORDINANCE 576

An Ordinance to amend and restate the adoption of the Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code Act 45 of 1999, to provide for administration and enforcement method and to provide for appeals of Borough administration and enforcement action.

Whereas, the Pennsylvania Legislature enacted the Uniform Construction Code (UCC) Act 45 of 1999 (34 P.S. §§ 7210.101 – 1103) and subsequently became law in June of 2004; and

Whereas, the UCC gives municipalities the ability to opt-in or opt-out of local administration and enforcement thru various methods including utilizing in house personnel, third party agency enforcement or inter-municipal agreements; and

Whereas, the Home Rule Borough of Edinboro chose to opt in for local administration and enforcement of the UCC; and

Therefore, the Council of the Home Rule Borough of Edinboro hereby adopts the following:

1] The Home Rule Borough of Edinboro will continue to maintain opt-in status for administration and enforcement of residential and commercial building codes referenced in the Uniform Construction Code

2] The Borough will continue to utilize in-house, qualified and certified personnel to

carry out the duties prescribed within the scope and intent of the Uniform

Construction Code Act

3] The Borough may, at its’ option and in certain situations utilize a qualified third party

inspection agency licensed by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to perform such

duties.

4] The Borough hereby amends the UCC 35 P.S. § 7210.403.1(b)(3) by requiring

UCC permits and building code compliance for accessory structures in which

building area exceeds 192 sq ft. The structures are limited to an accessory use for

single family dwellings and regulated by this amendment include:

a] Carports

b] Detached private garages

c] Greenhouses

d] Sheds

5] All Special Inspections referenced and defined in the UCC and International

Building Code Chapter 17 shall be the financial responsibility of the permit applicant

and paid directly to the company providing the service.

6] The Home Rule Borough of Edinboro shall administer and enforce the applicable triennial versions of the International Code Council publications referenced by the Act or any amendment thereafter. The Borough may adopt local amendments to the applicable codes upon approval by the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry

7] The Home Rule Borough of Edinboro shall assess fair and reasonable fees in connection with the issuance of building permits and inspections required by the Act. Such fees are determined and established thru a separate fee schedule resolution which may be amended from time to time by Borough Council. Permit fees that are paid to third party agencies shall be that which is set by the agency fee schedule.

8] In accordance with the UCC, an applicant may file an appeal to the building code

officials’ determination of non compliance or violation of applicable building

code. Any appeal pursuant to the UCC shall be filed thru the Erie County

Association of Township Officials UCC Appeals Board (ECATO).

The Borough of Edinboro shall enter into an intergovernmental agreement with

ECATO. This agreement shall be pursuant to Borough Ordinance 575 and shall

accompany this ordinance

9] All appeals relating to accessibility requirements referenced in the International

Building Code and the American National Standards Institute A117.1 shall be

referred to the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry Accessibility

Advisory Board for review and appropriate action

10] Upon adoption of this ordinance, Borough Ordinance 516 (June 28, 2004)

referencing the Uniform Construction Code is hereby repealed in its’ entirety.

ENACTED AND ORDAINED THIS _8__ DAY OF February, 2010 by the Council of the Home Rule Borough of Edinboro.