Pemit Applicant:

                                                                                                 RE:       Commercial Construction

  Lower Swatara Township Board of Commissioners adopted the Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code, Act 45 of 1999 by Ordinance No. 474 on May 19, 2004. All commercial construction including additions, alterations, occupancy or change of occupancy of a commercial building, structure and facility, and signs or demolition of buildings and structures, shall comply with and be constructed to the 2006 International Code Council codes incorporated by reference as the Uniform Construction Code and Lower Swatara Township’s retained additions and amendments to the code. Copies of these retained additions and amendments to the code are available upon request. For all projects within Lower Swatara Township , including accessibility, the Township’s Code Enforcement Department certified personnel would review and approve plans submissions, issue building permits, perform all inspections necessary to determine compliance with the UCC technical standards and issue certificates of occupancy.

 Construction projects shall meet the requirements of 34 PA Code Chapters 401-405 and the technical standards found in the following codes referenced in the regulations:

·                    International Building Code 2006 (Chapters 2-29 and 31-35)

·                    ICC Electrical Code 2006 (utilizes NFPA 70-2005 standards)

·                    International Energy Conservation Code 2006

·                    International Fire Code 2006

·                    International Fuel Gas Code 2006

·                    International Mechanical Code 2006

·                    International Plumbing Code 2006

·                    International Existing Building Code 2006

·                    Appendix E of the International Building Code 2006

·                    Appendix H of the International Building Code 2006

Whenever repairs, alterations, changes of occupancy, additions or relocation of existing buildings occur, a permit applicant must either demonstrate compliance with provisions in Chapter 34 of the International Building Code or those found in the International Existing Building Code. These options exist only for legally existing buildings (those that have all occupancy permits required under pre-UCC laws and the Township building code ordinances). All plan approvals and inspections will be based on the code requirements elected at the time that a building permit application is filed.

  Two sets of construction documents shall be submitted with the application for a permit. All drawings, shall be sealed, signed, and dated, by a registered design professional ( Pennsylvania licensed architect or engineer) responsible for the design. The design professional shall be responsible for reviewing and coordinating submittal documents prepared by others, including phased and deferred submittal items, for compatibility with the design of the building. Construction documents shall be (24” x 36”) in size, drawn to scale of no less than 1/8” = 1’- 0” and of sufficient clarity to indicate the location, nature and extent of the work proposed and show in detail that they will conform to the Uniform Construction Code. The construction documents shall include but not be limited to the following:

·                    Site Plans

·                    Architectural Plans

·                    Structural Plans

·                    Fire Protection Plans (deferred submittals for the shop drawings, hydraulic calculations and cut sheets for the system components will be accepted)

·                    Plumbing Plans

·                    Mechanical Plans

·                    Electrical Plans

·                    Accessibility Plans

 A construction document guideline checklist included with this commercial construction packet shall be used in the preparation of the plans and specifications for new buildings/structures, additions and renovation projects. Projects in a flood zone shall include a FEMA, National Flood Insurance, “Elevation Certificate” with the construction documents.

 The Building Code Official shall provide prior approval of the deferral of any submittal items. A licensed architect or professional engineer in responsible charge shall list the deferred submittals on the construction documents for review and approval of the Building Code Official. A licensed architect or professional engineer shall first review submittal documents for deferred submittal items and place a notation on the documents that the architect or engineer reviewed the documents and that the documents are in general conformance with the design of the building or structure. Until further notice, only deferred submittals of the fire protection plans for the shop drawings, hydraulic calculations and cut sheets for the system components will be accepted 30 days prior to the installation date.

 All construction work shall be inspected by the Building Code Official to verify compliance with the UCC and such construction work shall remain accessible and exposed for inspection purposes until approved.  The Code Department shall be notified twenty-four (24) hours in advance for the following schedule of required inspections:

·                    Stakeout / Setback

·                    Footing

·                    Foundation Wall

·                    Under Building Floor Slab Service Equipment

·                    Building Service Equipment

·                    Framing / Accessibility

·                    Insulation, Fire Blocking/Fire Caulk

·                    Special Inspections

·                    Final Inspection / Accessibility

  A building permit commercial inspection list/procedure is included with this commercial construction packet detailing each inspection. Work shall not be done beyond the point indicated in each successive inspection without first obtaining approval of the Building Code Official. Final inspection shall be made after all work required by the building permit is completed.

 Special inspections are required in accordance with International Building Code, Section 1704. for quality assurance. They include prefabricated items, steel construction, concrete construction, masonry construction, wood construction, prepared fill and foundations, wall panels and veneers/EIFS, sprayed fire-resistant materials, quality assurance plan for seismic/wind, seismic resistance, structural testing/observations (seismic) and other testing if required. The owner or the registered professional in responsible charge acting as the owner’s agent shall employ one or more special inspectors to provide inspections during construction. The special inspector shall be a qualified person for inspection of the particular type of construction or operation requiring special inspection. The special inspections and observation statement included with this commercial construction packet shall be submitted with the permit application, signed, sealed and dated by the design professional in responsible charge. The Final Report section of the statement must be signed by the same design professional with a copy of this statement submitted to the Township Building Code Official, at the time that a final inspection is performed and before a use and occupancy certificate is issued.

 Two options to indicate compliance with the International Energy Conservation Code 2006 are (1) a compliance certificate generated by the COMcheck EZ software, version 3.4.0 (or higher) and select the IECC 2006 as the code to which you will demonstrate compliance or (2) the Township Energy Code Prescriptive Compliance report with the front page and all applicable main component prescriptive reports completely filled out. If the building or structure is exempt per ASHRAE 90.12.3B, include a letter signed by the design professional in responsible charge that the building or structure will use neither electricity nor fossil fuels and is thus exempt from energy conservation code requirements. To obtain copies of the US DOE COMcheck EZ, version 3.4.0 or higher software needed for determination of energy code compliance, visit the US DOE “Building Energy Codes Program” website at (www.energycodes.gov).

  Lower Swatara Township has contracted with Middle Department Inspection Agency (MDIA) and Commonwealth Code Inspection Service (CCIS) to verify compliance with the ICC Electrical Code 2006 (NFPA 70-2005) through plan reviews and inspections. Electrical plans shall be submitted to one of these contracted agencies for review and approval. A copy of the approved, stamped plans shall be submitted to the Township. Fees shall be paid directly to the agency for the review and inspections required before a permit will be issued by the Township.

 For proposed projects with elevators or lifting devices, the owner or owner’s authorized agent shall submit four (4) sets of a permit application and construction documents  to the Department of Labor and Industry for review and approval. The application and supporting construction documents shall be submitted in Department-approved media and clearly detail the location, nature and extent of the proposed construction and its compliance with the Uniform Construction Code. Call L&I Elevator Division at (717) 787-7465 for more details. A copy of L&I’s permit must be submitted to the Township for their records. A permit is required from L&I for installation of boilers. Call L&I Boiler Division at (717) 787-7813 for their required  submittal of construction documents.

In addition, the following information must be submitted to the Code Department to complete the permit package (plans and documentation) submittal for the required permits:

·                    Application – form supplied by the Township to include the estimated cost of construction broken down into four categories (building, plumbing, electrical, HVAC and other (elevator, etc.) Fire protection systems (sprinkler systems) shall be included with the building costs.

·                    Miscellaneous forms – supplied by the Township to include:

1.                  Building Design Summary Data.

2.                  Energy Certificate of Compliance or submit a Compliance Certificate generated by the COMcheck EZ software.

3.                  Special Inspections Statement.

4.                  Contractors’ Installation Certification Form.

5.                  Use and occupancy Notification.

6.                  Sanitary Sewer application.

7.                  Proof of payment of Real Estate Taxes.

·                    Others

8.                  Workers’ compensation insurance certificate.

9.                  Copy of Penn DOT highway occupancy permit. (if applicable)

10.              Pennsylvania Department of Health plan and occupancy approval. (if applicable)

11.              Copy of Department of Labor & Industry Elevator permit approval and final inspection with elevator certificate of operation. (if applicable)

Upon receipt of all the required construction documents, the package will be reviewed for code compliance. If the application is complete and the construction documents are in compliance with the UCC requirements, a permit will be issued for construction within 30 working days. If the plans are not in compliance, a review letter with deficiency comments will be forwarded to the design professional for the required corrections and/or additional information. If there are any questions about the required corrections or code interpretations, please contact the Code Department (717) 939-9377 to schedule a meeting to facilitate review and approval of the plans.

Glenn R. Snavely

                                                                                                                        Building Code Official

                                                                                                                        Commercial