Greene Township - Township Office and Pennsylvania Municipal Code Alliance

Township of Greene, Pennsylvania (Franklin County)

city

1145 Garver Lane, Chambersburg, PA 17202

Required

Greene Township's code and pages do not say whether a house reroof needs a permit. Section 48-6 C of the Township Code says "When any building or construction activity is contemplated within the Township, application shall first be made to the Township at the Township offices on a form to be provided by the Township for the issuance of a land use permit," and that the land use permit is "a prerequisite to making application for a construction permit"; Section 105-50 of the zoning chapter says no building or structure shall be "erected, reconstructed or restored, or structurally altered" without a land use and building permit. Neither names roof work, and this record does not decide whether a house reroof is "building or construction activity" under Section 48-6 C. The Township's Land Use Permit Application (revised 2026) is for a permit "to build, erect or remodel a structure," says "A BUILDING / CONSTRUCTION PERMIT MUST BE OBTAINED (WHEN APPLICABLE) PRIOR TO ACTUAL CONTRUCTION" from PMCA, and says "If you need to determine if you are required to obtain a building / construction permit please call the inspection agency." The Township's fee schedule (Resolution No. 2026-5) prices land use permits by construction value and has no roofing line. PMCA's own website, which does not name Greene Township on the pages read, answers its question on re-roofing a residential structure, "do I need a building permit?", with a letter dated July 20, 2018 and addressed "Dear Municipal Official," which says "a residential Re-roof still requires compliance with the provisions of the UCC but does not require a building permit" and "If structural work is required such as replacing studs, headers, rafters or trusses a permit would now be required"; PMCA's Re-Roof Application Packet says "A Building Permit is required if there is a structural repair." Under state law, Act 45 section 104(b)(5) and (6) list "Alterations to residential buildings which do not make structural changes or changes to means of egress" and "Repairs to residential buildings" among work the Act does not apply to, "except as might be required by ordinances in effect pursuant to section 303(b)(1) or adopted pursuant to section 503," and 34 Pa. Code 403.62(c) says "A permit is not required for the exceptions listed in § 403.1(b) (relating to scope) and the following, if the work does not violate a law or ordinance." This record does not state whether a permit is required for a house reroof in Greene Township; ask the Township's zoning office at (717) 263-4990 and PMCA at (717) 496-4996 before starting. Section 48-5 sets a fine of "not less than $250 nor more than $1,000 together with all costs" for violating Chapter 48. The Township office is open 8 am to 4 pm, Monday through Friday. Read for this answer: Chapter 48 of the Township Code, Construction Codes, Uniform (Sections 48-1 to 48-8), in full; Sections 105-50 and 105-51 of the zoning chapter; every page of a search of the whole Township Code for "roof" and for "reroofing," which found no permit provision naming roof work; the Township's Land Use Permit Application page and form; its fee schedule; and PMCA's FAQ, Permit Applications pages, re-roof letter and Re-Roof Application Packet.

The 2021 International Residential Code, as adopted by the State in the Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code (UCC). 34 Pa. Code 403.21(a)(7) adopts "The 'International Residential Code of 2021,' except that:" followed by the State's list of exclusions and modifications, effective January 1, 2026 (55 Pa.B. 7701). None of the State's changes touches Chapter 9, Roof Assemblies, or Section R803, Roof Sheathing, so those apply as the International Code Council publishes them. Work on existing buildings is also pointed to the State's existing-building code: "The repair, alteration, change of occupancy, addition and relocation of existing buildings must comply with Chapter 34 of the 'International Building Code of 2021' or with the 'International Existing Building Code of 2021'" (34 Pa. Code 403.21(f)). The UCC is the minimum everywhere in the state: "no municipality may propose or enact any ordinance which is less than the minimum requirement of the Uniform Construction Code" (Pennsylvania Construction Code Act, Act 45 of 1999, section 503(b)). The Act also lists work it "shall not apply to", including "Alterations to residential buildings which do not make structural changes or changes to means of egress" or to "Repairs to residential buildings," in each case "except as might be required by ordinances" kept in force under section 303(b)(1) or adopted under section 503 (Act 45 section 104(b)(5) and (6); 34 Pa. Code 403.1(b)(8) and (9)). The Act defines a repair as "The reconstruction or renewal of any part of an existing building for the purpose of its maintenance." So whether the code's roofing rules reach a given house reroof depends on the municipality's own ordinances. Everything above is Pennsylvania state law, the same in every municipality. Locally, Greene Township administers the code through a third-party agency it retains: Section 48-1 of the Township Code says "Greene Township hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code," the Township issues land use permits from its office at 1145 Garver Lane, Chambersburg, and its Land Use Permit Application names Pennsylvania Municipal Code Alliance (PMCA), 1013 Wayne Avenue, Chambersburg, as the agency contracted with the Township as its "Official Building Inspector" and "the only agency by law permitted to issue building / construction permits." Section 48-2 adopts the Uniform Construction Code, "as amended from time to time," as the municipal building code, and Section 48-6 A repeals all building code ordinances the Township adopted before it. Chapter 48 of the Township Code and the Township's pages name no code edition; PMCA's ice barrier sheet, marked revised October 20, 2020, says "All Municipalities Served by PMCA follow and enforce the provisions of the 2018 International Residential Code (IRC)," and this record has not read the 2018 edition's text and does not decide which edition PMCA applies. Chapter 48 changes nothing in the code's roofing provisions.

Greene Township's code and pages do not say whether a house reroof needs a permit. Section 48-6 C of the Township Code says "When any building or construction activity is contemplated within the Township, application shall first be made to the Township at the Township offices on a form to be provided by the Township for the issuance of a land use permit," and that the land use permit is "a prerequisite to making application for a construction permit"; Section 105-50 of the zoning chapter says no building or structure shall be "erected, reconstructed or restored, or structurally altered" without a land use and building permit. Neither names roof work, and this record does not decide whether a house reroof is "building or construction activity" under Section 48-6 C. The Township's Land Use Permit Application (revised 2026) is for a permit "to build, erect or remodel a structure," says "A BUILDING / CONSTRUCTION PERMIT MUST BE OBTAINED (WHEN APPLICABLE) PRIOR TO ACTUAL CONTRUCTION" from PMCA, and says "If you need to determine if you are required to obtain a building / construction permit please call the inspection agency." The Township's fee schedule (Resolution No. 2026-5) prices land use permits by construction value and has no roofing line. PMCA's own website, which does not name Greene Township on the pages read, answers its question on re-roofing a residential structure, "do I need a building permit?", with a letter dated July 20, 2018 and addressed "Dear Municipal Official," which says "a residential Re-roof still requires compliance with the provisions of the UCC but does not require a building permit" and "If structural work is required such as replacing studs, headers, rafters or trusses a permit would now be required"; PMCA's Re-Roof Application Packet says "A Building Permit is required if there is a structural repair." Under state law, Act 45 section 104(b)(5) and (6) list "Alterations to residential buildings which do not make structural changes or changes to means of egress" and "Repairs to residential buildings" among work the Act does not apply to, "except as might be required by ordinances in effect pursuant to section 303(b)(1) or adopted pursuant to section 503," and 34 Pa. Code 403.62(c) says "A permit is not required for the exceptions listed in § 403.1(b) (relating to scope) and the following, if the work does not violate a law or ordinance." This record does not state whether a permit is required for a house reroof in Greene Township. State law sets no square-footage or percentage threshold for roof work; any threshold is set locally. The Uniform Construction Code "does not apply to" "Alterations to residential buildings which do not make structural changes or changes to means of egress, except as required by ordinances in effect under sections 303(b)(1) or 503 of the act" or to "Repairs to residential buildings, except as required by ordinances in effect under sections 303(b)(1) and 503 of the act" (34 Pa. Code 403.1(b)(8) and (9)), and "A permit is not required for the exceptions listed in § 403.1(b) (relating to scope) and the following, if the work does not violate a law or ordinance" (34 Pa. Code 403.62(c)). For houses the regulation adds: "An ordinary repair does not require a permit." Its list of work that is not an ordinary repair names cutting away a load-bearing wall, "The removal or cutting of any structural beam or load-bearing support," changes to a required means of egress, and new or relocated piping, wiring or mechanical work (34 Pa. Code 403.62(d)); roofing is not named. A municipality may require more: under Act 45 section 503(c) it "may enact ordinances pursuant to this section which adopt additional code requirements for alterations or repairs to residential buildings," after a public hearing and after filing the proposed ordinance with the Department of Labor and Industry. These rules concern a "Residential building," which the regulation defines as "Detached one-family and two-family dwellings and townhouses which are not more than three stories above grade plane in height with a separate means of egress and their accessory structures" (34 Pa. Code 401.1). Everything above is Pennsylvania state law, the same in every municipality. Locally, Greene Township administers the code through a third-party agency it retains: Section 48-1 of the Township Code says "Greene Township hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code," the Township issues land use permits from its office at 1145 Garver Lane, Chambersburg, and its Land Use Permit Application names Pennsylvania Municipal Code Alliance (PMCA), 1013 Wayne Avenue, Chambersburg, as the agency contracted with the Township as its "Official Building Inspector" and "the only agency by law permitted to issue building / construction permits." No Township text read for this record sets an area or cost threshold for roof work.

Two layers at most where the state code reaches the job. Pennsylvania adopts the 2021 International Residential Code without changing its reroofing section, R908 (34 Pa. Code 403.21(a)(7); the State's list of changes names no Chapter 9 section). Section R908.3.1.1 says "A roof recover shall not be permitted where any of the following conditions occur," and the third condition is "Where the existing roof has two or more applications of any type of roof covering." So one existing layer may be covered once, and a roof that already has two layers is torn off to the deck. The same section also bars a recover "Where the existing roof or roof covering is water soaked or has deteriorated to the point that the existing roof or roof covering is not adequate as a base for additional roofing" and "Where the existing roof covering is slate, clay, cement or asbestos-cement tile." The existing-building code the State also adopts, the 2021 International Existing Building Code (34 Pa. Code 403.21(f)), carries the same three conditions in Section 705.2.1.1. These rules bind work the Uniform Construction Code reaches. The Act does not apply to "Repairs to residential buildings" or to alterations that make no structural change, "except as might be required by ordinances" (Act 45 section 104(b)(5) and (6)), so whether R908 binds a particular house reroof turns on that exclusion and on the municipality's own ordinances. Everything above is Pennsylvania state law, the same in every municipality. Locally, Greene Township administers the code through a third-party agency it retains: Section 48-1 of the Township Code says "Greene Township hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code," the Township issues land use permits from its office at 1145 Garver Lane, Chambersburg, and its Land Use Permit Application names Pennsylvania Municipal Code Alliance (PMCA), 1013 Wayne Avenue, Chambersburg, as the agency contracted with the Township as its "Official Building Inspector" and "the only agency by law permitted to issue building / construction permits." Chapter 48 of the Township Code changes nothing in the code's reroofing provisions, and no ordinance reaching residential reroofing was found in the chapters read. Chapter 48 of the Township Code and the Township's pages name no code edition; PMCA's ice barrier sheet, marked revised October 20, 2020, says "All Municipalities Served by PMCA follow and enforce the provisions of the 2018 International Residential Code (IRC)," and this record has not read the 2018 edition's text and does not decide which edition PMCA applies; the text above is the 2021 edition's. PMCA's re-roof letter says "Metal roofing should not be installed over more than two layers of shingles without the authorization of a design professional."

State rules from the base code, where the state code reaches the job. Pennsylvania adopts the 2021 International Residential Code without changing Section R803, Roof Sheathing (34 Pa. Code 403.21(a)(7); the State's changes to Chapter 8 are to ridge framing and attic ventilation). Lumber roof sheathing follows Table R803.1: over rafters or beams 24 inches apart it must be at least 5/8 inch net thick. Wood structural panels "shall be identified for grade, bond classification and performance category by a grade mark or certificate of inspection issued by an approved agency," and their spans "shall not exceed the values set forth in Table R503.2.1.1(1) or APA E30." For shingles, "Asphalt shingles shall be fastened to solidly sheathed decks" (R905.2.1), and on any reroof "The structural roof components shall be capable of supporting the roof covering system and the material and equipment loads that will be encountered during installation of the roof covering system" (R908.2). These rules bind work the Uniform Construction Code reaches; the Act does not apply to "Repairs to residential buildings" or to alterations that make no structural change, "except as might be required by ordinances" (Act 45 section 104(b)(5) and (6)). Act 45 section 104(b)(5) excludes alterations "which do not make structural changes or changes to means of egress" and says only that "a structural change does not include a minor framing change needed to replace existing windows or doors"; 34 Pa. Code 403.62(d)(2) lists "The removal or cutting of any structural beam or load-bearing support" as not an ordinary repair. Neither names roof sheathing; this record does not decide whether replacing it is either. Everything above is Pennsylvania state law, the same in every municipality. Locally, Greene Township administers the code through a third-party agency it retains: Section 48-1 of the Township Code says "Greene Township hereby elects to administer and enforce the provisions of the Pennsylvania Construction Code," the Township issues land use permits from its office at 1145 Garver Lane, Chambersburg, and its Land Use Permit Application names Pennsylvania Municipal Code Alliance (PMCA), 1013 Wayne Avenue, Chambersburg, as the agency contracted with the Township as its "Official Building Inspector" and "the only agency by law permitted to issue building / construction permits." Chapter 48 of the Township Code changes nothing in the code's roof sheathing provisions. PMCA's re-roof letter says the existing roof sheathing and rafters must be verified as sound and "free from rot or decay" and that a permit is required "If structural work is required such as replacing studs, headers, rafters or trusses." Chapter 48 of the Township Code and the Township's pages name no code edition; PMCA's ice barrier sheet, marked revised October 20, 2020, says "All Municipalities Served by PMCA follow and enforce the provisions of the 2018 International Residential Code (IRC)," and this record has not read the 2018 edition's text and does not decide which edition PMCA applies; the text above is the 2021 edition's.

6% Pennsylvania sales and use tax, with a local tax added on purchases made in Allegheny County (1%) and Philadelphia (2%). On a reroof the roofer pays the tax on the materials and does not add it to the homeowner's bill. The Department of Revenue says: "The Pennsylvania sales tax rate is 6 percent. By law, a 1 percent local tax is added to purchases made in Allegheny County, and 2 percent local tax is added to purchases made in Philadelphia." Roof work is a construction activity: the rule's list of items "presumed to become a permanent part of real estate" includes "Roofing (repairs)" (61 Pa. Code 31.11). For construction activities, "A contractor shall pay tax upon the purchase price ... of all property, including materials, equipment, components and supplies, which he furnishes and installs" (61 Pa. Code 31.12(a)(1)), and the rule's example says the contractor "does not charge sales tax on this transaction to his customer. The contractor may include the tax he must pay in his bid proposal but not as a separately stated item." Apart from limited exceptions set out in the rule, the same holds on jobs for tax-exempt owners: "a contractor erecting a building, repairing a roof, replacing a door for a governmental agency, ... school district, charitable or religious organization, and the like, shall pay tax upon the property which he consumes" (61 Pa. Code 31.13(a)). Everything above is Pennsylvania state law, the same in every municipality. Greene Township is in Franklin County. The Township's pages and fee schedule say nothing on sales tax.