Roofing in East Petersburg, Pennsylvania

Required

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, East Petersburg Borough in Lancaster County takes zoning and building permit applications at the Borough office, 6076 Pine Street, Suite A, on one Zoning/Building Permit Application, which says "If Building review is applicable, information will be provided for inspections with approved permit"; the Borough's pages do not name who performs building code review and inspections. Article I of Chapter 39 of the Borough Code (Ord. No. 235, June 1, 2004) elects to administer and enforce the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act and says "The Uniform Construction Code, contained in the 34 Pa. Code Chapters 401 to 405, as amended from time to time, is hereby adopted and incorporated herein by reference as the municipal building code for the Borough, including those provisions identified in Appendix A attached hereto"; Appendix A lists model-code appendices, among them International Residential Code Appendix J, "Existing Buildings and Structures," whose text was not read for this record. Section 39-5 keeps in force "All building code ordinances or portions of ordinances which were adopted by the Borough on or before July 1, 1999, and which equal or exceed the requirements of the code," and Section 39-6 leaves fees to resolution, with an editor's note that "The current fee schedule is on file in the Borough offices." Chapter 39 names no roof work either way. The Borough's pages name no code edition.

No East Petersburg Borough text read for this record names roof work as building permit work or as exempt from a building permit. The Borough's Zoning page lists projects for which "Permits are required," from new construction and additions to "Solar roof or ground panels," with no reroofing or roof replacement line, and says "Permits are not limited to this list. If you have questions as to a need for a permit, please call the Borough office." Section 124-103B of the Zoning Ordinance, headed "Repairs and maintenance," says ordinary repairs and maintenance "shall not by itself be regulated by this chapter. Examples of such work include replacement of a roof or porch that does not involve enclosure of space. (However, a construction permit under any Borough building code may be needed for such work.)" That section speaks to the zoning chapter, and its closing sentence says only that a construction permit may be needed. 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." The application says "APPROVED Zoning /Building permits must be obtained BEFORE any work is started on projects," and the Zoning page says "Fees will be doubled if work starts before a permit is applied for and issued" and that review takes approximately 2-3 weeks. The Borough office is at 717-569-9282. Read for this record: Chapter 39 of the Borough Code, Building Construction, Article I and its Appendix A, in full; Chapter 56, Fees; Section 124-103 of the Zoning Ordinance; every page of a search of the whole Borough Code for "roof" and for "reroofing"; the Borough's Zoning and Forms and Documents pages; and its Zoning/Building Permit Application. The Borough's building permit fee schedule is not published.