Roofing in West Donegal Township, 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, West Donegal Township takes construction code permit applications at the Township office, 1 Municipal Drive, Elizabethtown, and uses a third-party agency as its construction code official: Section 72-4 of the Township Code has the building code official "receive uniform construction code permit applications" and the construction code official "perform plan review of construction documents, issue construction code permits, inspect construction," and says "The construction code official may be a third-party agency," and the Township's permit resources include the "Commonwealth Code Inspection Services UCC Residential Fee Schedule." Section 72-3 adopts the standards the Department of Labor and Industry has made part of the Uniform Construction Code "identified in Section 403.21 of the L & I Regulations" as the West Donegal Township Construction Code, and Section 72-4R fills in Table R301.2(1), including "Ice shield underlayment required: Yes"; Chapter 72 changes nothing in the code's roofing provisions. Chapter 72 still names the International Building Code/2003 and the International Residential Code/2003, and the Township's pages name no edition; this record has not read the 2003 editions' text and does not decide which edition the Township applies.

West Donegal Township's zoning section addresses roof replacement; its Uniform Construction Code text names no roof work either way. The Township's Zoning & Planning page (read October 9, 2026), under its "Zoning Permits" heading, after "The following is a guideline for the type of projects that typically require permits," says "*A permit is not required for residential roof replacement or repairs as long as no structure changes are being made." Under its separate "Uniform Construction Code Permits" heading, the page lists work that requires a UCC permit, including "The removal or cutting of any structural beam or load bearing support," and ends "*An ordinary repair does not require a permit"; that list names no roof work. Article I of Chapter 72 of the Township Code (Ord. No. 153-2004) adopts the Uniform Construction Code and, for permits, Sections 403.41 to 403.66 of the Department of Labor and Industry's regulations, including 403.62, with amendments that name no roof work either way. The Township's permit resources have no roofing line: the Construction Code Permit Application's type-of-work list is "New Building Addition Alteration Repair Demolition," and the posted Commonwealth Code Inspection Service residential fee schedule prices new houses, pools, decks, electrical services and additions and says "Small scale projects will be priced depending on the complexity of the project." 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." Read for this record: Chapter 72 of the Township Code, Building Construction (Sections 72-1 to 72-4), in full; every page of a search of the whole Township Code for "roof" and for "reroofing," which found no permit provision naming roof work; and the Township's Zoning & Planning and Forms pages, Construction Code Permit Application, Zoning Permit Application and Requirements, and the posted Commonwealth Code Inspection Service residential fee schedule. Where a permit is needed, the page says "Construction may not begin on a project until a permit is issued" and that many projects need both zoning and Uniform Construction Code permits; the Construction Code Permit Application says it is not complete without a copy of the zoning permit. Section 72-4 says work begun before a permit is issued is subject to an additional fee "equal to the fee which should have been paid at permit application." The zoning and code enforcement office is at 717-367-7178, option 3, Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.