Chapter 139

MECHANICAL STANDARDS

[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council of the Town of Elsmere 9-28-1983 as Ord. No. 187. Amendments noted where applicable.]

GENERAL REFERENCES

Building construction -- See Ch. 76.

~ 139-1. Adoption of Mechanical Code.

  That a certain document, of which not less than three (3) copies are on file in the Town Hall, being marked and designated as "The BOCA Basic Mechanical Code, Fourth Edition, 1981," as published by the Building Officials and Code Administrators International, Inc., be and is hereby adopted as the Mechanical Code of the Town of Elsmere; for the control of buildings and structures as herein provided; and each and all of the regulations, provisions, penalties, conditions and terms of the said BOCA Basic Mechanical Code are hereby referred to, adopted and made a part hereof, as if fully set out in this chapter, together with all of the nationally recognized standards referred to and incorporated into that code, and all supplements to that code including especially the amendments promulgated in the supplements dated 1982 and 1983, except such articles, sections and subsections as are hereinafter deleted, added, modified or amended in ~ 139-2.

~ 139-2. Additions, deletions, insertions and changes.

  The 1981 BOCA Basic Mechanical Code is hereby amended in the following respects:

     A.   M-100.1 Title: Insert the words "Town of Elsmere, State of Delaware" within parenthesis of this subsection.

     B.   M-109.1 General: Delete Subsection M-109.1 in its entirety and substitute a new Subsection M-109.1 to read as follows:

           "M-109.1 Mechanical Official: Within the department of building inspection, as established in Subsection 109.1 of the Building Code as amended, the official in charge of the enforcement of the provisions of this code shall be known as the "mechanical official." Whenever the term "mechanical official" is used herein, the same shall be construed to mean the Plumbing Inspector of the Town of Elsmere, or the Building Official of the Town of Elsmere as defined in Subsection 109.1 as amended and Section 201.0 of the Building Code."

     C.   M-109.2 Appointment: Delete Subsection M-109.2 in its entirety and substitute a new Subsection M-109.2 to read as follows:

           "M-109.2 Appointment: The mechanical official shall be nominated by the Mayor and confirmed by a majority of Council. The mechanical official shall be appointed every two (2) years at the biennial organization meeting of Council, except as provided in Ordinance 277[1]."

     D.   M-110.8 Annual Report: Delete Subsection M-110.8 in its entirety and substitute a new Subsection M-110.8 to read as follows:

           "M-110.8 Reporting Procedures: At least monthly, or at such intervals as may be required, the mechanical official shall submit to the Town Manager a written statement of operations and activities in the form and content as shall be prescribed by the Town Manager. The Town Manager shall be responsible for forwarding such information to the Town Council on at least a monthly basis."

     E.   M-112.0 Permits: Add to Section M-112.0 a new Subsection M-112.5 to read as follows:

           "M-112.5 Errors: Every permit issued in error or in violation of the provisions of this code or other ordinance of the Town of Elsmere or without proper authority is null and void and the status of any permit shall be the same as though it had never been issued. Upon discovery of such error or violation, the mechanical official shall take immediate action to revoke such permit."

     F.   M-113.0 Conditions of Permit: Add to Section M-113.0 the following new Subsections to read as follows:

           "M-113.4 Approval of Contractor: No contractor shall be issued a permit or perform any work within the town until a business license has been issued, as provided in Ordinance No. 83[2] as amended, and until the mechanical official has determined to his satisfaction that the contractor is qualified to perform the work for which the permit is sought. Evidence that the contractor is currently licensed by the State of Delaware and has no history of violation of the Mechanical Code or ordinances or other laws or rules or regulations of this town shall be deemed sufficient justification for approval."

           "M-113.5 Homeowner's Exception: The provisions of Subsection M-113.4 as amended shall not apply to a homeowner desiring to perform work on his own premises. However, such homeowner shall submit an affidavit to the mechanical official stating exactly the nature and extent of the work to be performed by the homeowner himself; and any work performed by such homeowner shall be subject to all provisions of the Mechanical Code and to all inspections authorized by the mechanical official."

     G.   M-114.2 Periodic Inspections: Delete Subsection M-114.2 in its entirety.

     H.   M-114.3 Fee Schedule: The following fee schedule shall be inserted in Subsection M-114.3 to read:

          "The fee for a mechanical permit shall be based on the total valuation of the proposed installation, improvement and/or repair and shall be as follows:

           For the valuation of work amounting to one thousand dollars ($1000.) or less, the cost of the fee shall be ten dollars ($10.). The cost of the fee for each one thousand dollars ($1000.) additional valuation, or fraction thereof, shall be five dollars ($5.)."

     I.   M-114.0 Fees: Add to Section M-114.0 a new Subsection M-114.4 to read as follows:

           "M-114.4 Refunds: In the case of revocation of permit or abandonment or discontinuance of work, there shall be no refund of any permit fees once the permit has been issued.

           In the event, however, that the mechanical official issues a permit for which a fee has been paid and which subsequently is discovered to have been issued in error, the permit shall be deemed to have never been issued as provided in Subsection M-112.5 as amended, and the mechanical official shall forthwith refund the total amount of the permit fee(s) in question, provided that the error is solely the fault of the mechanical official and not the permit holder."

     J.   M-115.0 Inspections: Add to Section M-115.0 a new Subsection M-115.4 to read as follows:

           "M-115.4 Clean Hands: If the mechanical official shall find any permit holder in violation of any of the provisions of this code, the mechanical official, in addition to other remedies provided herein, may refuse to grant any further permit to such permit holder until all violations have been corrected."

     K.   M-117.4 Penalties: Delete Subsection M-117.4 in its entirety and substitute a new Subsection M-117.4 to read as follows:

           "M-117.4 Violation Penalties: Any person who shall violate a provision of this code and ordinance or shall fail to comply with any of the requirements thereof or who shall erect, construct, alter or repair mechanical equipment or systems in violation of any approved plan or directive of the mechanical official, or of a permit or certificate issued under the provisions of this code, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, subject to a fine of not less than one hundred dollars ($100.) nor more than three hundred dollars ($300.), or imprisonment for not more than thirty (30) days, or both such fine and imprisonment. Each day that such violation continues shall be deemed a separate offense punishable by a further sum of fifty dollars ($50.) per day per violation. The imposition of a penalty for any violation pursuant to this subsection shall not excuse the violation or permit it to continue; and all such violations shall be corrected or remedied within a reasonable time."

     L.   M-118.2 Unlawful Continuance: Delete the remaining language following the word "shall" in line 4 of Subsection M-118.2 and insert in lieu thereof new language to read as follows:

           "be liable to the penalties as set forth in Subsection M-117.4 as amended."

     M.   M-118.0 Stop-Work Order: Add to Section M-118.0 a new Subsection M-118.3 to read as follows:

           "M-118.3 Right of Development or Project Review: When a stop-work order has been issued on a residential or commercial building within a development or project, the mechanical official may also place a stop-work order on all other residential and commercial buildings of the permit holder under construction within the development or project for a period of time not exceeding fifteen (15) days in order to thoroughly review whether the permit holder is in violation of this code in those buildings."

     N.   M-121.0 Emergency Measures: Add to Section M-121.0 a new Subsection M-121.2 to read as follows:

           "M-121.2 Owner's Responsibility: It shall be the sole responsibility of the owner to provide shelter and pay expenses for person or persons dislocated as a result of an order by the mechanical official to vacate an unsafe building, structure or part thereof."

     O.   M-122.1 Application for Appeal: Delete Subsection M-122.1 in its entirety and substitute a new Subsection M-122.1 to read as follows:

           "M-122.1 Application for Appeal: An appeal may be made from a decision of the mechanical official by filing an appeal to the Board of Building Appeals, pursuant to Section 124.0 of the Building Code as amended."

     P.   M-122.0 Means of Appeal: Delete from Section M-122.0 the following subsections in their entirety: M-122.2, M-122.2.1, M-122.2.2., M-122.2.3., M-122.2.4., M-122.3., M-122.4., M-122.5., M-122.6., M-122.7., M-122.7.1., M-122.7.2., M-122.7.3., M-122.8..

     Q.   M-502.0 Annual Inspection Fees: Delete Section M-502.0 in its entirety.

     R.   Table M-502: Delete Table M-502 in its entirety.

     S.   M-900.3 Annual Inspection: Delete the last sentence of Subsection M-900.3 as the same appears in lines 3 and 4 in its entirety.

     T.   M-1117.1 General: Delete Subsection M-1117.1 in its entirety and substitute a new Subsection M-1117.1 to read as follows:

           "M-1117.1 Violation Penalties: Any person found guilty of violating any provision of Article 11 or any lawful order or notice from the mechanical official pertaining to the regulations contained in Article 11 shall be subject to the fines and penalties prescribed in Subsection M-117.4 as amended."