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Ordinance supplementing the City of Pittsburgh Code, Title I0 (“Building”), Chapter 1002 (“Uniform Construction Code Adoption”) by adding a new subchapter 1002.03 (“Fees”), effective January 1, 2019.
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The Council of the City of Pittsburgh hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. The Pittsburgh Code, Title I0 (“Building”), Chapter 1002 (“Uniform Construction Code Adoption”) is hereby amended and supplemented as follows:
1002.03 FEES
A. GENERAL PROVISIONS
(1) All permits, certificates and services required for the administration and enforcement of the Pittsburgh Building Code for which the city has established a fee, shall be subject to such fee as set forth in this Chapter.
(2) SERVICES PROVIDED: The fee for a permit, certificate, or service shall provide for the application and plan review, approval, inspections and administrative services by the Department.
(3) ADDITIONAL FEES: Additional fees will apply for additional services as prescribed in Additional Fee provisions of this Chapter. The Department may refuse services until all additional fees have been paid.
(4) ANNUAL SCHEDULE OF FEES: The Director of the Department of Permits, Licenses, and Inspections shall establish an annual schedule of fees for all permits, certificates and services pursuant to City Code Section 170.01. The fee schedule shall be made publicly available and posted on the City website.
(5) PRE-REQUISITE: An application shall not be accepted, a permit, or certificate shall not be valid, nor a listed service performed until the fees have been paid.
(6) REFUND OF FEES: Where the work authorized by a permit is not commenced, or is abandoned, a request for refund of the permit fee based on the value of construction for uncompleted work shall be accepted by the Department within 180 days from the date of permit issuance. The value of construction for uncompleted work under a permit shall be estimated as prescribed in this Chapter.
(a) It is the applicant’s responsibility to request a refund in writing on forms provided by the Department.
(b) An approved refund shall not include Additional Fees paid as prescribed by this Chapter.
(c) No refund shall be made until all penalties and costs lawfully incurred or imposed have been collected.
(d) No refunds will be made of fees paid to other Departments.
(e) After a refund has been made, work shall not be resumed until a new application has been made and a new or amended permit has been issued.
B. CONSTRUCTION WORK PERMIT FEE
(1) The base fee for all construction work permits shall be the Value of Construction of the work to be performed under the permit, subject to a minimum amount as per the Department fee schedule, plus any applicable Additional Fee provisions in accordance with this Chapter.
(2) The term “Value of Construction” means the reasonable value of all services, labor, and materials necessary for the execution and completion of the work, whether or not any such items are provided at no cost. Work that is performed, but is not regulated by this code and is not necessary for the safe and lawful use of the building or property, is not deemed a part of such value of construction.
(3) The Department is authorized to require the applicant to submit a copy of the original executed contract(s) to validate the declared scope and/or value of construction.
(4) The Department is authorized to utilize nationally published standards for cost estimation in order to assess value of construction.
(5) The final determination of the value of construction shall be made by the Department.
C. MULTIPLE PERMIT FEES:
(1) When multiple permits are issued for proposed work, the fees for each permit, certificate, or service shall be calculated separately.
(2) Permit, certificate, and service fees shall be calculated separately for each property, and for each building when more than one building is located on a property.
(3) The payment of the fee for a particular permit, license or service shall not relieve the permit holder, property owner, or applicant from the payment of fees that are prescribed for other associated permits, certificates or services.
D. ADDITIONAL FEE PROVISIONS
(1) Additional Fees prescribed in this section are non-refundable.
(2) APPLICATION FILING FEES: The Department is authorized to require a filing fee to be charged upon submission of application for permits, certificates, or services. Such filing fees shall be applied as a credit to the appropriate permit, certificate or service fee.
(3) CERTIFICATE and NON-CONSTRUCTION RELATED SERVICE FEES: The Department is authorized to require fees for each certificate, placard or non-construction related service rendered. The amount of the fees shall be published on the Departmental Fee Schedule, in accordance with this Chapter.
(4) RECORD RETENTION FEE: A fee, as recorded on the fee schedule, capturing the cost of record storage and associated activities in accordance with the PLI Storage, Technology and Operations Trust Fund.
(5) STATE EDUCATION AND TRAINING FUND (SETF) FEE: The SETF fee, as determined by the PA Department of Labor and Industry, shall be added to each permit issued by the Department in accordance with the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act.
(6) THIRD PARTY AGENCY SERVICES DISCOUNT: The base fee shall be discounted on construction work permits for which Third Party Agency services are required by the Department for plan review or inspection. The amount of discount shall be published on the Departmental Fee Schedule. This discount does not apply to requirements for Special Inspection as determined by the building code.
(7) MULTIPLE PLAN REVIEW FEE: In addition to the base fee, the Department is authorized to charge an additional fee for multiple failed reviews of applications that do not address previously identified deficiencies.
(8) ACCELERATED PLAN REVIEW FEE: The Department is authorized to provide accelerated review of plans associated with the issuance of any permit, certificate, or service required under this code. The fee shall be paid at the time an accelerated review is requested.
(9) REINSPECTION FEE: The Department is authorized to charge an additional fee for multiple failed inspections that do not address previously identified deficiencies or are otherwise non-responsive.
(10) OVERTIME FEE: An overtime fee shall be charged to any permit holder requesting an inspection at any time other than Departmental business hours. The amount of the fee shall be published on the Departmental Fee Schedule, in accordance with this Chapter.
(11) UNPERMITTED WORK PENALTY FEE: If work has been performed prior to the issuance of permit, or in excess of the work approved by a permit, the Department shall assess a penalty fee. The amount of the penalty fee shall be published on the Departmental Fee Schedule, in accordance with this Chapter.