(a) Reenact and Adopt. The State Building Code is hereby reenacted and adopted as promulgated by the West Virginia State Fire Commission, Title No. 87, Series 4 “State Building Code” as approved by the West Virginia Legislature, by Legislative Rule filed January 7, 2022, and effective August 1, 2022, as amended, and which establishes the standards and requirements as set out and as published in 2018 by the International Code Council and American Standards Institute, and the following codes, as promulgated, be and the same are incorporated by reference as if fully set out verbatim herein: The 2018 International Building Code, as modified or amended to include Section 4.1.g. The ANSI/ASHRAE/IESNA Standard 90.1, 2013 Edition for commercial buildings; as excepted, modified or amended; 2018 International Residential Code, as excepted, modified or amended; 2018 International Existing Building Code, as excepted, modified or amended; 2018 International Plumbing Code, as excepted, modified or amended; 2018 International Mechanical Code, as excepted, modified or amended; 2018 International Fuel Gas Code, as excepted, modified or amended; 2018 International Property Maintenance Code, as excepted, modified or amended; NFPA Life Safety Code 2021 Edition; The 2020 Edition of the National Electric Code NFPA 70, as excepted, modified or amended; the 2017 ICC/ANSI A117.1 Accessible and Usable Buildings and Facilities Code, as excepted, modified or amended; the 2018 International Swimming Pool and Spa Code, as excepted, modified or amended; and the 2015 International Energy Conservation Code- for Residential Dwellings, as excepted, modified or amended, all of which will have an effective date of August 1, 2022.
(Ord. 1950. Passed 5-24-22.)
(b) Savings. Nothing in this section shall be construed to affect any suit or proceeding pending in any court, or rights acquired or liability incurred, or any cause or causes under any act or ordinance repealed; nor shall any just or legal right or remedy of any character be lost, impaired or affected by this section; and to that end the provisions of any prior enactment are hereby saved; provided however, that all building codes previously adopted by the City of Fairmont and inconsistent with the State Building Code then in effect are null and void.
(c) Conflicting Ordinances.
(1) Any existing municipal ordinance that is more stringent or imposes a higher standard than is required by the above referenced codes shall govern, provided such ordinance is not inconsistent with the laws of the State of West Virginia and is not contrary to recognized standards and good engineering practices.
(2) Any existing municipal ordinance that is less stringent or imposes a lesser standard than is required by the above referenced codes is hereby amended to comply therewith.
(d) Enforcement.
(1) In addition to any other City personnel, officer, or official authorized to investigate and enforce the provisions of this article, the City’s Building Inspector, Deputy Building Inspector, and Code Enforcement Officer shall have authority to enforce the provisions of this article.
(2) Subject to any and all right of appeal, whenever reasonable grounds exist to believe that a violation of this article has occurred, the investigating officer may forthwith summon, by the issuance of a citation, the owner, tenant, occupant, and/or other person or persons responsible to appear before the Judge of the Municipal Court for the City and to answer said charge on or before a date therein stated.
(3) Each day an unabated condition continues shall be deemed a separate offense.
(Ord. 1809. Passed 4-23-19.)