(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 May 3, 2016, and effective August 1, 2016, as amended, and which establishes the standards and requirements as set out and as published in 2015 by the International Code Council and American Standards Institute, and the following codes, as promulgated, are incorporated by reference as if fully set out verbatim herein: The 2015 International Building Code, as modified or amended to include § 4.1.g. The ANSI/ASHRAE/IESNA Standard 90.1, 2010 Edition for commercial buildings; 2015 International Residential Code, as modified or amended; 2015 International Existing Building Code, as modified or amended; 2015 International Plumbing Code; 2015 International Mechanical Code; 2015 International Fuel Gas Code, as modified or amended; 2015 International Property Maintenance Code, as modified or amended; NFPA Life Safety Code 2015 Edition; the 2014 Edition of the National Electric Code NFPA 70; the 2009 ICC/ANSI A117.1 Accessible and Usable Buildings and Facilities Code; the 2015 International Swimming Pool and Spa Code; and the 2009 International Energy Conservation Code - for Residential Dwellings all of which have an effective date of August 1, 2016.
(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pending in any court, or rights acquired or liability incurred, or any cause or causes under any act or ordinance repealed; nor shall any just or legal right or remedy of any character be lost, impaired, or affected by this section; and to that end the provisions of any prior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 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 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.