PRINTER'S NO. 3087
No. 2389 Session of 1980
INTRODUCED BY YOHN, McCLATCHY, GLADECK, NAHILL, CORNELL AND
LASHINGER, MARCH 18, 1980
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT, MARCH 18, 1980
AN ACT
1 Providing for the creation of a commission on demolition;
2 providing for the licensing of persons engaged in the
3 business of demolition of buildings; establishing safety
4 measures to be followed and providing penalties.
5 TABLE OF CONTENTS
6 Section 1. Commission on demolition.
7 Section 2. Regulations.
8 Section 3. License for demolition business; fee.
9 Section 4. Appeal from commission.
10 Section 5. Municipal administrative officer.
11 Section 6. Appeal from administrative officer.
12 Section 7. Permit for demolition of particular structure.
13 Section 8. Notice to adjoining property owners.
14 Section 9. Safety measures to be provided; fence.
15 Section 10. Sidewalk shed requirements.
16 Section 11. Excavation of sidewalk area.
17 Section 12. Restrictions on demolition procedures.
18 Section 13. Accumulated materials.
1 Section 14. Basements and cellars.
2 Section 15. Public utilities exceptions.
3 Section 16. Penalty.
4 Section 17. Effective date.
5 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
6 hereby enacts as follows:
7 Section 1. Commission on demolition.
8 There is hereby established a State Commission on Demolition
9 to consist of five members, which commission shall, for fiscal
10 and budgetary purposes only, be within the Department of Labor
11 and Industry. On or before October 1, annually, the Governor
12 shall appoint to said commission a member or members to serve
13 for three years from said date to succeed those whose terms are
14 expiring. At all times at least two of such members shall be
15 persons actively engaged in the demolition business. The
16 Secretary of Labor and Industry or his designee shall be an ex
17 officio member of said commission and shall serve as its
18 chairman. The members of said commission shall receive no
19 compensation as such for their services thereon, but shall be
20 reimbursed for necessary expenses.
21 Section 2. Regulations.
22 Said commission shall prescribe such regulations as may be
23 necessary for the administration of this act, including but not
24 necessarily limited to, working definitions of such terms as
25 "demolition," "building," "structure" and the like. Such
26 regulations shall be designed for, and limited to, the carrying
27 into effect of the intent and purpose of this act for the public
28 safety.
29 Section 3. License for demolition business; fee.
30 No person shall engage in the business of demolition of
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1 buildings without a license obtained from the State Commission
2 on Demolition and without furnishing to said commission such
3 evidence of competency and trustworthiness as it may require. An
4 applicant for such license shall file an application with the
5 State Commission on Demolition and pay a fee of $300 for the
6 license. Each such license shall be valid for 12 months from
7 date of issuance and shall be renewable on application of the
8 licensee upon payment of an annual fee of $300 for the license.
9 The commission may refuse to issue any such license for cause,
10 and may revoke or refuse to renew any such license for failure
11 to carry out and conform to the provisions of this act or to any
12 regulations adopted hereunder. No person shall be refused a
13 license or a renewal thereof, and no license shall be revoked,
14 without an opportunity for a hearing before said commission. The
15 provisions of this section shall not apply to a person who is
16 engaged in the disassembling, transportation and reconstruction
17 of historic buildings for historical purposes or in the
18 demolition of farm buildings or in the renovation, alteration or
19 reconstruction of a single family residence.
20 Section 4. Appeal from commission.
21 Any person aggrieved by a decision of said commission
22 refusing to grant or renew or revoking any such license may,
23 within ten days of such decision, appeal therefrom to the court
24 of common pleas for the county wherein such person resides, and
25 such appeal shall be a privileged matter to be heard by the
26 court as soon after the return day as is practicable.
27 Section 5. Municipal administrative officer.
28 The legislative body of each city, town, township or borough
29 shall appoint an officer to administer sections 7 to 14,
30 inclusive. Each such officer shall have a minimum of five years
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1 experience in building demolition, and shall be generally
2 informed on demolition practices and requirements and on the
3 equipment necessary for the safety of persons engaged in
4 demolition and the public. Such officer shall pass upon any
5 question relative to the manner of demolition or materials or
6 equipment to be used in the demolition of buildings or
7 structures.
8 Section 6. Appeal from administrative officer.
9 Any person aggrieved by any order or decision of an
10 administrative officer may, within ten days of such order or
11 decision, appeal therefrom to the court of common pleas for the
12 county wherein such person resides, and such appeal shall be a
13 privileged matter to be heard by the court as soon after the
14 return day as is practicable.
15 Section 7. Permit for demolition of particular structure.
16 No person shall demolish any building, structure or part
17 thereof without obtaining a permit for the particular demolition
18 undertaking from the administrative officer of the town,
19 township, city or borough wherein such building, or part thereof
20 is located. No person shall be eligible to receive a permit
21 under this section unless he furnishes to the administrative
22 officer written evidence:
23 (i) of financial responsibility in the form of a
24 certificate of insurance specifying demolition purposes and
25 providing liability coverage for bodily injury of at least
26 $100,000 per person with an aggregate of at least $300,000,
27 and for property damage of at least $50,000 per accident with
28 an aggregate of at least $100,000, each such certificate
29 shall provide that the town, township, borough or city and
30 its agents shall be saved harmless from any claim or claims
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1 arising out of the negligence of the applicant or his agents
2 or employees in the course of the demolition operation;
3 (ii) that all public utilities having service
4 connections within the premises proposed to be demolished
5 have severed such connections and service; and
6 (iii) that he is the holder of a current valid license
7 issued under the provisions of section 3, except in the case
8 of a person who is engaged in the disassembling,
9 transportation and reconstruction of historic buildings for
10 historical purposes or who is engaged in the demolition of
11 farm buildings or in the renovation, alteration or
12 reconstruction of a single family residence.
13 No permit shall be issued under this section unless signed by
14 the owner and the demolition contractor. Each such permit shall
15 contain a printed intention on the part of the signers to comply
16 with the provisions of this act.
17 Section 8. Notice to adjoining property owners.
18 No person shall commence any demolition operation unless he
19 first notifies each adjoining property owner by certified mail
20 at such owner's last address according to the records of the
21 assessor of the city, town, township or borough in which such
22 demolition operation is planned.
23 Section 9. Safety measures to be provided; fence.
24 (a) No person shall remove or demolish any building or
25 structure or part thereof without providing adequate safety
26 measures for all workmen and suitable protections for the
27 public.
28 (b) No person shall demolish any building or structure,
29 without causing to be erected and maintained, for the duration
30 of the demolition operations, a fence or barricade meeting the
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1 requirements of this section. Each such fence or barricade shall
2 be adequate for safety; shall be not less than eight feet high;
3 shall extend along the street line for the entire length of the
4 building or structure facing on the street, with each end
5 returning back to the building line, and shall be solid for its
6 entire length, except for such openings, provided with sliding
7 doors swinging inward, as may be necessary for the proper
8 prosecution of the work. The administrative officer may waive
9 the requirements of this subsection, or may make such further
10 requirements as he deems necessary for the protection of the
11 public, the adjoining properties or any personalty of such
12 owners and its use.
13 Section 10. Sidewalk shed requirements.
14 No person shall demolish any building or structure or part
15 thereof, when such building, structure or part is within six
16 feet of a street line, or is 12 feet or more in height, or is
17 within six feet of an area which the owner or lessee provides
18 and invites the public to use as it would a public way, or when
19 the distance between such street line or area and such building,
20 structure or part is more than six feet but less than one-half
21 the total height of the object to be demolished, without causing
22 to be erected and maintained a sidewalk shed meeting the
23 requirements of this section. Such shed shall:
24 (i) extend for the full length of the building on all
25 street fronts;
26 (ii) exist for the duration of the demolition
27 operations;
28 (iii) be not less than four feet wide and six feet eight
29 inches high in the clear;
30 (iv) be watertight; and
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1 (v) be adequately lighted for pedestrian traffic.
2 When the roof of any such shed is used for the storage of
3 material or for the performance of work of any kind, adequate
4 railings, not less than three feet high, and solid toe boards,
5 not less than six inches high, shall be affixed along the open
6 sides and ends of such roofs. The roofs of such sheds shall be
7 of sufficient strength and stability safely to sustain the
8 weight of materials that may be placed thereon and the shocks
9 incidental to the handling, preparation for use, trucking or
10 delivery of materials. The requirements of this section, as they
11 relate to street lines, shall not apply in any case in which all
12 such streets are officially closed to pedestrian and vehicular
13 traffic. The administrative officer may waive any of the
14 requirements of this section, if the object to be demolished is
15 more than 40 feet from any street line or area used as a public
16 way and its demolition is accomplished by the removal of one
17 story at a time.
18 Section 11. Excavation of sidewalk area.
19 No person shall excavate the area occupied by a sidewalk or
20 temporary walkway in use, unless such area is provided with a
21 walkway capable of supporting not less than 150 pounds per
22 square foot and unless such walkway is provided with suitable
23 ramps at each end.
24 Section 12. Restrictions on demolition procedures.
25 No person shall use demolition procedures which involve
26 hazard or risk to the general public or unnecessary danger to
27 the workmen, and no person shall use demolition procedures not
28 in accord with good practice.
29 Section 13. Accumulated materials.
30 No person shall demolish any structure or building without
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1 making suitable provision for the disposal of all accumulated
2 materials. No person shall overload any part of the protective
3 structures erected during the demolition operations by storage,
4 materials or debris to an extent beyond the live load capacity.
5 No person shall, during demolition operations, allow materials
6 to accumulate which would, by their nature, upon removal, cause
7 an excessive amount of dust, dirt or debris in the air, without
8 suitably wetting down such accumulations with water, dehydrated
9 lime or some similar agent.
10 Section 14. Basements and cellars.
11 No person shall allow any basement, cellar, hole or the like
12 to remain uncovered or opened as a result of the demolition of
13 any building, structure or part thereof. Each person who, in a
14 demolition operation, uncovers or opens such a basement, cellar,
15 hole or the like shall fill the same to grade and remove all
16 excess materials, rubbish and debris from the premises. If a new
17 building, structure or part thereof is to be erected on the site
18 of such demolished premises, the administrative officer may
19 waive any of the provisions of this section.
20 Section 15. Public utilities exceptions.
21 The provisions of this act shall not apply to the structures,
22 such as distribution and transmission poles, towers and
23 fixtures, steam plant, gas plant, gas tank or holder, water tank
24 or electric substation, of any public utility whose operations
25 are under the jurisdiction of the Public Utility Commission.
26 Section 16. Penalty.
27 Any person who violates any provision of this act shall be
28 fined not more than $500 or imprisoned not more than one year or
29 both.
30 Section 17. Effective date.
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1 This act shall take effect October 1, 1980.
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