PERMITTING, LICENSING, & CODE UPDATES
June 2018
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New Building Codes for Philadelphia
Effective Monday, October 1, 2018, new construction codes go into effect throughout Pennsylvania. For Philadelphia, the
2018 International Codes
will apply to all non-residential construction. (The 2015 International Residential Code with state-modifications will apply for residential construction.) Ordinances have been
signed by the Mayor, making Philadelphia the first city in the nation to adopt the 2018 International Codes to regulate all construction requirements for non-residential buildings.
Along with the new codes, the process for applying the previous code to design and construction contracts for permit applications was revised by the state, limiting this period to six (6) months. This means that, beginning
Monday, April 1, 2019
, all permit applications submitted for new buildings or renovations to existing buildings must be reviewed under the new codes. A
Code Bulletin
detailing the implementation of the new codes is now available.
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Register for an upcoming eCLIPSE Information Session!
If you would like to learn more about the permit application process moving online, please join us for a 60-minute eCLIPSE information session. We’ll do a demonstration of the new application, highlight new processes, and answer any questions that you may have.
All sessions will be held at the L&I Permit Service Center, Concourse Level, Municipal Services Building (1401 JFK Blvd).
Each session allows for a maximum of 25 attendees, so register for one now!
- Wednesday, July 18, 2018
- Information Session 1: 9 a.m. – 10 a.m. – Register
- Information Session 2: 10:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. – Register
- Information Session 3: 12 p.m. – 1 p.m. – Register
- Wednesday, July 25, 2018
- Information Session 1: 9 a.m. – 10 a.m. – Register
- Information Session 2: 10:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. – Register
- Information Session 3: 12 p.m. – 1 p.m. – Register
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Focus Group Follow Up
Thank you to all our April 2018 Focus Group participants. We had an overwhelming response and received great feedback. We have been evaluating the recommendations and will share our next steps in an upcoming report.
We appreciate your time and continued partnership in helping us improve how we serve you.
In the meantime,
you asked for it; you got it
! Some of the recommendations made by focus group participants have already been put into place, including:
- The Resources page consolidates all L&I code, permit, and license updates, plus other helpful information and tools into one place. Now you no longer need to move from page-to-page on the website, looking for the latest updates.
- The L&I Newsletter page features the most recent issue of the L&I Newsletter, all archived newsletters, plus the ability to sign up for the newsletter to automatically receive future issues.
- Submitting a help request via the Permit Application Tracker is now easier, plus a list of all permit processing times is now posted on the page.
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New District Office
On Tuesday, May 8, 2018, L&I opened North Central, its newest district office, at 1514 Cecil B. Moore Avenue. The neighborhood covered by the new North Central District Office is one of the city’s busiest areas for construction activity.
On Friday, May 18
th
, a ribbon-cutting ceremony was held to officially open the office for business, and to acknowledge the significance of the office’s location. Mayor Kenney, L&I Commissioner Perri, Council President Clarke, and Public Property Commissioner Collins-Greenwald were all in attendance to celebrate the opening.
North Central’s hours of operation are: Monday – Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. To contact the office, call:
- Operations (for issues relating to existing buildings)
- 215-683-0575, -0576, -0577, -0578 & -0579
- Building (for issues relating to construction)
- 215-683-0580, -0581, -0582, -0583 & -0584
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Zoning Archives Have Moved
Approved zoning plans and permits have moved to
Atlas
and are now available in pdf. The new format allows for easy viewing and downloading. Permits and plans are available on the website approximately three (3) weeks after issue.
Visit Atlas
– enter an address in the search box, then select ‘Licenses & Inspections’ to expand the tab to show ‘Zoning Permit Documents’, and view the list of available pdf documents.
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PWD Utility Plan Requirements
The Philadelphia Water Department (PWD) now requires a utility plan prior to providing pre-requisite approval of a building permit application for new construction. The developer is no longer required to provide complete utility connection information on the conceptual stormwater management plan. The change will reduce the overall time required to obtain a zoning permit on larger projects and will ensure that both PWD and L&I have a complete understanding of site/utility design at the onset of construction.
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Mobile Crane Regulations
Requirements for mobile cranes went into effect on February 14, 2018. These apply only to mobile cranes when used in the construction or demolition of a structure for which a building or demolition permit is required. Refer to the
Mobile Crane Regulations Notice
for the full list of requirements.
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Floodplain Management in Philadelphia
A floodplain manager was recently hired to work citywide on floodplain development, mitigation, and planning projects. Although housed within L&I, the role works collaboratively with the City's Flood Mitigation Task Force to further the city's resiliency when it comes to one of the most prevalent natural disasters expected to impact the Philadelphia area.
One of the first initiatives has been to streamline and simplify the process of development reviews. To implement these changes, there will be code changes, policy development, process enhancements, and educational trainings. In May, a training session on the floodplain development and process was held for 25 architects and engineers. The same training will be provided to a host of other external professional organizations as the City strengthens its floodplain management program.
For questions about floodplain reviews or to request a training, contact Josh Lippert, Floodplain Manager, at
joshua.lippert@phila.gov
or 215-686-2423.
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