Thorpe: Project to fall under old building codes

Carbon County will not need its building permit for a proposed office building and parking garage in Jim Thorpe in hand by the end of the month to grandfather itself in to a prior version of Pennsylvania’s building codes.

During a meeting of Jim Thorpe borough last month, Jeff Gross of Form Space Design Architects, the architect on the project, said the state adopted new building codes in October and gave a six-month window for permit applications using the old codes, under which this project was designed.

There was a question at the time, whether the county only needed to apply for the permit before March 31 or actually have the permit approved.

“We have since found out that as long as the application is in by March 31, the county is good so we don’t have to take action on the permit this month,” borough Manager Maureen Sterner told council during a workshop Thursday night.

The October Uniform Construction Code update was the first in Pennsylvania since 2009. It updated commercial and residential construction building codes to the 2015 International Codes.

According to a press release from the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry at the time, the changes apply to things such as fire safety, insulation and building materials in new construction and major renovations.

For Carbon County, however, the plans for the Susquehanna Street office building were drafted while the old codes were in place.

Commissioners’ Chairman Wayne Nothstein said a redesign would have been costly.

“If we had to go back and redesign and rebid the project, that would have cost a substantial amount of money,” Nothstein said. “It would drive the cost up, and we’re all taxpayers.”

The county received conditional plan approval from Jim Thorpe last month. Council, however, has yet to act on a land development agreement.