A-802.1 General: Appeals filed pursuant to Section A-801 shall be submitted to the technical board specified in Table A-802.1. The code official shall transmit to such board all the documents, or photocopies thereof, which constitute the record upon which the action appealed from was taken and the reasons for said action.

A-802.2 Variances: Variances from the technical codes shall be granted subject to the provisions of Sections A-802.2.1 through A-802.2.5, shall be in writing and shall be available for public inspection in the department.

A-802.2.1 Board of Building Standards: The commissioner of the Department is authorized to grant an extension of time or a variance from the requirements of the Building, Electrical, Energy Conservation, Existing Building, Fuel Gas, Mechanical, Performance, Plumbing, Property Maintenance and Residential Codes upon the written recommendation of a majority of the Board of Building Standards, as established by provisions of the Philadelphia Home Rule Charter.

A-802.2.1.1 Board recommendation: Recommendation for an extension of time or a variance from a technical code by the Board of Building Standards shall be made upon written petition by, or on behalf of, the owner where there is a finding that:

1. The variance will fulfill the intent of the code; and

2. Literal enforcement will result in unique and unnecessary hardship or extraordinary conditions make literal compliance impractical; and

3. The variance will not be an unreasonable deviation from the requirements of the code; and

4. In the case of a variance in an area prone to flooding, the considerations and conditions for issuance set forth in Appendix G of the Philadelphia Building Code are satisfied; and

5. In the case of buildings designated as historic pursuant to Section 14-2007 of The Philadelphia Code or listed in the National Register of Historic Places, where strict compliance with a provision of this Title would interfere with the historic character of the property, the variance does not constitute a material life safety hazard; and

6. In the case of the request for an extension of time, efforts are being made to come into compliance as quickly as possible.

A-802.2.1.2 Flood plain: In such case where the Board of Building Standards shall recommend a variance to construct a structure below the Regulatory Flood Elevation, the owner shall be notified in writing that the variance will result in increased premium rates for flood insurance and an increased risk to property and life. The Board of Building Standards shall maintain a record of all variance actions within the flood plain and justification therefor, and shall report such variances issued in an annual report to the Administrator of the Federal Insurance Administration.

A-802.2.1.3 Determination of substantial improvement in areas prone to flooding: When the code official provides a finding to the Board of Building Standards regarding a residential building or structure regulated by the Philadelphia Residential Code as required in Section A-302.1.2, the Board of Building Standards shall determine whether the value of the proposed work constitutes a substantial improvement. A substantial improvement means any repair, reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition, or improvement of a building or structure, the cost of which equals or exceeds 50 percent of the market value of the building or structure before the improvement or repair is started. If the building or structure has sustained substantial damage, all repairs are considered substantial improvement regardless of the actual repair work performed. The term does not include:

1. Improvements of a building or structure required to correct existing health, sanitary or safety code violations identified by the code official and which are the minimum necessary to assure safe living conditions; or

2. Any alteration of an historic building or structure provided that the alteration will not preclude the continued designation as an historic building or structure. For the purpose of this exclusion, an historic building is:

2.1 Listed or preliminarily determined to be eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places; or

2.2 Determined by the Secretary of the U. S. Department of Interior as contributing to the historical significance of a registered historic district or a district preliminarily determined to qualify as an historic district; or

2.3 Designated as historic under Section 14-2007 of The Philadelphia Code.

A-802.2.1.4 Advisory input: The Board of Building Standards shall consider advice from the Electrical Advisory Board and Plumbing Advisory Board when hearing appeals from the Electrical Code and Plumbing Code respectively where such advice is submitted.

A-802.2.2 Accessibility Advisory Board: Pursuant to the Act (35 P.S. § 7210.301(a)(3)), the Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry (Secretary) has the exclusive power to grant modifications and extensions of time and decide issues of technical infeasibility under Chapter 11 (Accessibility) of the Philadelphia Building Code and other accessibility requirements contained in or referenced by the Philadelphia Building Construction and Occupancy Code for individual projects.

A-802.2.2.1 Variance requests. Pursuant to the Act, the Secretary will review all applications for modifications or variances of Chapter 11 (Accessibility) of the Philadelphia Building Code and any other accessibility requirements contained in or referenced by the Philadelphia Building Construction and Occupancy Code. The Pennsylvania Accessibility Advisory Board will advise the Secretary whether modification or variance should be granted or whether compliance is technically infeasible.

A-802.2.2.2 Code official’s decisions. Pursuant to the Act, the Secretary will hear appeals from decisions of code officials; recommend modifications or variances, or extensions of time. An appeal of a decision of a code official will be based on a claim that the true intent of the Act or the Building Construction and Occupancy Code was incorrectly interpreted, the Act does not apply, or an equivalent form of construction is to be used.

A-802.2.2.3 Filing of appeal. An owner or owner’s agent shall file an appeal regarding accessibility provisions with the Pennsylvania Accessibility Advisory Board on a form provided by the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry.

A-802.2.2.4 Stay of enforcement. An appeal to the Pennsylvania Accessibility Advisory Board will automatically suspend an action to enforce an order to correct except where there is an unsafe building, structure or equipment.

A-802.2.3 Board of Safety and Fire Prevention: The Fire Commissioner is authorized to grant an extension of time or a variance from the requirements of the Fire Code upon the written recommendation of a majority of the Board of Safety and Fire Prevention.

A-802.2.3.1 Board recommendation: Recommendation for an extension of time or a variance from the Fire Code by the Board of Safety and Fire Prevention shall be made upon written petition by, or on behalf of, the owner where there is a finding that:

1. The variance will fulfill the intent of the code; and
2. Literal enforcement will result in unique and unnecessary hardship or extraordinary conditions make literal compliance impractical; and

3. The variance will not be an unreasonable deviation from the requirements of the code; and

4. In the case of buildings designated as historic pursuant to Section 14-2007 of The Philadelphia Code or listed in the National Register of Historic Places, where strict compliance with a provision of this Title would interfere with the historic character of the property, the variance does not constitute a material life safety hazard; and

5. In the case of a request for an extension of time, efforts are being made to come into compliance as quickly as possible.

A-802.2.4 Zoning Board of Adjustment: The Zoning Board of Adjustment is authorized to hear and decide appeals in zoning matters in accordance with provisions of Section 5-1006 of the Philadelphia Home Rule Charter, the Zoning Code and regulations pursuant thereto.

A-802.3 Code compliance: Compliance with a variance issued by the Fire Commissioner, Commissioner of Licenses and Inspections or the Zoning Board of Adjustment shall be considered in compliance with the code from which the variance is granted.

A-802.4 Further appeal: Any person who has had a variance appeal hearing and has been denied a variance shall have the right to appeal that decision to the Court of Common Pleas within 30 days of the date of the notice of decision.