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Lower Frederick reviews draft occupancy-inspection ordinance adding sewer lateral checks; board delays final vote
Summary
The township reviewed a draft ordinance that would require sewer lateral inspections 14–45 days before closing, treat substantial lateral failures as rendering a home unfit for habitation, and allow temporary certificates or buyer remedies for minor defects; the board will reconvene after staff and solicitor comments.
Lower Frederick Township’s Board of Supervisors spent much of its Sept. 23 work session reviewing a draft Occupancy Inspection Ordinance that would add a requirement for sewer lateral inspections tied to home transfers.
The township solicitor told the board the draft contains two lateral-inspection provisions: one under the sewer regulations with technical requirements and one under the permit/transfer ordinance that makes a lateral inspection a condition of a transfer. "A failure of the lateral inspection … means the house is not habitable," the Solicitor said, describing the ordinance’s default consequence for a substantial defect. He said the draft does provide an exception for minor defects and that, in major-failure cases, the township could issue a temporary access permit to allow the seller to correct the problem before a permanent use-and-occupancy certificate is issued.
Board members pressed staff for practical detail. A supervisor asked how the proposed 14‑day minimum (and 45‑day maximum) inspection window would work in transactions that shift dates; the Solicitor said the 14–45 day window is intended to keep inspections current for a given sale while allowing time for fixes and township review. He added that resale inspection reports would be valid for two years unless township staff have reason to require a reinspection.
Costs and logistics were discussed. Board members noted published estimates for private lateral-camera inspections vary depending on contractor and the scope of work; the transcript referenced a general range of about $350–$1,000. Board members also asked who would conduct reviews (private contractor hired by the seller and then reviewed by township staff) and how waivers would apply for new developments and certain familial transfers.
The board indicated a preference to shorten one multi-year provision from five years to two years for consistency across the code and agreed to await comments from Bob Preston before returning the draft to a future work session. The Solicitor recommended combining related ordinance changes into an omnibus amendment to reduce advertising costs; the board agreed to revisit the draft at the next work session and to seek any outstanding staff comments prior to authorization to advertise.
Next step: staff will collect Bob Preston’s comments and the board will take up the ordinance again at the October work session, with a possible authorization to advertise following that review.
