East Greenwich Township
City Zoning Code

The purpose of this ordinance is to require commercial and industrial buildings to install placards indicating parapet walls are present, as parapet walls present collapse and fall hazards to firefighters, and their dangers are well known to the fire service community; and the East Greenwich Township Fire Department has requested that all building built with parapet walls be marked with a placard indicating their height above the roofline to provide for the safety of their fire suppression members.

(Ord. No. 11-2024, § 1, 5-14-2024)

For the purpose of this chapter, certain words and phrases are defined as follows:

"Parapet wall" means the part of a wall entirely above the roofline or a barrier, which is an extension of the roof, terrace, balcony or other structure.

"Roofline" means that portion of the roof structure or truss which sits or is affixed to the outside bearing wall.

(Ord. No. 11-2024, § 1, 5-14-2024)

A.

All buildings constructed with walls that extend above level of the roof line or roof deck shall be marked with a rectangle placard that indicates the height of the highest parapet wall on the building.

B.

Said placard shall be affixed on the front side of the building that contains the parapet wall. Preferably the top left corner. The design of the placard shall be as determined by the fire chief of the East Greenwich Township Fire District.

C.

The placard shall consist of a royal blue rectangle with white reflective numbers. The numbers shall be eighteen (18) inches in height and twenty-four (24) inches length with white reflective numbers that shall be at least twelve (12) inches tall, but not taller than eighteen (18) inches which will indicate the wall height above the roof deck.

Also, the example picture attached to the ordinance will need to be altered to show the changes above as well.

(Ord. No. 11-2024, § 1, 5-14-2024; Ord. No. 2-2026, § 1, 2-10-2026)

All existing commercial or industrial buildings shall comply with this chapter within twelve (12) months of its effective date. All newly constructed buildings or structures not yet occupied and/or currently under construction, shall comply immediately.

(Ord. No. 11-2024, § 1, 5-14-2024)

The requirements of this chapter shall be enforced by the fire chief of the East Greenwich Township Fire Department and/or its designated inspection staff.

(Ord. No. 11-2024, § 1, 5-14-2024)

A.

Any person, firm or corporation violating or failing to comply with any provisions of this chapter shall, upon conviction thereof, be punishable by a fine of not less than two hundred fifty dollars ($250.00) and not more than one thousand two hundred fifty dollars ($1,250.00), and/or a period of community service not exceeding ninety (90) days.

B.

Any person, firm or corporation who is convicted of violating the provisions of this chapter within one year of the date of a previous violation of the same chapter and who was fined for the previous violation shall be sentenced by the court to an additional fine as a repeat offender. The additional fine imposed by the court for a repeated offense shall not exceed the maximum fine fixed for a violation of this chapter but shall be calculated separately from the fine imposed for the original violation of this chapter.

(Ord. No. 11-2024, § 1, 5-14-2024)