Recent building code changes for the Centre region, prompted by the parking deck collapse at Pepper Mill Condominiums, 710 S. Atherton St., will take effect Jan. 1.

"This was definitely prompted by the collapse," said Greg Mussi, Centre Region Code Administration director.

Currently, there are no building codes that require property owners to obtain building permits before altering existing parking decks. In addition, there is no way for code enforcement to check the safety of existing structures.

Under the new codes, parking deck owners would have to obtain a permit before adding or revamping an existing structure. Before a permit is given, a structural engineer will examine the structure.

In addition, all parking garages will be subject to an inspection every five years by the Centre Region Code Administration, Mussi said.

Currently, code enforcement officials are inspecting parking decks in the Centre region, which will make the Jan. 1 transition smoother, he said.

"There are a handful that will need a structural engineer to come in a look at them," Mussi said. "We have already contacted these property owners."

He would not comment on which parking structures are being examined.

"We don't want to alarm people," Mussi said.

He added that it is too early to determine which parking decks may not be up to the new codes.

Mussi said the parking decks that are being looked into are old and were built using outdated techniques.

These structures were built using "steel frame" and "docks planting" methods.

Property owners have been informed about the code changes, he said.

"We have not received any negative comments [from property owners]," Mussi said. "We worked with the Centre County Chamber of Business and Industry closely with this. They have been very supportive."

No one from the Centre County Chamber of Business and Industry was available for comment yesterday.

Property owners will be financially liable for any improvements needed to bring the parking decks up to code, Mussi said.

"We just added a line to specifically target these kinds of structures," he said.

Mussi said the Pepper Mill collapse was caused by multiple factors, including the recent layer of asphalt that was added to the structure a few months before its collapse. Independent contractors are still trying to determine the cause of the collapse, Mussi said.

The Pepper Mill parking deck collapsed Sept. 3. No injuries were reported, but 30 cars were damaged.

In addition to rewording the parking deck codes, the Centre Region Code Administration adopted a new set of building codes.

The codes are re-evaluated every three years in the Centre Region, Mussi said.