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Home My WebLink About07/31/2025 - Building Review Commission - AGENDA - Regular MeetingBUILDING REVIEW COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING 07/31/2025 Agenda Council Chambers, 300 Laporte Avenue July 31, 2025 at 9:00am Participation for this Building Review Commission Regular Meeting will be in person at Council Chambers, City Hall, 300 Laporte Avenue, Fort Collins, CO 80521. To participate: •Documents to Share: If residents wish to share a document or presentation, City Staff needs to receive those materials via email by 24 hours before the meeting. Please email any documents to mmatsunaka@fcgov.com. •Individuals are encouraged to participate by emailing general public comments you may have to mmatsunaka@fcgov.com. Staff will ensure the Commission receives your comments. If you have specific comments on any of the discussion items scheduled, please make that clear in the subject line of the email and send 24 hours prior to the meeting. Appeals: Appeals of decisions of this Commission must be filed with the City Clerk no more than 14 days following the hearing. You must have participated in the hearing via written or oral comments, and the issue on appeal must be included in the record of the hearing. www.fcgov.com/cityclerk/appeals.php Upon request, the City of Fort Collins will provide language access services for individuals who have limited English proficiency, or auxiliary aids and services for individuals with disabilities, to access City services, programs and activities. Contact 970.221.6515 (V/TDD: Dial 711 for Relay Colorado) for assistance. Please provide 48 hours advance notice when possible. A solicitud, la Ciudad de Fort Collins proporcionará servicios de acceso a idiomas para personas que no dominan el idioma inglés, o ayudas y servicios auxiliares para personas con discapacidad, para que puedan acceder a los servicios, programas y actividades de la Ciudad. Para asistencia, de aviso previo cuando sea posible. Packet Pg. 1 BUILDING REVIEW COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING • CALL TO ORDER • ROLL CALL • AGENDA REVIEW • PUBLIC PARTICIPATION • CONSENT 1. CONSIDERATION AND APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES OF MAY 29, 2025 The purpose of this item is to approve the minutes from the May 29, 2025, regular meeting of the Building Review Commission. • DISCUSSION 2. REQUEST FOR A NEW LICENSE AND SUPERVISOR’S CERTIFICATE WITHOUT REQUIRED EXAM AND PROJECT VERIFICATIONS DESCRIPTION: Mr. Mark Roe of ECO Retaining Walls, Inc. is requesting a new Class C1(DR) license and supervisor’s certificate to be issued without a passing International Code Council (ICC) testing certificate of the code year required for a new license or reinstatement of a license commercial builds. STAFF: Shar Manno, Manager Customer Support, Community Development and Neighborhood Services Marcus Coldiron, Chief Building Official, Community Development and Neighborhood Services • OTHER BUSINESS • ADJOURNMENT Eric Richards, Chair City Council Chambers - City Hall West Shaun Moscrip, Vice Chair 300 Laporte Avenue Gabe Dunbar Fort Collins, Colorado Bob Poncelow Casey Roberts Jeffrey Schneider Ronnie Zimmerman Packet Pg. 2 Agenda Item 1 Item 1, Page 1 Building Review Commission STAFF Melissa Matsunaka, Sr. Project Coordinator SUBJECT CONSIDERATION AND APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES OF THE MAY 29, 2025, MEETING OF THE BUILDING REVIEW COMMISSION EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The purpose of this item is to approve the minutes of the May 29, 2025 meeting of the Building Review Commission. ATTACHMENTS 1. 2025-05-29_BRC Minutes Packet Pg. 3 City of Fort Collins Page 1 May 29, 2025 Eric Richards, Chair Council Chambers Shaun Moscrip, Vice Chair 300 Laporte Avenue, Fort Collins Gabe Dunbar Bob Poncelow Casey Roberts Staff Liaison: Jeffrey Schneider Marcus Coldiron Ronnie Zimmerman Chief Building Official Meeting Minutes May 29, 2025 A regular meeting of the Building Review Commission was held on Thursday, May 29, 2025, at 9:00 a.m. in person at 300 Laporte Avenue, Fort Collins, Colorado. •CALL TO ORDER Vice Chair Moscrip called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. •ROLL CALL PRESENT: Dunbar, Moscrip, Poncelow, Schneider, and Zimmerman ABSENT: Richards, Roberts STAFF: Coldiron, Manno, Shehan, Matsunaka, McGaffin •PUBLIC COMMENT ON ITEMS NOT ON THE AGENDA None. •DISCUSSION AGENDA 1.MINUTES OF FEBRUARY 27, 2025 The purpose of this item is to consider approval of the minutes from the February 27, 2025 regular meeting of the Building Review Commission. Commissioner Poncelow moved to approve the minutes of the February 27, 2025 meeting as written. Commissioner Zimmerman seconded. The motion passed 5-0. Building Review Commission DRA F T ITEM 1, ATTACHMENT 1 Packet Pg. 4 City of Fort Collins Page 2 May 29, 2025 2. ADOPTION OF THE 2024 INTERNATIONAL FIRE CODE DESCRIPTION: International Fire Code (IFC) with local amendments. The local amendments being proposed have been created and stakeholders, the PFA board, and the Poudre Valley Fire Protection Board. The Ordinance No. 051, 2025, which has already been adopted on First Reading, in any way conflicts with the City’s Building Code. Additionally, Staff is asking the amendment to the Ordinance. STAFF: Shawn McGaffin, Division Chief/Fire Marshal of Poudre Fire Authority (PFA) Katie Quintana, Assistant Fire Marshal of Technical Services (PFA) Staff Presentation Marcus Coldiron, Chief Building Official, stated the purpose of this item is to request a recommendation to City Council regarding an update to Chapter 9 of City Code, which would adopt by reference the 2024 International Fire Code (IFC) with local amendments. He noted the local amendments have been created and approved by PFA’s external stakeholders, the PFA Board, and the Poudre Valley Fire Protection Board. Additionally, he noted the Commission has been asked to consider whether Ordinance No. 051, 2025, which has already been adopted on First Reading, in any way conflicts with the City’s Building Code, and staff is asking the Commission to consider a recommendation to City Council regarding a proposed amendment to the Ordinance. Coldiron discussed the committee that reviewed the 2024 IFC and suggested local amendments. He noted the 2024 IFC along with the suggested local amendments were both unanimously approved by the PFA Board and Poudre Valley Fire Protection Board. He stated City Council postponed Second Reading of the Ordinance adopting the IFC and local amendments to allow for the BRC to consider whether the Ordinance is consistent with the City’s Building Code. Additionally, after First Reading of the Ordinance, City staff identified concerns with the proposed appendix which delegates the City’s authority to hear and decide appeals of the Fire Code to PFA. He stated the current Code authorizes the BRC to act as the Fire Board of Appeals and stated staff has worked with PFA to propose a revised appeals model that will meet the needs of both entities. He stated that under the revised model, the Fire Board of Appeals would consist of the Chair of the PFA Board of Directors, the City Manager, and the City’s Chief Building Official, with substitutions allowed in the event that one of the officials is unavailable or must recuse themselves. Coldiron stated staff intends to request that Council move to amend the Ordinance on Second Reading to adopt the revised model for the Fire Board of Appeals and repeal Section 9-3. Additionally, staff is requesting the Commission consider whether to recommend to Council to move to amend the Ordinance on Second Reading as requested by staff. Commission Questions/Discussion Commissioner Schneider asked how the Building Code Adoption Committee’s recommendations regarding Chapter 10 will be included. Coldiron replied the Building Code Adoption Committee has made it through most of the Codes and the Committee will likely sunset in July. He stated he has worked with PFA for them to do a mid-cycle adoption and once the Building Codes go before Council, the Fire Code will also be brought back to ensure the Building Code and Fire Code are aligned. Commissioner Poncelow asked about some of the more significant changes to the IFC for 2024. Shawn McGaffin, Division Chief/Fire Marshal of Poudre Fire Authority, replied there are some new items related to temporary housing, lithium-ion batteries, electric powered mobility devices, emergency responder communication system updates, and recognizing the hybrid fire extinguishing system. DRA F T ITEM 1, ATTACHMENT 1 Packet Pg. 5 City of Fort Collins Page 3 May 29, 2025 Commissioner Dunbar stated the new appeals process appears to eliminate the option of taking an appeal to City Council after an initial decision is made. Assistant City Attorney Shehan confirmed that is the case. Commissioner Schneider asked about the reasoning for that given that all other Codes are appealable to Council. Assistant City Attorney Shehan replied there has been some direction to reduce the amount of appeals going to City Council. Chief McGaffin noted the original reason behind shifting the appeals process to PFA was driven by Larimer County as it will no longer accept Fire Code appeals, and PFA was attempting to keep the process consistent across its service area. However, the City of Fort Collins disagreed which is why the new model was developed. He noted the appeals process will be handled internally through PFA for both Larimer County and Timnath. Commissioner Poncelow expressed concern about individuals not having the ability to appeal a decision to an elected official. Commissioner Dunbar stated one of the reasons the BRC exists is to hear appeals, so they do not all go directly to City Council. He stated he does not have concerns with any of the other aspects of the Ordinance and asked if the appeals process portion could be separated. Assistant City Attorney Shehan replied a condition could be added to the motion and provided suggested language. Members and Assistant City Attorney Shehan discussed language that could be part of the motion given various scenarios regarding what the Commission would like to recommend. (**Secretary’s Note: The Commission took a brief recess at this point in the meeting.) Commissioner Schneider moved that the Building Review Commission recommend that Council adopt on Second Reading, Ordinance No. 051, 2025, with an amendment to maintain the current process for appealing decisions of the Fire Code Official to the Building Review Commission. The Commission finds that based upon the materials presented and discussion on this item, the Ordinance with the proposed amendments is consistent with the City’s Building Code. Commissioner Poncelow seconded. Commissioner Schneider stated the recommendation to retain the current appeals process has nothing to do with the work of PFA. He concurred with fellow Commissioners that there are potential instances in which elected officials need to be a final decision maker. Commissioner Zimmerman concurred with the idea that all appeals should have ultimate redress to elected officials. The motion passed 5-0. 3. REQUEST FOR VARIANCE TO PROJECT VERIFICATIONS REQUIRED FOR A NEW CLASS D2 LICENSE AND SUPERVISOR’S CERTIFICATE DESCRIPTION: the project verification requirement to obtain a Class D2 license and supervisor’s certificate. STAFF: Marcus Coldiron, Chief Building Official Mike Montoya, Ethos General Contractors, introduced himself and stated he is present on behalf of the company’s owner, Constantine Anest. Vice Chair Moscrip outlined the hearing process. DRA F T ITEM 1, ATTACHMENT 1 Packet Pg. 6 City of Fort Collins Page 4 May 29, 2025 Staff Presentation Shar Manno, Customer Support Manager, outlined the request for a variance to project verifications required for a new class D2 license and supervisor’s certificate. She discussed the Code requirements related to project verifications and discussed those submitted by Mr. Anest, which were deemed insufficient. Additionally, she noted Mr. Anest currently holds a roofing plus license and supervisor’s certificate and has been actively pulling permits since 2021 with 12 expired permits and three violation condition notices from 2015, 2017, and 2018. Manno stated staff is recommending denial of the variance request based on the fact that the project verifications submitted do not demonstrate the applicant is qualified to perform the work at a class D2 license level as they do not list the applicant as the responsible party. She outlined the items for the Commission to consider. Applicant Presentation Mike Montoya, Ethos General Contractors, stated the company is able to remedy the 12 expired permits and stated the reason for requesting the class D2 license is related to wanting to grow the business and expand into doing deck and other work for property management companies that are clients, specifically some concrete casing work. He stated the company has no desire to build from the ground up and would be willing to accept a restriction to allow for only deck work. Staff Response Manno asked if Mr. Anest would be able to provide verifications for completed projects outside Fort Collins. Mr. Montoya replied he would reach out to Mr. Anest for that information. Chief Building Official Coldiron noted a class D2 license does not have the one-story or 300-square- foot limitations that are included in a class MM license. Applicant Response None. Commission Questions/Discussion Commissioner Dunbar asked if the three violation condition notices are still active or whether they were remedied. Manno replied stop work orders were issued for not pulling permits, though most of them were ultimately remedied. Commissioner Schneider stated he is hesitant to allow a variance to a D2 license based on the information provided. Commissioner Poncelow asked if Ethos does work in other jurisdictions. Mr. Montoya replied in the affirmative and stated they are licensed at higher levels in other jurisdictions, but reiterated their main focus is roofing, gutters, and restoration work. Commissioner Zimmerman asked if there has been a request for project verifications for the MM license. Manno replied she typically tells contracts to submit project verifications that would apply to the highest license classification for which they would be qualified. She stated she would be happy to look at any project verifications from those jurisdictions in which they hold a higher license type. Vice Chair Moscrip concurred with Commissioner Schneider and stated that the company has done enough work that the appropriate paperwork should be available. Commissioner Dunbar made a motion that the Building Review Commission deny the requested variance to City Code Section 15-158(a)(2). The Commission finds that based upon the materials presented and discussion on this item: the strict application of Section 15- 158(a)(2) would not result in peculiar or exceptional practical difficulties or exceptional or undue hardship upon Mr. Anest; and Mr. Anest failed to demonstrate that they possess other DRA F T ITEM 1, ATTACHMENT 1 Packet Pg. 7 City of Fort Collins Page 5 May 29, 2025 qualifications not specifically listed in City Code Chapter 15, Article V, which qualify them to perform in a competent manner the construction authorized under a Class D2 license and supervisor’s certificate. Furthermore, granting this variance would be a substantial detriment to the public good and would impair the intent and purposes of Chapter 15, Article V. Commissioner Zimmerman seconded. Commissioner Dunbar encouraged Ethos to work with the City to provide the requested project verification forms. Vice Chair Moscrip concurred. The motion passed 5-0. • OTHER BUSINESS None. • ADJOURNMENT Chair Richards adjourned the meeting at 10:07 a.m. Minutes prepared by and respectfully submitted by Melissa Matsunaka. DRA F T ITEM 1, ATTACHMENT 1 Packet Pg. 8 Agenda Item 2 Item 2, Page 1 Building Review Commission STAFF Shar Manno, Manager Customer Support, Community Development and Neighborhood Services Marcus Coldiron, Chief Building Official, Community Development and Neighborhood Services SUBJECT REQUEST FOR A NEW LICENSE AND SUPERVISOR’S CERTIFICATE WITHOUT REQUIRED EXAM AND PROJECT VERIFICATIONS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Mr. Mark Roe of ECO Retaining Walls, Inc. is requesting a new Class C1(DR) license and supervisor’s certificate to be issued without a passing International Code Council (ICC) testing certificate of the code year required for a new license or reinstatement of a license and project verifications for retaining walls as opposed to full new commercial builds. BACKGROUND ECO Retaining Walls, Inc. is a company that offers small and large scale, residential and commercial, retaining wall installation. The previous license and supervisor’s certificate holder, Raul Tovar, notified Building Services on June 17, 2025, that he had left the company in mid May and wanted to be removed from all active permits. Currently, Eco Retaining Wall has 14 active permits and was issued a 30-day temporary on June 26, 2025 which expired on July 26, 2025. Mark Roe submitted a new licensing request on June 18, 2025, which was incomplete pending receipt of an ICC exam certificate. The license and supervisor’s certificate required to complete the types of projects Mr. Roe would like to complete is a Class C1(DR) due to the height, square footage, and structural nature of the retaining walls. The required license classification description and qualification are as follows. Class C1(DR): Authorized to add additions to and/or make repairs or restoration to structural damage to any building or structure in the City regulated under the building code that does not exceed 20,000 square feet in floor area and/or three (3) stories in height, including all work authorized by damage repair and restoration license types below this level. • To qualify, the applicant must have performed or acted principally in the role of supervisor for the significant structural repair construction on three (3) buildings of occupancy classifications other than Group R, up to 20,000 square feet in floor area and/or up to three stories in height. Exam Requirements: The City Code requires that an applicant for a license or supervisor’s certificate provide evidence of a passing score on the applicable written examination or equivalent. Packet Pg. 9 Agenda Item 2 Item 2, Page 2 The 2018 International Building Code (IBC) is currently in effect for commercial and multi-family construction. The 2018 International Residential Code (IRC) is currently in effect for single-family detached, duplex, and property-line townhomes. General Contractor Class C1, Class C1-DR, Class C2, Class C2-DR, and Class E: • ICC National Standard Building Contractor B Exam G12, over the 2018 IBC/2018 IRC; and the Concrete Manual: Concrete Quality and Field Practices 2021 IBC and ACI 318-19. • ***The ICC National Standard Building Contractor A Exam G11 would also be accepted for the license categories noted above. Mr. Roe now seeks a variance to allow him to be issued a license and supervisor’s certificate without satisfying the above-stated examination requirement and qualifying project verifications. The issue that Mr. Roe feels is relevant is that the testing covers more than what the company does and needs. They do not build full structures, and the testing covers all aspects of codes required for full structure builds for both residential and commercial. Below is from the International Code Council’s accreditation website. Staff are aware that this testing is more than what ECO Retaining Walls, Inc. and Mr. Roe do, however, there are numerous aspects of the testing that are relevant. Packet Pg. 10 Agenda Item 2 Item 2, Page 3 RELEVANT CITY CODE SECTIONS Sec. 15-157. - Supervisor certificate; fees; examinations; renewals. (c) Prior to obtaining a supervisor certificate, except as provided otherwise in this Article, an applicant for such certificate shall have passed a written examination administered or approved by the City or the equivalent of such examination as determined by the Building Official. Every applicant who undergoes a written examination administered by the City shall pay a nonrefundable examination fee of seventy-five dollars ($75.) prior to such examination. Any applicant who fails to achieve a minimum score of s eventy-five (75) percent shall be entitled to another examination covering the same license class or specialized trade, provided that the applicant shall not be permitted more than two (2) such examinations within any six -month period unless otherwise approved by the Commission. Alternatively, an applicant may be Packet Pg. 11 Agenda Item 2 Item 2, Page 4 granted a third such examination within any six-month period upon the applicant demonstrating to the satisfaction of the Building Official adequate preparation for the examination by successfully completing a class or coursework covering the building code or other code as applicable, or the equivalent thereof as approved by the Building Official. The applicant shall pay a nonrefundable re-examination fee of fifty dollars ($50.) for each subsequent examination covering the same license class or specialized trade. Examinations shall be given at a time and place designated by the Building Official. The written examination for a supervisor certificate may be waived by the Building Official provided that the applicant can prove that he or she has passed a satisfactory written examination equivalent in scope to that administered by the City. Sec. 15-158. - Applications; review; issuance. (c) Subject to the qualification requirements of § 15-159 and subject to any applicable variances which may have been granted by the Board pursuant to § 15-156 and provided further that the applicant has not committed any acts described in § 15-162 of this Article without the Board having first conducted a hearing and having made a determination regarding the applicant's fitness to be granted a license or supervisor certificate, the Building Official shall issue to the applicant the license or supervisor certificate applied for upon receipt of all of the following: (1) Evidence of a passing score on the applicable written examination or equivalent as specified in this Article; Sec. 15-164. - Transition provisions. (a) Any holder of a valid contractor license or supervisor certificate prior to the effective date of this Article shall be eligible to maintain the same such license or certificate without additional application fees or examination provided that such license or certificate remains valid throughout the current annual term of such license or certificate. Thereafter, any such contractor license or supervisor certificate shall be subject to renewal provisions as prescribed in this Article. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION All other contractor license application materials and payment have been received from the appellant. RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends approval of Mr. Roe’s request for a vairance to City Code Sections 15-157(c) and 15- 158(c)(1) with the condition that the license and supervisor’s certificate will be limited to the installation of retaining walls only. In support of this recommendation, staff finds that, based on the application project verification materials received, Mr. Roe does have the experience necessary for a C1(DR) Limited (to retaining walls only) license and supervisor’s certificate. City Code Section 2-173 provides the standard for a variance. Under that section, the Commission should examine whether: (a) The Code imposes peculiar or exceptional practical difficulties to the applicant; (b) The Code imposes undue hardship on the applicant; (c) The applicant demonstrates to the BRC’s satisfaction that it possesses other qualifications not specifically listed in the Code that the BRC determines qualify the applicant to perform competently. The Commission should also consider whether a variance can be granted without substantial detriment to the public good, and without substantially impairing the intent and purpose of the Code. If the Commission agrees with the recommendation or otherwise determines that a variance to the testing requirement is reasonable, the Commission may pass a motion to approve the variance to the testing certificate Packet Pg. 12 Agenda Item 2 Item 2, Page 5 requirement under Code Sections 15-157(c) and 15-158(c)(1), with or without staff’s recommended condition, which would allow the Building Official to grant a new Class C1(DR) license and supervisor’s certificate to the appellant without receiving an applicable testing certificate. If the Commission disagrees with the recommendation and determines that the appellant has not satisfied the standard for a variance, the Commission may pass a motion to deny the requested variance, which would require the appellant to provide the required testing certificate before he can be granted a Class C1(DR) license and supervisor’s certificate. ATTACHMENTS 1. Appeal Form 2. Email - Communications 3. 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