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HomeMy WebLinkAboutBuilding Review Board - Minutes - 06/29/1989BUILDING REVIEW BOARD Minutes June 29, 1989 MEMBERS PRESENT: Dennis Sinnett Doug Johnson Ron Baker Chris Allison Raju Jairam Harry Cornell MEMBERS ABSENT: None STAFF PRESENT: Felix Lee Debbie Zeigler Paul Eckman The minutes of the May 25th meeting were unanimously approved. Burnell Zercher submitted additional references for the Board's approval. After reviewing them Mr. Zercher was approved for the Class B license/certificate. He has already tested, therefore the license/certificate can be issued. Mark Young was approved for a Class B license/certificate. Doug Johnson made a motion to approve Mr. James E. Wincek, Wincek Construction, for a Class B license/certificate. The motion was seconded by Boardmember Allison. Motion carried unanimously. Craig L. Foreman applied to the Board for a Class C-01 license/certificate. He is an employee of the city of Fort Collins Parks and Recreation department and wants the license for park buildings construction. The Board felt Mr. Foreman's experience was not sufficient but had no problem approving him with the limita- tion that he work on city projects only. Boardmember Johnson made a motion to that effect and it was seconded by Boardmember Allison. Motion carried unani- mously. Wendel Torres, Torres -Posey, Inc. was approved for a Class E license/certificate. On the agenda it showed that Classic Craft Builders, Inc., Craig Murdoch, was applying for a Class E license/certificate. This was incorrect. His application showed he was applying for a Class B license/certificate. Boardmembers felt that he didn't have any Class B experience in his file. Most of the references were of the Class D nature. Debbie told the Board that the file had been faxed because the applicant was in a hurry to start remodeling on their own offices at 360 Jefferson. After discussion the Board said they would approve Classic Craft Builders, Inc. for a Class E license/certificate only. If a higher class is needed, additional references will need to be submitted to the Board. Other Business - Complaint against Hank Lewandowski dba Lew Ltd. Boardmember Doug Johnson abstained from discussion and voting on this issue to avoid a potential conflict of interest. a BRB Minutes Page 2 Mrs. Van Ronk, owner of the home at 1700 Hinry St., addressed the Board and said she bought her house in May 1987, from Lew Ltd. because she wanted a new home, not all of the problems associated with an older home. On Labor Day 1988 she found water in the crawl space. At that time Mr. Lewandowski told her to put a sump pump in the crawl space to solve the problem. Copies of the developers soils report recommends perimeter drains. The soils report Mr. Lewandowski received from the engineer he hired recommended the same thing. Mrs. Van Ronk said she relies on professionals to certify the project was done right. She feels Mr. Lewandowski didn't do what professionals recommended. Mrs. Van Ronk had gotten documentation from other homeowners stating their problems with water in their crawl spaces. Diane Morgan gave her copies of two letters had been sent to Mr. Lewandowski complaining about the problem. She also had a letter from the Yeckels with the same problem. According to Mrs. Van Ronk, in a meeting with Mr. Lewandowski, he explained the water problem was being caused by the neighbors watering habits. Mrs. Van Ronk said she had water in her crawl space on December 17th and no lawns were being watered at that time. Mrs. Van Ronk's son, Mark, said the problem is not unique to the area because others in Brown Farm and Fairbrooke are having the same trouble. The soils report from Empire Laboratories dated September 29 states the problem is caused by surface water getting into the crawl space through the backfill which may be caused by negative drainage toward the house. The soils report on the Morgan house basically says the same thing. Mr. Van Ronk said improper backfill by the contractor has caused most of the problems. He referenced page 7 of Empire's report dated March 1986 for the entire subdivision which stated "consideration should be given to garden level, crawl space and slab on grade construction where water levels are high. All lower level, garden level, crawl spaces, slab on grade should be placed a minimum of three feet above the existing ground water or be provided with a de -watering system." All test holes were done in March. He said historically this is a time when water levels are low. September and October show higher water levels with water levels varying as much as two to three feet from a period between December -January thru September. He references page A-4 of the same report showing a boring log on test hole #4 which is the lot immediately adjacent to the property in question. In March, the water table showed four feet below existing ground level. The report also references a bench mark of 100 which is on the property at the southwest corner of the subdivision. He looked for the property pin and wasn't able to find one. Assuming the grade at the location of the property pin hasn't changed, they took some shots to verify the top of the slab was built. They figured an elevation of approximately 89.5. That water table at 2.5 to 3 feet below the bottom of the crawl space is based on the test hole bored in March, 1986. The fluctuation in the water table could be within a foot of the crawl space, according to Mr. Van Ronk. Mr. Van Ronk felt if the recommendations in the soils report were followed, knowing the water table is going to fluctuate, a perimeter drain should have been installed, given the bottom of the crawl space is only three feet above the ground water. Boardmember Sinnett asked if he shot a grade of 89.5 to the bottom of the foot- ing. Mr. Van Ronk confirmed this. Boardmember Cornell asked about the deten- tion pond that borders the property. Mr. Van Ronk said it is directly to the east, about 400 feet from the property line to the west end of the pond. • BRB Minutes Page 3 Hank Lewandowski, owner of Lew Ltd., the contractor of record, appeared before the Board. He stated he had the site inspected by his foreman when Mrs. Van Ronk complained, checking for burst pipes or other plumbing problems. Finding no plumbing leaks and a significant amount of water in the crawl space, the area between the stem wall and footing was examined with no evidence of water infil- tration. A few days later, Mr. Lewandowski stated he saw a sprinkler system running on the house from the roof to the brick. He said he couldn't walk on the south side of the house because the ground was so saturated. Mr. Lewandowski notes he observed on the way to work and at the end of the day the adjacent property owner's sprinkler system running for hours. At this point he felt the people were inflicting it on themselves. He felt Mrs. Van Ronk was trying to take advantage of him. Mr. Lewandowski feels he is very experienced in building homes and feels he is the best builder in Fort Collins. He has built several hundred houses in the area. Mr. Lewandowski cited the letter from Kevin Pater- son, P.E., stating a drain is not required when the crawl space is only one foot below the existing grade. According to Mr. Lewandowski, the footing was placed only 8 to 10 inches below the grade and noted he sells his houses graded, not "sod prepped". If the ground has settled around the home, it's up to the homeowner to bring in backfill, he explained. Boardmember Baker asked what the bottom of the footing elevation was according to the plans. Mr. Lewandowski said his superintendent told him he dug in 8 inches on one side and 12 inches on the other below the grade and said they measure from the curb with a minimum of one foot below the sidewalk. The site is backfilled. The house was a spec home and built to FHA requirements, accord- ing to Mr. Lewandowski. Boardmember Allison asked if any of the two foot of fill was compacted. Mr. Lewandowski said it was water settled. Boardmember Cornell asked where the water is supposed to drain. Mr. Lewan- dowski said it is supposed to drain to the side and to the rear and the front, draining off of the property. Mr. Cornell asked what he estimated the slope is from where the grade meets the house out to the south property line. Mr. Lewan- dowski said it was 8 inches but it isn't anymore because of settling. He said it does need additional fill. Mr. Lewandowski said houses on both sides of Mrs. Van Ronk's are garden level homes that were dug in at least two feet below the grade, and they don't have a water problem. Boardmember Jairam asked again if Mr. Lewandowski had any elevations of the footings. Mr. Lewandowski said no, they just penetrate the top soil. Boardmember Baker asked if Mr. Lewandowski felt the compaction methods used were in accordance with the soils engineers recommendations and FHA stan- dards. Mr. Baker then pointed out page C-3 which says "each layer shall be compacted by a method acceptable to the geotechnical engineer... Compaction shall be performed by rolling with approved tamping rollers, pneumatic -tired rollers, three -wheel power rollers, vibratory compactors, or other approved equipment well -suited to the soil being compacted." Mr. Lewandowski said his supervisor said he adequately compacted it. Mr. Baker questioned this because Mr. BRB Minutes Page 4 Lewandowski had previously stated it had only been water settled. Mr. Lewan- dowski said he water settled, also. Mr. Baker also pointed out on page 6 it states, "In no case should footings be founded on the existing fill encountered at the site." Mr. Lewandowski said all of the footings are on existing fill. All they did was penetrate the topsoil and brought in fill. Professional Engineer Kevin Patterson's current recommendation is to put a drain down the south side directed from the west and the east because the swale failed. Attorney Paul Eckman cautioned the Board, the information they received on the other addresses, if it is being presented to the Board for its own truthfulness or factual information, is heresay and should not be considered by the Board. Mark Van Ronk pointed out water in the crawl space was discovered in Septem- ber. Sump pumps were installed and fans were placed in the crawl space to dry the area. The crawl space was dry by mid November. At that time there was no lawn irrigation going on and with ordinary snow fall, water was in the crawl space in December again. He said 2000 square feet of sod was installed when the house was new by Hank's sub contractors who were in charge of grading and installation of the sod. Chairman Ron Baker said the Board had no vehicle to make Mr. Lewandowski fix the problem. The only thing the Board can do is suspend or revoke his license. Mr. Baker's personal opinion is that the whole matter belongs in court. Paul Eckman read section 15-158F(7) from the city ordinance to point out what actions the Board had jurisdiction over. Ron Baker said he thought the Board could find several acts of negligence or incompetence on Mr. Lewandowski's part however, he didn't feel suspension of Hank Lewandowski's license was appropriate because there was no threat to the public health and safety. He felt if he were on a jury, he would find Mr. Lewan- dowski in the wrong. Dennis Sinnett feels the same way. There hasn't been any real proof of negli- gence. It appears the bottom of the footing is three feet above water which is what engineers specify it should be. Both letters from engineers say drainage needs to be improved. It appears the backfill was not done properly and there is no proof the backfill met compaction tests at the time . Raju Jairam said recommendations have been made and should be followed. The water in the crawl space can lead to structural problems. Finding of Fact Chairman Ron Baker said acts of negligence were found which included the fol- lowing: 1) Engineers report was not followed 2) Mr. Lewandowski's sod sub- contractor was responsible for laying sod 3) Improper fill and compaction. Boardmember Jairam made a motion to accept the findings of fact. The motion was seconded by Boardmember Sinnett. The motion carried unanimously. BRB Minutes Page 5 Mr. Baker said the second part of the Boards job was to determine whether the incompetence posed a substantial threat to public health, safety and welfare. Harry Cornell made a motion based on the information given, there was no threat to health and safety of the public. Boardmember Allison seconded the motion. Motion carried unanimously. Mr. Baker asked the Board if they felt there was sufficient grounds for disciplin- ary action. Boardmember Jairam said under the provisions of the code as read by the City Attorney there is not sufficient ground for disciplinary action. The motion was seconded by Boardmember Sinnett. Motion carried unanimously. The meetings was adjourned. Respectfully submitted, Ron Baker, Chairman 4elix Le taff Liaison