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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2010 - Building Review Board - Annual ReportCommunity Development & Neighborhood Services 281 North College Avenue P.O. Box 580 Fort Collins, CO 80522.0580 970.416.2740 970.224.6134- fax fcgov.com Planning, Development & Transportation BUILDING REVIEW BOARD 2010 ANNUAL REPORT BACKGROUND: The Building Review Board consists of seven members. Meetings are held on the last Thursday of each month in the Council Chambers at City Hall. The Board may also meet as needed in order to convene special meetings. Members who served during 2010 included Alan Cram, Andrea Dunlap, Mike Gust, Brice Miller, Jim Packard, Jeff Schneider and George Smith. Jim Packard served as Chairperson through March, followed by Alan Cram who served as Chairperson for the remainder of the year. Board Member Cram served as Vice-Chairperson through March, followed by Jeff Schneider who served as Vice-Chairperson for the remainder of the year. Council liaison to the Board was Council Member Kelly Ohlson. Staff support was provided by Mike Gebo, Steve Dush, Paul Eckman, Delynn Coldiron and Melanie Clark. 2010 YEAR IN REVIEW: As the appellate body for building codes and contractor licensing regulations, the Board held numerous hearings: 1. APPEALS: • License Approvals: The Board heard no cases from contractors asking for approval of licenses that had been denied by staff due to incomplete and/or insufficient project experience, due to the specialized nature of the work done by such companies which did not fit well into any of the available Fort Collins contractor license classes, when an exam waiver was being requested, or due to the fact that violations had occurred to the City’s licensing regulations. • None. • Exceptions/Upgrades: The Board heard one case from a contractor asking for exceptions to the licensing regulations. • Joel Hernandez, d/b/a A & J Construction: The appellant was seeking an exam waiver based on experience. This contractor had attempted the City’s exam, but failed due to the fact that the City does not provide a Spanish contractor exam and his interpreter had difficulties due to the technical nature of the questions. The appellant had completed nearly 100 homes for a local contractor, Aspen Homes. Jon Estabrook, a Project Manager from Aspen Homes, appeared with the appellant and verified his experience, and code knowledge. The Board extended the appellant’s 30-day temporary license for a period of 180 days, giving him the opportunity to frame one house, under Aspen Homes, in the City of Fort Collins to demonstrate his framing skills/knowledge. The Board authorized issuance of a full framing license once the appellant either passed the exam or received a passing inspection for the Fort Collins’ house. BRB Annual Report December 31, 2010 Page 2 - 2 - 2. LICENSE HEARINGS: The Board heard three cases against contractors who had violated the City’s licensing regulations. • Tim Swan, d/b/a Swan Heating & Air Conditioning: This contractor appeared before the Board due to alleged violations to the licensing ordinance for working without building permits and commitment of negligence, incompetence or misconduct in the performance of a specific trade. The Board found that the contractor was in violation of knowing or deliberate disregard of the Building Code or any other Code adopted by the City, failure to comply with any provision of the code related to a specific construction project, failure to obtain the required permit for the work performed, and commitment of negligence, incompetence or misconduct of the performance of the contractor’s specific trade which resulted in imposing a threat to public health and safety. Due to the respondent’s understanding of the issues and the changes that he had already incorporated in the way he was running his business, the Board imposed a 90-day probationary period and required that all permit issued be cleaned up and resolved. They also recommended that the respondent hire a second qualified supervisor within one year to help ensure that no further violations occurred. • John Mason, d/b/a Brentwood Renovations: This contractor appeared before the Board due to alleged violations to the licensing ordinance for failing to provide sufficient supervision, and possible misrepresentation of a material fact in obtaining a building permit, license or supervisor’s certificate for allowing a subcontractor to use his license for roofing work. The Board found that the contractor was in violation of knowing or deliberate disregard of the Building Code or any other Code adopted by the City, failure to comply with any provision of the code related to a specific construction project, misrepresentation of a material fact in obtaining a building permit, license or supervisor’s certificate and for failure to provide adequate supervision. The Board gave the Respondent an oral reprimand and directed that the minutes serve as formal documentation of the violations that occurred in the case. • Jerry J. (JJ) Hedden, d/b/a On Site Production Services: This contractor appeared before the Board to obtain license approval after having performed multiple roofing jobs without a license or permits. The Board found that the contractor was in violation of failure to obtain the required permit for the work performed and for performance of work without the required license or supervisor’s certificate. The Board approved the issuance of a temporary license allowing the respondent to permit and complete the jobs already done, as well as a third job he had scheduled. Upon completion of the third project, the license was suspended for three months. 3. BUILDING/RENTAL HOUSING CODE HEARINGS: The Board heard no cases involving City Codes: • None. 4. ADMINISTRATIVE ITEMS: • Recording notices: The Board reviewed the possibility of filing a notice with the Larimer County Clerk & Recorder for buildings found to be dangerous or unfit for occupancy as a way to inform potential buyers of problems prior to purchasing a property. Recording and administrative fees, staff time and procedural logistics were all discussed. It was decided that no notice would be filed with the Clerk and Recorder but, instead, that a form would be development by Building Department staff for these types of properties giving details about BRB Annual Report December 31, 2010 Page 3 - 3 - related issues and then the notice would be scanned into the property address files and made available to anyone searching City documents. • Plan Fort Collins: Discussion on this item started in February, 2010. Attendance at public meetings, including a presentation given by futurist, Thomas Frey, were done. Updates were provided by City Staff on a periodic basis throughout the year. There was substantial concern by Board Members over the cost of this study, especially in light of the budget reductions that had occurred in 2009. • 2009 I-Codes: The Board had representatives on the I-Code committee that were integrally involved throughout the entire process. The Board reviewed, provided feedback and then recommended adoption of the 2009 I-Codes at their May, 2010 meeting. The requirement for residential fire sprinklers was of major concern initially, but lessened as implementation of this component of the code was delayed. The Board was highly complimentary of the committee for their work on this item. The Board also suggested that City staff should consider becoming involved with state and national code development. The I-Codes became effective on Monday, October 11, 2010. • Community Scorecard: The Board viewed and provided feedback on the City’s Community Scorecard. Each Board Member was provided with a copy. Mike Gebo presented this information and explained the data contained within the document. • Budget: Some Board members attended the public open house on the budget. Comments from this meeting, as well as their September meeting were forwarded on to City Council. The Board was concerned about the reductions that had occurred in 2009 and the inability for staff to be pro-active on inspections and violations. They wanted to see these functions restored. There was also continued concern about ensuring that services that are paid for by the community through fees not be diminished. They were encouraged by the approval of the hourly staff enhancement that will help mitigate some of these issues. • Council Work Session – Periodic Review: The Board participated in a periodic review with City Council. The Board was asked to comment on 1) Whether the current duties of the Board, as defined by City Code were realistic and, if not, what duties should be added or deleted; 2) Whether the Board’s workload was too much, too little or about right; 3) Whether the board effectively accomplished its annual work plan; 4) Whether Board meetings were conducted in an effective manner and if there were things that could be done to improve them; 5) Whether the size of the Board was appropriate; 6) Whether communications between the Board and Council were effective and what could be done to improve these communications; and 7) Whether they had any other comments. The Board discussed the reasons they were not seeing more property maintenance cases. Staff informed them that process improvements made based on items discussed in past Board hearings now enable property owners to make changes within an adequate timeframe prior to requiring a Board hearing. This, coupled with staff reductions which have reduced rental housing inspections and related activities, have had an impact on the number of cases coming to the Board. The Board felt that the current level of workload was about right. There was some concern that should activities increase, the Board would be pressed to accomplish building, contractor and property maintenance reviews. There was general consensus from the Board that they are able to effectively accomplish their annual works plans and that they have had sufficient time to review other items that have come before them, i.e., the various codes. There was also general consensus that Board meetings are conducted in an effective manner and that the Board is the right size. BRB Annual Report December 31, 2010 Page 4 - 4 - The Board was interested in having the ability to have direct dialog with the Council Liaison. They mentioned that they would appreciate several visits from the Liaison throughout the year to allow him to see how the board functions, etc. The Board had no other comments. • Green Building Code: The Board received periodic updates on green building program efforts throughout the year. A formal presentation from Utilities’ staff was provided in November. Much of the focus of this presentation was on potential green building code amendments. The Board provided many comments and suggestions. One item of sufficient concern was prescriptive requirements versus allowing choices for compliance. They wanted to see choices allowed. They were also concerned about the amount of time and effort implementation of these new requirements would take and how this would impact existing staff and services. The Board was appreciative of the efforts and progress that had been made on this item and looked forward to further discussions and participation with this effort in 2011. • Communication with Council Liaison: The Board had multiple discussions about increasing communication with their Council Liaison. This item was first discussed at their May meeting and then on a couple of other instances throughout the year. The Board intends to invite the Council Liaison to an informal luncheon prior to a regularly scheduled Board meeting in early 2011 to start this dialogue.