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HomeMy WebLinkAbout125 - 08/17/2004 - AMENDING CHAPTER 5, ARTICLE II, DIVISION 2 OF THE CITY CODE FOR THE PURPOSE OF MAKING CERTAIN AMENDM ORDINANCE NO. 125, 2004 OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS AMENDING CHAPTER 5, ARTICLE Il,DIVISION 2 OF THE CITY CODE FOR THE PURPOSE OF MAKING CERTAIN AMENDMENTS TO THE UNIFORM BUILDING CODE WHEREAS, the Council of the City of Fort Collins has determined that it is in the best interest of the health, safety and welfare of the City and its citizens that the 2003 INTERNATIONAL RESIDENTIAL CODE, as amended, regulating the construction, alteration, movement, enlargement, replacement, repair, equipment, use and occupancy, location, removal and demolition of one- and two-family dwellings only, be adopted; and WHEREAS, the current building code adopted by City is based on the UNIFORM BUILDING CODE, 1997 EDITION, published by the International Conference of Building Officials (ICBO), as enacted in May 1998,regulates all buildings in the City; and WHEREAS, it is necessary to continue regulating buildings not covered by the 2003 INTERNATIONAL RESIDENTIAL CODE, as amended, by maintaining current provisions applicable to such buildings and to adopt regulations that integrate the current UNIFORM BUILDING CODE and the proposed 2003 INTERNATIONAL RESIDENTIAL CODE, NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS that Chapter 5, Article 11, Division 2 of the Code of the City of Fort Collins be amended and revised in the following respects: Section 1. That Section 5-26(a) and (c) of the Code of the City of Fort Collins is hereby amended to read as follows: Sec. 5-26. Adoption of standards. (a) There is hereby adopted by reference as the building code of the city, the 1997 Uniform Building Code, Volumes 1, 2 and 3, published by the International Conference of Building Officials, as if set forth in full herein. The subject matter of the codes adopted herein includes comprehensive provisions and standards regulating the erection, construction, enlargement, alteration, repair, moving, removal, conversion, demolition, occupancy, equipment, use, height, area and maintenance of buildings and structures other than detached one (1) and two (2) family dwellings and multiple single-family dwellings (townhouses) not more than three (3) stories above grade in height for the purpose of protecting the public health, safety and general welfare. (c) The Model Energy Code, 1995 Edition, promulgated by the Council of American Building Officials, as amended by the city, is hereby adopted by reference; provided, however, that the Model Energy Code shall apply to all buildings and structures other than detached one (1) and two (2) family dwellings and multiple single-family dwellings (townhouses) that are not more than three (3) stories above grade in height. Section 2.That Section 5-27 of the Code of the City of Fort Collins is hereby amended by the addition of the following new subsections, which shall read in their entirety as follows, with all subsections in Section 5-27 to be renumbered accordingly: (1) Section 101.3 "Scope" is hereby amended by the addition of a new subsection 101.3.1 which shall read as follows: "101.3.1 Exclusions and effective date. Except as otherwise provided in the International Residential Code as adopted by the city, this code shall not apply to one (1) and two (2) family dwellings that are completely separated from adjacent dwellings by unobstructed physical space ("detached"), or to multiple, attached single-family dwellings (townhouses) that are not more than three (3) stories in height, with each townhouse having its own separate means of egress." (2) Section 106.3 "Application for Permit", is hereby amended by adding a new subsection thereto, which reads in its entirety as follows: "106.3.6 Time limitation of application. Applications for which a permit has not been issued within ninety (90) days following the date of application shall automatically expire and plans submitted for code-compliance review may thereafter be returned to the applicant or destroyed by the building official. The building official may extend the time for action by the applicant for a period not exceeding ninety (90) days upon written request by the applicant showing that circumstances beyond the control of the applicant have prevented action from being taken. In order to renew action on an application after expiration, the applicant shall resubmit plans and plan review fee as provided in this Code. Exception: For applications for affordable housing units as defined in Section 26-631 of the Code of the City, such expiration shall occur when a permit has not been issued within one hundred eighty (180) days following the date of permit application." (3) Section 106.4.4 "Expiration" is hereby amended by revising the section in its entirety to read as follows: "106.4.4 Permit expiration and incompletion of authorized work. Every permit issued, both prior to and subsequent to the effective date of this code, shall become invalid if the work authorized by such permit has not been commenced within one hundred eighty (180) days after issuance of the permit, or if such work, once commenced, is suspended or abandoned for a period of one hundred eighty (180) days after the date the work was commenced. The building official is authorized to grant, in writing, extensions of time for periods of not more than one hundred eighty (180) days each. Each extension must be requested in writing and justifiable cause demonstrated. No more than two such extensions may be granted by the building official unless the additional extension(s) have first been approved by the Building Review Board. Both prior to and subsequent to the effective date of this code, any work authorized by a permit regulated by this code, or under any other building construction code administered by the building official, that involves the construction or alteration of an exterior building component, assembly or finish material, such as the foundation, wall and roof framing, sheathing, siding, fenestration, and roof covering, shall be fully completed for permanent outdoor exposure within twenty four (24) months of the date of issuance of such permit, regardless of when the permit was issued. Failure to comply with the foregoing time period shall constitute a violation of this code, resulting in revocation of the permit, and shall subject the permit holder and property owner to all penalties provided by the Code of the City. No such revoked permit may be reinstated, nor shall a new permit be issued for work previously authorized by the revoked permit, unless such reinstatement or issuance of a new permit has first been approved by the Building Review Board." (4) Section 107, Fees is hereby amended by revising the section in its entirety to read as follows: "SECTION 107-FEES 107.1 Payment of fees. No permit with any amendments and related constructions plans therefore shall be valid until the fees prescribed by the city manager pursuant to Chapter 7.5, Article I of the Code of the City, entitled, "ADMINISTRATIVE FEES",have been paid. 107.2 Related fees. The payment of the fee required pursuant to Section 107.1 shall not relieve the applicant or holder of the permit from the payment of other fees that are prescribed by law. 107.3 Fee refunds. Any fee paid hereunder that is erroneously paid or collected shall be refunded. The building official may authorize the refunding of ninety percent (90%0) of a plan review fee or building permit fee to the applicant who paid such fee pursuant to this section, provided the plan review is withdrawn or cancelled and the plan review and/or work authorized under a permit issued in accordance with this Code has not commenced, and provided further such plan review or permit is valid and not expired as set forth in this section. Prior to authorizing the refunding of any fee paid to the original applicant or permittee, a written request from such party must be submitted to the City within one hundred eighty (180) days of the date of the fee payment." Section 3.That Section 5-29 of the Code of the City of Fort Collins is hereby amended to read as follows: Sec.5-29.Violations and penalties. The following section of the Uniform Building Code contains a penalty clause, which is amended in its entirety to read as follows: "103.1 Violations and penalties. Any person who violates a provision of this code or fails to comply with any of the requirements thereof or who erects, installs, alters or repairs a building or structure in violation of the approved construction documents or directive of the building official, or of a permit or certificate issued under the provisions of this code, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor subject to the penalties and fines pursuant to Section 1-15 of the Code of the City, punishable by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000) or by imprisonment not exceeding one hundred eighty (180) days, or both such fine and imprisonment. Each day that a violation continues after due notice has been served shall be deemed a separate offense. 103.2 Work commencing before permit issuance. In addition to the penalties set forth in 103.1, any person or firm who, before obtaining the necessary permit(s), commences any construction of, or work on, a building, structure, electrical, gas, mechanical or plumbing system that is not otherwise exempted from obtaining a permit, shall be subject to a processing and penalty fee in addition to the standard, prescribed permit fee. Such additional fee shall be equal to the amount of the permit fee, except that the additional fee shall be not less than fifty dollars ($50) nor more than one thousand dollars ($1,000) for the first such violation. A person or firm committing the same such violation repeatedly shall be subject to processing and penalty fees equal to double the amount of the permit fee or double the amount charged for the last preceding violation, whichever is greater, for every subsequent violation committed within any one hundred eight (180) day period. The foregoing fees may be appealed to the City Manager pursuant to Chapter 2,Article VI of the Code of the City." Section 4.That all of the foregoing changes enacted by this Ordinance shall become effective for implementation commencing on January 1, 2005. Introduced, considered favorably on first reading, and ordered published in summary form this 20th day of July A.D. 2004, and to be presented for final passage on the 17th day of August A.D. 2004. Mayor _. ATTEST: City Clerk Passed and adopted on final reading this 17th day of August, A.D. 2004. y Mayor ATTEST: City Clerk