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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2007-057-06/05/2007-MAKING FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS PERTAINING TO THE APPEAL OF PETER SCHULTZ OF THE DECISION OF RESOLUTION 2007-057 OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS MAKING FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS PERTAINING TO THE APPEAL OF PETER SCHULTZ OF THE DECISION OF THE BUILDING REVIEW BOARD AS CONTAINED IN RESOLUTION 2007-1 OF THE BUILDING REVIEW BOARD PERTAINING TO 505 LOCUST STREET WHEREAS, the City's Building Official (the "Building Official") has made certain determinations regarding the City's Rental Housing Standards as they pertain to 505 Locust Street (the "Premises") and has issued building permits in accordance with those determinations; and WHEREAS, the Building Official has also made certain determinations as to whether a building permit needs to be issued to the present owner of the Premises for having converted the Premises into a duplex at some unknown time in the past, and has determined that such a building permit need not be issued; and WHEREAS,on November 9,2006,Peter Schultz(the"Appellant")filed a Notice of Appeal with the City Clerk of the City appealing the foregoing decisions of the Building Official; and WHEREAS, a hearing on the appeal was scheduled for December 21,2006,but,because of a local snow emergency, was rescheduled for February 22, 2007; and WHEREAS, on February 22, 2007, the Building Review Board (the "BRB"), after notice given in accordance with the Code of the City,considered the appeal,reviewed the record on appeal, heard presentations from the Appellant and other parties-in-interest and,after discussion,upheld the decisions of the Building Official and made other findings regarding the jurisdiction of the BRB, which findings are contained in Board Resolution 2007-1 (the"Resolution"); and WHEREAS,on April 11,2007, a Notice of Appeal of the BRB's decision was filed with the City Clerk by the Appellant; and WHEREAS, on May 15, 2007, the City Council, after notice given in accordance with Chapter 2, Article II, Division 3, of the City Code, considered said appeal, reviewed the record on appeal, heard presentations from the Appellant and other parties-in-interest and, after discussion, modified the decision of the BRB; and WHEREAS,City Code Section 2-56(e)provides that no later than the date of its next regular meeting after the hearing of an appeal, City Council shall adopt, by resolution, findings of fact in support of its decision on the appeal. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS that, pursuant to Section 2-56(e) of the City Code, the Council hereby makes the following findings of fact and conclusions: 1. That the grounds for appeal as stated in the Appellant's Notice of Appeal conform to the requirements of Section 2-48 of the City Code. 2. That all references in the Resolution to the Uniform Building Code ("UBC") are hereby modified to refer instead to the International Residential Code("IRC"); that the reference in the Resolution to City Code Section 5-27 is hereby modified to reference City Code Section 5-30;and that the reference to Section 105.2 of the UBC is hereby modified to refer to Section R 112.2 of the IRC. 3. That the decision of the BRB contained in paragraph(2)of the Resolution is hereby upheld in that the Building Official properly required the issuance ofbuilding permits for certain improvements to the Premises in order to ensure compliance with the City's Rental Housing Standards and properly did not require a building permit for the upgrading of wiring for smoke alarms. 4. That the decision of the BRB contained in paragraphs(3 )and(4)of the Resolution, that it lacked jurisdiction under the IRC to consider the Appellant's appeal,is hereby upheld insofar as that decision was made based upon the IRC itself because, according to Section R112.2 of the IRC, appeals to the BRB may be made only by persons who are either applicants for or holders of a building permit, and the Appellant is neither the applicant for nor holder of a building permit pertaining to the Premises. 5. That, nonetheless, the decision of the BRB is hereby modified with regard to this jurisdictional question, because Section 5-259 of the City's Rental Housing Code grants jurisdiction to the BRB to provide for final interpretations of all provisions of the Rental Housing Code and to hear appeals provided for thereunder; accordingly, the BRB had jurisdiction to interpret the meaning of Section 5-238 of the Rental Housing Code pertaining to the applicability thereof. 6. That, under the terms of City Code Section 5-238, the BRB should have examined the applicability of the City's Land Use Code and City Building Codes(the IRC)to ascertain whether the present owner of the Premises was, or is, required to obtain City approval, either through the issuance of a building permit or the approval of a development plan(or both)because of the conversion of the Premises from a single- family residential dwelling to a two-family dwelling at some time prior to the owner's acquisition of the property in 1984. 7. That, in applying IRC Sections R101.2 and R105.1, the present owner of the Premises has engaged in no activity upon the Premises to convert the Premises from a single-family to a two-family dwelling unit so as to trigger the application of the IRC. Furthermore,the owner of the Premises has not changed the intensity of the use of the land by increasing the number of dwelling units in the structure, having purchased the property in 1984 as a duplex. -2- 8. That, for the foregoing reasons, although the BRB had jurisdiction to consider the application of the City's Rental Housing Code and determine whether or not the owner of the Premises must obtain either a building permit or development approval, and pay City fees therefor, no such building permit or development approval was required because no conversion of the building from a single-family residence to a duplex was sought by the owner of the Premises, and all required building permits for repairs were obtained in accordance with City law. Passed and adopted at a regular meeting of the Co of the City of Fort C tins this 5th day of June, A.D. 2007. May r ATTEST: City Clerk -3-