LMTS has shared with the voters of Lebanon, several pieces of information on the proposed Building Code Ordinance that will be appearing for your vote on the May 10, 2016 Lebanon Town Ballot.
Tonight we hear from Selectman Ben Thompson, and from the Attorneys for the Town of Lebanon with regards to changes, additions and necessity of voting on this ordinance.
Thank you to Selectman Thompson for sharing with us all.
Ben Thompson ::::So in an effort to be fair to the voters, I share the following email directly from our Town attorney:
Thank you, Ben Thompson.
Ben –
I spoke with Mike and understand the difference between the current and proposed ordinance in regard to the building permit fees. So to respond to Chip’s comments:
Sections B and C of the current ordinance are conflicting – Section B calculates fees for applications for additions and alterations according to the construction cost and Section C calculates costs for additions and new construction according to the square footage. According to Mike, in practice the Town only applies section C. The purpose of the amendment is to eliminate Section B in its entirety, leaving only that section which has been applied by the town historically. So yes, a building permit fee for an 800 sq. ft. addition is $320 under the proposed amendment, but it is the same under section C of the current ordinance.
With regard to the comment about a kitchen renovation, note that the following activities do not need a permit under MUBEC: Painting, papering, tiling, carpeting, cabinets, counter tops and similar finish work. So a basic kitchen remodel would not require a permit.
Finally, with regard to the third party inspector, the current ordinance is silent with regard to third-party inspectors and only mentions the CEO. The proposed ordinance clearly states multiple times that the CEO will inspect construction that falls under the IRC and third party inspectors will be used to inspect projects under the IBC. I did not see any conflicting working in the proposed ordinance.
Let me know if you have any questions.
Thank you
Mary
Mary E. Costigan
Shareholder
207 774-1200 main
BERNSTEIN SHUR
CELEBRATING 1OO YEARS | Portland, ME | Augusta, ME | Manchester, NH
Confidentiality notice: This message is intended only for the person to whom addressed in the text above and may contain privileged or confidential information. If you are not that person, any use of this message is prohibited. We request that you notify us by reply to this message, and then delete all copies of this message including any contained in your reply. Thank you.
Tonight we hear from Selectman Ben Thompson, and from the Attorneys for the Town of Lebanon with regards to changes, additions and necessity of voting on this ordinance.
Thank you to Selectman Thompson for sharing with us all.
Ben Thompson ::::So in an effort to be fair to the voters, I share the following email directly from our Town attorney:
Thank you, Ben Thompson.
Ben –
I spoke with Mike and understand the difference between the current and proposed ordinance in regard to the building permit fees. So to respond to Chip’s comments:
Sections B and C of the current ordinance are conflicting – Section B calculates fees for applications for additions and alterations according to the construction cost and Section C calculates costs for additions and new construction according to the square footage. According to Mike, in practice the Town only applies section C. The purpose of the amendment is to eliminate Section B in its entirety, leaving only that section which has been applied by the town historically. So yes, a building permit fee for an 800 sq. ft. addition is $320 under the proposed amendment, but it is the same under section C of the current ordinance.
With regard to the comment about a kitchen renovation, note that the following activities do not need a permit under MUBEC: Painting, papering, tiling, carpeting, cabinets, counter tops and similar finish work. So a basic kitchen remodel would not require a permit.
Finally, with regard to the third party inspector, the current ordinance is silent with regard to third-party inspectors and only mentions the CEO. The proposed ordinance clearly states multiple times that the CEO will inspect construction that falls under the IRC and third party inspectors will be used to inspect projects under the IBC. I did not see any conflicting working in the proposed ordinance.
Let me know if you have any questions.
Thank you
Mary
Mary E. Costigan
Shareholder
207 774-1200 main
BERNSTEIN SHUR
CELEBRATING 1OO YEARS | Portland, ME | Augusta, ME | Manchester, NH
Confidentiality notice: This message is intended only for the person to whom addressed in the text above and may contain privileged or confidential information. If you are not that person, any use of this message is prohibited. We request that you notify us by reply to this message, and then delete all copies of this message including any contained in your reply. Thank you.
Lebanon Maine Truth Seekers Thank you for sharing that e mail, Ben Thompson..........may I copy and paste it with your name on it to the page website and include it in the discussion regarding the Building Code Ordinance???
Ben Thompson Yes please. Also to put the third party inspector question to rest as well.....please share and read,
"14. Who enforces the Maine Uniform Building Codes and Energy Code?
The Code Enforcement Officer (CEO)/Building Official enforces the codes in towns with populations of more than 4,000 persons. Inspections by the CEO are required to obtain a Certificate of Occupancy. If towns under 4,000 elect after 9/28/11, to adopt and enforce building and/or energy codes: the CEO/BO would enforce the code. If a town under 4,000 elects to have no code, no enforcement is necessary. However it would be beneficial if builders/contractors/property owners still built to code as financial institutions, insurance agencies and real estate owners may be requiring inspection reports.
15. Who enforces the Maine Uniform Building and Energy Code if there is no local Code Enforcement Officer or if there is one, that person is not trained in the building codes or energy codes?
The town may have a CEO, but their job description may be limited to working with land use issues, shoreland zoning or plumbing regulations. Municipalities have the following options:
A. Building officials/Code enforcement officers: Inspections performed by building officials certified pursuant to 30-A M.R.S. §4451.
B. Inspections by virtue of inter-local agreements: Inspections performed by virtue of inter-local agreements with other municipalities, that share the use of building officials, certified in building standards pursuant to 30-A M.R.S. §4451.
C. Contractual agreements: Inspections performed by virtue of contractual agreements with one or more municipalities, or county or regional authorities, that share the use of building officials certified in building standards pursuant to 10 M.R.S. §9723.
D. Third party inspection by report: Inspections performed and verified by reports from a TPI, certified pursuant to 10 M.R.S. §9723.
FOLLOW THIS LINK
AND SEE FAQ ON THE SIDEBAR.... http://www.maine.gov/dps/bbcs/
Ben Thompson So under the state mandated MUBEC code, the CEO is the default inspector in municipalities over 4,000 residents. At the 2010 census, we were over 6,000. The proposed ordinance asks the citizens' to allow the Code Enforcement Officer to not have to inspect commercial properties, but allow third party inspectors. The citizens have to vote to allow this change.
