jar546
CBO
This poll is specific to Building Officials only. I am trying to get a sense of where most of you are when it comes to areas of responsibility. If you choose other, then please post below to explain what other means.
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Building Officials Area of Responsibility
- Thread starter jar546
- Start date
Yankee Chronicler
SAWHORSE
How can a building official (a.k.a. "code official") NOT check Code Compliance / Enforcement?
I actually hesitated before also checking Building Department, only because I know the former building official (now deceased) in my home town was also charged with being the building manager for all Town-owned buildings. This is a role that had absolutely nothing to do with code enforcement -- it became his job to decide when a roof needed to be patched or replaced, whether or not to paint some rooms in the former grammar school, etc. In most places, that role would fall on the director of public works, but my cheapskate town eliminated the position of public works directors a couple or three decades ago and divided up the duties of that office among various other departments and officials.
Our late building official was full-time. In fact, the position had been full-time for 60 or 70 years, at least. When my friend died, they replaced him with a part-timer -- another bone-headed move.
I actually hesitated before also checking Building Department, only because I know the former building official (now deceased) in my home town was also charged with being the building manager for all Town-owned buildings. This is a role that had absolutely nothing to do with code enforcement -- it became his job to decide when a roof needed to be patched or replaced, whether or not to paint some rooms in the former grammar school, etc. In most places, that role would fall on the director of public works, but my cheapskate town eliminated the position of public works directors a couple or three decades ago and divided up the duties of that office among various other departments and officials.
Our late building official was full-time. In fact, the position had been full-time for 60 or 70 years, at least. When my friend died, they replaced him with a part-timer -- another bone-headed move.
jar546
CBO
In many municipalities, code enforcement/compliance has been handed over to the police department or is its own separate department.
Code Compliance / Enforcement handles local ordinances such as high grass and weeds, property maintenance, etc. The Building Department and Code Compliance often work together as the BD relies on CC to catch work without permit issues.
tmurray
SAWHORSE
Answer on behalf of my old job.
Building
Zoning
Code enforcement
Other: Emergency planning
It is really nice to work in only building stuff now.
Building
Zoning
Code enforcement
Other: Emergency planning
It is really nice to work in only building stuff now.
Last edited:
Yea, like all of it and then some more.
Yankee Chronicler
SAWHORSE
Well, I checked both Building Department and Code Enforcement, because we enforce the building "code." I guess I should uncheck "Code Enforcement," because we do not enforce the zoning ordinances (which are called "regulations" here, not "code"), nor do we enforce the blight ordinance (which is called an "ordinance," not a "code").
steveray
SAWHORSE
I've got building and housing code currently....
Yankee Chronicler
SAWHORSE
jar546
CBO
An abundance of municipalities adopted the IPMC which is a code. It is becoming a standard to compliment local ordinances.
Ordinances are "codified" into a formal document and adopted. I never heard of an ordinance officer/official but I have heard of a code officer/official. They call it code enforcement, not ordinance enforcement. Local governments derive their authority to create and enforce ordinances from state law. This delegation of power allows municipalities to address specific needs and conditions within their boundaries, providing a legal basis for treating these ordinances as enforceable codes.
Inspector Gadget
REGISTERED
Building Code compliance/enforcement
Zoning/development enforcement
Kinda building department
Dangerous/Unsightly
"... other duties as assigned from time to time."
Zoning/development enforcement
Kinda building department
Dangerous/Unsightly
"... other duties as assigned from time to time."
Our "Building Official" is also the "Fire Official" and the "Code Official". He has a Deputy Building Official that handles the building side (4 combination inspectors), a Deputy Fire Marshall to handle the fire side (two fire inspectors, a residential plan reviewer, and a commercial plan reviewer) and a "Senior Property Maintenance Inspector" (himself and two junior inspectors) to run the code compliance side. We are also the enforcement arm of zoning and do minor zoning review. So I checked all 4...
Yankee Chronicler
SAWHORSE
I understand your point. I was just explaining that, since my department does NOT enforce zoning or blight ordinances (and my state has not adopted the IPMC), I consider the building department to be code enforcement -- since we enforce the building code. For other stuff, towns in this state have zoning enforcement officers, inland wetlands enforcement officers, etc. -- and they are generally referred to by their job title, not as "code enforcement" officers.
But your question and this discussion points out that the nomenclature has not kept apace with reality. The "building department" enforces the building code. An alien newly arrived on earth who just learned to speak English (or American , which may or may not be English) might very understandably think that if the highway department maintains the highways, the building department must build (or at least maintain and repair) the buildings. But ... that's not what we do. That typically falls under "public works."
Isn't it great that we all speak the same language?
jar546
CBO
The times have changed significantly over the past few decades. Maybe in small-town America, where you have a one-stop shop where the Building Official who enforces the building codes also acts as the zoning officer and is expected to handle property maintenance issues, you can say what you are saying. However, in many municipalities across the country, things are a bit different, as you can see from the poll numbers above. Two decades ago, in Pennsylvania cities, I was providing IPMC training to their code enforcement officers who handled property maintenance issues. That was their title. Just like the jurisdictions of East Hartford & Mansfield, Connecticut, hundreds if not thousands of municipalities across the US have adopted the IPMC to address property maintenance issues. Sometimes, the Building Official is responsible in smaller one-stop shop towns, and other times, they have a separate code enforcement department with a Code Enforcement Officer, such as the one in Weston, CT.
You can join organizations such as the American Association of Code Enforcement (AACE), your state-level organization such as the Florida Association of Code Enforcement (FACE), or similarly named organizations in California, Colorado, Alabama, and even Connecticut, just to name a few. Their purpose is to learn property maintenance codes and the state statutes that govern the legal procedures around them. Regardless of what any state adopts, any municipality can adopt the IPMC. You say potato, and I say potato.
But the times continue to change. Many departments are changing their names to Code Compliance and have Code Compliance Officers working for them. The subtle change is to help ease perception. I am also seeing a lot of CC departments going under the police department these days. I even have one municipality where I am the BO (I cover 2), where property maintenance and code compliance are handled by the police officers.
So, at the end of the day, when you work for the Building Department and handle building codes, you are a separate entity from zoning or code enforcement. Maybe you are in charge of many departments like I am. However, these sub-departments have very different responsibilities. Unfortunately, some of the elected officials don't seem to understand it and simply think they are all the same. They are not. So, let's break this down.
Building Department: Handles building codes with a building official, plans examiners, and inspectors who oversee construction projects.
Planning and Zoning: Often, a planner or zoning officer, or both or many of each, will determine what you can build where.
Code Enforcement/Compliance: These folks enforce property maintenance ordinances and often work with the building department when they catch people working without a permit.
Don't confuse code enforcement with building code enforcement. They are different animals. The IBC only defines Building Officials but not Code Enforcement Officers because they are not the same.
Yankee Chronicler
SAWHORSE
Which is why I'm asking you to remove one vote for Code Compliance / Enforcement, because I checked that as well as Building Department because (to my apparently antiquated, English-speaking way of thinking) I considered them to be the same.
jar546
CBO
But I thought you said you were not the building official for where you worked. I can't edit individual votes.
Yankee Chronicler
SAWHORSE
I am not "the" Building Official. I am one of three assistant building officials in the building department (of which two of us are licensed as building officials but working as ABOs).
I think vBulletin allows editing poll responses, but I'm not sure on that. Anyhoo -- you don't need to edit the poll, just be aware that there should be one less vote for "Code Compliance / Enforcement."
Inspector Gadget
REGISTERED
Now, I grasp that in BC plumbing/building are done by one person. Kinda makes sense, wish our neck of the woods would consider it.
But I see you're in the same boat as many.... doing a bunch of different things, and I wonder if that's wise. I had to scale back my residential work when A large DAUP contract landed in my lap. I'd say about 20 per cent of my time is DAUP, now. Guess it depends on the size of the area/population/municipality....
Mr. Inspector
SAWHORSE
I am not responsible for a building department and don't work or we don't a building department. I am inspector and plan reviewer enforcing the ICC codes for a 3rd party inspection company for many towns that don't have building departments and we also contract with the state health department to inspect public swimming pools so I not sure what to check. Our company also has people that do zoning and sometimes I help them a little bit, so I don't know if that counts.
It would depend on the State and if they adopted a specific code ie the International Code Council, and my State adopted it. Building Officials must be qualified, credentialed etc., They only deal with the Building Code. City's must adopt it. Chapter One of the IRC, IBC writes out the duties, responsibilities, appeal process, appeal board qualifications etc. It is the law in my State. The ICC doesn't ever mention code enforcement official; that is a title cities make up. The secretary or janitor "could" act under the direction of a qualified, credentialed Building Official for .... but why take the risk. Plan reviewers, building inspectors etc all must be credentialed. Code enforcement is for zoning in my state and has nothing to do with the building code.
steveray
SAWHORSE
Welcome to THE Forum!
mtlogcabin
SAWHORSE
The state is pretty clear we only enforce construction related codes.
(2) Permit fees must be used only for activities in support of reviewing and issuing a building permit and for building code enforcement activities, except for the building codes education fund as provided in 50-60-116, MCA, with building codes being only those codes adopted by the department in subchapters 1, 3, 4, and 15 of ARM Title 24, chapter 301. It is not intended that permit fees be used to support fire departments, planning, zoning, or other activities, except to the extent that employees in those programs provide direct plan review, inspection, or other building code enforcement services for the city, county, or town's building code enforcement programs. Permit fees shall not be used to support the inspection of existing buildings for maintenance or for abatement of dangerous buildings.
(4) Subsection 101.4.4, Property Maintenance, is deleted in its entirety.
(10) Section 116, Unsafe Structures and Equipment, is deleted in its entirety.
(2) Permit fees must be used only for activities in support of reviewing and issuing a building permit and for building code enforcement activities, except for the building codes education fund as provided in 50-60-116, MCA, with building codes being only those codes adopted by the department in subchapters 1, 3, 4, and 15 of ARM Title 24, chapter 301. It is not intended that permit fees be used to support fire departments, planning, zoning, or other activities, except to the extent that employees in those programs provide direct plan review, inspection, or other building code enforcement services for the city, county, or town's building code enforcement programs. Permit fees shall not be used to support the inspection of existing buildings for maintenance or for abatement of dangerous buildings.
(4) Subsection 101.4.4, Property Maintenance, is deleted in its entirety.
(10) Section 116, Unsafe Structures and Equipment, is deleted in its entirety.
and it is possibly illegal. Cities write illegal ordinances a lot. Did your state adopt the ICC code through legislation? If yes, then it is the law. Only a qualified credentialed Building Official can issue permits, CO's etc. Only credentialed building inspectors, plan reviewers etc. can do plan reviews, inspections, etc. It is all in Chapter One. The ICC makes it easy to understand with the ICC Code and Commentary Books. Building Code intent is for safety and is important; failure to follow it can be potentially dangerous. Code enforcement i.e. paint, or too many weeds in front yard etc. (not part of the building code), not dangerous. (in my opinion) A Building Official could easily be code enforcement, but really, anyone could be code enforcement; it is a made-up title. A code official or code enforcement officer, however, would have to undergo years of training, testing, and other requirements to become a Building Official.
They could be the same in your state. Did your state adopt a specific building codes like the International Code Council? If yes did they do it through the legislative process? If no, then I reckon your cities, counties and state can do whatever. Cities write illegal ordinances a lot. If your state adopted ICC building codes through legislation, then it is the law. Only a qualified credentialed Building Official can issue permits, CO's etc. Only credentialed building inspectors, plan reviewers etc. can do plan reviews, inspections, etc. It is all in Chapter One. The ICC makes it easy to understand with the ICC Code and Commentary Books. The intent of the Building Code is for safety and is important; failure to follow it can be potentially dangerous. Code enforcement i.e. paint, or too many weeds in front yard etc. (not part of the building code), not dangerous. (in my opinion) A Building Official could easily be code enforcement, but really, anyone could be code enforcement; it is a made-up title. A code official or code enforcement officer, however, would have to undergo years of training, testing, and other requirements to become a Building Official.