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building without a permit

C

cdstudio

GREENHORN
Joined
May 8, 2022
Messages
8
Location
New Jersey
Not sure where to start with this. I am an Architect and a building being built next to me has what I consider some major building code violations and I am not sure what I can do about it.

To give some background, the project is on a standard 25x100 lot in a historic district and is in Flood Zone AE. There was an existing 2-story warehouse with 99% coverage on the lot. The building was gutted, new services brought in and an additional 2 stories were added above the existing structure to convert it to a new 4-unit residential building. The project got planning board approval, but the building department says they did not review the project because of a conflict of interest, so the construction official passed to a neighboring municipality. I have requested permit and inspection records from both Cities (via OPRA) weeks ago, but I have not received any information from either one to date. Unfortunately there are some politics involved.

My concerns about the project are:

1) The 2nd means of egress from the upper floors is via ladders (drop down and attached) to a landing that gets to grade via a 22" fire escape stair. This is not allowed in new construction, correct?
2) The final landing and fire escape stair is built over the property line onto a 4' wide easement alley area which is meant to be shared by the other properties on the block. How do you build a required means of egress not on your property? (granted there is an easement for a shared egress passageway at the rear lot line of all the properties on that block, but that doesn't mean they can build structures within it)
3) The building is in flood zone AE, but has a dwelling unit, mechanical, sprinkler and elevator equipment located below the BFE. These are not allowed to be below the base flood elevation, correct?
4) The rear wall of the building is 9" from the rear property line but consists of about 90% windows. No openings are allowed within 3ft from a lot line, correct?

If I am wrong about any of the above points, please let me know. Basically I am not confident that the plans were ever reviewed, permitted or inspected. There are no permits posted. I have informed the officials of my concerns, but I have no way of knowing if or how they plan to address the issues.

I guess my question is, I know that municipalities may have the ability to make some exceptions to code regulation, but on what basis? Is there an avenue to get information on a neighboring project without having to wait for public records? Would I be able to appeal a code enforcement decision on a neighboring property? Who would the appeal go to? The County? State?
 
I am going to get some popcorn going. This is going to be an interesting one. I would go to the Building Official for the town the building is located in and discuss your concerns in person. If something seems off or you are blown off, email the Building Official your concerns and copy the city manager, mentioning that this is the property you discussed in person. This sounds very New Jersey to me.
 
jar546 said:
I am going to get some popcorn going. This is going to be an interesting one. I would go to the Building Official for the town the building is located in and discuss your concerns in person. If something seems off or you are blown off, email the Building Official your concerns and copy the city manager, mentioning that this is the property you discussed in person. This sounds very New Jersey to me.
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Ha! - good guess!
 
But isn’t the fire escape ladder just a modern version of Pretty Woman and Charlie Chaplin?

Might be worth calling the local TV station investigative reporter.
 
Well it has been exactly a year since my original post and thought I would give an update. Basically nothing has changed and it is still a fiasco.
The Architect and developer are still trying to get away with ignoring basic Zoning and Building codes. I had to hire attorneys for representation at Planning Board. Building dept is covering their A** and saying it is not a code issue, but a property rights one. Haven't heard anything back from the Code officials. Local reporters have written about it, but it is an ongoing story with no obvious resolution or direction.
 
cdstudio said:
Building dept is covering their A** and saying it is not a code issue, but a property rights one. Haven't heard anything back from the Code officials. Local reporters have written about it, but it is an ongoing story with no obvious resolution or direction.
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I'm confused. You heard from the Building Department (which is where the building code enforcement officials are to be found), but you HAVEN'T heard from the code officials.

Which is it?

Zoning is zoning, and building is building. Separate codes, and (more often than not) separate offices and separate officials. The issues you raise are partly zoning-related, and partly building code-related. Be sure you are addressing each concern with the appropriate office or department.
 
It is both. Local code officials haven't replied to me directly, but when you get information via OPRA you find out more of the story. But I've also contacted other code officials at the State level as well who have confirmed my code interpretations, but other departments have the enforcement powers. They told me they are investigating the situation but they cannot give me any details or timeline. Maybe they are waiting to see how it all pans out locally (and politically)

Pretty much every dept of the City is involved somehow in the problems with this project - even the Board of Education. It is really unbelievable.
 
cdstudio said:
It is both. Local code officials haven't replied to me directly, but when you get information via OPRA you find out more of the story. But I've also contacted other code officials at the State level as well who have confirmed my code interpretations, but other departments have the enforcement powers. They told me they are investigating the situation but they cannot give me any details or timeline. Maybe they are waiting to see how it all pans out locally (and politically)

Pretty much every dept of the City is involved somehow in the problems with this project - even the Board of Education. It is really unbelievable.
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Thank you for keeping us informed. Keep the updates coming. New Jersey?
 
OK, so I have to say something. I did a lot of work in the Poconos, and NJ contractors would cross the border to do work all the time in PA. They would say how strict Jersey was and be all sorts of cocky. The reality is that they were some of the worst contractors I dealt with, and many were simply incompetent. So I don't know why Jersey has this reputation for strict building codes when my personal experience has been the opposite. Can any Jersey people explain this? Again, this has been my experience and may not reflect for the entire state as a whole.
 
I wonder if it isn't a lived experience logical fallacy where you think just because you experienced a strict enforcement regime, it must be the most strict.

For what it's worth, people who work in rural or smaller communities around a more urban area will see this as well. "I work in _______ city, so I should have no problem in this small town".
 
jar546 said:
OK, so I have to say something. I did a lot of work in the Poconos, and NJ contractors would cross the border to do work all the time in PA. They would say how strict Jersey was and be all sorts of cocky. The reality is that they were some of the worst contractors I dealt with, and many were simply incompetent. So I don't know why Jersey has this reputation for strict building codes when my personal experience has been the opposite. Can any Jersey people explain this? Again, this has been my experience and may not reflect for the entire state as a whole.
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The harder they fight the dumber they are…
 
tmurray said:
I wonder if it isn't a lived experience logical fallacy where you think just because you experienced a strict enforcement regime, it must be the most strict.

For what it's worth, people who work in rural or smaller communities around a more urban area will see this as well. "I work in _______ city, so I should have no problem in this small town".
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I'd say about half the time the language is the exact opposite, as in "they don't make me do this in <insert nearby big city>," but I suspect a large portion of that is just compost in its original form.
 
jar546 said:
So I don't know why Jersey has this reputation for strict building codes when my personal experience has been the opposite
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I don't think it is that Jersey has strict building codes, they may have more paperwork and bureaucracy though. And an incompetent contractor is going to be incompetent in any state. Especially if they don't know how or want to fill out a form. The louder they complain about it, the less they know.
 
jar546 said:
The reality is that they were some of the worst contractors I dealt with, and many were simply incompetent.
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That is not unique to any given location.

California just lost many thousands of dwellings and commercial buildings to the fires.There will be a dearth of lousy contractors in a lot of places for the next few years.
 
ICE said:
That is not unique to any given location.

California just lost many thousands of dwellings and commercial buildings to the fires.There will be a dearth of lousy contractors in a lot of places for the next few years.
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I was thinking about that. The cost of construction is going to go through the roof in LA County and the number of contractors packing up their pickup trucks and heading west is probably underway.
 
And when these homes get re-built, the County Assessor will assess them at the current market rate.

From the LA Assessors website: "Proposition 13 mandated that a property’s assessed value could not increase by more than 2 percent from one year to the next except in the event of a change in ownership, new construction, ..."

Methinks there will be many more seniors that will have to sell the dirt (probably at a loss) because they wouldn't be able to afford the property taxes once the home is rebuilt (if they even HAVE fire insurance).
 
SCBO1 said:
ICE, Those houses on the beach, will they be rebuilt?
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The owners are mostly wealthy people so odds are that they have the ability to rebuild. There will be regulatory hurdles. The biggest problem will be the bottleneck of architects and contractors that operate in the world of the wealthy. A lot of the construction will need artisans and craftsmen.
 
Inspector Gadget said:
I'd say about half the time the language is the exact opposite, as in "they don't make me do this in <insert nearby big city>," but I suspect a large portion of that is just compost in its original form.
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I work in a suburban community near a larger (but small compared to NYC or Chicago) city. We get that all the time: "They never made me do that in [__ City__]." The problem is, we know what they do in [__City__], and the contractors are probably telling the truth. Which doesn't alter the fact that what we cited is required by code, and we cited the applicable code and the applicable section.
 
ICE said:
That is not unique to any given location.

California just lost many thousands of dwellings and commercial buildings to the fires.There will be a dearth of lousy contractors in a lot of places for the next few years.
Click to expand...

And the prices of building materials will skyrocket (again) for the foreseeable future.
 
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