Expanding service garage, questionable previous use

[jar546]

For the past 4 years that I have been in town, there was no convenient store or even remnants of one in a particular building. It is a service station with defunct pumps and the interior of the building appears to have been storage for a towing business.

One of the walls is coming down to open up the building inside. That was a completely separate permit for structural work. I ran into the guy who leased the property and intends on making it a convenience store. I asked him who was doing his prints and he asked me if he even needed an architect at all, let alone prints. He told me that the building was used in the past as a convenient store. He is opening a wall into a garage bay area and making it a large open area for the convenience store. I asked him where the bathrooms are and he pointed to the old non ADA bathrooms that are outside of the building. I asked for a stamped set of prints for his intended fitout and he needs to hire a licensed design professional. I am checking with L&I to see if there was an old C of O for a convenience store but I am sure there is not.

Since he hired a PE to do the wall and beam, I did not think he would be surprised about the fit-out requirements.

Thoughts?

 

[Papio Bldg Dept]

Obviously there are the accessibility upgrades (accessible route, entrances, hardware, restrooms, etc.), which are required whether or not there is a C of O. As for consideration of a previous occupancy type, I would leave the burden of proof to the applicant/owner/leasee to provide documentation (i.e., existing cert. of occ., tax records, previous lease agreements, etc.). As you stated, the previous noted occupancy/use type (whether permitted or not) was cold storage. If it is in fact a change of occ/use, I would check for plumbing fixture and occupant load increases, although for a mercantile, probably not enough to affect the MOE.

In general, I would apply the applicable Section of Chapter 34 and all prescribed applicable Chapters. I would also probably note/question some potential structural and energy code issues (i.e., whether or not the service garage area has the minimum frost protected footings, assuming that space will be heated, and was not previously; lighting, mechanical, building envelope of new mercantile area, etc.).

As for the LDP requirements, we follow an occupancy type and square footage model (i.e., LDP required for Mercantile > 2,999SF)

 

[jar546]

L&I just notified my there is no C of O on file for this building (circa 1960's) going back to 1927 so IEBC including chapter 8 for change of occupancy will apply.