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Shipping Container fun!

JPohling

SAWHORSE
Joined
Aug 16, 2011
Messages
1,699
Location
San Diego
A business placed two 40' long refrigerated shipping containers adjacent to their commercial factory for overflow freezer space. This was done without any permits. The Landlord has contacted them and has indicated that they are in breach of the lease and would need to permit these containers.

I briefly explored the permit situation, but due to fire distances between the building/containers, fire rating of the container itself due to fire distance and the existing openings that are needed in the exterior of the building, not to mention accessibility concerns convinced me that they would not be able to be permitted properly without significant expense and time.

The business owner has conveyed that the LL has been sending them breach of lease letters for ridiculously minor issues that they have been able to deal with to date, but this one is a real conundrum.

My suggestion is to bring the trailers back out and put the containers back on the trailers and back them up to the loading dock, plug them in and go about your business.

They are now no longer in the jurisdiction of the Building department and do not need any kind of building permit to be used in this manner.

What do the smart people think?
 
Are the containers going to be permanent? Is the planning dept involved? What about an electrical permit? A similar piece of equipment is a cardboard compactor. They look like a container and are as large as a garbage truck. The planning dept has to approve them and the building dept requires an electrical permit.
 
They will obtain an electrical permit for the power supply to the containers.
They are on wheels so their permanence is able to be manipulated.
They are just trailers at the loading dock receiving dock power.
 
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