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What happens if a city approves a deck that seems to violate fire codes

Jane said:
Is that not allowed?
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The installation instructions for the appliance will specify a dimension for clear space above the condenser. It needs to breath. Some are three feet and some are four feet. When they are restricted they lose a great deal of efficiency and wear out sooner.

If that's what I see the location means that they will be out of sight-out of mind. A service call might get rejected when the tech discovers that he will have to crawl....what with rats and spiders and all.
 
Jane said:
The City offices say that since they issued the permit they are not going to say there are zoning violations - it seems corrupt to me but they said I only had 10 days to appeal the permit. They wouldn't allow me access to the plans as they were supposedly copyrighted and issued the permit base on their definition of a patio. (a flat structure no higher than 30") A patio is not supposed to project our more than 12 feet or take up more than a certain percentage of lot coverage. This thing is 6 feet plus railings high, 21 feet long and 22 feet wide.
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It looks higher than 30".
 
The 6’ I understand.....the 14’ I don’t. So it doesn’t fit the definition of a patio.
 
The base of the deck is 6 foot but they added railings that bring it up to about 14+ feet. It definitely doesn't fit the definition of a patio which doesn't seem to require a building permit at all.
 
cda said:
So it sounds like you want to go to the mat on this.

Since you talked to an attorney,,,

Might as well hire a good “Code Consultant” private type.

They can look at the install.

They can look at the building and city codes.

They can advise you if it is right or wrong.

They can represent you in front of any city official, and be able to talk code!!!!!!


One other, do you know any of the city council people??? Sometimes they like to get involved and make noise.
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I contacted my city councilman at large and he said that he is going to investigate - I'm not holding out much hope as the city are fighting the timelines of the appeal. Do you know if there is a limit on appealing fire code? Also, where could I find a "code consultant" in Utah?
 
Jane said:
! If the final inspection has not been done can I "force" the city to comply with fire code?

I can tell you from personal experience on commercial projects ... we went through a lengthy permit review process, all the required in-progress inspections, and when the inspector was on site for the final we failed. He didnt like that we had built a “dog house” on the roof for hvac duct penetration, made us spend about $20k to take it down. We pointed out that it was on the approved and stamped drawings, he said it didnt matter, it never should have been approved in the first place.
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Jane said:
. They are now saying that the plans are copyrighted ?
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So? That just means that you can't use the same plans to build your deck, it has nothing to do with you cant see them.
You might contact the architect if the plans, and/or the builder, and see how they feel about building a structure that does not meet code. “Mr builder, i want to confirm the correct spelling of your name for the investigative reporter”.
 

I'm pretty sure they needed new plans for the new structure but so far they have not submitted any and the GRAMA report does not indicate that any inspections have been done. I would have thought that it would have shown the initial inspection at the very least. They used decks.com to make the plans but it does not say that they are copyrighted. I could contact the builder although I checked today and the builder they named is licensed. The GRAMA report shows nothing except all of a sudden they have a page that shows the dimensions of the deck so that they can say I had enough knowledge to file an appeal earlier. I never saw that page but I know that the city will insist this was public knowledge.
 
Jane said:
I applied for the GRAMA report and had it expedited. They have a couple of documents in there that I have never seen. They are now saying that the plans are copyrighted (even though they've changed their minds on that twice and gave me a copy in July). They have included a plan specification sheet that tells the dimensions of the deck to prove I knew the dimensions - even though I've never seen it before. There are no inspector reports or anything. Is that usually the case for a GRAMA record?
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If inspections have been done there should be something!!
It may depend on how they do it, some hand write and some are on computer.

You can ask for dates of any inspections.


You cannot copy the plans, but should be able to see them.
Ask for attorney general opinion if they balk.
 
Jane said:
I contacted my city councilman at large and he said that he is going to investigate - I'm not holding out much hope as the city are fighting the timelines of the appeal. Do you know if there is a limit on appealing fire code? Also, where could I find a "code consultant" in Utah?
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I looked online, not sure why I can’t turn one up. Will keep looking.

That attorney group may know some.
 
cda said:
If inspections have been done there should be something!!
It may depend on how they do it, some hand write and some are on computer.

You can ask for dates of any inspections.


You cannot copy the plans, but should be able to see them.
Ask for attorney general opinion if they balk.
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The reason the city are fighting so hard on this right now is that I requested an AG Advisory Opinion and they are trying to get the AG's office not to issue it based on my "timliness" of the appeal. The city know that there are zoning and code issues but if they can get it dismissed on timelines then they will not have to address them. My appeal was delayed because the city kept telling me it complied with code but wouldn't show me the plans so I couldn't see it until building was underway. Even then the city said it was code compliant and did not tell me that I could appeal until I had them contact the city attorney. By then the clock had run (according to the city) so I am hoping that the AG's office will issue an opinion despite the city's protests. I will email them for the dates of the inspections - they'll try and get out of that too I'm sure - it's so frustrating.
 
cda said:
There should be no dead line to file a code violation complaint.
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Is there somewhere I can find that? There seems to be no links for that and the city are just ignoring that it has a fire code violation. Also, how do I find a zoning consultant that would do a job this small?
 
You are in an HOA?
If so, what does your home owners insurance say about this, would they refuse a claim if a 4th of july BBQ fire on the "patio" spread to surrounding units?
Does Utah require periodic inspections of HOA's to determine reserve requirements?
 
ADAguy said:
You are in an HOA?
If so, what does your home owners insurance say about this, would they refuse a claim if a 4th of july BBQ fire on the "patio" spread to surrounding units?
Does Utah require periodic inspections of HOA's to determine reserve requirements?
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The HOA (at least two of them) just allowed their friend to build this. I am going to call the HOA's insurance and ask if a fire code violation voids the policy.

I know we have to do a reserve study every 5 years but they don't make us have a specific amount.
 
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