Certificate of Occupancy and inspections added to Logan County building standards

[June 01, 2018] 

LINCOLN 

On Tuesday, May 15, the Logan County Board held its Regular Board meeting voting on several motions and resolutions and hearing a few committee updates. One focus of discussion was building standards and zoning ordinances.

Board members present were Kevin Bateman, Dave Blankenship, Emily Davenport, Janet Estill, Bob Farmer, David Hepler, Gloria Luster, Gene Rohlfs, Chuck Ruben, Bob Sanders, Scott Schaffenacker and Annette Welch.

Guests included Larry Martin, Farm Bureau; Logan County Treasurer Penny Thomas; Coroner Bob Thomas, Tom Albert of Albert Brothers, Bruce Barker and James Thomas of the American Society of Home Inspectors, Logan County Zoning Officer Will D'Andrea, Logan County State's Attorney Jonathan Wright, Logan County Department of Public Health Administrator Don Cavi, and guest John Stewart.

Board Chairman Chuck Ruben said building standards for inspectors would be going for a vote at this meeting.

The proposed language to be added to Section 12.21 says a certificate of occupancy must be issued for a new “single family dwelling or an addition greater than 500 square feet to a single-family dwelling” before anyone occupies the home.

Section 12.2 describes the inspection process and says, “No certificate of occupancy shall be issued until construction has been completed and the project inspected by a qualified building inspector. The building inspector shall submit inspection reports to the zoning office which state that the construction meets best practice standards (ASHI Standards). It shall be the responsibility of the property owner to hire the building inspector.”

These inspections shall include both a pre-drywall inspection and final inspection.

The pre-drywall inspection will include foundation components; floor, wall, and roof structural components; plumbing, electrical, and rough-in components; windows and exterior doors; and HVAC systems.
 

The final inspection shall include exterior stairs and handrails; surface drainage; porches that are screened, year-round, or open; decks; entrance steps; and patios.

ASHI representatives Barker and Thomas answered questions from the board about building standards. Barker wrote the standards for pre-drywall inspections. They gave board members a handout explaining the standards.

Barker said the two best and most important inspections are pre-drywall, which occurs before you put insulation in, and an inspection right before you move in. The standards of practice tell inspectors what to look at.

Barker said to tell if the work is good, inspectors look at "generally accepted construction practices" and a standard of what is good and bad.

Bateman asked whether they are basically "common sense" building practices. He asked Tom Alberts, who does Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC), if he has seen those who have done their own HVAC or plumbing work use hazardous building practices that could result in injury or death and could have been prevented if the ordinance is passed.

Alberts said even HVAC contractors have not always hooked flues up on furnaces and water heaters or have put gas supply connectors ran through the sidewall of furnaces.

Stewart asked whether the standards are higher than the ones the city of Lincoln follows. He also wanted to know if the standards applied to residential or commercial buildings and what the costs for inspections would be.

Ruben said no, because Lincoln follows [building] codes and these are less strict. These standards apply to residences.

Barker said inspection costs for a home around 1,500 square feet are generally about $350 to $400.

Rohlfs asked about best practices versus codes.

Barker said best practices are higher than codes. The intent of the international residential code is basically "life safety" and "structural," which are minimum practices. He said it is basically asking, "Is the house going to blow up? Is the house going to fall down?" If the answer to both questions is no, you are "good to go" for a code inspection.

Barker said best practices is what you should be doing. The proposed ordinance shows what is accepted and what is reasonable.

Stewart had concerns about how to enforce the standards and getting work done in a timely manner when an addition must be checked.

Barker said he does not see scheduling as a major issue because inspectors do not get paid if they do not serve.

Bateman and Rohlfs both said it is up to homeowners to hire their own inspectors and work out the details.

Bateman said inspections can be done in stages and the ordinance just says it must be done by a state licensed inspector.

Luster asked what would happen if the homeowner does not hire the inspector or get an occupancy permit.

Ruben, D'Andrea, and Wright all said they would be in violation of the ordinance. Wright said it may go to court and fines for each week they are in violation are up to $500. There is no mechanism to say they would have to be out of the home though.

Bateman said the inspections would likely go a long way with lending institutions in procuring loans. He said the committee worked on these standards for well over a year.

Ruben asked Barker and Thomas about the qualification process for an inspector.

Barker said Illinois is strict about continuing education. ASHI certified inspectors must pass the national home inspectors exam, a standard of practice and ethics exam, and must have done 250 home inspections.

At the Zoning Board of Appeals Public Hearing, the motion to amend the Zoning Ordinance adding a certificate of occupancy and inspections failed, thereby, the ZBA sent forward to the county board "No recommendation."

One recommendation from the ZBA was to change the square footage for additions that need to be inspected from 500 to 750 square feet.

Bringing the matter to a vote by the county board, Planning and Zoning Committee Chairman Scott Schaffenacker motioned to amend the Zoning Ordinance to require a certificate of occupancy and inspections.

Luster then motioned to send it back to committee due to concerns of the Farm Bureau just finding out about the vote on standards. The vote to send it back to committee failed 9-2-1. Kevin Bateman, Emily Davenport, Janet Estill, Bob Farmer, David Hepler, Gloria Luster, Gene Rohlfs, Chuck Ruben, Bob Sanders and Annette Welch voted no. Gloria Luster and Scott Schaffenacker voted yes. Dave Blankenship abstained.

Schaffenacker's motion to amend the Zoning Ordinance adding a certificate of occupancy and inspections passed 10-1-1 with Kevin Bateman, Emily Davenport, Janet Estill, David Hepler, Gloria Luster, Gene Rohlfs, Chuck Ruben, Bob Sanders, Scott Schaffenacker and Annette Welch voting yes. Bob Farmer voted no, and Dave Blankenship abstained.

Schaffenacker then brought forward three other motions:

1. A motion to approve a resolution to amend the Zoning Ordinance related to tiny home developments was unanimously approved.
Bateman said these subdivisions are growing nationwide and the county is ahead of it.

2. A motion to approve a resolution to amend the Zoning Ordinance to add Appendix F related to Solar Farms was sent back to committee for more discussion and clarification since there were some questions.

Rohlfs said the airport has been contacted by a couple solar companies and is interested in putting in a fourteen-acre solar garden at the south end. Rohlfs said it is zoned special use and he does not see anything about special use in the ordinance.

D’Andrea said that had been discussed, but somehow the wording got dropped. He also said a solar garden is no more than five acres, so fourteen acres would not qualify as a solar garden. Solar farms sell energy wholesale on a grid, and a solar garden is a commercial solar electric array of five acres that provides retail electrical power to multiple households or businesses offsite.

D’Andrea said many special districts are in flood plains.

Ruben said since they are going on the grid, what is at the airport will be a solar farm and not a garden.

Rohlfs said the airport would only be selling to contracted users, so it is not wholesale.

3. A motion to increase the cost of Wind Turbine Tower Fees from $20.00 per foot to $25.00 per foot, total height.

Ruben said he got a call from someone concerned they were not only changing the price per foot, but from the height being from hub to tip height. He told the caller it is only from tip height and only a twenty five percent increase.

Bateman made a motion to send the cost increases back to committee for more discussion.

Hepler said sending it back to committee would allow Sugar Creek, Apex, and Invenergy an opportunity to address the board.

Blankenship said he received a call from Invenergy expressing concern and saying they would like to address the committee.
Bateman’s motion to send the issue back to the planning and zoning committee passed 10-2 with Kevin Bateman, Dave Blankenship, Emily Davenport, Janet Estill, Bob Farmer, David Hepler, Gloria Luster, Gene Rohlfs, Bob Sanders and Annette Welch voting yes. Chuck Ruben and Scott Schaffenacker voted no.

Airport/Farm Committee update

Airport and Farm Chairman Gene Rohlfs' motion to accept the engineering consultant retainer agreement with Hanson’s Engineers of Springfield, Illinois was unanimous.

Executive and Personnel Committee update

The board unanimously approved Executive and Personnel Committee Chairman Emily Davenport's motion to change wording in board policy from “the majority vote of the members present” to “the majority vote of members voting.”

Insurance/Legislative/Liquor Committee update

The board unanimously approved Insurance, Legislative, and Liquor Committee Chairman Annette Welch's motion to approve a resolution calling for the General Assembly to oppose increasing the age of “Delinquent Minors." The General Assembly is considering increasing the age to nineteen.

Road and Bridge Committee update

The board approved the following motions from Road and Bridge Committee Chairman Bob Farmer:

1. A motion to appropriate funds for a Roadway Project on County Highway 25 Northwest of Atlanta passed 11-1 with Schaffenacker voting no and all others voting yes.

2. A motion to appropriate funding for Bridge Replacement Project on the Delavan Road Northwest of Emden passed unanimously.

Safety Committee update

The board unanimously approved Safety Committee Chairman Bob Farmer's motion to change EMA truck rotation to five years. Previously the rotation was done on a three-year basis.

Transportation Committee update

The board unanimously approved Transportation Committee Chairman Kevin Bateman's motion to change the SHOWBUS lease agreement allowing SHOWBUS to utilize two of the vehicles that are currently not being used in the Logan County Transportation program to be used in other counties.

The next Regular Board meeting will be Tuesday, June 19 at 7 p.m. in the Logan County Courthouse.

[Angela Reiners]