Rhino’s Ramblings - Planning Department Meeting Shows Frustration For Many

Robert Thomas Opinion/Commentary

Wednesday afternoon’s meeting was ostensibly about building permits and the City’s and Province’s role in administering the process.

But it was much more than that.

What you had were 40 plus developers, contractors and property owners looking for answers from the Planning Department.

Answers about a major review, as far as I’m aware of, has found major deficiencies in building permits.

Deficiencies so outrageous that the City has hired a third party to review permits issued by the Planning Department.

Now depending on who you talk to the review is centered on one former employee’s work - others say more employee’s work is being reviewed - going back either two or three years.

Let’s just say it’s a gargantuan task that is starting to impact property owners who are being served by process servers they need to rectify permits they thought were closed and signed off years ago.

I’ve heard the stories about major home renovations approved over two years ago coming under scrutiny and now the home owner is responsible for the costly repairs or engineering papers costing thousands of dollars.

This after the Planning Department signed off on the plans and permit years ago.

There was no attempt to deceive by the homeowner to get around the National Building Code (NBC). They want to live in a safe home and follow the rules.

Rules they thought years ago they were following and been approved for.

There is the commercial property owner who bought a building over seven years ago to now find out he is responsible for deficient renovations completed by the previous owner.

It throws a lot of uncertainty into the commercial property marketplace that has cooled the market.

You might think that it should be up to the permit issuer to make good on their mistakes but that’s not how the system works.

The system is one where the onus of complying with the applicable building codes is fully the responsibility of the owner. And that’s where it’s burning many.

Sometimes making the required repairs entails ripping out existing structure that needs to be replaced afterwards. Something that may have been cheaper if done in the first place.

One thing brought forward in Wednesday’s meeting was Building Inspectors weren’t going to do was plan an applicant’s project. Hiring competent planners, designers and engineers was said to be key to complying with the building codes.

The question and answer portion of the meeting showed some of the deep frustration out there.

A question was asked why did engineers have to give lengthy - and often expensive - explanations for work they approved when an engineer’s seal should be sufficient.

Explanations developers and others cringe about because they are often lengthy and time consuming plus they can cost thousands of additional dollars to a project’s bottom line.

A response that building permit officers - despite less of an education than an engineer - can override an engineer did not sit well with many at the meeting.

The importance of the meeting and how the City was trying to quell the concerns of those in attendance can’t be overstated.

You had more than a few city officials attend right up to Mayor James Murdock who sat quietly through the two hour meeting and the Q & A.

Now did the message get out that the building permit officers wanted to start a conversation and collaboration not the confrontational ways seem to be going now.

With the rumours stating not even half of the legal papers have gone to unexpecting building and homeowners it’s likely more than a few of the conversations going on are not going to be cordial.

I received a copy of a letter sent out by the City’s lawyer the National Building Code doesn’t usually take effect for renovations when it comes to remediating asbestos insulation in an apartment complex. That’s how community concerns were addressed making me think what’s a Planning Department review going to say?

Does a lawyer know enough to address the complexities of the NBC? Especially since an engineer may not be qualified in the NBC’s intricacies.

And that’s probably the whole problem with what has happened and the reviews going on for more than a few building owners. Who ultimately knows.

A building inspector can make a mistake and it can be years later until the mistake is found. But the Planning Department isn’t responsible for their error(s) the present building or home owner is.

And that for many is hard to swallow.