Building Inspection Commission (BIC)

Regular Meeting

Wednesday, August 19, at 1:00 p.m.

Adopted on September 2, 1998

War Memorial Building, 401 Van Ness Avenue, 4th Floor, Room 428

MINUTES

The meeting of the Building Inspection Commission was called to order at 1:18 p.m by President Hood.

1.	ROLL CALL - Roll call was taken and a quorum was certified.

COMMISSION MEMBERS/STAFF PRESENT:

Bobbie Sue Hood, President	Armando Vasquez, Vice President

Mona Cereghino, Commissioner	Alfonso K. Fillon, Commissioner

Roy Guinnane, Commissioner

COMMISSION MEMBERS ABSENT:

Sigmund A. Freeman, Commissioner - excused absence

Sharon Mark, Commissioner - excused absence

COMMISSION STAFF PRESENT:

Maria Banico, Commission Secretary

D.B.I. REPRESENTATIVES:

Frank Chiu, Director

Jim Hutchinson, Deputy Director for Permit Services

William Wong, Deputy Director for Inspection Services

David Serrano-Sewell, Special Assistant to the Director

Laurence Kornfield, Manager, Technical Services Division

Michael Rodman, Manager, Records Management Division

CITY ATTORNEY'S REPRESENTATIVE:

Judy Boyajian, Deputy City Attorney

2.	President's Report.

President Hood announced the reappointment of Vice-President Vasquez and Commissioner Guinnane by the Mayor to the Building Inspection Commission and congratulated them. She also spoke to the need to have more efficient meetings and urged members of the public to address issues succinctly within the three minute time limits. She said that she would close public hearings on each agenda item and not allow unlimited time for public comments.

3.	Director's Report.

a.	Report and discussion on the scope and status of the internal audit being carried out by the Controller's Office of the Department of Building Inspection. The Commission may take action to constitute a committee or task force to liaison with and review recommendations from this internal audit.

Director Chiu said that this item has been agendized a couple of times in the past. He said that the Controller's Office is wrapping up its internal audit of DBI. The audit has a financial focus. Since DBI does not have authority to write checks, there are no big problems. The Controller's Office has found areas for improvements such as collecting more revenues. For example, the code requires that DBI update the permit fees every six months based on Marshal & Swift's valuation guide. The department has failed to do this once or twice in the past. Another example of areas for improvement is the forwarding of the strong motion impact fees to the state. The check should be sent every three months, the department has sent a check once a year in the past. The Controller's Office is also looking at DBI's cashiering system and said that fee collection should occur in every floor. He said that Deputy Director Hutchinson and Ms. Hooey are already looking into this issue and possibly establishing an automated fee collection system. Director Chiu said that the BIC may want to form a committee to work on the auditor's findings.

Commissioner Guinnane asked if every division was being audited.

Director Chiu said that the Controller first looked at the big picture, starting with the financial statements. Now, they are looking at operational details. This is the reason why he wants the BIC to form a committee, so that the committee could look at the areas for improvement and provide guidance to the department, e.g., priorities.

Commissioner Guinnane asked what the time frame would be.

Director Chiu said that the Controller's Office is expected to put out a report in a couple of weeks. Then the committee can work with the auditor and DBI staff.

President Hood said that the committee could also track the follow-up on the audit recommendations.

Commissioner Guinnane asked when the audit started.

Director Chiu said that the audit started in March and has been very detailed. The good news is that there has been no scandal or big problem found.

Commissioner Fillon asked if the recommendations of the Controller's Office will be binding to the department or will the department have discretion on implementing these recommendations.

Director Chiu said that the Controller's Office has the authority to look at the operations of all city departments. He asked for an opinion from the Deputy City Attorney.

Deputy City Attorney Boyajian said that the Charter gives the Controller's Office the authority to audit all city departments. The Controller's Office cannot direct any department. However, the Controller's recommendations are open to the public.

President Hood said that the committee can hammer out the details of the recommendations with the Controller's Office.

President Hood opened the floor to public comment but no member of the public spoke at this point.

Commissioner Guinnane said that he would be willing to follow-up on the recommendations of the Controller's Office.

Commissioner Guinnane moved, seconded by Commissioner Cereghino, to form a BIC Committee to work on the audit recommendations from the Controller's Office.

The motion passed unanimously. [Resolution No. BIC-069.98]

Commission Secretary Banico asked for clarification on the motion if it included that Commissioner Guinnane and Commissioner Cereghino shall make up this committee.

President Hood said yes and asked if anyone had knowledge if Commissioner Mark would be also interested in being on this committee.

Commission Secretary Banico said that Commissioner Mark had expressed interest in the audit and that she could be assigned as a member of the committee contingent on her agreement.

President Hood said that the committee could be composed of three members , if Commissioner Mark agrees to be a member or two members (Commissioner Guinnane and Commissioner Cereghino) if Commissioner Mark declines.

b.	Report and discussion on DBI's Fiscal Year 1997-98 revenues and expenditures per division or program.

Director Chiu said that Ms. Hooey was on vacation and he could answer questions on the written report that was part of the BIC meeting packet. He said that Ms. Hooey had provided the information requested by the BIC at the previous meeting regarding the revenues and expenditures of the department broken down according to programs or divisions. Mr. Chiu said that the report shows that permit fees are not being used by other divisions. He wanted to focus on the Housing Inspection Division since that division was brought up at the last meeting.

Commissioner Cereghino said that this report provided a good beginning on the financial status of the department. She said that it would be a good springboard for future discussions on goals and objectives. She said that there should be some discussion soon on the reserved or pre-paid inspection funds.

Director Chiu said that such a discussion would be timely and the department would work on this very soon.

c.	Report, discussion and possible action regarding the turnaround time for the preparation of 3R Reports by the Records Management Division.

Deputy Director Hutchinson said that he was not at the last meeting when this issue was first discussed. He said that he had been informed that there were concerns on the turnaround time for 3R Reports as well as for microfilming records by the Records Management Division. He said that by and large, 98% of the requests were met within the required timelines. However, due to RMD losing a key staff member who was promoted, there have been some delays. For big or difficult requests, the turnaround time is sometimes 6 or 7 days. RMD hopes to turn around requests within 48 hours once the vacant position has been backfilled. The list for this vacancy will be certified by DHR this month.

Mr. Michael Rodman, Manager of the Records Management Division, said that the problem is staff shortages. The division's hands are tied by DHR. There has been a 30% increase in requests. This has been serviced using overtime, however, staff is willing to put in the additional hours only to a certain degree.

President Hood said that the agenda is on the turnaround time and the discussion should not dwell on DHR processes.

Commissioner Cereghino asked if there was a way to use temporary staff.

Deputy Director Hutchinson said that he was not sure this could be done.

Director Chiu said that in the past, the department was allowed to hire temporary staff. He will pursue this option.

Commissioner Cereghino asked about the turnaround time in general.

Director Chiu said that, overall, the turnaround times were being met.

Deputy Director Hutchinson said that RMD staff is very good at prioritizing to accommodate the customer's needs. For example, Mr. Alan Whiteside received a request at 5:15 p.m. from a customer who needed a quick response. This request was accommodated.

Commissioner Guinnane asked if the fees for records services covered the cost for providing them.

Mr. Rodman said that the fee was $28.40. The cost of providing the services was at least $30 more than the fee. He cited Daly City as an example. That city charges $60 and an additional $2 for faxing the records.

President Hood said that currently the department has surplus funds. She would not be able to support any fee increases. She urged the department to look for staffing solutions so that the current staff does not burn out. Ms. Hood also asked if RMD is moving towards digitizing its records.

Deputy Director Hutchinson said that the records are being scanned. The division is moving towards digitized records management.

Mr. Rodman said that the current volume of requests is also resulting in the records being updated. In six months, RMD will be able to provide 75% of the requests over the counter.

Vice-President Vasquez said that the report said that RMD issues 40 reports per day. That volume is commendable.

Ms. Roberta Caravelli, Citizen Review, thanked President Hood for holding the BIC and DBI staff to the limits of the agenda language.

4.	Public Comment.

Ms. Mia Lord, resident, addressed the Commission and said that she had read her letter to the Commission at the last meeting. Since then, nothing has happened, no one has called her or returned her calls. She asked that her complaint be put on the BIC Agenda for a report from the department. She said that the state contractor's law is binding on DBI. She then asked why the department granted a permit to an unlicensed contractor. She asked that DBI fix the code violations at her home. The noise bothers her most. She said that she had an expert's opinion on the noise insulation and offered to submit documents to that effect.

President Hood asked Ms. Lord to limit her comments to three minutes. Since the time was lapsed, she requested that Ms. Lord begin to conclude her testimony.

Ms. Lord asked if it was not more important to stick to state law rather than the three minute limits for public comment. She reiterated her question on whether her item would be agendized for the next Commission meeting.

President Hood said that the Commission was prohibited from having detailed discussion on items that were not agendized per the Brown Act. She said she would ask the department if this matter is relevant to the BIC. She directed Ms. Lord to submit any documents to Commission Secretary Banico.

Ms. Caravelli, Citizen Review, again thanked President Hood for her adherence to the Brown Act requirements on discussions during the public comment period.

5.	Report, discussion and possible action regarding the June 1998 and year-end billings and expenditures for City Attorney's Office' services to the Building Inspection Commission and/or the Department of Building Inspection.

Director Chiu said that, as reported in previous meetings, there is a discrepancy of some $40,000 between the posted billings on FAMIS and the printed billings submitted by the City Attorney's Office to the BIC.

Commissioner Guinnane asked what the reasons were for the change in the June "original" column and the "adjusted" column for the Housing Inspection Division.

Director Chiu said that he did not know the details of this change and would get back to Commissioner Guinnane with the answer.

President Hood thanked the department for the report.

6.	COMMITTEE REPORT:

Report by the BIC Ad-hoc Litigation Committee on the proceedings at its meeting of August 13, 1998, including but not limited to the status of the cases described below for which there has been a stipulated judgment.

a.	Update on the status of litigation or stipulated judgment in the case of CCSF v. William Pon - 1301 Leavenworth Street. (Superior Court No. 982-217)

b.	Update on the status of litigation or stipulated judgment in the case of CCSF v. Gloria C. Argueta - 759 Treat Street. (Superior Court No. 980-519)

Vice-President Vasquez reported that the Litigation Committee met on August 13, 1998. During the meeting, the Committee reviewed 15 cases. The two cases listed in the agenda are cases with stipulated judgments. In the case of CCSF v. William Pon, the city was awarded $100,000 in penalties. This was a good judgment. The subject property is going through receivership.

Commissioner Guinnane said that in another case reviewed by the Committee, the department accepted a $100,000 settlement offer. This $100,000 has been paid.

Vice-President Vasquez said that in the case of CCSF v. Gloria C. Argueta, there was a judgment of $37,000 in penalties. The subject property contained a six unit building and this was a good-
size judgment for this size building.

Vice-President Vasquez said that the Litigation Committee will be having regular meetings with the City Attorney's Office and will see to it that the department, the CAO and the BIC are all on the same page. The next meeting is scheduled for October.

Commissioner Guinnane said that in reviewing settlement strategies, the Committee looks at repeat offenders versus those with no prior history of code violations.

7.	Report, discussion and possible action to forward a recommendation to the Board of Supervisors regarding two proposed ordinances listed below:

a.	Ordinance moving the requirements for the Central Permit Bureau from the Public Works Code Section 1 to the San Francisco Building Code Chapter 1, Section 106.1 through 106.1.3.

b.	Ordinance moving the regulations regarding hazardous wastes on private property from the Public Works Code, Article 20 to the S. F. Building Code by adding a new Chapter 37.

Mr. Laurence Kornfield, Manager of the Technical Services Division, said that these two proposed ordinances had been before the Commission at recent meetings. These two ordinances are part of a comprehensive clean-up of the Public Works Code. The first ordinance grants authority to the Central Permit Bureau to collect fees and contains a list of permits. The second ordinance, sponsored by former Supervisor Maher, requires soil sampling in fill areas. Staff had previously reported to the BIC that the Code Advisory Committee had reviewed these ordinances and proposed that the former be moved to the Administrative Code instead of the Building Code. Another alternative would be to delete the list of permits so that the ordinance would cover all possible permits issued by the Central Permit Bureau. On the latter, the CAC and staff are recommending that the enabling portion of the ordinance be moved to the Building Code but the most of the language is more suitable in the Public Health Code. The alternative language for both ordinances can be folded into the current building code cycle and would be part of the comprehensive ordinance for the new Building Code.

Deputy City Attorney Boyajian said that she had just been informed by Commission Secretary Banico that the copies of the ordinance with the meeting packet had errors. The even pages were not copied. Since these two documents had been before the Commission in the past, the Commission can take action at this meeting.

President Hood said that since staff said that alternative ordinances were being proposed, these items could be postponed until those ordinance drafts could be forwarded to the Commission. The Commission can take action at the next meeting.

Ms. Roberta Caravelli, Citizen Review, said that amendments to codes are usually by separate ordinances per subject matter. If these two ordinances are folded in with the code update, the legislative paper trail will be hard to track. The title of ordinances should state all the changes to the Building Code. On the ordinance regarding the Central Permit Bureau, she said that she had worked with the Code Advisory Committee for three months to point out other errors in the draft legislation. There are more errors than just the listing of permits. There is language in the original text that is being deleted. Ms. Caravelli said that she can not continue to invest the time looking into the correctness of proposed legislation. She said that she had pointed out at the CAC meetings that the authority to require permits is not the same as the authority to collect fees. She suggested that this code language be moved to the Business and Revenues section of the Administrative Code.

Mr. Bruce Bonnacker, NARI, said that there should be some review of the Central Permit Bureau ordinance and its conformance with state law. This ordinance and the fact that the manager of CPB is retiring provides an opportunity for clean up and improvement. The BIC should take the time to fix things that need fixing. The Maher legislation set an arbitrary line where soil testing would be required. He said that he is not anti-environment, however this ordinance has a blanket requirement for soil testing in areas where such may not be needed.

Ms. Anastasia Yovanopoulos said that some people take the time to attend the Commission's meetings. Their input should be considered.

President Hood said that she looked forward to taking action on these two ordinances at the next meeting.

The Commission took a break at this point in the proceedings, from 2:30 to 2:42 p.m.

8.	Report, discussion and possible action to approve or amend the proposed job description(s) and hiring time line for vacancies and new positions in the Technical Services Division, including but not limited to the position of Code Analyst.

Deputy Director Hutchinson said that at the July 15th BIC Regular Meeting, President Hood requested review of the job description for the Code Analyst position (5217). There are two slots available in the Technical Services Division. He said that because of the Commission request, the department has proceeded with the hiring process for the one 5217 position using the current job description. The department has postponed any action on filling the second vacancy until it got direction from the Commission on how to proceed.

Mr. Laurrence Kornfield, TSD Manager, said that the job announcement for the 5217 position was issued two weeks ago. The announcement was circulated widely. To date, only six applications have been received. Four of the applicants seem to meet the minimum qualifications however, none have code development backgrounds. He said that he was disappointed with the response to date.

President Hood suggested that the announcement be printed in architectural magazines and also the national AIA publication. She said that a longer lead time may be needed. Also, many people take vacations during the month of August.

Mr. Kornfield said that the application process will be kept opened until the positions are filled.

President Hood said that most architects that have worked ten or more years have had significant work on the code. Architects have on-line experience with dealing with the codes.

Mr. Kornfield urged the Commission to consider the proposed revisions to the job qualifications which was forwarded to the Commission as part of the meeting packet.

Commissioner Cereghino asked if the proposed changes would pose a problem with the unions.

Mr. Kornfield said that changes to job qualifications are referred to people already employed in the particular job classification. In this case, there is only one Code Analyst in the city. Mr. Richard Young occupies that position and he had helped to write the revisions to the qualifications.

Director Chiu said that it is difficult to anticipate whether there will be a problem with the unions. There is no way to know until the job descriptions are posted for public review and comment.

President Hood said that if there were no changes to the required qualifications, then TSD would end up with three architects.

Mr. Kornfield said that coincidentally, Mr. Alan Tokugawa, senior building inspector in TSD, is an architect. Therefore, with the first Code Analyst announcement, there would be three architects. He was hoping that the second Code Analyst hired would bring in engineering expertise.

President Hood said that once the job qualifications are rewritten, future hiring would allow that the positions be filled by an architect or an engineer. She said that she did not want to allow this either/or situation. There is a need to have architects on a permanent basis in TSD.

Mr. Kornfield said that the either/or situation could be controlled since the department can condition that the positions be filled by an architect or an engineer on a need basis.

President Hood sais that the department really needs the architectural perspective.

Deputy Director Hutchinson said that if both positions are filled by architects, the department can continue to rely on the engineering expertise already on board such as Mr. Hanson Tom, Mr. K. K. Chiu, etc.

Commissioner Cereghino said that her greater concern was the backfill process. If these positions are hired by people already in the department, it takes time to backfill the other positions.

Director Chiu said that if the Commission wants to hire both Code Analysts quickly, then the qualifications should not be changed.

President Hood said that the best input for code development is from those who check plans. However, these technical people should not be carrying the ball for developing the codes. That would be the job of the Code Analysts. These employees don't necessarily have to have plan check or on-line experience. These people need to have other abilities, such as the ability to work with CALBO, organizational and editorial skills.

Mr. Kornfield said that he was proposing the change in the job qualifications so that it would leave the field open enough to get a big pool of applicants.

Vice-President Vasquez said that this would cause more delays.

President Hood said that an architect is a generalist. There are 60,000 architects in the country and the department can get a good pool of candidates given the salary being offered. He said that the ads put out to date may not be effective.

(Commissioner Guinnane left at this point in the proceedings, at 3:00 p.m.)

Commissioner Cereghino asked what the anticipated schedule was for filling the two positions.

Mr. Kornfield said that once the BIC decides on the second Code Analyst position, hiring can commence. This may take six months. TSD has operated to date without these two positions and the schedule is workable.

Commissioner Cereghino asked if Mr. Kornfield was recommending the change to the job qualifications.

Mr. Kornfield said that he was. He had met with a lot of people who supported the proposed changes.

President Hood asked if Mr. Kornfield had met with the AIA on the proposed changes. She said that engineers tend to define things in absolute terms. The result of this is the code as it is written today. There needs to be a global vision. There needs to be a check on this prevailing, dominant power in code development. The code language should not have a professional bias. Ms. Hood also said that $80,000 is not an attractive salary for most engineers but this salary would be attractive to architects.

Deputy Director Hutchinson said that he would opt to wait for the results of the recently issued job announcement. The department may be able to get a good pool of applicants.

Mr. Kornfield said that he agreed with President Hood but felt that these problems could be addressed with the Director's hiring policies on individual openings.

President Hood said that once the job qualifications are changed, the position may always be filled by an engineer.

Deputy Director Hutchinson said that the department would proceed with the hiring process using the current job qualifications.

Mr. Kornfield said that the process for changing the qualifications may be a more complicated process than he initially portrayed.

Commissioner Cereghino said that she just wanted to see the best person hired for the position.

President Hood said she wanted to postpone any action on this item.

Vice-President Vasquez requested for more information on the DHR process for changing the qualifications.

Director Chiu directed Deputy Director Hutchinson to provide this information to Vice-President Vasquez.

There was no public comment received on this agenda item.

9.	Report, discussion and possible action to make a recommendation to the Board of Supervisors regarding two proposed ordinances sponsored by Supervisor Gavin Newsom:

a.	Zoning - South of Market Nighttime Entertainment - Ordinance amending the Building Code by adding a new Section 104.7 to authorize the Department of Building Inspection to enforce the noise standards contained in Planning Code Section 249.21 and related changes in the Planning Code.

b.	Sound Attenuation in Live/Work Units - Ordinance amending the Building Code by adding a new Section 104.8 to authorize the Department of Building Inspection to enforce the acoustic construction of standards contained in Planning Code Sections 102.13 and 233; and related changes in the Planning Code.

President Hood said that the Commission received a letter from Supervisor Newsom requesting that this agenda item be postponed. Supervisor Newsom is meeting with various interested parties and there may be a revised draft forwarded to the BIC in the future.

10.	Commissioner Inquiries and Review of Communication Items: At this time, the Commission may make inquiries to staff regarding the status of various documents, policies, practices and procedures which are of interest to the Commission and may discuss communication items received since the last Commission meeting.

Commissioner Cereghino referred to documents received regarding the proposed state legislation to allow San Francisco amendments to the California Building Code and asked for an update.

Director Chiu said that there has been some opposition from some quarters including the State Building Standards Commission, CALBO and the State Fire marshal's Office.

Commissioner Fillon noted the invitation to applicants for appointment to the Access Appeals Commission that was part of the meeting packet. This invitation was sent out to interested parties to solicit applicants.

11.	Approval of the Minutes of the BIC Regular Meeting of August 5, 1998.

President Hood said that there was no quorum present of Commissioners who attended the last meeting and postponed action on the Minutes to the next meeting.

12.	Discussion and possible action with respect to those items that could be placed on the agenda of September 2, 1998 BIC Regular Meeting and other future meetings.

Commissioner Cereghino requested that a discussion on reserve funds/pre-paid inspections be agendized for the next meeting. She wanted to know what the proposals were for use of these funds. The BIC may want to form a committee to oversee this process.

Director Chiu said that this discussion would be timely. He recommended that the Budget and Organization Committee meet on this item soon.

Commissioner Cereghino said that the Committee can then make a report to the full Commission after the Committee meeting.

President Hood said that the Commission needs to review the BIC goals and objectives. As part of this process, she would want to look into the possibility of reducing fees and improving customer services. President Hood also said that the department should feel free to bring up items that staff feels the Commission should agendize.

13.	Public Comment.

There was no public testimony received at this point in the proceedings.

14.	Adjournment.

There being no other business, and on a motion made by Vice-
President Vasquez, seconded by Commissioner Cereghino, the meeting adjourned at 3:25 p.m.

The motion passed unanimously. [Resolution No. BIC-070.98]

__________________________
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MARIA G. T. BANICO

Commission Secretary

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