Building Inspection Commission
BUILDING INSPECTION COMMISSION (BIC)
REGULAR MEETING
Wednesday, September 20, 2000 at 1:00 p.m.
City Hall, 1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place, Room 408
ADOPTED October 18, 2000
MINUTES
The meeting of the Building Inspection Commission was called to order at 1:10 p.m. by President Fillon.
1. Roll Call - Roll call was taken and a quorum was certified.
COMMISSION MEMBERS PRESENT:
Alfonso Fillon, President Bobbie Sue Hood, Vice-President
Debra Walker, Commissioner Mark Sanchez, Commissioner
Roy Guinnane, Commissioner Rodrigo Santos, Commissioner
Esther Marks, Commissioner
D.B.I. REPRESENTATIVES:
Frank Chiu, Director
Amy Lee, Assistant Director
Jim Hutchinson, Deputy Director
Ann Aherne, Interim Secretary
Tuti Suardana, Secretary
CITY ATTORNEY’S REPRESENTATIVE:
Judy Boyajian, Deputy City Attorney
2. President’s Announcements.
President Fillon reported that he had no announcements.
3. Director’s Report. [Director Chiu]
a. Report on Ordinance amending Part II, Chapter 1, of the San Francisco Municipal Code (Building Code) by amending Table 1-P of Section 110 to change the method of calculating the annual apartment house fees from number of room to number of units.
Director Chiu said that he would give a brief report on the status of the apartment and hotel’s annual inspection fees. Director Chiu said that a few months ago the Commission reviewed, adopted and approved the proposal and as of August 18, 2000, Mayor Brown signed the ordinance, which means that after 30 days, which was yesterday, this new
fee structure is in effect. Director Chiu stated that, as an example, at one point the fee for hotels or apartments went up to 50 units and that was the maximum. If there was a structure with 60 units there was no gradual increase for the units over 50. Director Chiu said that the purpose of the ordinance was to capture all of the rooms to make the fee proportionately fair to all property owners, and to charge the larger units and hotels for the rooms and units over 50. Director Chiu said that the Commission felt this was more adequate and it became law as of yesterday. This fee structure will now be used to collect the annual fees for apartment and hotel inspections. Director Chiu asked if there were any questions. Vice-President Hood asked if a motion were needed on this item. Director Chiu explained that he was just giving a report on the ordinance that the Commission adopted and approved at a previous meeting. Vice-President Hood stated that she was happy to see this go into effect as she felt it was inequitable before and this ordinance takes care of the problem. Director Chiu thanked Commissioner Roy Guinnane for initiating the ordinance to make sure the fee was being charged properly.
There was no public comment on this item.
4. Public Comment: The BIC will take public comment on matters within the Commission’s jurisdiction that are not part of this agenda.
There was no public comment on this item.
5. Action to appoint and swear in Mr. Manuel Flores Jr. for the seat of a building trades
representative on the Board of Examiners.
President Fillon stated that at the last meeting there was a motion to nominate Mr. Flores and to make it official a motion to appoint was needed. Commissioner Walker made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Sanchez to appoint Mr. Flores to the seat of building trades representative of the Board of Examiners. President Fillon asked if there was any public comment on the nomination. There was none.
The motion carried unanimously. President Fillon asked Mr. Flores to step forward for the swearing in ceremony. Mr. Flores was sworn in by President Fillon. President Fillon thanked Mr. Flores for his willingness to serve. Mr. Flores thanked the Commission.
[RESOLUTION NO. BIC-052-00]
6. Review and possible action regarding draft letter to Gloria L. Young, Clerk of the Board stating the Commissions’ recommendation as to Supervisor Leno’s and Bierman’s Proposed Legislation, File No. 992118 [Weekend Construction Work in Residential Zoning Districts.]
Director Chiu said that this letter was written in response to some comments Vice-President Hood had made at an earlier meeting. Vice-President Hood stated that the Commission expressed a great deal of concern as a group about changing these rules because of the impact on homeowners doing work on the weekends. Vice-President Hood said that Ann Aherne had prepared a draft and she had reviewed it. Vice-President Hood said that the Commission was just looking for any input before the letter would be finalized and sent. Commissioner Marks said that she believed it was just a few of the Commission members who expressed the sentiment in the draft, and it could be that the majority feel this way, but personally Commissioner Marks said she felt that it is difficult for people who live in a neighborhood to endure late hour, early morning construction work going on. Also, Commissioner Marks stated that she thought there was going to be a public hearing on this issue. Commissioner Marks said that in the letter it states that many people spoke expressing concerns, and Commissioner Marks stated that she did not recall hearing anyone speak on this issue. Vice-President Hood said that a number of the public spoke and it is recorded in the minutes. Commissioner Marks said that she would like to go over the minutes, as she did not remember a number of people speaking. Vice-President Hood said that she recalled that the Commission did have a vote on this issue, and the Secretary could confirm this. However, the majority of the people on the Commission were in favor of writing this letter and Vice-President Hood said that she simply volunteered to follow through with the request. Commissioner Marks said that she was going to oppose the letter and would personally send a letter to the Board of Supervisors giving her perspective, which is that there should be consideration for people who live in the neighborhoods. Vice-President Hood stated that Commissioner Marks should do that as an individual. President Fillon said that the Commission had taken action and voted to send a letter and Vice-President Hood was to draft a letter for review by the Commission. President Fillon said that the Commissioners had time to review this draft, as it was sent with the Commission package and the Commissioners should have come to the meeting prepared with comments and changes. Commissioner Marks said that she would like to make an addition. President Fillon said that if Commissioner Marks was in opposition to the letter entirely, then Commissioner Marks should do her own letter, which was her right. However, a personal letter will not carry the weight of an official letter from the Commission as was voted on. Commissioner Marks said that she would like a sentence, or sentences, added about her concerns about neighbors who have to endure late hour or early morning construction, or she would send a letter on her own. Commissioner Marks said that either way, it did not matter to her. Vice-President Hood stated that she did not think it would be appropriate in the Commission’s letter, but that Commissioner Marks should send an individual letter making it clear that the letter was being sent as an individual and not on behalf of the Commission. Commissioner Marks said that she would do so. President Fillon asked if there were any further comments on the letter and stated that he was perfectly satisfied with the content of the letter. Vice-President Hood made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Santos, that the Commission send the letter as written in the draft as soon as possible.
President Fillon asked for public comment.
Mr. Joe O’Donoghue of the Residential Builders Association stated for the record, that he spoke against the issue at a previous meeting. Mr. O’Donoghue said that Stan Smith from the Building Trades Council was also going to speak against the issue, but being that Mr. O’Donoghue expressed Mr. Smith’s sentiments, and that of the Building Trades Council, he did not speak. Mr. O’Donoghue said that at that time he brought out that people live in a city, he lives here and has lived in the City since 1963. Mr. O’Donoghue said that the fact is that two weekends ago the neighbor behind him worked the whole weekend because they needed to remodel their total roof that was leaking. Mr. O’Donoghue stated that there was hammering going on, but this is a city and what is the option; to have him do it during the week, increase the expense or get the job done right now. Mr. O’Donoghue stated that when people move to a city they are not moving to the Trinity Alps, all due respect to neighbor’s sentiment. Mr. O’Donoghue said that he sees this all the time, where people move into an RH-1 or an RH-2 or 3 in any district and then want to make it into Saint Francis Woods. Mr. O’Donoghue said he is sorry for those people, if that is the way about it, but you can’t have low cost, affordable housing and increase the cost of construction. Mr. O’Donoghue said that the builders don’t care, but the fact is that everyone needs a job done, or a plumber out. Mr. O’Donoghue said that what is going to be done through the building trades, and this is going to go before the building trades, is that people who have such opposition to these things will be put on a list and charged double. Mr. O’Donoghue said that this is going to be the price of it. When cost goes up, in other words those who are willing to put up with what is happening to the City, there is going to be a whole new policy. Mr. O’Donoghue stated that people can call this extortion, or coercion, but a list has already been made up and is starting on that level. Mr. O’Donoghue said enough is enough is enough; we all live in this City. Mr. O’Donoghue thanked the Commission.
President Fillon asked if there were any further public comment on the motion before the Commission. There was none.
The motion carried with a vote of 5 ayes and 2 nays, with Commissioners Marks and Walker dissenting.
[RESOLUTION NO. BIC-053-00]
7. Review and possible action on sub-committee’s recommendation of candidates to be considered for position of Building Inspection Commission Secretary.
a. Public Comment on all matters pertaining to the Closed Session.
b. Possible action to convene a Closed Session.
c. CLOSED SESSION: Pursuant to Government Code Section 54957 and the San Francisco Administrative Code Section 67.10(b).
PUBLIC EMPLOYEE APPOINTMENT/HIRING
Secretary to the Building Inspection Commission
d. Reconvene in Open Session to vote on whether to disclose any or all discussions held in Closed Session (Administrative Code Section 67.10(b).)
President Fillon announced that the Commission would be going into Closed Session for this item, but before doing so the Commission would take public comment. There was no public comment.
President Fillon asked for a motion for the Commission to go into Closed Session. Vice-President Hood made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Guinnane, that the Commission go into Closed Session. The motion carried unanimously.
[RESOLUTION NO. BIC-054-00]
The Commission went into Closed Session at 1:25 p.m.
The meeting reconvened at 1:55 p.m.
President Fillon asked for a motion regarding disclosure of discussion in the Closed Session. Vice-President Hood made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Walker that the Commission not disclose the discussion during Closed Session, but only the result.
President Fillon asked for any discussion or public comment. There was none.
The motion carried unanimously.
[RESOLUTION NO. BIC-055-00]
President Fillon said that the action taken in Closed Session was to vote on offering the position of Commission Secretary to Ms. Ann Aherne. President Fillon stated that the vote on this decision was unanimous.
8. Review of Director’s performance as it pertains to DBI personnel issues.
a. Public Comment on all matters pertaining to the Closed Session.
b. Possible action to convene a Closed Session.
President Fillon asked for a motion to convene into closed session. Commissioner Guinnane so moved and there was a second by Commissioner Santos. The motion carried unanimously.
There was no public comment and at 2:00 p.m. the Commissioners went into closed session.
[RESOLUTION NO. BIC-056-00]
c. CLOSED SESSION: Pursuant to Government Code Section 54957 and the San Francisco Administrative Code Section 67.10(b).
PUBLIC EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE EVALUATION
Director of the Department of Building Inspection - Mr. Frank Chiu
e. Reconvene in Open Session to vote on whether to disclose any or all discussions held in Closed Session (Administrative Code Section 67.10(b).)
The meeting reconvened at 2:40 p.m.
Commissioner Guinnane made a motion, seconded by Vice-President Hood, that the Commission not disclose any discussion from the closed session. The motion carried unanimously.
[RESOLUTION NO. BIC-057-00]
9. Review of Communication Items. At this time, the Commission may discuss or take possible action to respond to communication items received since the last meeting.
a. Letter received from Ellman, Burke, Hoffman & Johnson regarding fee calculation for Site Permit No. 20000124819 (560 Mission Street).
President Fillon asked what the cross street of this address was and asked if Director Chiu was familiar with this issue. Director Chiu said that essentially the customer came in and applied for a permit for a new high-rise building. Director Chiu said that he forgot how many stories the building application was for. Director Chiu stated that the Department’s fee is based on the Marshall and Swift table and the customer is challenging the Marshall and Swift fee and the cost of the permit. Director Chiu said that this matter was brought to his attention and he intervened to reduce a large portion of the fee so that the customer could move on with the development. However, the customer felt, even with the reduction, that the fee was not reasonable and they want to file an appeal with the Commission. Director Chiu said that he had asked the City Attorney’s Office for assistance in responding back to the customer and Deputy City Attorney Judy Boyajian is almost done with a draft letter. Director Chiu said that after the letter is sent, the customer can then decide if they still want to file an appeal with the Commission. President Fillon asked what was the total fee calculation. Director Chiu said that this figure was in the letter and President Fillon asked if the letter were correct. Assistant Director Amy Lee said that prior to the final calculation, staff had worked with the customer in reducing the amount of fees based on their estimate of the cost of the project. Ms. Lee said that there were discrepancies as the customer said that the cost would be X amount and the Department believed that according to Marshall and Swift the cost would be a lot higher. Director Chiu said that this is a type 1 construction and based on the square footage, it would cost between $130 - $150 per square foot depending on many factors. Director Chiu said that his staff believed that the cost would be around $170 per square foot and the developer claimed that they could do the work for less than $100 per square foot. Director Chiu said that even a wood frame building could not be done for less than $100 per square foot and that was their basis for complaining. Director Chiu said that he felt that this was not reasonable, but went ahead and gave the customer a break at approximately $130 per square foot. However, the customer still felt that this is not reasonable. President Fillon asked what kind of building it was and Director Chiu answered that it is a high-rise office building. Commissioner Santos asked if it were the office tower at Mission and 2nd Streets. Director Chiu and Assistant Director Lee both answered yes. Ms. Lee said that it was going to be a fairly large, elaborate, fancy building. Vice-President Hood asked where the project stood now. Director Chiu said that the permit was issued, but the customer is still contending the fee that was collected from them. Vice-President Hood asked if they are trying to get a refund. Director Chiu said that was correct, if the Commission felt that the fee that was collected was inappropriate, then they would get a refund. Vice-President Hood said that they should file an appeal. Assistant Director Lee said that under the advisement of Judy Boyajian, Ms. Lee would be sending out a letter explaining the Department’s position and once that letter is sent out they can file an appeal within 15 days and a hearing will be set before the Commission. Ms. Lee said that this would probably be by the end of October. Ms. Lee stated that the customer has invoked a statement of laws and the Department is looking into this. Commissioner Guinnane asked what the difference was between the initial fee that was assessed and the reduction. Director Chiu said that he thought the letter addressed this, but Commissioner Guinnane said that the letter talks about $896,000 total, and Commissioner Guinnane wanted to know how much the fee had been rolled back. Director Chiu said he did not have the information in front of him and Assistant Director Lee stated that she had the information in her office and would get it to Commissioner Guinnane. Commissioner Guinnane said that regarding Marshall Swift, the Department has not really been up on that fee. Commissioner Guinnane said that the book is current, but DBI’s fees have not been keeping up with the current Marshall Swift. Director Chiu said that was correct and over a year ago Commissioner Guinnane had raised the issue of keeping the old rates. Vice-President Hood stated that the Commission voted to divest DBI from the lock step relationship at an earlier Commission hearing and the reason was that even though the State law requires the Department to change the fees in response to changes in the value of construction, at the same time, the Department has to relate the size of the fee to the cost processing. Vice-President Hood said that since the Department was generating more money than needed to process, DBI was accumulating a positive cash flow. Ms. Lee said that the Commission voted to not make the increase in valuation automatic as the Commission was previously required to do every six months. Ms. Lee said that the Commission decided that the increase would not be automatic, but would be based on a vote of the Commission. Vice-President Hood said the customer should realize how lucky they are as the fees could be higher. Commissioner Guinnane asked if the appeal came to the Commission would the Commission have the authority to lower the fee down or the option to raise the fee up. Director Chiu referred the question to Ms. Boyajian. Ms. Boyajian said she thought the Commission had the legal authority to review the fee and determine if it was calculated correctly, but not the power to waive any fees that the Building Code requires. Ms. Boyajian said that in a separate letter, that is not part of this package, the customer is challenging the way fees are calculated and challenging even using Marshall and Swift. Ms. Boyajian stated that the customer is challenging the Department for not assessing fees project by project instead of having a fee schedule. Ms. Boyajian stated that there is a lot at stake with this issue. Commissioner Walker said that this would be more of a lawsuit and Ms Boyajian agreed. Commissioner Walker stated the only thing the Commission can hear if it does become an appeal is, not the fee schedule that has been adopted, but whether the customer’s cost times the Department’s fee schedule is accurate. Commission Walker said that the Department makes an assumption about the construction costs and the customer is saying that the cost is less. President Fillon said that the Commission would not change the way the Department calculates fees. Commissioner Walker said she understood this. Ms. Boyajian said that she was assuming that when the customer files the appeal they are going to raise all of the legal arguments. Commission Walker asked that Ms. Boyajian be present when the appeal will be heard. President Fillon asked how large the building was and Director Chiu said he did not have the information in front of him, but believed that this was a 31-story building. President Fillon asked how much parking was allotted for the building. Director Chiu said that he could not say at this time.
b. Copy of letter received by Ms. Maria Galatti from the California State Assembly regarding AB2112, Bill regarding Home Warranty Program. Ms. Galatti hand-delivered a copy of this letter to the Commission.
Vice-President Hood said she questioned the attachment to the letter as it claims to be a copy of the proposed legislation, but in fact one page doesn’t seem to follow the other page and there seems to be something missing. Vice-President Hood said that she would like to read the legislation and asked if a corrected copy could be obtained from Ms. Galatti. Vice-President Hood stated that she thought this legislation was coming about because right now there is a very, sort of an amorphous law for latent defects for anything that happens within 10 years. President Fillon asked if Ms. Galatti would like to come forward to address the Commission. President Fillon informed Ms. Galatti that she would have three minutes to speak on this item.
Ms. Galatti said that she was also confused, but her purpose was to bring to the Commission’s attention the fact that something was going on out there that the Commission has better minds to deal with than the average citizen so to speak. Ms. Galatti stated that the newspaper reported something that was in error and she dashed down to the last meeting and had not yet received the letter from the Assemblyman. Ms. Galatti said that when she received the letter she realized that it was totally different from what had been reported in the newspaper. Ms. Galatti said that, on the other hand, this is ongoing and is not yet a bill that has been approved or disapproved and the Commission has the expertise in this area to either support or not support it. Ms. Galatti stated that her feeling is that there isn’t enough support for the consumer at this time and perhaps the Commission or DBI staff could have input in this bill, which could see it get passed or dropped. Vice-President Hood thanked Ms. Galatti for her comments.
Commissioner Guinnane said that in looking at the documents, a lot of the items that are being proposed are actually covered by the State Licensing Board for Contractors. Furthermore, for the defects, contractors are on the hook for ten years for latent defects. Vice-President Hood said that in return for lightening of the period that they are on the hook, basically they would buy a warranty that will fix anything that is brought up in the first four years. Vice-President Hood said that she thought that there was a lot of support for this bill, as what has happened in the past is the people that have benefited have often been attorneys, but what really needed to happen was that the buildings needed to be fixed. Vice-President Hood stated that she believed that was the intent of this law, whether it really does it or not. Vice-President Hood said that instead of letting all of the attorneys sue at the end of ten years and just getting money, the contractor has to fix it. Vice-President Hood said that most good contractors do this anyway, but it would really get the ones that disappear on the hook. Commissioner Guinnane said that in looking at the home warranty for the ten year period, he asked how that would work in relation to the homeowner’s policy which is pretty broad coverage. Vice-President Hood said that a homeowner’s policy would not cover things such as leaks and so forth. Vice-President Hood stated that she had looked into this subject a great deal and would be happy to discuss it because it was something that dealt with the issue, especially in condominiums and thinks this should be put on the agenda if the Commission wanted to discuss it further. Commissioner Walker said she would like that. Vice-President Hood said that this is a very interesting subject.
Commissioner Marks stated that in relation to this, she asked if the Department were ready to make a report on the live work or loft development that was near the Hall of Justice and was in the paper about a month ago. Vice-President Hood asked if that were Boardman Place that there were numerous complaints about. Commissioner Guinnane said that was the property. President Fillon said that item should come up under Agenda Item #11. Commissioner Marks said that she would like to know when a Building Inspector goes out and certifies that something is properly installed or whatever, what is the public’s assurance that three years from the inspection, the siding is not going to fall apart. Commissioner Marks said she would bring this up under Item #11.
c. Notice of Public Workshop regarding "Disabled Accessible Aisle Widths Within Merchandise Pads in Retail Stores."
There was no public comment.
d. Letters of commendation received from the public regarding DBI employees and Director Chiu’s letters of response to the public.
President Fillon said that on behalf of the Commission he would like to thank the employees who were recognized by the public: Inspector Dan Dukes, Inspector Tony Fong and Inspector Jim Whipple. Director Chiu said that he would relay the message to the employees that the Commission appreciates these employees fine work.
There was no public comment.
10. Review and approval of the Minutes of the BIC Regular Meeting of August 16, 2000.
Commissioner Walker made a motion, seconded by Vice-President Hood that the minutes be adopted. The motion carried unanimously.
[RESOLUTION NO. BIC-058-00]
11. Commissioner’s Questions and Matters.
a. Inquiries to Staff. At this time, Commissioners may make inquiries to staff regarding various documents, policies, practices, and procedures, which are of interest to the Commission.
Commissioner Marks asked Director Chiu to report on the status of the Department’s response to the 30 Boardman Place project. Director Chiu said that he would briefly respond to where the Department’s investigation is as of today. Commissioner Walker asked if this needed to be on the agenda to be discussed. Deputy City Attorney Judy Boyajian said that Director Chiu could answer a quick question, but there could not actually be a discussion on this subject. Director Chiu stated that as soon as he received the complaint or read about it in the paper he wrote a letter to the property owner about trying to get into the building to investigate. Director Chiu said that as of today, he had not gotten a response. Director Chiu stated that the day before his letter went out, he dispatched an inspector out to try and inspect the property and he was refused or the property owner was not at home and has not responded back to the request. Director Chiu said that the Department is waiting for a response from the property owner regarding these allegations, because in the paper there were claims that there were reports from experts about the building. Director Chiu said that he was interested in looking at these reports and had not gotten anything from the property owner. Commissioner Marks said that for future Commission meetings and in relation to the legislation that was discussed, she would like Director Chiu to report on what assurances does a homeowner or homebuyer have upon inspection of a property that the work is being done properly. Commissioner Marks referred to the example of Boardman Place where faulty material was used for the siding. Director Chiu said he would be happy to discuss this item at a future meeting.
President Fillon asked that since the position of Commission Secretary was offered to Ann Aherne earlier in the meeting, what further procedures needed to be handled. Director Chiu said that he would work with the DBI Personnel Officer to start the process. Director Chiu said that President Fillon should write a letter stating the Commission’s intention so that he could proceed with the paperwork. President Fillon congratulated Ann Aherne on her appointment.
b. Future Meetings/Agendas. At this time, the Commission may discuss and take action to set the date of a Special Meeting and/or determine those items that could be placed on the agenda of the next meeting and other future meetings of the Building Inspection Commission.
Commissioner Guinnane said that he has brought up the issue of Housing Inspectors’ qualifications vs. Building Inspectors regarding decks, etc. Commissioner Guinnane said that he had been told recently that most of the Housing Inspectors have come from the Health Department with very little experience in building. Commissioner Guinnane said he was not sure whether or not this was true. President Fillon clarified that Commissioner Guinnane wanted a report on the qualifications required to be a Housing Inspector vs. Building Inspector. Commissioner Guinnane said that his concern is that when a Housing Inspector goes out and looks at decks or other problems, are they qualified to inspect them. Director Chiu said that the Department is talking about working on continuing education or recertification. Director Chiu stated that he has done some research and it looks like there is some kind of recertification for Housing Inspectors. Director Chiu said that perhaps he and Commissioner Guinnane could look into this to see how the Housing Inspectors could become certified.
Vice-President Hood said that there is something that she continues to notice and that is the number of iron grills on windows that do not appear to be releasable from the inside. Vice-President Hood said that the Commission dealt with this a couple of years ago right after there was the tragedy of a family of nine or seven, a huge number of people dying. Vice-President Hood said she wondered if there was any way to encourage the upgrading of that issue, for example, when property changes hands as a result of a condition of a sale, could it be required that any windows which are not up to code in that regard be corrected. Vice-President Hood said that this would be one of those things that is not very expensive and it is very life threatening when not done. Vice-President Hood stated that there are still people with deadbolts on their doors that cannot be opened without a key. If there is a fire they have no way of getting out the door unless they can find the key. Vice-President Hood said that this is very bad, particularly for seniors who are having senior moments, and don’t know where the key is. Vice-President Hood said she would like to address these two items; one the ability to exit by turning the handle of the door from the inside and the other is the steel bars on the windows. Vice-President Hood stated that she knows the Department cannot force people to fix things that are not up to code unless there is some sort of triggering mechanism. Vice-President Hood said that property has gone up so much and when someone is at the point where they are getting their bank loan, these costs would be insignificant just to add them into the mortgage. Vice-President Hood said this would be a really great thing to do if there would be someway to get that in. Director Chiu said that a few years ago the Department did do some campaign regarding these issues. Director Chiu asked Vice-President Hood if she wanted this put on a future calendar to fully discuss how the Commission wants to handle these issues. Vice-President Hood said she didn’t think the Commission needed to fully discuss it, she just wanted to know if it is possible to do something through the action of the Commission. President Fillon asked Director Chiu to do some research to see what is possible within the Commission’s jurisdiction. Director Chiu said that anytime the Department sees these kinds of problems during the course of an inspection, the Department could cite the property and have the property owner fix them. Director Chiu said that some of these problems may not have been detected, or the Department is not aware of them. Director Chiu said that under the current law, the Department could require these items to be removed or fixed. Commissioner Walker asked Vice-President Hood if she was saying that there would be some sort of inspection upon sale. Vice-President Hood said that right now when you buy a piece of property, for example, the hot water heater has to be strapped and there is a list of things that have to be done as a condition of the sale. Vice-President Hood said there is an automatic way of having the cost of that estimated and done in the process of the sale, and people are geared up to do things when selling. Vice-President Hood stated that property has gone up a lot in value so there should be a process there. Vice-President Hood said in other cases it is just hit or miss that these things are discovered. Because there has been such a churning of property, people buy property without even knowing about the legality of these things. Vice-President Hood said that this should be tied to property sales, and there will probably be resistance from realtors, but this would be the best way. Vice-President Hood said that when a home is sold the seller has to spend $1,000 making the property compliant to current energy requirements and perhaps there could be a maximum number attached to this. Director Chiu said that he would be happy to work with the City Attorney’s Office to see if an ordinance could be drafted to cover these issues. Director Chiu said that an ordinance and a campaign for public awareness might help to address these problems. Commissioner Guinnane asked if Vice-President Hood was talking about this issue as it relates to single family or everything that sells in residential. Vice-President Hood said that she was talking about everything that sells. Director Chiu said this would include apartment buildings. Commissioner Guinnane stated that this could be getting into a lot of money, but the apartment houses are already covered because they are under the annual inspection. Director Chiu said that maybe it should cover single family dwellings. Vice-President Hood said that it is typically not apartment houses that have the bars on, but one to four units. Vice-President Hood said that it is not the large, sort of official property owners. Commissioner Guinnane said that units of three and up are automatically covered in the annual housing inspection. Director Chiu said that he would agree with Vice-President Hood that it would not cost a great deal of money to remedy this situation, but it would save a lot of lives.
12. Public Comment: The BIC will take public comment on matters within the Commission’s jurisdiction that are not part of this agenda.
There was no public comment.
13. Adjournment.
Commissioner Guinnane made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Walker to adjourn.
The motion carried unanimously.
[RESOLUTION NO. BIC-059-00]
The meeting was adjourned at 3:15 p.m.
_______________________
Ann Marie Aherne
Interim Commission Secretary
SUMMARY OF REQUESTS BY COMMISSIONERS
Follow-up on 560 Mission Street. Amount of reduction in fees from Asst. Director Amy Lee. - Commissioner Guinnane Page 6
California State Assembly Bill AB2112, Home Warranty Program. Copy of Bill and Future Agenda Item. - Vice-President Hood Page 7 & 8
Agenda Item - Assurances to homeowners as to proper workmanship and materials after inspections by DBI staff. - Commissioner Marks Page 9
Agenda Item - Housing Inspectors qualifications and possible certification. - Commissioner Guinnane Page 10
Agenda Item - Ordinance and campaign to make public aware of and correct problems with window bars an deadbolt locks. - Vice-President Hood Page 11
Prepared by: Ann Aherne
p:\mgb\minutes\09-20-00.doc