City and County of San FranciscoDepartment of Building Inspection

Building Inspection Commission - December 17, 2014 - Meeting Minutes

Building Inspection Commission - December 17, 2014

PDF iconBIC Minutes 12-17-14.pdf

 

  BUILDING INSPECTION COMMISSION (BIC)
  Department of Building Inspection (DBI)

  REGULAR MEETING 
 Wednesday, December 17, 2014 at 9:00 a.m.
  City Hall, 1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place, Room 416
  Aired Live on SFGTV Channel 78
  ADOPTED May 20, 2015

                
 MINUTES
    
The regular meeting of the Building Inspection Commission was called to order at 9:09 a.m. by President McCarthy.

1. Call to Order and Roll Call – Roll call was taken and a quorum was certified.

COMMISSION MEMBERS PRESENT: 
        Angus McCarthy, President        Warren Mar, Vice-President
        Frank Lee, Commissioner        Kevin Clinch, Commissioner, arrived 10:45 am
        James McCray, Jr. Commissioner    Myrna Melgar, Commissioner, excused
        Debra Walker, Commissioner
        Sonya Harris, Secretary

    D.B.I. REPRESENTATIVES:
        Tom Hui, Director
        Edward Sweeney, Deputy Director, Permit Services
        Dan Lowrey, Deputy Director, Inspection Services
        Taras Madison, Chief Financial Officer
        William Strawn, Legislative and Public Affairs Manager
        Lily Madjus, Communications Director
        
    CITY ATTORNEY REPRESENTATIVE
        John Malamut, Deputy City Attorney

2. President’s Announcements.

President McCarthy said that Item #7 on the agenda would be called out of order between 9:30 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. in order to accommodate parties that were in attendance for that particular item.

President McCarthy proceeded with the following announcements:

* Congratulations, and heart-felt thanks, to three DBI Building Inspectors who are retiring. Building Inspector Nancy Curvino began working on Jan. 1, 1997; spent two years with Rec and Park (2001-2003); then returned to DBI from 2003-Nov. 29, 2014, when she retired after a 17-year public service career;

* Building Inspector Al Smith retires on Dec. 31st, following a 10-year career with DBI; and

* President McCarthy wished the retirees good luck and enjoyment in their retirement.

* Thank you to the Electrical Inspection staff who received a letter from the customer who expressed sincere gratitude to the excellent way that the inspections have been conducted.  Thank you to Ron Allen, Paul Ortiz, Cheryl Rose, Roger Mascio, Michael Bain, Vernon Takasuka, Bryan Keil, Osha Ashworth, Benjamin Yee, Michael Doherty, Robert Vankoll, Nicholas Russell, Daniel Foss and Matthew Schlecht. 

* Thank you to two members of the Housing Inspection Services, Barbara Lopez and Nicole Rossini for providing excellent customer service during an inspection and in the office.

* Congratulations, too, to Director Hui for his recent Channel 26 Chinese television interviews in Cantonese with two different reporters –one covering the new vacant storefront ordinance, and DBI’s overall budget situation; and the other covering the legalization of in-law dwelling units.

* Director Hui did a radio interview on KEST where he has been interviewed by Dr. James Yu regarding a wide range of questions about DBI operations and core functions.  Dr. Yu
has requested that Director Hui continue to do this on a quarterly basis to help the Cantonese speaking public. 

* Thanks to DBI’s Inspection Services’ team for hosting a meeting recently with contractors and developers to review the proposed Night Noise Permit Issuance policy. Numerous questions were responded to, and the overall consensus from the meeting was supportive of the new policy. Contractors and developers, as well as residents, are particularly pleased to have access to night noise permits, and denials, now posted on DBI’s web site, which includes a map that shows locations of the work.

* Finally, thanks to all DBI staff who were prepared to respond to last week’s major storm. Emergency contact protocols were updated, and DBI also posted a detailed Media Advisory providing tips for homeowners and contractors.  Fortunately, there were no major building safety issues caused by that storm.

There was no public comment on this item.
3. General 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 general public comment.

4. Discussion and possible action to approve and swear in members of the Access Appeals Commission who include:  William Scott Ellsworth, Experience in Construction and Arnie Lerner, Experience in Construction. Terms to expire November 1, 2018.

Commissioner Lee said that the two seats being considered were expired in November and that the normal procedure would be to announce these openings, accept applications and then the Committee would make recommendations to the BIC.  Commissioner Lee said that in light of the fact that there is a great deal of working going on with the Access Appeals Commission and it is important that the members have experience and understand the history of the policies being considered, the Committee would like to reappoint these current members.  Vice-President Mar said that he would agree and stated that the response for applications has been very sparse in the past.  

Commissioner Walker made a motion, seconded by Vice-President Mar that William Scott Ellsworth and Arnie Lerner, both with experience in construction, be reappointed to the Access Appeals Commission with terms to expire November 1, 2018.  The Commissioners voted as follows:

    President McCarthy          Aye        Vice-President Mar            Aye
    Commissioner Lee        Aye        Commissioner McCray    Aye    
    Commissioner Walker    Aye

The motion carried unanimously.

RESOLUTION NO. BIC 051-14

President McCarthy called on Vice-President Mar, Chair of the Committee, to swear in Mr. Ellsworth and Mr. Lerner.  The Oath of Office was administered to both.

President McCarthy asked that Item #6 be heard at this time.  The Commissioners agreed.

6.   Discussion on Accela Permit and Project Tracking System. 

Mr. Henry Bartley introduced himself as the Project Manager for the Accela project for DBI.  Mr. Bartley shared a DBI Accela Project timeline and explained that there was functional testing which was Wave I and migrating testing which was Wave II of the testing process.  Mr. Bartley explained that the User Acceptance Testing (UAT) showed what kind of issues need to be fixed.  Mr. Bartley said that with Wave I there were 71 issues that were found that and with Wave II there were 98 issues that were not correct.  Mr. Bartley stated that it is very difficult to move data from the old PTS system and said that most of the people that worked on or maintained that system over the past fifteen years have left DBI.  Mr. Bartley said that there are things that are being done every day by the project team and that work will continue up until “go live”; the “go live” date will not be set until everything is approved by the Director and his staff.  Mr. Bartley reported that there should be a new “go live” date by Friday.

Commissioner’s & Staff Question & Answer Discussion:
* Commissioner Walker asked what issues was staff running into?  Data migration is proving to be a more difficult task, specifically getting PTS data into ACCELA program.
* Mr. Bartley said there are refresher training rooms set up at DBI, so that staff can get hands-on refresher training until the go live date.
* Mr. Bartley said there will be a Business Simulation Pilot conducted at the end of the UAT testing.  This will simulate taking permits through the process to understand how long it will take using ACCELA.
* President McCarthy said that this was a good time of the year to do testing due to the holidays.
* President McCarthy asked how the Planning Dept. system was working?  There are a few problems, for example:  Storage of records and billing system.
* Vice-President Mar asked if there was a fixed go live date?  No, but he should know by Friday December 15.
* V.P. Mar asked if there was a date for re-testing with stakeholders and frequent users? Lily Madjus is working with the Planning Dept. group to arrange trainings and announcements.  There will be a new date for training with the new ACCELA Citizen Access Portal.  For example: Users will test how to pull a permit on the website.
* Commissioner Walker asked that the Commissioners be notified of the new date.

There was no public comment.

7.      Discussion and possible action on conference with legal counsel.
a. Public Comment on all matters pertaining to the Closed Session.

There was no public comment.

b. Possible action to convene a Closed Session.

Vice-President Mar made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Lee, that the Commission convene a Closed Session.  The motion carried unanimously.  

RESOLUTION NO. BIC 052-14

The Commission went into Closed Session at 9:37 a.m.

c. CLOSED SESSION:  Pursuant to Government Code Section 54956.9(a) and the San Francisco Administrative Code Section 67.8.
CONFERENCE WITH LEGAL COUNSEL
    Existing Litigation:
          Marshall & Swift/Boeckh, LLC dba Marshall & Swift vs. City and County of San 
          Francisco
          United States District Court Central District of California
                  Case No. 2:14-CV-6029-MMM (JPRx)

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).

The Commissioners returned to Open Session at 9:51 a.m.

Commissioner McCray made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Lee, not to disclose any discussions held in Closed Session.  The motion carried unanimously.

RESOLUTION NO. 053-14

8. Discussion and possible action regarding an ordinance amending the Building Code Section 107A.2 to refer to multiple data sources for the cost schedule for permit issuance fees. 

Kirk Means of Technical Services reported that this is a proposed Code change to the San Francisco Building Code Administrative Chapter to add back in wordage to allow DBI to use various data sources in updating the cost schedule.  Mr. Means stated that currently the building code valuation is determined by the Building Official and gives him final authority.  Mr. Means gave the history of how valuation is determined and said that frequently there are unique items such as tower cranes or seismic upgrades that are not necessarily uniformly nationwide and this Code change will allow DBI to gather information from authorized sources to help determine the actual costs in order to charge consistent fees.  Mr. Means said that in 1956 valuation was determined by Marshal and Stevens cost schedules that included language that other accepted authorities could be used; in 1973 the name was changed to Marshall and Swift and the language “other accepted authorities” was not included.  Mr. Means said that this Code change would add back in language that other various data sources would be included in determining the cost.   Mr. Means stated that DBI just wants to allow more flexibility to publish a consistent number that everyone uses to come up with the valuation that is paid.

There was no public comment.

Commissioner Walker made a motion, seconded by Vice-President Mar to amend the Building Code Section 107A.2 to refer to multiple data services for the cost schedule for permit issuances.  The motion carried unanimously.

President McCarthy          Aye        Vice-President Mar            Aye
Commissioner Lee        Aye        Commissioner McCray      Aye    
Commissioner Walker    Aye

RESOLUTION NO. BIC 054-14

President McCarthy announced that the Commission would hear items 10 and 11, then Item 9 followed by the Director’s Report.  There were no objections.

10. Update on 3450 – 21st Street. (Commissioner Walker)

Commissioner Walker said that this project was brought up and the last meeting and said that she and other Commissioners had been approached by members of the public regarding this large project so an update was requested.  

Deputy Director of Inspection Services Dan Lowrey reported that there are several permits on the job at 3450 – 21st Street.  Mr. Lowrey said that there was a complaint sent to Planning and Planning informed him that they looked at the scope of the work and found no deviation from the plans so the complaint was abated.  

Mr. Lowrey gave an update on 3450-21st Street and discussed the following items:

* He checked with the Plumbing and Electrical Chiefs who reported that there are several permits on the job that are all in compliance.  
* The valuation on plumbing and electrical is determined by fixtures and devices and there is a basic rate on residential remodels for which this project has complied.  
* Regarding Building Inspection there are several permits and there was a correction notice and a couple of Notices of Violation, but everything has been corrected. 
* The last correction notice had to do with valuations on bathrooms and kitchens and a $65,000 valuation has been increased by another $173,000.  
* The permit valuation for that job is close to $2M and Building Inspectors have been to the job over 30 times and everything has been approved.

Commissioner Walker said that she did not mean to single out this project, but when there is a project that seems to have a serial permitting situation where things change so much, even when they are following the letter of the law, which may explain to the neighbors why this has been going on so long.  Is there ever a time when DBI steps back and says, what is happening here because this seems to be serial permitting where one thing goes in and then there is another permit to do something different?
* Mr. Lowrey said the main permit was a major permit for structural upgrade on the job.  As they got into the excavation work, there was additional work that was not depicted in the plans, so they got a notice.
* The first permit was over $720K and they took out subsequent permits for correcting issues to the building.

Commissioner Walker said normally when a project gets its Planning permits then everything is all there, instead of coming in serial. It is difficult for the public to know what is happening in the process.  Does DBI have a threshold where staff steps back and asks for a coming together, because it could lead to scope or permit creep, which could lead to monster houses where there are smaller units, so the public has the right to know what is happening.  She is curious since there are 15 permits. 
* Mr. Lowrey said if it varies from the scope, the inspector will ask for the set of As-built drawings.  He believes on this project they submitted a basic set of plans, and one permit was for an air conditioning unit. 
* There were complaints from 311 that the project deviated from the approved plans.  Two Planners went to the job and met with the contractors, architects, and representatives then they abated the complaint and felt that proper notification was given on the job.
* Regarding complaints, there were multiple jobs in the neighborhood and several contractors.  They were actually providing valet parking for the workers to prevent congestion on top of the hill.
* Currently all interior finishes are applied and outside landscaping is near completion.

Commissioner Walker asked if all of the roads were back open?
* Mr. Lowrey said a lot of the road work was DPW doing a water main service to that building: It was not necessarily that job, but Public Works doing work where they closed up the street.

Vice-President Mar asked if the original remodeling job was a submittal to Planning before they pulled the permits.  He clarified that this was not and over the counter job.
* Mr. Lowrey said these were all submittals and notification was given on these jobs.

President McCarthy said in summary Mr. Lowrey was satisfied that all of the permits are in place and abated.  He heard about the notification issues, but two Planners went out there.  He also heard on the news that the streets were closed down due to the construction, but Mr. Lowrey said that was because DPW had to do their job to get the water main in there.
* Mr. Lowrey said yes and another time, it was closed down because there was a crane erected to put landscaping in the back of the building.

President McCarthy asked if all of the work was permitted.
* Mr. Lowrey said yes, and they only needed a permit for the portable crane.

Secretary Harris called for public comment.

Mr. Steve Williams said that he was a lawyer and the neighbors of the project at 3450-21st Street contacted him to ask that he review the project, its approvals, entitlements, etc.  As President McCarthy said there were a lot of news reports on this in the press, newspapers, and on TV about unhappy neighbors, because of the inconveniences created. There were 40 or 50 workers on the job for nearly 2 years, noise, dust, blocked driveways, and even closing off the street:  His understanding was not all of this was DPW, but some was for fiber optic cables and a specific water line going into the property.  There was also loss of parking and reports of people hired to camp out overnight in cars to save parking spaces.  There were cameras and security guards, but while these complaints are extreme and the type that people are used to, but just at the higher end of it.  There has been a lack of disclosure to the neighbors and the remodel was a submittal to Planning, so they had a major plan approved through Planning before they pulled the permits – This was not an over the counter job.

Mr. Lowrey said these were all submittals and notifications given on these jobs.

President McCarthy said that in summary Mr. Lowrey was satisfied that all of the permits are in place and abated.  The big thing he heard about was the notification issues, but two planners went to the property.  Mr. Lowrey said that was correct.  President McCarthy said he hears on the news that streets were closed down due to the construction, but clarified that the understanding was because DPW had to do their job to get the water main in the property, and that was one of the primary reasons the streets were closed down in that particular period.  Mr. Lowrey said yes and another time, it was closed was when there was a crane erected and landscaping was put in the back of the building.  President McCarthy asked if all of that was permitted and Mr. Lowrey said yes.

Mr. Williams said that permit applied for on March 6, 2013 was for a new space or creation of an office, media room, half bath, laundry, and wine room.  Second floor expansion, half bath interior remodel and second, third, and fourth floor seismic upgrade and exterior stucco replaced and three doors replaced, brick in kind windows, and that was all over the counter.  Since that time all of those have been expanded with serial permits and one of them has gone by way of 311 notification, and it is listed the work as existing and he has not been able to get all of the documents and it is very complicated.  There is a lot more to tell and what he would like is for the Commission to put this over for next month.  Supposedly, Planning has the documents in boxes and he has not been able to get them, even though he started applying last week and sent them the Sunshine request, etc.  So there have been astoundingly fast approvals; that first permit was received in 6 days.

Commissioner Walker asked if the original permit that all of these flowed from was over the counter?

Mr. Williams said yes it was issued in six days and three working days, so it received on the historic resource, all of the Planning approvals and structural and all of the other approvals in 3 working days.  A $720K permit and all of those things he recited were approved in 3 days and he has friends doing work around the City and they would probably be surprised to learn that a permit was obtained in 3 days.  Throughout this entire permit history there were very quick approvals and quick turnarounds, even the complaints were abated the same day.

Commissioner Walker said she has concerns about this type of situation, because it feels a lot like serial permitting, and it feels like a huge project with huge impacts that are not being properly evaluated from the beginning.  She would like to follow this project because it feels like favoritism.

Vice-President Mar asked if the Commission could get a report at the next meeting from the Director about the first permit.  He wants more investigation about what the application was for and what the permit consisted of and whether it included the items the BIC just heard about.

Director Hui said that staff can give the Commission a report and it sounds like a big job, but when people come in with seismic work with the foundation in a single family home.  The plan checker reviews it very consistently.  On the 5th floor Deputy Director Sweeney makes sure that staff treats everybody the same.  The comments may not be issued at the same time, but staff asks all of the consistent questions.  The Department will give the Commission a report at the next meeting.

Mr. Sweeney said that he briefly looked at the job, but if it was within the envelope of the building – It was described as 8 rooms down permit, and changing some doors and windows then that is an Over the Counter permit.

 

11.     Update on 219 - 6th Street and 200 - 12th Street.

Commissioner Walker said that this is a discussion about the Single Room Occupancy (SRO) buildings converting to tech dormitories.  She wanted an update as to what the status is and what happened.

Chief Housing Inspector Rosemary Bosque presented the following information:
* 219 – 6th Street is four stories and three stories of residential hotel over a commercial space.
* The building was run as a non-profit and currently there are 8 open Notices of Violation (NOVs) on the property, and a couple occurred earlier this year.
* NOVs are based on tenant complaints and while addressing the complaints which dealt with violations inspectors found that there were issues regarding the total room count.
* Housing Inspection Services also investigated whether they were keeping appropriate records as required for a residential hotel.
* After further site inspections additional problems were found.  6 open cases are from the last 2 months, which included the routine inspection and room to room inspections. 
* Also a hotel conversion ordinance inspection was done, in which an inspector went to the property to look at their records which were not available, so they have been fined.
* Owner has responded to complaints and there is the property in the article that Commissioner Walker mentioned, and both properties are on the short list for HIS.
* Properties are being watched to see if staff gets the needed response to cure the violations or they will definitely be considering referral to the City Attorney.  That decision has not been made yet to allow owners time to respond to and comply with the NOVs.
* Notices that the owner has not complied with have already been scheduled for a Director’s Hearing, such as:  Repairs to the fire escape and life safety issues.
* Inspectors are making sure that there is not a conversion from a residential hotel to a tourist hotel.

Commissioner’s & Staff Question & Answer Discussion:
* Are there life safety issues?  Yes.
* Are tenants in there and are they being tracked with the collaborative to make sure they are not displaced?  DBI is working with tenants to make sure the daily log is accurate and that rooms are not given out.
* Important to make sure that tenants are not displaced.
* All original tenants are gone and tenants have sought their legal rights.
                            
 9.    Discussion and possible action to approve legislation to extend the 6-month 7% fee reduction established in Ordinance No. 164-14 until the completion of the DBI fee study and the Board of Supervisors adoption of a new fee schedule.

Taras Madison, Deputy Director of Administration & Finance, said that back in June the Commission approved a temporary fee reduction of 7% for staff services, and that was done as a bridge because the Department is undergoing a comprehensive fee study with the Controller’s Office managing it with an outside reporting consultant.  The hope was that the study would have been completed and the new fee schedule would be in place; however every month she has come back to the Commission and given an update on what was going on and why it has taken a lot longer than anticipated for a variety of reasons.  The consultant may not be accustomed to working with those large projects and there were some questions about methodology, so the Controller has had the questions and DBI will have to extend the 7% for an additional amount of time until the fee study is completed.  The hope is that it will be completed before the end of the fiscal year.  If purely based on the 7% the cost will be about $3.5M for one year and DBI will be collecting a little less than what was actually budgeted.  Historically DBI has underspent its budget, and the Department has a surplus and can subsidize fees if needed.

Commissioner’s & Staff Question & Answer Discussion:
* V.P. Mar said his understanding was that the fee study started last August, so he did not want to give an open-ended extension.  Urged DBI and the Controller’s Office to move on this.  Ms. Madison said Controller’s Office needs to give DBI the final review.
* Ms. Madison said it was not in anyone’s best interest to delay the fee study, but the nature of it has taken longer than anticipated.
* DBI has been working with consultant and Ms. Madison explained that she was going before the BIC to request an extension of the 7% fee reduction.
* Fee study should be done by the end of the fiscal year.
* Commissioner Walker said she was not supporting the extension.
* V.P. Mar wants to hear more detailed report from the Controller’s Office, and would like to postpone until January and then discuss extension based on new data.
* Ms. Madison said that would not give DBI time, because staff has to go through the Board of Supervisors.  She understands the hesitation, but DBI is sitting on a large surplus, and based on the preliminary study the reduction will be higher than 7%.
* Commissioner Lee said the BIC is uncomfortable with open-ended extensions.
* Ms. Madison said she hopes study is done by end of fiscal year.  She needs firm grasp of revenues for the budget.
* 6 months is the estimated time needed for extending the reduction.   
* Commissioner McCray asked if the BIC did not extend the reduction, then the fees would revert back to higher level?  Ms. Madison said yes.
* Deputy City Attorney Malamut said as it stands now already a tight schedule.  If action was taken today to get to BOS, have the Mayor sign it, then goes into effect before February.  Part of work is to add amendment, but creates uncertainty.  DBI would be caught in limbo, and would raise then lower its fees.
* President McCarthy said the surplus issue was difficult, but he thought Ms. Madison gave a great presentation.

There was no public comment.

President McCarthy made a motion, seconded by Commissioner McCray, to extend the 7% fee reduction.

President McCarthy          Aye        Vice-President Mar        Nay
Commissioner Lee        Aye        Commissioner McCray    Aye    
Commissioner Walker    Nay        Commissioner Clinch        Aye

The motion carried 4 to 2.

RESOLUTION NO. BIC 055-14
    
5. Director’s Report
a. Update on DBI’s finances.

Ms. Taras Madison, Deputy Director of Finance, gave an update on DBI’s finances and discussed the following points:
* Revenue $5M deficit, based on the first 5 months.
* $3.5M based on the 7% fee reduction.
* Revenues gone down $4.4M
* High volumes of projects are coming in, but at a lower value.
* Permit activity remains robust, but valuation and revenues are lower.
* DBI spent $19M less
* Transfer to projects of $30M has not happened yet at Controller’s Office.
* DBI is working on expending revenues as they are earned.

Commissioner’s & Staff Question & Answer Discussion:
* Commissioner Walker asked if there was consideration that DBI needs to move into its future home of the department, and over a period of time DBI would not have a reserve.
* Ms. Madison said the reserve and capital projects are set aside.
* DBI will end the year with $300K
* Ms. Madison said she understood that in the past DBI was in a situation not to sustain itself, but that is not the case now.
* Commissioner Walker said the City was experiencing a construction bonanza right now, and wants Department to have enough staff to be ready for that.  
* Ms. Madison said there is no reason to cut services because there is money in the fund balance, and DBI hired over 30 people this fiscal year.

b. Update on proposed legislation.

Mr. Bill Strawn, Legislative and Public Affairs Manager, gave an update on proposed legislation and addressed the following items:
* File No. 131148- Authorization of Dwelling Units Installed Without a Permit.
6 month report was issued, 85-86 applicants, 1,100 inquiries, and environmental report details.  Ordinance requires DBI give status reports to the BOS with Planning.
* File No. 140806-Enhanced Ventilation.  Introduced by Supervisor Cohen, this amends Chapter 38 in Health Code requiring an enhanced ventilation system in building projects located within DPH’s Air Pollutant Exposure Zone.
There will be a working group session in early January that includes DBI, Fire, and other experts and they will discuss how to proceed.
* Ordinance No. 130119- Mandatory Seismic Retrofitting of Soft Story Buildings.
List is down to 57 non-compliant owners.  Owners have come forward to submit their screening forms.  Mayor of Los Angeles took a page out of S.F.’s book and are going to do a voluntary soft-story retrofit program.

c. Update on major projects.

Director Hui gave an update on major projects and said that compared to last month they have gone down by 4%.  The number of permits has increased, but the number of major projects has decreased.  

d. Update on code enforcement.

Dan Lowrey, Deputy Director of Inspection Services, gave an update on code enforcement and 
Deputy Director Lowrey presented the following Building Inspection Division Performance Measures for November 1, 2014 to November 30, 2014:

* Building Inspections Performed                4335
* Complaints Received                          194
* Complaint Response within 24-72 hours              155
* Complaints with 1st Notice of Violation sent              48            
* Complaints Received & Abated without NOV          139
* Abated Complaints with Notice of Violations             28
* 2nd Notice of Violations Referred to Code Enforcement          5

Deputy Director Lowrey presented the following Housing Inspection Services Performance Measures for October 1, 2014 to October 31, 2014: 

* Housing Inspections Performed                     694    
* Complaints Received                     303        
* Complaint Response in 24-72 hours             279    
* Complaints with NOVs issued             139
* Abated Complaints with NOVs                   287    
* # of Cases Sent to Director’s Hearing                 26
* Routine Inspections                       135    

Deputy Director Lowrey presented the following Code Enforcement Services Performance Measures for October 1, 2014 to October 31, 2014:
* # of Cases Sent to Director’s Hearing                   32    
* # of Order of Abatements Issues                                 - 
* # of Cases Under Advisement                                -
* # of Cases Abated                                     211
* Code Enforcement Inspections Performed             110
* # of Cases Referred to BIC-LC                     7
* # of Cases Referred to City Attorney                 -

There was no public comment.

12. 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 Lee said Bill Strawn mentioned authorizing dwelling units without permits.  He requested that the BIC be informed which applicants were not approved for permits, and if staff could research why they are not getting through.

Commissioner Walker mentioned code enforcement and staff doing research around short-term rentals.  She would like the staff to give an update regarding the new legislation with Planning and invite them to the next meeting.

Commissioner Walker wanted to discuss a follow up Joint Meeting with the Planning Commission, possibly in February or March.

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.

Secretary Harris said the next Regular Meeting of the BIC would be January 21, 2015.  There would also be a Special Budget Meeting on February 3, 2015.

V.P. Mar requested the Mayor’s Office of Housing to give a report regarding former HUD housing.

There was no public comment.

13. Review and approval of the minutes of the Regular Meeting of September 17, 2014. 

Commissioner McCray made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Walker to approve the minutes of the Regular Meeting of September 17, 2014.  The motion carried unanimously.

RESOLUTION NO. BIC 056-14

14. Adjournment.

Commissioner Walker made a motion, seconded by Vice-President Mar, to adjourn the meeting.   The motion carried unanimously.

RESOLUTION NO.BIC 057-14

The meeting was adjourned at 11:38 a.m.

 

                                            Respectfully submitted,

    

                                    _____________________
                                    Ann Aherne
                                    Commission Secretary, Retired

                                    

                                                               

        

SUMMARY OF REQUESTS BY COMMISSIONERS OR FOLLOW UP ITEMS   
Report from DBI regarding 3450 – 21st Street. – Walker, Mar
Page 7,8
Request presentation and report from the Controller’s Office regarding the delay of the fee study, and extending the 7% fee reduction. – Mar 

Page 9
Request to have an update regarding applications for legalization of units. – Lee 

Page 12
Discuss follow up Joint BIC and Planning Commission Meeting. – Walker, Mar
Page 12
Report from Mayor’s Office of Housing re:  former HUD Housing. – Mar  
Page 12