HomeMy WebLinkAboutCouncil Provided Information - 12/9/2024COUNCIL STAFF
REPORT
CITY COUNCIL of SALT LAKE CITY
TO:City Council Members
FROM: Nick Tarbet, Policy Analyst
DATE: Dec. 10, 2024
RE:Title 18 Text Amendment: Building Code,
Boarded Buildings Administration and
Fee Updates.
PROJECT TIMELINE:
Briefing 1: May 30, 2024
Briefing 2: Dec. 3, 2024
Set Date: May 21, 2024
Public Hearing: June 4, 2024
Potential Action: Dec. 10, 2024
WORK SESSION SUMMARY
During the follow-up briefing, the Council did not raise any significant concerns or request any changes to
the ordinance.
This item is on the December 10 agenda for potential action.
The following information was provided for the December 3 work session briefing.
NEW INFORMATION
During the May 30 briefing, the Council asked the administration to come back with recommendations
that could be included in the final ordinance regarding the following concepts:
Increase the fines for building code violations
Increase the annual fee for boarded buildings
Create a separate fee for commercial vs. residential buildings and charging commercial buildings a
higher fee
Consider an escalating fee for the annual fee
o Charging the maximum amount allowed after a certain year (3 or 5 years were both
mentioned)
Establish a better definition of compliance after violating a building code.
o Consider requiring any damage that occurred to adjacent properties to be made whole
before the work permit is reissued.
Page | 2
Clarify that the timeclock on a boarded building does not restart due to a transfer of ownership.
The Public hearing was held on June 4. The Council closed the public hearing and deferred action.
The administration has updated the ordinance based on the Council's feedback. The outline below shows
how the Council’s policy direction was incorporated and where it is in the draft ordinance. Administrative
staff feel these changes, in conjunction with their updated administrative enforcement policies, put them in
a much stronger position to enforce building code violations successfully. One example is the Building
Code Enforcement Team (BCE Team), which Building Services recently created.
This team will ensure better coordination and enforcement between the building inspectors and the
enforcement staff. This will help improve the enforcement of building code and zoning violations in the
following ways:
Review with permit processors any properties with multiple pending permits
Monitor cases more closely so that issues are identified as early as possible.
Handle complaints and assign senior staff to address and help follow up on any issues.
Funnel permits cases through fewer staff so that multiple people are not involved in one case,
creating ineffective awareness and/or enforcement.
Increase focus on expiring permits when allowed by code, organize multiple permit issues, and
begin fines immediately. Permits can expire if they have not progressed for 180 days.
o Written documentation will also be required and reviewed to reinstate any expired permit.
Fines for violations have been increased and will be applied to properties,
o Multiple fines can be applied to a property – Each for $100/day.
o When fines accrue to $14,000, the City will take the case to small claims court, which
requires the contractor and/or permit holder to appear. This can repeat as long as fines
accrue, at each $14,000 mark.
o All staff is receiving biannual training on survey protocol to follow up on any potential
issues. Made clear that surveys will be required (at the permit holder's expense) as deemed
necessary by City inspectors/enforcement.
Issue Change Ordinance
Citation
Increase the fines for
building code violations
Violation of Title 18 $100
(except Ch. 18.50 or Stop Work Order)
Violation of Stop Work Order: $250
Exhibit A
Line 6378
Increase the annual fee
for boarded buildings
Create a separate fee for
commercial vs.
residential buildings and
charging commercial
buildings a higher fee
Boarding registration fee
Residential Years 1&2: $3,000
Non-Residential Years 1 & 2: $6,000
Residential Years 3-5 $6,000
Non-Residential Years 3-5 $9,000
Residential Years 6 or more $,9000
Non-Residential Years 6 or more $14,000
Exhibit A
Line 6378
Page | 3
Consider an escalating
fee for the annual fee.
Charging the maximum
amount allowed after a
certain year (3 or 5 years
were both mentioned)
Boarding registration fee for a
contributing structure or landmark site $14,000
Clarify that the
timeclock on a boarded
building does not restart
due to a transfer of
ownership.
18.48.215: Yearly Registration Fees:
A change in ownership shall not restart the yearly amount of
registration fees, but such fees shall increase as set forth in
the Salt Lake City consolidated fee schedule in accordance
with the amount of time that the property has been
registered.
Lines 2736-2738
Establish a better
definition of compliance
after violating a building
code.
Include language that clearly states permits issued do not
allow a permit holder to negatively impact an adjacent
property.
18.04.070: LIABILITY LIMITATIONS:
Nothing in this title shall be construed to relieve or lessen the
responsibility of any contractor, owner, or any other persons
involved, for apparatus, construction or equipment installed
by or for them, for damages to anyone injured or damaged
either in person or property by any defect therein, nor shall
the city or any employee thereof be held to assume any
liability by reason of the inspections authorized herein, or the
certificate of occupancy issued by the building official of the
division of building and housing services. The provisions of
this title are not intended to interfere with, abrogate, or
require enforcement by the city of any legally enforceable
easements, covenants, or other agreements between private
parties that may restrict the use of the land. Permits or other
approvals issued pursuant to this title provide no right to
encroach or interfere with the private property of third
parties.
Lines 110-114
If supportive of these changes, the Council may wish to direct staff to put this on the December 10 agenda
for potential adoption.
The following information was provided for the May 30 work session briefing. It is
provided again for background purposes.
Page | 4
ISSUE AT-A-GLANCE
The Council will receive a briefing on a proposed ordinance that would amend the text of Titles 2, 5, 18 and
21A of the Salt Lake City Code, regarding Boarded Building Fees and enforcement of building code
violations. If adopted, the Code would be amended in the following ways:
This proposal increases fees associated with the boarded building program to reflect the City’s
actual cost of regulation.
Eliminate code that is duplicative or irreconcilable with state-wide adopted building codes
Creates an administrative enforcement mechanism for building code violations.
Updates existing residential housing standards based on precedent from the Housing Advisory
Appeals Board and creates one standard appeal process to a streamlined Board of Appeals and
Examiners for any violation of Title 18.
Updates portions of Title 21A related to zoning enforcement to reflect existing City Administrative
practices and increases daily fines associated with uncorrected zoning violations.
The changes were requested during previous Council conversations. In 2022, the City Council requested
that the Administration review and propose a change in boarded building fees to capture the full City cost
of both monitoring/boarding and emergency services of dangerous/boarded buildings. The majority of
these recommended changes in this petition resulted from that request.
Additionally, when the Council adopted the Housing Incentives in December of 2023, the Council officially
requested the Administration forward a transmittal that would make recommendations for code changes to
safeguard that construction work may not damage adjacent properties, establish a process to help remedy
situations when damage has occurred, and include penalties that will discourage damage from being done.
Changes pertaining to this request are included in Section 2 Building Code Enforcement Process, of the
information below (pages 2- 3).
Please note, the majority of the Consolidated Fee Schedule (CFS) will be discussed by the Council on June
4, 2024. If the Council is supportive of adopting both of these items, staff will prepare motions to ensure
there are not conflicts between the two ordinances.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
1. Boarded Building Amendments
Proposed Fee
o The City’s Finance Department conducted a cost analysis and found that each boarded
building permit costs the City $15,551 annually.
This was updated in March 2024 based on additional review by the Finance
Department. The original estimate noted in the Planning Commission staff
report was $22,537.
The cost to the City includes zoning enforcement for weeds and other
maintenance issues, public safety calls & responses (due to trespassing or
fires), permit review for boarding, and monitoring for building requirements,
etc.
o The Fee Study recommended a maximum proposed fee increase to be $14,000 due to
small claims collections requirements.
o The current renewal fee is $1,546.
Page | 5
o Building services is recommending potential boarding registration fee increases up to
$14,000 per year. ($14,850 for a contributing structure or landmark site)
o This fee will be listed in the Consolidated Fee Schedule. (CFS)
Program Changes
o Changing the program from an annual boarding permit to an annual registration.
A registry more accurately reflects the nature of the City’s monitoring and
regulation, since boarding does not necessarily occur every year (as a permit
suggests).
o Recording notices against the title for properties on the registry to let any interested
buyer know that (1) the property is subject to the registry with annual registration fees,
and (2) that boarding costs actually incurred by the City may be outstanding (which
fees could be a lien against the title once sent to the Salt Lake County Treasurer).
o Incorporates a standard citation and appeal process if the registration is not current,
which will be the same for any Title 18 violation (found in Chapters 18.24 and 18.12).
2. Building Code Enforcement Process (Chapters 18.12, 18.24, and 2.21, and Section
5.14.125)
Based on several factors ranging from updated state building code, process streamlining
and improvements as well as staffing needs, significant updates to this section of the City
code were needed. The proposed changes include the following:
o The Board of Appeals and Examiners has been streamlined to require only one
appeal hearing officer, along with the building official as an ex-officio member (this
building official status on the board is consistent with state-adopted building code).
o The Housing Advisory Appeals Board is being eliminated in favor of one appeal
body – the Board of Appeals and Examiners (which the City must have according to
state-adopted building code) – to reduce administrative burden and keep appeal
processes consistent.
o A standard appeal process for any violation of Title 18 has been added to Chapter
18.12. This process is nearly identical to an appeal of an administrative decision
made pursuant to Title 21A.
o A fines-only appeal process for any violation of Title 18 has been added to Chapter
18.12. This process is identical to the fines-only appeal process for a zoning code
violation.
The following changes address the council’s request to “safeguard that construction
work may not damage adjacent properties”
o Significant changes to Chapter 18.24 were made to describe the City’s remedies in
the event of a violation of Title 18, which will now include a civil citation and civil
fines process. This process is nearly identical to the process for citing and fining
individuals and businesses for zoning violations.
o New fines are being adopted now that a civil citation process has been created
within Title 18. General violations will be $100 per day; violation of a stop work
order will be $250 per day; housing code (Chapter 18.50) violations will be between
$50 and $200 per day depending on the severity of the violation.
o Currently Title 18 only permits enforcement by stop work order and criminal
proceedings.
Page | 6
o With these new standardized enforcement and appeal processes, in addition to the
criminal proceedings, the City will have a more effective tool to get properties and
construction projects into compliance.
The current cost for criminal violations of the building code is a $1,000 fine,
double permit fees, a stop work order, or a re-inspection fee of $75.00.
Implementation of the assessment of daily fines for civil violations will make the
fines high enough that they will not be ignored by the property owner or
contractor. This will give us a better enforcement tool for future construction
violations and decrease the number of violations not rectified.
3. Housing Code Updates (Chapters 18.50 and 18.96)
These proposed changes will update code references in Chapter 18.50 to conform with the Utah
adopted International Construction Codes (ICC).
They also incorporate the standard citation appeal process for Title 18 violations.
Residential rental housing owners will receive a warning notice before a citation is issued.
4. Removal of Duplicative or Overlapping Code
Since it’s been decades since Title 18 was comprehensively updated, old and outdated sections
have been removed.
5. Zoning Code Enforcement
Parts of the zoning enforcement chapter (Chapter 21A.20) are necessary to reflect Building
Services updated civil citation and fine process for Title 18.
o Building Services’ current citation process is now reflected, including when a notice and
order can be issued, what it needs to include, how it needs to be sent, and a recipient’s
ability to appeal the notice and order.
o Zoning violations fines are being increased from $25 to $50 per day for residential
properties and from $100 to $200 per day for commercial properties.
o A new fine amount for failing to have a certificate of appropriateness for work on the
exterior of historic district properties is proposed at $50 per day, but if the work that
was done is a full or partial demolition of a contributing or landmark structure, then the
fine would be $250 per day.
(The enforcement process and fines for work done without a certificate of
appropriateness was recently updated and approved by the Council when they
adopted the amendments related to enforcement of work done without a
Certificate of Appropriateness. The fine is $250 per day for full or partial
demolition of a contributing structure without a certificate of appropriateness
and $500 per day for full or partial demolition of a landmark site without a
certificate of appropriateness. CAN Staff will send an updated ordinance that
matches the recent changes made by the Council)
o Clarifying that citation notices can be sent by any reputable mail tracking service that
confirms delivery, as opposed to just by “certified mail” or “commercial courier service.”
POLICY QUESTIONS
1. Amendments proposed based on the Council’s request to “safeguard that construction work may
not damage adjacent properties” include creating civil citations and fine process. (section 2 above)
Do these changes address the concerns raised by the Council?
Page | 7
What additional remedies could be available if there is a property line dispute between
adjacent property owners? Could a provision be added that would require immediate
repairs if any damage is done?
2. The Administration had proposed a preferred fee for the boarded building registration. Page 4 of
the transmittal letter says notes Building Services is recommending potential boarding registration
fee increases in the range of $3,000, $6,000, or $14,000 per year. The table at the end of the draft
ordinance has the fee listed as $14,000. This fee will be listed in the CFS.
The Council may wish to ask the Administration what their recommended fee is.
3. In previous discussions the potential of having a different fee for residential vs. commercial
boarded/dangerous buildings was raised. The intent of the higher fee is to discourage property
owners from keeping buildings that attract nuisance issues. Staff time that goes into enforcement
for residential and commercial basically is the same.
The Council may wish to ask the administration to explain if one fee is recommended or if it
makes sense to have a different fee for commercial vs. residential.
If a building is not boarded for a full year, is there a discount or pro-rated refund of fees
paid?
4. Building Services is recommending a potential boarding registration fee of $14,850 for a
contributing structure or landmark site. $850 more than a typical building.
The Council may want to ask the Administration why the fee for a contributing structure or
landmark site has a higher proposed fee.
PLN PM2023-00868 VAKF
Q �
1841 /
TITLE 18 PROPOSED
AMENDMENTS
City Council Meeting - Month DD 202X
TIMELINE
OCT 26, 2023
RCOs and Property
Owners Notified
Salt Lake City Building Services
OCT DEC 2023
Comment Review
Period
000
0 'd
"I f
JAN MAR 2024
Open House and
Planning Commission
APR JUNE 2024
Council Vote
ORDINANCE AMENDMENTS
Chapter 18.48
Boarded Building Fees
Salt Lake City Building Services
Chapter 18.24
Building Construction
Enforcement
Chapter 18.50
Existing Residential
Housing
VACANT/SECURE BUILDING
An unoccupied building having all
openings, such as windows and doors,
secured against entry, where windows
are fully glazed and the
secured by means of a
(Ord. 53-20, 2020)
Salt Lake City Building Services
doors are
lock.
BOARDED BUILDING
A building in which accessible
openings, such as windows and doors,
are secured by a secondary means
against entry.
Examples of securing a building by a
secondary means includes, but is not
limited to, boarding and fencing.
Salt Lake City Building Services
Salt Lake City Building Services
BOARDING PROCESS
.............* ..............I
1. BUILDING IDENTIFIED
Building inspected to determine status.
If the status is deemed Unsecured or Boarded
Building* it will be inspected monthly, until
the building becomes occupied.
Salt Lake City Building Services
................0...............
2. BOARDING REQUEST
Initial 10-day notice sent, requesting
boarding or securing of the building. If not
completed within 10 days, the City sends a
contractor to board the property.
3. COST RECOVERY FOR BOARDING
Bill sent to property owner for contractor cost,
plus administrative fee. If unpaid within 30
days, the City will place a lien on the property.
Contractor Cost: $500+
Administrative Fee: $129
Proposed Administrative Fee: $500
BOARDING PROCESS
Over 4 Months
4. CONTINUED MONITORING
Property inspected monthly to monitor
status. If the status is deemed Unsecured the
process restarts.
Annual Boarding Fee assessed for buildings
that remain boarded longer than 4 months
(start date based on the initial 10-day notice).
Salt Lake City Building Services
................0...............
5. ANNUAL BOARDING FEES
Bill sent to property owner for Annual Fees.
Initial Permit Fee (first year): $902
Annual Fee (after the first year): $1,546
Proposed Annual Fee Residential/Non-Residential:
• Years 1&2: $3,000/ $6,000
• Years 3-5: $6,000/ $9,000
• Years 6 or more: $9,000/ $14,000
6. COLLECTION OF ANNUAL FEES
If unpaid within 30 days, the unpaid amounts
are summited to Small Claims Court.
Typically, a judgment is awarded for any
unpaid fees.
18.48 BOARDING FEES
Increase fees associated with boarded buildings
and add an enhanced fee for the boarding
abatement of contributing structures to realign
the actual costs of operating and administering a
boarded building program into the associated
boarding permit fees.
Boarding Registration (vs boarding permit).
Salt Lake City Building Services
DID YOU KNOW...
Boarded buildings incur many city services from Civil
Enforcement, Police and Fire departments. The current
boarding permit fee represents approximately 5% of the
actual cost of administering these services.
CONSTRUCTION ENFORCEMENT
Have the building code enforcement appeal
process mirror the existing zoning code
enforcement appeal process.
Create fines for Title 18 construction violations:
General Violations: $100/day
Violation of a stop work order: $250/day
Housing code violations: $50-$200/day
(depending on violation).
Salt Lake City Building Services
CONSTRUCTION ENFORCEMENT
Create a civil penalty enforcement option for
building construction violations similar to the
current SLC zoning enforcement.
Civil Notice and Order, daily fines, small claims
court, hearing officer for reduction of fines after
compliance.
Salt Lake City Building Services
EXISTING HOUSING
Update the technical requirements of Title 18 to
match current building codes and eliminate
portions of Title 18 that are repetitive of building
codes.
The purpose of this chapter is to provide for the
health, safety, comfort, convenience and aesthetics of
Salt Lake City and its present and future inhabitants
and businesses, to protect the tax base, and to protect
property values within the city.
Salt Lake City Building Services
EXISTING HOUSING
REQUIREMENTS FOR EXISTING DWELLINGS
UBC code references replaced with ICC
Delivery of Notice by reputable mail service
HAAB appeals replaced with Board of Appeals
Salt Lake City Building Services
Salt Lake City Building Services