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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES Estes Park Board of Appeals 2017-04-13RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Estes Park Board of Appeals April 13, 2017 Board Room, Estes Park Town Hall Commission: Chair Don Darling, Vice -Chair Joe Calvin, Members Brad Klein, John Spooner, Tony Schiaffo Attending: Chair Darling, Vice -Chair Calvin, Members Spooner, Klein, & Schiaffo Also Attending: Chief Building Official (CBO) Will Birchfield, Community Development Director Randy Hunt, Building Inspector Claude Traufield, Plans Examiner Charlie Philips, Building Permit Technician Jacki Wiedow, Recording Secretary Karen Thompson Absent: None The following minutes reflect the order of the agenda and not necessarily the chronological sequence. Chair Darling called the meeting to order at 4:00 p.m. Each Board member introduced himself and provided their area of expertise. CONSENT AGENDA Minutes from March 2, 2017 Board of Appeals meeting. It was moved and seconded (Spooner/Klein) to approve the minutes as presented and the motion passed 5-0. PURPOSE OF MEETING The Board of Appeals meets as needed regarding matters of the Town of Estes Park's Division of Building Safety. They assisted with the adoption of the 2015 International Building Codes, and local amendments to those codes. INSURANCE SERVICE OFFICE (ISO) EVALUATION OF THE DIVISION OF BUILDING SAFETY CBO Birchfield reviewed the evaluation from the Insurance Service Office, which is a national auditing service of building departments. The rating is called the Building Code Effectiveness Grading Schedule (BCEGS). The BCEGS program audits various areas of building departments, including but not limited to: staff training, staff qualifications, community outreach, building code enforcement, etc. The various areas are compared to other area municipalities, the state, and national results. The lower the BCEGS rating, the higher the rating. CBO Birchfield stated about 100 hours of staff time is spent preparing for the audit. The Town was first evaluated in 1999, and a rating of 6 for both residential and commercial was awarded. Over the years, the ratings have improved, and in 2016 our commercial rating became a two, while residential remained a three, because we do not require sprinkler systems in residential buildings. CBO Birchfield explained that insurance companies may use those ratings to determine property insurance premiums. This report will be posted on the Town website. Chair Darling stated he appreciated the training the Town provided for the Board of Appeals members at the Colorado ICC Educational Institute. PROPOSED AMENDMENTS RELATING TO VACATION HOMES CBO Birchfield reviewed the flow chart that was presented at the March meeting. There is one chart for existing buildings and another for new buildings. For vacation homes with occupancies of nine or more, applicants must have had their application for 8 and under submitted before April 1, 2017 to be "grandfathered" in. The vacation homes in this category will be regulated by the International Residential Code (IRC). Those vacation homes with occupancies of more than eight who did not submit their application for eight or less will be regulated under the International Building Code (IBC). Sprinkling and ADA requirements will be in effect for those structures. For new construction, vacation homes for occupancies of nine and more will be required to be sprinkled when the square footage of the structure (excluding the garage) is more than 1800 square feet. The use as a vacation home is what will drive the sprinkler requirement. The use as a single-family dwelling will not require sprinklers. RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Estes Park Board of Appeals April 13, 2017 Board Room, Estes Park Town Hall HANDOUTS FOR VACATION HOME LIFE -SAFETY SURVEYS CBO Birchfield stated Inspector Traufield has been working on information regarding the Life -Safety Surveys, and it should be ready to present at the May Board of Appeals meeting. The Fire District is in support of the proposed changes to the building codes. The proposed amendments will be going to the Town Board the last meeting in April. REVIEW OF THE SUBMITTAL CHECKLIST FOR PROJECTS BUILDING UNDER THE INTERNATIONAL RESIDENTIAL CODE (IRC) CBO Birchfield stated the proposed submittal checklist has been reduced from the information required on the previous checklist. Plans Examiner Charlie Phillips presented the proposed checklist. The goal is to have everything on the checklist that is needed for review and approval of a building permit application. Member Spooner asked about how to make revisions to plans of issued permits, as there can be issues with revisions when storing only digital copies. The Division of Building Safety desires to have a set of As-Builts for each project to keep in our files. It is difficult to determine what was actually built when there are multiple changes in the field after the permit is issued. Staff will review the red -line process to determine where it can be fine-tuned. Following brief discussion, it was determined any Hazard Zones could be moved to the site plan, rather than as an overlay on the building plans. There was discussion about Ultimate Wind Speeds. Non -local engineers need to know how our wind speeds are determined so trusses can be designed to the appropriate requirements. There was brief discussion as to how to handle situations where plans from one designer want to be changed by a different designer. There was general consensus that any changes would be ethical only if the second designer had the permission of the first designer. Member Spooner requested Section III. J. say "landscape" retaining walls... There was discussion regarding approval of truss plans, as they are often submitted after the original plans. CBO Birchfield stated the "shop drawing stamp" would be acceptable for the building designer to stamp on the truss plans. Mr. Phillips stated there will be another checklist specifically for residential decks. Chair Darling stated elevation details are important, as often the HOAs want to see them. If the proposed building height is near the 30-foot limit, the Board of Adjustment may need to see them, if a variance is proposed. Mr. Phillips stated that regarding fire resistive construction and venting, the breakdown of the venting should be shown on the plans so the builder and inspector will know how it's designed. There was brief discussion and disagreement, and it was determined a note on the checklist about the requirement would be sufficient. Additional comments included but were not limited to: the building pages on the town website need to be updated with accurate information; Public Comment None. Member Comments Member Schiaffo stated there needed to be a few minor changes, but he was pleased with it overall. The April Board of Appeals meeting will be held Thursday, May 4, 2017 from 4-6 p.m. RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Estes Park Board of Appeals April 13, 2017 Board Room, Estes Park Town Hall There being no additional business, the meeting was adjou :.=•.at 6:08 p.m. Don D ing, Chair Karen Thompson, according Secretary