City of Fairlawn Zoning, Housing & Residential Building Department ANNUAL REPORT 2014 Enclosed you will find the annual report outlining the activities and programs of the Zoning, Housing & Residential Building Department as prepared by Christopher Randles, Zoning, Housing & Residential Building Commissioner.
TABLE OF CONTENTS Contents Permits/Certificates Issued 2 Code Enforcement 3 Inspections Performed 3 2014 Neighborhood Inspection Program 3 Residential Deck Inspection Program 4 Insurance Services Office Evaluation 5 Department Software Upgrade 5 Personnel 5 Residential Demolition Program 6 Commissions 7
Permits/Certificates Issued In 2014 the Department completed transactions for 564 permits and certificates totaling $97,777.19. The reported value of all construction in the City for the year was$17,949,444. Additionally, the Department certified a total of $20,526.13 to the County Fiscal Officer for collection for repair work that was completed under orders of the Real Property Maintenance Board in order to bring properties into compliance with the Property Maintenance Code. Following is a breakdown of all the transactions: Permit/Certificate # Entries Amount Rental Registration 250 $11,532.00 Enforcement Fines 1 $100.00 Bonds 9 $59,080.50 Permit Building 70 $2,618.99 Curb Cut 1 $75.00 Earth Hauling 1 $50.00 Excavation 2 $100.00 Excavation/Earth Hauling 6 $300.00 Roofing 9 $264.50 Siding 1 $35.00 Sign 72 $5,967.36 Special Event 12 $1,200.00 Zoning 62 $4,763.84 Zoning Use Certificate 68 $11,690.00 Amount due to the City after repairs performed under orders of Property Maintenance Board 4 $20,526.13 Page 2
Code Enforcement In 2014 the Department issued 184 violation letters. Based upon the violation letters sent, several followup inspections were performed as well as second notices sent in order to gain compliance. The compliance rate was 95% for remediating violations with eight properties forwarded to the Real Property Maintenance Board for remediation, one administrative penalty being issued and one appearance before Mayor s Court. Inspections Performed The Department performed a total of 1411 inspections for the year. This amount equates to approximately 5.6 inspections per working day. Following is a breakdown of the inspections performed: Property Maintenance 129 Building Inspections 144 Neighborhood Inspection Program 924 Misc. (Temp. Sign Removal, Gen. Insp., Vacant Homes) 150 Vacant Home Inspections 64 2014 Neighborhood Inspection Program The Inspection program consisted of inspections of the exterior of 774 residential properties distributed throughout the City in each Ward. More violations were noted this year (113) as compared to the same area in 2011 (81) but it is my opinion that the severity of the violations has decreased as we found many minor fading paint issues in the Villages of Fairlawn Subdivision which contributed to the uptick in violations found. The paint issue can be attributed to the fact the majority of homes were constructed around the same time in the 1990 s and the issues found were on building materials that require attention after 20 years. In my opinion, this is not systematic of a lack of property maintenance on behalf of the residents of this area. Following is a breakdown of the Program Inspections: Total properties inspected 774 Total properties with violations 113 Rentals inspected 58 Rentals with violations 14 Page 3
Types of Violations Single Family Homes Clean/Repair exterior walls 55 Rentals 7 Roof / Gutter / Downspout issues 11 5 Paint required for structure 50 7 Fence Acc. Structure issues 7 0 Trash / Rubbish 10 4 Garage door issues 9 0 Windows & Doors 6 2 Structural issues 8 4 Misc. 10 1 TOTAL 166 30 Residential Deck Inspection Program The City has established a valuable service to the residents. Upon request, City building inspectors will conduct an inspection of existing residential decks in order to determine the overall structural integrity of the deck. If any deficiencies of the structure are found, a written report is provided to the property owner so that they may use that as a guide for making repairs to the deficient components of the structure. Items that are inspected include, but are not limited to, deck ledger connection to the house, handrails, presence of any rotted or damaged wood members, proper size and span of frame members, and any tripping hazards. This service was started in conjunction with Building Safety Month in May and was promoted via resolution at City Council, in the local West Side Leader, City website, word of mouth by department staff and in Council newsletters. The City is uniquely positioned to provide this valuable service with no additional costs incurred to perform the essential duties. A total of ten inspections were performed in 2014. Page 4
Insurance Services Office Evaluation In the last quarter of 2014, the Insurances Services Office (ISO) performed an evaluation of the Building Code Effectiveness for the City s administration and enforcement of the required State Building Code. ISO conducts ratings of all Building Departments nationally to determine their effectiveness with administration of the code as it relates to insured losses. Insurance underwriters have access to the ratings and may provide credits to their policies in recognition of community efforts to mitigate property damage through enforcement of building codes. On a score of 1 to 10 with 1 being exceptional the City rated a 4. This rating is an improvement of the previous rating of 5 in 2009. According to the metrics used by ISO to evaluate Building Departments, Fairlawn scored better than the national and state average in the following areas: adoption of building code, modifications to building code, certified personnel performing code duties and total overall rating. This evaluation shows the commitment the City of Fairlawn has to the residents by effectively administering the Residential Code of Ohio and thereby mitigating hazards in the built environment. Department Software Upgrade In the last quarter of 2014 the permitting software was upgraded to a newer version with the same vendor. With the upgraded permitting software, personnel now have tablets available to input inspection results in the field, thereby reducing the amount of time spent note taking and issuing notices. Additionally, the City now has the ability to accept online permit applications and accept credit card payments. Homeowners and contractors are now able to request inspections and see inspection results online as well. By adding the online functionality, the Department has become a leader in the area for online services available to residents and contractors. Personnel In September, Micki Thomas retired with 15 years of full-time service in the department and many more years of service with the administration of Civil Service prior to her full time employment. The Civil Service duties have been moved to the Executive Assistant to the Mayor and Pam Shell was promoted from law clerk to become the department s Administrative Professional. With the change of personnel, the administration of the Community Improvement Corporation of Fairlawn, Ohio was also moved into the Department. Continuing Education continues to be an important asset and Christopher Randles and Bill Arnold attended the 2014 Ohio Building Officials Conference in Columbus Ohio in the first quarter of the year. Mr. Randles attended several Economic Development Seminars in line with the Mayor s goal of Page 5
promoting and retaining existing business as well as attracting new business to the City. Following is a list of courses attended by the staff of the department: Christopher Randles: William Arnold 1. Understanding the 2009 IECC (2hrs) 2. Deck, Porch, Balcony Framing Connection (3hrs) 3. Inspecting Brick Structures (3hrs) 4. Chapter 1 Administration (2hrs) 5. Product Approvals and Special Inspections (3hrs) 6. Four Steps to Safe Truss Installations Concepts (3hrs) 7. Building Official Training and Code Book Update (3hrs) 8. Ohio Basic Economic Development Course (16hrs) 9. Building Competitive Advantage to Win Training (16hrs) Total Continuing Education 51 hours 1. Understanding the 2009 IECC (2hrs) 2. Deck, Porch, Balcony Framing Connection (3hrs) 3. Inspecting Brick Structures (3hrs) 4. Chapter 1 Administration (2hrs) 5. Product Approvals and Special Inspections (3hrs) 6. Four Steps to Safe Truss Installations Concepts (3hrs) 7. Building Official Training and Code Book Update (3hrs) 8. 2009 IECC Fundamentals Field Inspection (3hrs) 9. Fire resistance of Floors & Equivalent Protection Options (1hr) 10. Tall Wall Seminar (2hrs) 11. Product Testing & Certification Process (3hrs) Total Continuing Education 28 hours Residential Demolition Program In 2014 the Department administered the demolition of five vacant residential homes. Working closely with the CIC, the Department contracted to demolish homes at three properties the CIC purchased. Grant money was used for the demolition of two of the structures. Additionally, two other homes were demolished through orders issued by the Real Property Maintenance Board with all costs assessed back to the land owner. Two more homes are planned for demolition in the first quarter of 2015. Of the five homes demolished; three lots are listed for sale, one lot is land banked for future development and one lot remains fallow. Additionally, the City and CIC were able to work with Habitat for Humanity and Paws for Prayers to donate salvageable building materials from three homes prior to demolition. The value of materials donated was $2,212. Page 6
Commissions Planning Commission In 2014 the Planning Commission reviewed 20 requests for approval and collected $5,200 in fees. Some notable projects reviewed and approve included the rezoning of vacant land on South Cleveland Massillon Road to allow the construction of an automatic car wash, the demolition and reconstruction of a bank building for a new US Bank branch at 2635 West Market Street, Conditional Use permit approval to allow an urgent care clinic operated by University Hospitals at 3800 Embassy Parkway, approval of an addition to Faith Lutheran Church, approval of a new free standing restaurant at Summit Mall, rezoning approval to allow a new retail building at the location of the former Wendy s restaurant and changes to the Zoning Code prohibiting Rooming and Boarding Homes in all residential districts. The value of all construction approved in 2014 by the Planning Commission is $7,007,500 Board of Building & Zoning Appeals In 2014 the BZA decided on 26 requests for variance. The Board collected $3,600 in fees and had ten meetings during the year. Real Property Maintenance Board The Board heard eight cases all of which were brought to the board by Zoning Staff pursuing orders to make repairs in order to remove code violations. Four cases were a request by the City for demolition of structures, all of which were granted by the Board. Three structures have been removed by contractors with one house scheduled for demolition in the first quarter of 2015. With the orders issued by the board, the Zoning Commissioner was able to have a dilapidated in-ground swimming pool removed, two houses demolished and replace a roof and gutters on a single family house. All work performed, totaling $20,526.13, has been assessed to the tax bill of the real property for reimbursement. The board held four meetings in 2014. Community Improvement Corporation The CIC met 8 times during the year and discussed numerous projects. The CIC purchased three residential properties and the Zoning Department contracted the demolition three structures with a third to be demolished in the first quarter of 2015. Of these properties, two are currently on the market for sale as vacant land, one 5 acre parcel is being land banked for future development and one property will be incorporated into Fort Island Park as greenspace. The Zoning Department was able to secure three grants to reimburse the costs of demolition on three of the properties purchased by the CIC. Page 7