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HomeMy WebLinkAbout00-3265BUILDING, PLUMBING, ELECTRICAL CODE AMMENDMENT ORDINANCE NO. 00-3265 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF PLAINVIEW, TEXAS AMENDING CHAPTERS 6, 10 & 20 OF THE PLAINVIEW CODE OF ORDINANCES SEVERABILITY CLAUSE, CUMULATIVENESS CLAUSE; CONFLICTS CLAUSE; AND EFFECTIVE DATE. WHEREAS, The Board members of the Plumbing, Electrical and Building Code/Fire Code Boards have unanimously agreed to combine these Boards into one Board, and WHEREAS, The City Council of the City of Plainview finds it in the best interest of the citizens of Plainview to form a single board to cover the areas of Plumbing, Electrical, Building Code/Fire Code and to conserve time and resources, NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY OF PLAINVIEW HEREBY ORDAINS: SECTION I: Chapter 6 - Buildinqs to be amended as follows: Board, §§ 6-41 to 6-53 ARTICLEI. IN GENERAL Sec. 6-1. Building permit fees. The City shall charge and collect, and every applicant for a building permit shall pay the following fees: (a) Inspection of house outside City (Fee is based on IRS standard mileage rate, plus hourly rate for Code Administration, plus 15% administrative fee. (v) Inspection called for after hours $25.00 (After hours insplections are between the hours of 5:00 pm and 8:00 am Monday through Friday. All day weekends and City recognized holidays.) Sec. 6-17. Amendments to Uniform Buildin.cl Code. Section 107 shall be amended to read as follows: Section 107.2 Any person desiring a building permit shall at the time of filing an application as provided in Section 301, of this Code, pay to the Building Official a fee as set by ordinance. There shall be no charge for the first re-inspection of a new building or addition or alterations of old buildings. When more than one re-inspection is required, a re-inspection fee of $20.00 for each additional re-inspection shall be charged. The re-inspection fee must be paid before further inspections will be made. Ordinance 00-3265 Page 1 of 8 (c) Whenever any person or persons shall make an application for a building permit for a building or structure which is to be moved from outside the City limits of the City of Plainview, to a place inside the City limits, said person shall deposit with the Building Official, a sum of money equal to the IRS standard mileage rate per mile for each mile necessary to travel round trip from the City limits of Plainview to the building, plus a sum of money equal to the current hourly rate for Code Administration, plus 15% administrative fee, per hour based upon the Building Official's estimated time required to make the inspection and in traveling to said building and returning to the City limits of the City of Plainview with a minimum of one hour charged on each inspection. Said deposit shall become the property of the City of Plainview and is to pay for the expense for inspecting said building and shall not be returned to the person making application regardless of whether or not the Building Permit is issued. Such payment shall be in addition to the regular fees required for issuing a building permit as prescribed by ordinance. (d) The Building Official may designate a competent deputy to make such inspection for him/her. ARTICLE III. BOARD OF APPEALS Sec. 6-41. Board established; membership; procedure. The Board shall consist of seven (7) members and four (4) alternates, who will be called to serve on the Board in the event a regular member cannot be present. All members appointed shall be residents of the City of Plainview at the time of their appointment and dudng their term of office. Sec. 6-42. Name. The Board shall be known Appeals. as the City of Plainview Building Trades and Fire Code Board of Sec. 6-43. Composition. The Board shall consist of members with the following qualifications: (a) One (1) Building Contractor (b) One (1) Licensed Master Electrician (c) One (1) Representative of the local Electrical Service Provider (d) One (1) Licensed Master Plumber (e) One (1) Representative of the local Gas Service Provider (f) Two (2) persons who by experience have working knowledge of the above trades. (g) Four (4) alternates who meet any of the above qualifications (h) The City Building Official, or his/her authorized representative shall be an ex-officio member and serve as secretary for the Board without voting privileges. (i) The City Engineer shall be an ex-officio member of the Board without voting privileges. (j) The City Fire Marshall or other representative of the Fire Department as determined by the Fire Chief, shall be an ex-officio member of the Board without voting privileges. Sec. 6-44. terms. Appointment. The members of the Board shall be appointed by the City Council, and shall serve staggered Sec. 6-45. Terms. Each member of the Board shall serve for a term of four (4) years or until their replacement is appointed. There shall be no limit on the number of terms a member may serve. Sec. 6-46. Notice of meetings. Each meeting of the Board shall be legally posted as required by Chapter 551 Texas Government Code and ex-officio members and members of the Board shall be notified in writing not less than three (3) days prior to the date of any meeting. Ordinance 00-3265 Page 2 of 8 Sec. 6-47. Mandatory attendance requirement. Each member of the Board shall attend no less than 75% of the regular meetings called by the officers of the Board. The secretary of the Board shall make a quarterly report to the City Council showing the attendance of each member of the Board. Any representative failing to attend 75% of the regular meetings legally called dudng any calendar year without an excused absence, as determined by a majodty vote of the Board members, shall automatically be disqualified for service on the Board and shall be replaced by the City Council. Sec. 6-48. Vacation of office. Should a member of the Board move from the City or otherwise become disqualified for any other reason, he/she shall vacate the office. Sec. 6-49. Removal A Board member may be removed from office by the City Council, with cause. Sec.6-50. Filling vacancies. Vacancies occurring in the membership of the Board shall be filled by appointment for the unexpired term, by the City Council. Sec. 6-51. Compensation All Board members shall serve without compensation. Sec. 6-52 Officers, Quorum The Board shall meet as soon after appointment as possible and select a chair and vice-chair from within its number and may adopt such rules as it deems necessary for the orderly conduct of its affairs. A full complete record of the proceedings of said Board shall be kept by the secretary of the Board, or his/her designee. Four (4) members of this Board shall constitute a quorum. Sec. 6-53. Duties and powers of the Board. (a) Right of Appeal. Any person, firm or corporation aggrieved by any interpretation of the Building Code, Sign Code, Plumbing Code, Electrical Code, Fire Code or Life Safety Code, or by a decision or ruling by the Building Official or Fire Marshall under these codes shall have the right to make an appeal to the Building Trades and Fire Code Board of Appeals. (b) Hearings of the Board. Within a period of ten (10) days from the filing of the appeal, the Board shall schedule to hear the appeal at its next regularly scheduled meeting, or if circumstances require, may schedule a special meeting to hear the appeal, together with the testimony of all parties concerned, and render a decision thereon within three (3) days thereafter. In hearing such an appeal, the Board shall not have the power to waive or set aside the requirements of these codes, but shall have the power to interpret its provision and in case of alternate types of construction or material, shall determine whether standards of this code have been substantially complied with, considering adequacy, stability, strength, sanitation and safety to the public health and welfare. Any person, firm, or corporation who may be aggrieved by the decision of the Board shall have a right of appeal to the City Council within ten (10) days from the rendition of such decision. Said appeal shall be pe#ected by written notice addressed to the City Manager asking for a hearing by the City Council. The action of the City Council thereon shall be final. Except that due process shall not be denied and further appeal may be made to the nearest court of competent jurisdiction. (c) Advisory Responsibility of the Board. The Board shall submit to the City Council such recommendation for the improvement and revision of these Codes as it may from time to time deem necessary and proper in light of the development of new materials, methods or techniques which would result in a better and more economical installation. All requests for use of materials or methods not covered in these Codes shall be fully supported by factual Ordinance 00-3265 Page 3 of 8 evidence, or prior approval, from a recognized testing agency or such impartial qualified authority acceptable to the Board. (d) Licensing. The Board shall set requirements for licensing of various trades as they pertain to the City of Plainview. SECTION Il: Chapter 10 Electricity to be amended as follows: Sec. 10-3. Definitions. For the purpose of this chapter the following words shall be defined as herein stated. ' In the event of a dispute as to the meaning on an application of any work, phrase or descriptive term as used herein, a determination of meaning by the Board shall be conclusive on all parties. For the purpose of this chapter the following words shall have the following meanings: Board: The term "Board" shall mean the City of Plainview Building Trades and Fire Code Board of Appeals. ARTICLE II. ELECTRICAL INSPECTOR AND ASSISTANTS Sec. 10-24. Records; funds. (b) Moneys received. The electrical inspector shall tum over to the general fund of the City of Plainview all moneys and payments received by his office and from the Board. ARTICLE III. BOARD OF ELECTRICAL EXAMINERS Sec. 10-41. See Section 6-41 of the City of Plainview Code of Ordinances for means of Appeal. Secs. 10-42 to 10-60. Reserved. ARTICLE IV. LICENSES AND BONDS Sec. 10-62. Eligibility for master electrician and master sign electrician license; exemptions. (a) To be eligible to hold a license as a Master Electrician within the City of Plainview, each applicant for such license shall be a high school graduate or the equivalent thereof, shall have had five years of Joumeymen level experience under the supervision of a licensed and bonded Master Electrician or equivalent, shall have passed an examination for Journeyman Electrician, be the holder of a Journeyman Electrician's License, and shall demonstrate his/her professional competency by passing an examination for Master Electrician with a minimum grade of 70%. Sec. 10-63. Eligibility for iourneyman electrician and iourneyman sign electrician license. (a) To be eligible to hold a license as a Journeyman Electrician, each applicant for such license shall be a high school graduate or the equivalent thereof, shall have had five years experience as an Apprentice in electrical construction under the supervision of a licensed and bonded Master Electrician or equivalent, and shall demonstrate his/her qualifications by passing an examination for Journeyman Electrician with a minimum grade of 70%. Ordinance 00-3265 Page4 of 8 Sec. 10-65. Interpretation of eligibility. All questions arising concerning the eligibility of an application for an examination under this chapter shall be decided by a majority vote of the full Board. Sec. 10-67. Application for electrical license. Each applicant for any class of electrician's license provided for herein shall make a written application designating the type of license which the applicant seeks, upon forms prepared and furnished by the Board and shall file same in the office of Secretary of said Board. All blanks provided on said application forms shall be filled in by the applicant with the information sought, or with an explanation as to why applicant's circumstances justify omission of such information. The Board shall review each application and after approval of the application, the applicant shall be notified as to the time and place of such examination following the day his application is approved. Upon approval for examination, the applicant shall complete the examination within ninety (90) days, otherwise a new application must be completed and approved by the Board. Master and Journeyman electrical licensing requirements are established by the Panhandle Regional Electrical Licensing Association. Sec. 10-68. Examination fees. The following schedule of fees shall be charged each applicant for the electrical license and said fee shall be paid to the Secretary of the Board on or before taking the respective examination. The fees required to be paid herein are in addition to the license fees, which are hereinafter required. The examination fees herein required shall not be retumable to the applicant for any reason and all sums collected by the Secretary of the Board shall be paid over to the General Fund of the City. The fees are as follows: Sec. 10-69. Examination procedures. Each applicant for an electrician's license shall report at the time and place specified by the Board for examination and each applicant shall take the examination authorized by the Board under such supervision as the Board may direct. Sec. 10-70. License fees. The fees herein enumerated and required by this section shall be paid and delivered to the Secretary of the Board within thirty (30) days after the applicant is notified he/she has passed the examination. Complete re-application and re-examination will be required if such fee is not paid and required bond posted within the time herein specified. All license fees collected by the Secretary of the Board shall be paid over to the General Fund of the City. Sec. 10-72. Expiration and renewal. (a) Each license issued by the City of Plainview shall expire at midnight on December 31 of the year for which it is issued and application for the renewal thereof shall be made in such form, as the Board shall prescribe. Applications for renewal of said licenses may be made between the first day of October and the 31 st day of December. (b) The Board may refuse to renew any class of electrical license and may require such applicant to make application for examination for such license, upon a finding of any of the following; Sec. 10-73. Renewal fees. The fees as listed above shall be charged for the renewal of any licenses, provided applications for renewal of such license is made within the time provided and before expiration of applicant's license. However, any license may be renewed during the succeeding twelve (12) months from its expiration date upon approval of the renewal by the Board and payment of the fee for the odginal license. No license may be renewed after a period of twelve (12) months from the expiration date of the odginal license. After the expiration of such twelve (12) month period, any person desidng any electrical license authorized to be issued under this chapter shall be required to qualify by taking the examination for such class of license as may be desired, and pay the original fee for such license. Ordinance 00-3265 Page 5 of 8 Sec. 10-76. Permanent place of business. (b) Every master electrician maintaining a permanent place of business within the corporate limits of the City shall directly supervise all electrical work by the firm's employees or shall employ another master electrician to supervise the day-to-day operations of the business and all electrical work by the firm's employees. In the event that such master electrician is not a resident of the City of Plainview, it shall be presumed he/she is not exercising direct supervision expressed in this chapter unless and until he/she affirmatively establishes he/she is furnishing direct supervision to the satisfaction of the electrical inspector or the Board. Sec. 10-84. Suspension or revocation of electrical licenses. (a) The Board shall have the power to suspend or revoke the license or registration of any class of electrician who has committed any of the following: (1) The practice of any fraud or deceit in obtaining a license or registration; (2) Intentionally violating any provision of this chapter; (3) Any gross negligence, in competency or misconduct in the performance of electrical work within the city. (b) In considering charges under this section or section 10-6 of this chapter, the Board shall proceed upon sworn information furnished by an official of the City, or by some person having knowledge of an alleged violation in the performance of electrical work. Such information shall be in writing and shall be duly verified by the person familiar with the allegations made. The Board, if it deems the information sufficient to support further action on its part, shall issue an order setting the matter for headng at a specified time and place and the secretary of the Board, with the advice and counsel of the City Attorney, shall cause a copy of the Board's order and of the information to be personally served upon the electrician or by certified mail, return receipt requested, at least fifteen (15) days before the date set for the hearing. (c) Violations. (1) First offense. In addition to or in lieu of legal action against a licensed electrician, the Board may hold a public headng with notice thereof to the licensed electrician and upon a finding that this chapter has been violated suspend the electrician's license for a pedod of time not to exceed ten (10) days for each offense. Each day a violation continues or was allowed to continue shall constitute a separate offense. (2) Second offense. In addition to or in lieu of filing legal action against a licensed electrician, the Board shall hold a public headng with notice thereof to the licensed electrician and upon a finding this chapter has been violated suspend the electrician's license for a period of time to be not less than ten (10) days nor more than one (1) year for each offense. Each day that a violation continues or was allowed to continue shall constitute a separate offense. (3) Third offense. In addition to or in lieu of filing legal action against a licensed electrician, the Board shall hold a public headng with notice thereof to the licensed electrician and upon a finding this chapter has been violated shall immediately revoke the person's license and said person shall be permanently barred from being issued a license of any kind under this chapter. Sec. 10-85. Procedures for conduct of suspension or revocation hearings. (b) Record. A record of the entire proceedings may be made by tape recording, or by any other means of permanent recording determined to be appropriate by the Board. (d) Continuances. The Board may grant continuances for good cause. (g) Rules. Hearing need not be conducted according to the technical rules relating to evidence and witnesses. (10) Any person who may feel himself/herself aggrieved by any action or decision of the Board may, within thirty (30) days after receiving the decision of the Board, take recourse from said action or decision as provided by the laws of the State of Texas. Such recourse shall not have the effect of suspending any decision of the Board unless the suspension is ordered by a court of competent jurisdiction. (11) Any person whose rights, under an electrical license or registration, have been suspended or revoked by the Board shall not engage in or do electrical work during said term of the suspension or revocation. Ordinance 00-3265 Page 6 of 8 ARTICLE V. PERMITS AND INSPECTIONS Sec. 10-92. Application for permit. 10. After hours inspections - $25.00 in addition to permit fee (After hours inspections are between the hours of 5:00 pm and 8:00 am Monday through Friday. All day on weekends and City recognized holidays. Sec. 10-93. Issuance and contents of permits. Falsification of an applicant for a permit by a master electrician or a homeowner shall be justification for the electrical inspector to refuse to issue a permit or to cancel a permit if one has been issued. (Ord. No. 75-1835, § 5.3, 7-8-75; Ord. No. 84-2550, § 5.3, 5-8-84; Ord. No. 94-3015, 9-13-94) SECTION III: Chapter 20 - Plumbin,q to be amended as follows: ARTICLE IX. PLUMBING APPEALS AND ADVISORY BOARD Sec. 20-81 See Section 6-41 of the City of Plainview Code of Ordinances for means of appeal. Sec 20-82 - to 20-90 Reserved. ARTICLE Xll. GENERAL REGULATIONS Sec. 20-131. Conformance with code. (a) All plumbing systems hereafter installed shall conform with the provisions of the 1997 Uniform Plumbing Code, as amended: Amendments to the 1997 Uniform Plumb n,q Code: Section 603.3.2 Add the following exception: Exception: All irrigation system backflow preventors without a chemical injection system shall be re-tested every three (3) years. SECTION IV: If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase or portion of this ordinance is, for any reason, held invalid or unconstitutional by any court of competent jurisdiction, such portion shall be deemed a separate, distinct, and independent provision and such holding shall not affect the validity of the remaining provisions thereof. SECTION V: Provisions of this ordinance are cumulative and nothing herein shall prevent, alter, or diminish the applicability or enforcement of other ordinances restricting, regulating, or governing the subject matter herein. Ordinance 00-3265 Page 7 of 8 SECTION VI: All ordinances or portion of anY ordinance of the City of Plainview, Texas, in conflict herewith, are hereby amended to Conform with the provisions hereof. SECTION VII: This ordinance shall be of full force and effect upon its passage. PASSED AND APPROVED on September 12, 2000 I~e~McBe~hl ~2~i~ ~Secretary APPROVED AS .TO FORM: W~ll y~I-fat c h/C ffyV Jdttb~ney ENT: Ordinance 00-3265 Page 8 of 8