(a) Pursuant to the authority granted to the City of Clarksburg pursuant to W.Va. Code § 8-1-5b, the West Virginia Municipal Home Rule Pilot Program, the City is hereby exempted from the provisions of West Virginia Code § 8-l-5b (d) to the extent that it authorizes the West Virginia State Fire Commission the authority to propose rules for legislative approval establishing state standards for licensing, registration, certification, regulation and continuing education of persons who will conduct inspections relating to the State Building Code, including building code officials, inspectors and building plans examiners; and from W.Va. Code § 29-3-5b (f), thereof to the extent that it empowers the State Fire Commission to determine the relative priority of any state law, county or municipal ordinance or regulation of any agency to determine compliance with the State Fire Code by officials of the state, counties, municipalities, and political subdivisions of the State of West Virginia.
(b) Exemption from W.Va. Code § 8-12-16(d). Pursuant to the authority granted to the City of Clarksburg, pursuant to W.Va. Code § 8-1-5(a), the West Virginia Home Rule Pilot Program, the City of Clarksburg is hereby exempted from the provisions of W.Va. Code § 8-12-16(d) to the extent that it requires any determination of the State Fire Commission pursuant to W.Va. Code § 29-3-12 to adopt an Ordinance to require the owner or owners of any dwelling or building to pay for the costs of repairing, altering or improving, or vacating and closing, moving or demolishing any dwellings or buildings; provided, that all such determinations shall be made pursuant to the provisions of the State Fire Code.
(c) Exemption from Title 87, Series 7 of the Code of State Regulations. Pursuant to the authority granted to the City of Clarksburg, pursuant to W.Va. Code § 8-1-5(a), the West Virginia Home Rule Pilot Program, the City of Clarksburg is hereby exempted from the provisions of Title 87, Series 7 of the Code of State Regulations.
(d) Definitions.
(1) "Code Enforcement Department" means the department of the City of Clarksburg which enforces the State Building Code.
(2) "Building Code Official" is a person who oversees and administers the Code Enforcement Department which promulgates the regulation of the State Building Code. In this role, the person may typically supervise one or more Building Inspectors, Building Plans Examiners, and other administrative and technical staff employed by the Code Enforcement Department. The Code Official: a) examines construction documents to ascertain compliance with provisions of the State Building Code, and/or b) performs field inspections to determine compliance with approved plans and code requirements, and/or c) enforces the relative administrative provisions of the State Building Code such as supervising building code inspectors or plans examiners, issues building permits, occupancy permits, notices of violations and orders, and initiates the compulsory process. The Code Official shall be appointed by the City Manager provided that the appointment shall be ratified and confirmed by a majority of City Council.
(3) "Continuing education" means additional training and education that is attained or pursued subsequent to initial certification by ICC and recognized by ICC to satisfy the maintenance of said certifications.
(4) "Continued Education Unit" or "CEU" means a unit of measurement for each instructional unit of approved continuing education as recognized and approved through ICC.
(5) "Discipline" is a particular category of the ICC codes (i.e. building, plumbing, mechanical, electrical, property maintenance) in which the individual is certified by ICC.
(6) "ICC" refers to the International Code Council.
(7) "Building Inspector" refers to an individual certified in various disciplines including building, electrical, plumbing, mechanical and property maintenance. An Inspector's duties include examining construction sites and building locations to ensure they are constructed or maintained in accordance with the State Building Code as well as inspecting for compliance to the property maintenance code.
(8) "Building Plans Examiner" refers to an individual certified through ICC in the specific discipline of plans review. A Plans Examiner's duties include reviewing construction documents submitted as part of a permitting or compliance review to determine compliance with the State Building Code.
(9) "Property Maintenance and Housing Inspector" - refers to an individual certified through ICC in the specific discipline of Property Maintenance whose duties are to ensure compliance with the property maintenance code as promulgated through the State Building Code.
(10) "Building Inspector -Discipline Specific" - refers to an individual who is only certified in a specific discipline through ICC. This inspector would only be authorized to perform inspections in the specific certified discipline (i.e. - Building Inspector/Electric would mean the individual would only be authorized to perform electrical inspections, etc.).
(11) "State Building Code" refers to the code authorized by W.Va. Code §29-3-5b and adopted by the West Virginia State Fire Commission in the Commission's rule, State Building Code, W.Va. Code R. §87-4-1 et seq. (87CSR4), including all provisions and all codes and standards incorporated by reference in the rule.
(e) Certification of Code Officials Inspectors and Plans Reviewers. Categories and Qualifications for Certification - The City of Clarksburg shall issue Certification to an individual within the following categories upon a sufficient showing that the person possesses these designated qualifications:
(1) Building Code Official - the City of Clarksburg shall appoint a Building Code Official who has attained a passing grade in all six categories of the ICC examinations required for that category, or in the alternative, one who is licensed to practice in this State as an Architect or Professional Engineer. The following category of examinations will be approved and accepted:
(A) Bl Residential Building Inspector or B2 Commercial Building Inspector certification examination issued through ICC (or its equivalent ICC examination)
(B) Pl Residential Plumbing Inspector or P2 Commercial Plumbing Inspector certification examination issued through ICC (or its equivalent ICC examination)
(C) Ml Residential Mechanical Inspector or M2 Commercial Mechanical Inspector certification examination issued through ICC (or its equivalent ICC examination)
(D) El Residential Electrical Inspector or E2 Commercial Electrical Inspector certification examination issued through ICC (or its equivalent ICC examination)
(E) 64 Property Maintenance and Housing Inspector certification examination issued through ICC (or its equivalent ICC examination)
(F) R3 Residential Plans Examiner or B3 Building Plans Examiner certification examination issued through ICC (or its equivalent ICC examination)
(2) Building Inspector - the City of Clarksburg shall recognize a Building Inspector as one who has attained a passing grade in all five categories of the ICC examinations required for that category. The following category of examinations will be approved and accepted:
(A) Bl Residential Building Inspector or B2 Commercial Building Inspector certification examination issued through ICC (or its equivalent ICC examination)
(B) PI Residential Plumbing Inspector or P2 Commercial Plumbing Inspector certification examination issued through ICC (or its equivalent ICC examination)
(C) Ml Residential Mechanical Inspector or M2 Commercial Mechanical Inspector certification examination issued through ICC (or its equivalent ICC examination)
(D) El Residential Electrical Inspector or E2 Commercial Electrical Inspector certification examination issued through ICC (or its equivalent ICC examination)
(E) 64 Property Maintenance and Housing Inspector certification examination issued through ICC (or its equivalent ICC examination)
(3) Building Plans Examiner - the City of Clarksburg shall recognize a Building Plans Examiner as one who has attained a passing grade in the specific discipline of the ICC examinations required for that category. The following category of examinations will be approved:
(4) Building Plans Examiner -B3 Building Plans Examiner or R3 Residential Plans Examiner issued through ICC (or its equivalent ICC examination)
(f) Continuing Education Requirements. In order to maintain certification, each Building Code Official, Building Inspector, or Building Plans Examiner, or any specialty certification holder, or any person certified and licensed as any combination thereof, shall complete a minimum of specified continuing education units as mandated by ICC in courses approved by ICC in each three year cycle (or its equivalent ICC cycle requirements).
(g) Probationary Employment of Uncertified Building, Code Official, Building Inspector and Building Plans Examiner. An uncertified person employed as a Building Code Official, Building Inspector or Building Plans Examiner shall be granted a probationary status for a period not to exceed two (2) years from date of hire, during which the certification requirements aforementioned shall be satisfied. During this probationary time, the employee shall possess full authority to carry out the duties of their position.
(h) Complaints; Appeals; Conflicts. Any complaint, or appeal filed contesting or relating to a code violation relative to a structure or exterior property or the conduct of any Building Code Official, Building Inspector or Building Plans Examiner shall be referred to the City of Clarksburg Code Appeals Board as mandated in the State Building Code as provided in Article 1712.04. Appeals from the Code Appeals Board shall be to the Circuit Court of Harrison County. In the event of any conflict between this Article and any regulation of the State Fire Marshal's relating to building code appeals, this Article shall prevail and apply exclusively. (Ord. 16-26. Passed 7-21-16.)