A. Permits Required:
1. It shall be unlawful to construct or alter any building or structure in the City, excepting fences, where the affect of such construction or alteration is to enlarge the capacity or affect the bearing walls of any building, or the roof thereof, without having first secured a permit therefor.
2. It shall be unlawful to do any interior or exterior electrical wiring, or any electrical construction, electrical installation or alteration of any electrical wiring without first having obtained an electrical construction permit for the anticipated work from the City Recorder.
3. It shall be unlawful to proceed with any plumbing connected or to be connected to any pipe or pipes in the City, or to any private plumbing or any sewer system of the City, until a permit has been obtained from the City Recorder. No permit shall be required for the making of minor repairs. A repair shall not be deemed minor if a portion or a section of the plumbing or drain line is cut, removed or replaced in such a way as to alter the basic design or use of the original system. (1995 Code § 17-1-101)
4. It shall be unlawful to encroach upon any City sidewalk or utility with heavy equipment during construction projects without first obtaining an encroachment permit from the City. (Ord. 99-08, 4-20-1999)
5. Subsections A1, A2, A3 and A4 of this section shall not apply in the case of an emergency repair. For this subsection, a repair that required immediate completion in order to avoid substantial injury to persons or property shall constitute an emergency repair. In such cases, a permit must be obtained as soon as is reasonably possible. Applicants meeting requirements for permits under this subsection shall not be penalized under subsection F of this section. (1995 Code § 17-1-101; amd. 2019 Code)
B. Application For Permit:
1. Applications for any permit required under subsection A of this section shall be made to the City Recorder. Applicants shall submit, as part of the permit applications, plans and specifications showing the work to be done. The building inspector may, at his or her discretion, request that plans be submitted in duplicate as a condition for the permit. All work plans shall be verified by the signature of either the owner of the premises or by the architect or contractor in charge of the operations.
2. Such applications with plans shall be referred to the building inspector, who shall examine the plans to determine whether the proposed construction or alteration will comply with the relevant ordinance provisions. Upon approval, the set of plans shall be returned to the applicant with a permit. If duplicate plans were submitted, the other shall be retained by the building inspector. No permit shall be issued until after approval of the plans. (1995 Code § 17-1-102)
C. Unlawful To Vary From Plans: It shall be unlawful to vary materially from the submitted plans and specifications unless such variations are submitted in an amended plan to the building inspector and approved by the building inspector. (1995 Code § 17-1-103)
D. Inspections: The building inspector shall make or cause to be made such inspections as are necessary to ensure the enforcement of the provisions of this chapter, and to make any tests or examinations of materials or methods to be used for the purpose of seeing that they comply with the provisions of this chapter. (1995 Code § 17-1-104)
E. Fees: The City Council shall have power to determine and change building permit fees through policy or resolution. (1995 Code § 17-1-105)
F. Failure To Secure Permits Before Commencing Work:
1. Any owner, architect, contractor or handyman that commences work without first securing a permit required under subsection A of this section shall be guilty of the offense of starting construction without a building permit. When the building inspector or other authorized person learns of a violation of subsection A of this section, he or she shall have authority to require that the work stop immediately and that it not continue until an authorized person acquires a building permit. The fee for the building permit obtained after work has commenced shall be double the amount it would have cost if the applicant had complied with subsection A of this section. (1995 Code § 17-1-106)
2. Any work requiring a permit under this section that is completed before a permit is obtained, the owner, handyman or contractor shall be guilty of an infraction, subject to penalty as provided in title 1, chapter 4 of this Code. A separate offense shall be deemed committed upon each day during or on which a violation occurs or continues. (1995 Code § 17-1-106; amd. 2019 Code)
G. Variation From Submitted Plan:
1. Any owner, architect, contractor or handyman that performs work that materially varies from the plan submitted as required under subsection B of this section, or that performs work that does not comply with any relevant ordinance, shall be guilty of an infraction, subject to penalty as provided in title 1, chapter 4 of this Code, and shall be required to correct the violation. (1995 Code § 17-1-107; amd. 2019 Code)
2. Before issuing a citation for an infraction, the building inspector or other authorized person shall issue a warning notice, describing the alleged offense, the location, the ordinance or code section involved, and a statement of what must be done to correct the violation. The notice shall state the date by which such correction must be completed. Such date shall give five (5) calendar days from the date of the notice, provided that a shorter time shall be specified if there is substantial immediate danger to persons or property. A longer time than five (5) days shall be stated if there would be practical physical difficulties in completing the correction within five (5) days and there is no emergency.
3. Failure of the City to issue a warning as described in subsection G2 of this section shall not affect the validity of any prosecution for an infraction.
4. If the condition has not been corrected within the time specified in the warning notice, the building inspector or other authorized person shall issue a citation for the infraction. The citation shall state a date and time for a court appearance, and shall state that the person accused may avoid the court hearing by paying, before the time of the hearing, the sum of two hundred dollars ($200.00) in lieu of a fine set by the court. (1995 Code § 17-1-107)
H. Interpretation Of Regulations: Wherever in the regulations of this chapter or in the regulations adopted in this chapter it is provided that anything must be done to the approval of or subject to the direction of the building inspector, this shall be construed to give the building inspector only the discretion of determining whether the rules and standards established by ordinance have been complied with; and no such provisions shall be construed as giving the building inspector or any officer discretionary powers as to what such regulations or standards shall be, or power to require conditions not prescribed by ordinance or to enforce ordinance provisions in an arbitrary or discriminatory manner. (1995 Code § 17-1-108)