(A) Established. There is hereby established the Office of Building Official. The Building Official shall be appointed by and shall serve at the pleasure of the Mayor. He or she shall be responsible for enforcement of the technical codes adopted in this chapter, except the electrical code which shall be enforced by the Electrical Inspector.
(`95 Code, § 5-3-1)
(B) Duties.
(1) The Building Official is hereby appointed to administer and implement the provisions of this chapter.
(`95 Code, § 5-4-14)
(2) Duties of the Building Official shall include, but not be limited to:
(a) Review all development permits to assure that the permit requirements of this chapter have been satisfied;
(b) Advise the permittee that additional federal or state permits may be required, and if specific federal or state permits are known, require that copies of the permits be provided and maintained on file with the development permit;
(c) Notify adjacent communities and the State Coastal Council prior to any alteration or relocation of a watercourse, and submit evidence of the notification to the Federal Emergency Management Agency;
(d) Assure that maintenance is provided within the altered or relocated portion of the watercourse so that the flood-carrying capacity is not diminished;
(e) Verify and record the actual elevation (in relation to mean sea level) of the lowest floor (including basement) of all new or substantially improved buildings, in accordance with § 152.41; and
(f) Verify that the height; lot coverage; heated square footage; and setbacks from property lines, the SCDHEC critical line, and the SCDHEC OCRM baseline as required by zoning regulations are met. The Building Official shall require as-built certification in the form of a site plan from a registered professional surveyor, engineer, or architect that any new or substantially improved structure meets the applicable zoning requirements prior to the issuance of a certificate of occupancy (C.O.).
(g) Verify and record the actual elevation (in relation to mean sea level) to which the new or substantially improved buildings have been flood-proofed, in accordance with § 152.41.
1. In coastal hazard areas, certification shall be obtained from a registered professional engineer or architect that the buildings is designed to be securely anchored to adequately anchored pilings or columns in order to withstand velocity waters and hurricane wave wash.
2. In coastal high hazard areas, the Building Official shall review plans for adequacy of breakaway walls in accordance with § 151.26.
3. When floodproofing is utilized for a particular building, the Building Official shall obtain certification from a registered professional engineer or architect, in accordance with § 151.26.
4. Where interpretation is needed as to the exact location of boundaries of the areas of special flood hazard (for example, where there appears to be a conflict between a mapped boundary and actual field conditions), the Building Official shall make the necessary interpretation as provided in this chapter. The person contesting the location of the boundary shall be given a reasonable opportunity to appeal the interpretation as provided in this chapter.
5. When base flood elevation data or floodway data have not been provided in accordance with § 151.07, then the Building Official shall obtain, review and reasonably utilize any base flood elevation data available from a federal, state or other source, in order to administer the provisions of § 151.25.
6. Before a certificate of occupancy is issued for the structure, the Building Official shall inspect the premises to assure that the requirements of this chapter have been met.
7. All records pertaining to the provisions of this chapter shall be maintained in the Office of the Building Official and shall be open for public inspection.
(`95 Code, § 5-4-16) (Am. Ord. 37-16, passed 1-10-17; Am. Ord. 12-19, passed 2-11-19)