CITY INSPECTIONS UNDER FIRE

(First of two parts)

Cape Girardeau building inspectors have the unenviable and often time-consuming task of scrutinizing construction projects to assure their compliance with the city's building codes, often while contending with contractors whose "time is money."

Steve Higgerson, the city's senior code inspector, said he works hard to enforce equitably the city's building, electrical, plumbing and mechanical codes among all building trades representatives. But he also said he doesn't expect to win any popularity contests with the contractors.

"It's the nature of the profession that you're not going to be the most popular person in town," Higgerson said.

"But it (the code) is a set of ordinances a basic, minimum standard. Our job is to make sure everyone meets that minimum standard," Higgerson said

The city's Planning and Inspection Division has come under fire lately from contractors who say the cost of building permits and delays in the permit application process are hurting development in Cape Girardeau.

But City Planner Kent Bratton, who oversees the division, said he thinks inspections are more thorough, fair and efficient now than they've been in years.

Bratton said the "horror stories" of building projects in Cape Girardeau, which were delayed for months while inspectors "nit-picked" contractors over minor code variations, are few and, generally in the past. "In the last six months, I've gotten one (complaint)," he added.

The city planner said some complaints about delays in the permit process and the way inspections are handled are expected.

"That's going to occur from time to time regardless of the best efforts of everybody," he said. "It's probably a matter of misinformation more than anything.

"People ask questions and you give them an answer, but they only hear what they want to hear and forget the rest of it," said Bratton. "But we're dealing with a very small percentage of contractors who have problems."

Higgerson said that most of the area contractors "far exceed" the set of minimum standards set out in the Building Officials and Code Administrators (BOCA) codes.

"That's going to be a mark of their workmanship for years to come," he said. "The majority of contractors are far exceeding that set of standards that are the minimum requirements."

But at a special City Council meeting last month, several contractors, developers and real estate representatives criticized the inspections division, citing long delays in the permit application process and dogmatic enforcement of the BOCA code during field inspections.

Some contractors also were critical of the BOCA code itself, which the city updated last year for the first time since 1984.

But Bratton said contractors ought to be familiar with the BOCA national building codes, which the city first adopted in 1978. He said most of the cities in the region that use national codes have adopted the BOCA version. But, he added, there's not significant differences in any of the codes.

"If we had a problem, it was going all the way from '84 to '90," Bratton said of the BOCA codes. "We should have adopted the 1987 codes, and we might have prevented some of the problems that we're dealing with now."

But Higgerson said the updated codes aren't significantly different from past codes. He said all the changes are designed to make the code clearer, and easier to understand.

"Changes in the code are not always an added cost or restriction," he said.

The inspections division currently is in a state of flux with the loss of the primary plumbing inspector, Jon Parish, who resigned April 26. Plumbing inspections are now handled by all the inspectors, with Higgerson responsible when required by code. Higgerson normally handles electrical inspections.

Other inspectors include Steve Williams, who handles condemnations and rehabilitation of existing buildings, and Butch Stidham, who handles business licenses, street lighting and other duties as needed.

Chief code inspector Charles Hoppe, a six-year veteran with the department, supervises the department and conducts plan reviews.

Bratton said the city is looking to hire a fifth inspector. He said there are times during the year that the office is taxed, but he doesn't necessarily see a need for a sixth full-time inspector.

"We do have peak times when we're understaffed," Bratton said. "But we can't very well staff up for peak periods of the year, then lay off inspectors.

"It's the nature of the business that it's extremely difficult to get people to work part time."

Bratton said that during the past two years, the office has "cross-trained" inspectors for electrical, plumbing, mechanical and building inspections.

Higgerson said that without the cross-training, the division wouldn't have been able to "pick up the slack" for Parish's resignation.

Bratton said the inspectors also now are responsible for areas other than inspections.

"They are more involved in the day-to-day planning in the community," he said. "They're far more aware of what's going on in Cape Girardeau than the inspectors were four to five years ago."

Bratton said another recent change is that at least one inspector generally is in the office at all times to field calls or meet contractors. He said accessible inspectors help allay many potential delays.

Hoppe said the key to avoiding delays in the permit process is for the contractor to make certain all the necessary documents are completed and presented with the application.

"A lot of people come in and want to build a house, and they have a lot somewhere that they describe to us, and they describe their general plans for the house," Hoppe said. "Those types of requests take more time obviously."

Higgerson said that if building plans and the appropriate documents are in order, permits generally can be received, reviewed and approved the same day. Delays occur when plans are incomplete or there are problems with the code.

"There have been peak times when we're just completely snowed under and that delays things a little," Higgerson said. "But if we get a complete set of documents, we'll have a permit within a week."

Higgerson said the office provides checklists that clearly state what documents are needed with a building permit application.

"It's all written in black and white," he said. "What do we have to gain by holding someone up, other than a lot of bad (public relations)?"

Typically, when a contractor or resident wants a building permit, the inspectors will first check the zoning of the property; then the dimensions of the plot; whether there are any subdivision restrictions for the property; whether it's in a flood-prone area; and whether it's subject to the city's storm-water retention ordinance.

A state law requires that any new construction or renovation of a structure that exceeds 20,000 cubic feet in size, or will house more than nine people include an architect's plan, which Hoppe reviews.

Hoppe said the plan review includes an 11-point checklist of items applicable to the BOCA codes. If everything in the plan is in compliance with the codes, a permit normally is issued within three to six days.

Contractors have been critical of the law requiring the architect's plans, particularly for small structures. But Bratton said the city has no control over the state mandate.

Once a general building permit is issued, permits for other work, such as plumbing, electrical, mechanical and driveway, are issued as needed, based on field inspections.

Higgerson said that when violations are found in an inspection, contractors sometimes are able to correct the item on the site and the inspection is approved.

But problems often have to be taken back to clients and other contractors, causing delays in the construction process. A final, overall inspection is done prior to occupancy. The final check assures everything is in compliance and addresses mainly safety issues.

Occupancy permits are required for any new construction, but Bratton said that in the past many people have overlooked the inspection. He said the city this year implemented a policy that requires a $100 deposit for electric meters. The deposit is returned to the building owner when the occupancy inspection is completed and approved.