Title
Amendments to Oregon City Municipal Code Chapter 15.04: Building Code
Body
RECOMMENDED ACTION (Motion):
No action is required at this time. Staff will present final amendments to the City Commission at the January 15, 2020 hearing.
BACKGROUND:
The State Building Codes Division (State BCD) authorizes the Oregon City Building Department to implement and maintain a building program which implements broader building regulations which span across multiple jurisdictions. The program provides a minimum level of safety for the public and provides consistency for contractors who build in multiple jurisdictions. They adopt codes that regulate how a building is to be constructed; ranging from how strong the walls must be to how much insulation must be in them. In order to keep the public safe, the Building Division is responsible for issuing permits, reviewing plans, and conducting inspections on building, plumbing, heating/cooling, and electrical work within Oregon City.
In October of 2019, the State BCD adopted changes to the commercial code (Oregon Structural Specialty Code or OSSC) with a “grace period” for enacting the changes ending on January 1, 2020. The revisions narrow the authority of the Building Department to focus on buildings under construction and construction elements which directly impact buildings. Examples of the changes include no longer regulating items such as new communications towers, retaining walls, private access bridges, and dangerous buildings, etc.
Since the changes were released, local agencies and interested parties have been reviewing the changes to determine their effect. Each jurisdiction may choose to locally adopt local regulations for the items BCD is no longer requiring to be regulated. In order to maintain the safety of the public and permitting for a limited number of commercial elements, the Building Division has proposed to amend the chapter 15.04 of the Oregon City Municipal Code to regulate some of the elements ...
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