Title
First & Second Readings of Ordinance No. 20-1001, Amendments to Oregon City Municipal Code Chapter 15.04: Building Code; Declaring an Emergency
Body
RECOMMENDED ACTION (Motion):
Approval of the first and second readings of Ordinance No. 20-1001.
BACKGROUND:
The State Building Codes Division (State BCD) authorizes the Oregon City Building Department to implement and maintain a building program which implements regulations spanning across multiple jurisdictions. The program provides a minimum level of safety for the public and provides consistency for contractors who build in multiple jurisdictions. The program regulates how onsite development building is to be constructed; ranging from how strong the walls of a building must be to how much insulation must be in them. The City Building Division implements the regulations by 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 include no longer regulating commercial structures such as new communications towers, certain types of retaining walls, freestanding signs, transitional housing, floating structures, and dangerous buildings.
Since the changes were released, local agencies and interested parties have been coordinating to determine their effect. Each jurisdiction may choose to locally adopt regulations for the items BCD is no longer requiring to be regulated. In order to maintain the safety of the public and allow for continued permitting of a limited number of commercial items, the Building Division has proposed to amend the chapter 15.04 of the Oregon Ci...
Click here for full text