3 Special Meeting with City Council - State Building Code

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Zoning Specialist Bittner contacted Chris Pence, Crow Wing County Land Services Supervisor, regarding County enforcement. The March 10, 2017 email is attached. Dawn—Crow Wing County has not chosen to enforce the building code. The closest county to us that does is Mille Lacs and they are the furthest north. To enforce the building code countywide would be difficult to do due to our size (1000 square miles) and very costly we already get complaints that our permit fees are too high. By statute we are required to issue permits to licensed contractors or property owners only. People are required to build to the standards of the code—we just do not enforce it. We do not have any fact sheets—we direct people to the Department of Labor and Industry with questions. This is the language that we put on all our permits: 9. Applicants acknowledge that they are in compliance with MN Contractor Licensing laws per MN Statute 3266.85. 10. Applicants acknowledge that they are in compliance with MN Statute 326.121 subd 1 which states "The State Building Code is the standard that applies statewide for the construction, reconstruction, alteration, repair, use of buildings and other structures of the type governed by the code." The following information is included on the Minnesota State Building Code homepage: "The Minnesota State Building Code is the minimum construction standard throughout all of Minnesota including all cities, townships and counties. Although it is not enforceable by municipalities unless it is adopted by local ordinance, this law creates a level playing field for the construction industry by establishing the Minnesota State Building Code as the standard for the construction of all buildings in the state. Following are excerpts of the law contained in 3266.121, subdivisions 1 and 2. Application (1): The state building code is the standard that applies statewide for the construction, reconstruction, alteration, and repair of buildings and other structures of the type governed by the code. The State Building Code supersedes the building code of any municipality. The State Building Code does not apply to agricultural buildings except with respect to state inspections Municipal enforcement (2): (a) If, as of January 1, 2008, a municipality has in effect an ordinance adopting the State Building Code, that municipality must continue to administer and enforce the State Building Code within its jurisdiction. The municipality is prohibited from repealing its ordinance adopting the State Building Code. This paragraph does not apply to municipalities with a population of less than 2,500 according to the last federal census that are located outside of a metropolitan county, as defined in section 473.121, Pequot Lakes Staff Report 3-2 July 20,2017