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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1985-05-13 BUILDING BOARD OF ADJUSTMENTS MEETING MINUTEStw.,--IINUTES - BUILDING CODE %RD OF ADJUSTMENTS AND APPEALS .TING HELD ON MAY 13, 1985, AT 6:00 P.M. IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBERS OF THE CITY HALL LOCATED AT 2335 NORTH TEXAS AVENUE, PEARLAND, TEXAS The meeting was called to order with the following people present: ACTING CHAIRMAN WILLIAM R. KEELE MEMBER W. T. MC CLELLAN MEMBER RONALD W. PARKER MEMBER WILLIAM K. MILLER DEPUTY BUILDING OFFICIAL ERNIE BUENROSTRO CITY ATTORNEY LUKE DANIEL Member Raymond Barringer was absent. NEW BUSINESS: Mr. Keele called the meeting to order at 6:10 p.m. He stated that the subject to be considered by the Board was the applicability of Building Permits of the Southern Standard Building Code on mobile homes and whether on mobile homes the $50.00 moving fee should be collected, or a different fee, or no fee. By request of the chairman, Mr. Ernie Buenrostro read pertinent sections of the Building Code: Definition of a Building, Appendix K, Recommended Schedule of Permit Fees, Section 2204.1, Moving of Buildings, and Section 106, Permits, Action and Application. Mr. Ben Best, Attorney for Tiemac, stated that by Municipal Ordinance the City of Pearland, Texas, had adopted the Southern Standard Building Code for applica- tion in Pearland; that you can have an occupancy inspection fee; that a structure built in Pearland would be subject to the Building Code including moving fees; that tie down permits are spoken of specifically in the Code. Mr. Best then remarked that manufacture of mobile homes in Texas since 1979 has been subject to the Texas Manufactured Housing Standard Act which is Article 5221- F of Texas statutes; that the Senior Engineer of the Southern Building Code Congress wrote that the Southern Standard Building Code was not intended to apply on mobile homes; that a conflict existed because City Council in the Zoning Ordinance #146 recognized mobile homes as a separate class structure; and that if a conflict (1 of 4) existed between rules, regulations, and charges of the Southern Standard Building Code, on the one hand, and Municipal or State legislation, on the other hand, that Municipal or State legislation would apply. Mr. Best said there was statutory authority to set aside the Building Code and allow Municipal or State legislation to apply. Mr. Best remarked that a basic issue is that if building permits are not required for mobile homes then there is no requirement to pay Capital Maintenance and Re- covery Fee for each trailer to occupy a trailer site when up to four trailers might occupy a single site in a 18-month period; and this practice could distort city records. Mr. Best asked the Board of Appeals to find that building permits do not and should not apply to mobile homes; to give petitioners a speedy reply in writing; and to list how each member voted. Mr. Keele summarized Mr. Best's remarks: The Zoning Ordinance of Pearland treats buildings and mobile homes separately, but the Southern Standard Building Code uses only the word "building" which creates a conflict. Mr. Keele asked about the size of mobile homes. They were reported to be up to 16-feet wide now, soon 18-feet wide, and 60-feet long or longer. Mr Keele asked Mr. Best what he thought of a moving charge for mobile homes should be. Mr. Best replied that was for the City Council to determine. Mr. Parker asked how long mobile homes have been required to get a building permit for moving. Mr. Best replied that, to his knowledge, the practice had just started. Mn Luke Daniel said he had been shown where several persons had secured building permits to move buildings, one of them being Stanley Cobb, an employee of the City of Pearland. Mr. Parker then asked if there were utility hook-ups and Mr. Buenrostro replied that under various provisions of the Code, permits are secured depending on what is applicable to the lots. Mr. Parker then asked how many permits were issued in the past five years. Mr Buen- rostro replied that no permits had been issued because up until November 1983, Pearland had only one mobile home park. Since the recent annexation, Pearland has taken in more mobile home parks and Tiemac has constructed one on Magnolia, so now Pearland is getting involved with the permitting process. Replying to Mr. Best's remarks, Mr. Luke Daniel for the City of Pearland stated (2 of 4) that the issue was the language of the Southern Standard Building Code, that a build- ing is a structure intended for human residency, a structure with a roof and walls; that a conventional home and a mobile home were both structures with a roof and walls within the meaning of the Southern Standard Building Code. Mr. Daniel continued by saying that any permit required in the Southern Standard Building Code is called a building permit; that it doesn't mean only a permit to build a mobile home; that a moving permit required under the Code is called a building permit. Mr. Miller asked if tie down were required by the Code, and Mr. Buenrostro said yes; also asked if there was a charge, and the answer was no. Mr. Daniel stated that Appendix H applies to mobile -home tie -down standards, and the Code specifi- cally says mobile homes. Mr. Miller stated that he did not think it abnormal to charge $50.00 because the City of Houston does. Mr. Best stated that the City of Houston has a whole ordinance just on mobile homes. Mr. Daniel replied that a building is defined in the Code, and he did not consider mobile homes to be separate from buildings merely because somewhere in the state law or somewhere in the Pearland Zoning Ordinance mobile homes have been separately treated; that we are dealing with the application of the Building Code and definition, which is not an issue here. The Zoning Ordinance deals with mobile homes as a se- parate zoning classification so that you would not have two different types of ani- mals in the same cage. Mr. Parker stated that Mr. Daniel took that meaning from the Southern Building Code Congress which is applicable only to new construction. If we want to charge $50.00 for the mobile home, then I think we should write in the mobile home ordinance that the Southern Building Code is applicable to mobile homes. Mr. Keele stated that it is not a matter of looking someplace else for a definition of a mobile home but to look at existing statutes and any definitions that are made in existing statutes, and we do have a definition of a structure that is silent as to wheels; therefore we cannot even consider wheels to differentiate one type of structure from another. We must interpret the definition that we do have of structure. Mr. Tiegen remarked that the people he called at the Southern Building Code Congress (3 of 4) in Alabama stated that the application of a building permit under the Southern Building Code is a distortion; that the moving permit and fee are meant for per- manent type buildings when they are moved in public streets. Mr. Tiegen said that he thinks what the City is driving at is to collect a double permit fee which is not in their ordinance. Brief closing statements of Board Members: Mr. Parker --This is something new that needs to be written up by City Council. Mr. Miller--$50.00 fee is okay per Southern Building Code Congress, but council needs to clarify this in a Mobile Home Ordinance. Mr. McClellan --agreed to a need for clarification by Council. Mr. Keele--any statement by the Southern Building Code Congress (about the Code) is informal only. Mr. Keele submitted for vote: That the City of Pearland shall collect on mobile homes the $50.00 moving fee provided in the Southern Standard Building Code. Mr. Keele, Mr. McClellan, and Mr. Parker voted not to charge; Mr. Miller voted in favor of fee. Mr. Parker moved to adjourn. MINUTES APPROVED AND/OR CORRECTED THIS O DAY OF ///Y)°-)r--- A.D. 1985. ATTST : toci t 22-0 WILLIAM R. KEELE, CHAIRMAN (4 of 4)