Significant updates may be on the way for the La Plata County building code, which could mitigate some of the building department’s everyday problems.
The department plans to update its code, based on 2003 international building code standards, and adopt the most current, 2015 standards.
In a Wednesday meeting with county commissioners, department officials presented the proposed standards, which would be adopted with consideration to issues specific to La Plata County.
“We keep minimum standards and try to adapt these to local issues,” said Marianna Spishock, a county code enforcement officer.
Proposed updates could enable the county to fine property owners more for building unpermitted structures, which is a common headache, Building Director Butch Knowlton said.
The county also could charge more for reinspections.
“With the financial issue looming, there must come a time where we say if it’s not ready to pass inspection when we come out there, we’ll charge for reinspection,” Knowlton said. “That would compensate us for our time.”
Another provision would help protect buyers from purchasing property with structures that were not built to standard.
“We want to issue certificates of occupancy to address different circumstances,” Knowlton said. “There have been times when people blow us off, and we think future owners should know if the previous owner didn’t meet the necessary requirements.”
Knowlton said he also wants building department records, which reveal deficiencies on properties, to be more accessible to the public.
Building officials began noticing code deficiencies in the 1970s, mainly in roofs that weren’t built to withstand the weight of a Southwest Colorado snowstorm.
The building department subsequently began to set criteria to guide engineers and manufacturers, and in 1980, the county adopted its first minimum standards for foundations.
Since then, the department’s workload has grown along with the population, averaging three to 12 inspections for each structure built, depending on the structure type, 14 to 18 inspections daily and 3,400 in a year.
In 2016, the department was involved in more than $105 million worth of construction.
jpace@durangoherald.com
