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Some leeway sought on contractor fines
(by Sue Reid - April 01, 2010)
Some leeway sought on contractor fines
By SUE REID
The Solon planning commission tabled an issue last week on proposed amendments to the city's zoning code establishing fines for beginning construction without building permits.
The commission will hold a public hearing on the issue at its next meeting scheduled for 7:30 p.m. April 13.
Commission chairman William M. Mazur said it's not a "simple black-and-white issue."
The commission was asked to review the ordinance based on a referral from City Council.
It was prompted by a recent incident in which a contractor was fined for performing emergency waterline repair work on a weekend without permits. While the fines were properly assessed, as mandated by the code, city Planning Director Robert S. Frankland said, obviously, the contractor could not possibly have pulled the required permits, because the city's building department is closed on weekends.
"This incident has illustrated what is arguably shortcomings in the current code," Mr. Frankland said. "Everybody agrees that there is an issue with the ordinance. There are some times when a contractor cannot pull a building permit, and there is an emergency situation where no one would object to them doing the work."
Mr. Frankland said the city ordinance states that a contractor must have a permit, and those who don't are fined, regardless of the circumstances.
The contractor in question, Alexander Rotnov, performed the emergency work for the water leak, did the work properly, returned the next available day when the building department opened and was fined. At a recent meeting, City Council approved a refund for Mr. Rotnov.
Councilman William D. Mooney brought up the issue that residents may not even know which contractors are registered within the city. Residents may need to just call someone fast on the weekend during an emergency situation, he said.
Mr. Frankland said he will take the input from the mayor and City Council and determine if there is a way to provide some flexibility.
Some examples that would grant the mayor limited discretion to waive the assessment of fines could include: the violation for which the fine was assessed could not have been reasonably prevented by the contractor or property owner in question; the individual, company or corporation that performed the work does not have a history of violating city ordinances; the work that was done was in compliance with the building code; and the contractor will get registered with the city within a certain number of days.
"That would give the mayor the ability to approve it if all those criteria were met," Mr. Frankland said of refunding the fine. "Though limited in scope, the proposed discretion would at least provide a means to avert the assessment of fines in more straightforward scenarios" such as the recent one with Mr. Rotnov, he said.
Mr. Frankland said some of these suggestions will be discussed at the planning commission's next meeting.
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