News Updates - December 3, 2008

The Facts…just the facts

BCD's enforcement officers were out in the field with representatives from several other state agencies. A few times every year the division invites other state agencies to participate in a "sweep" of a particular area in the state. The purpose of a "sweep" is to visit several construction sites in a specific location to ensure those performing work are properly licensed.

In October, the division conducted a two-day "sweep" in Salem and the surrounding area. The agencies invited to participate were BOLI, WCD, CCB, Revenue, and Employment Department. During the two-day period the group visited 49 sites with the following results:

101 businesses contacted
235 people interviewed
4 investigations were opened by BCD
0 citations were written

The collaboration between BCD and other state agencies has been very productive. The division has already begun planning sweeps for 2009.

Report on fire sprinkler process now available

The division has finalized its report on the public process that was held to discuss a residential fire sprinkler requirement. The division announced it was concluding the "Appendix P" public process in July. Since there was no consensus, the division will not adopt a statewide requirement. Municipalities can go through the local amendment request process if they want to require residential fire sprinklers as part of an overall community fire protection plan. The division hopes that the report, which contains a summary of the process and the information gathered, will provide industry and the municipalities some background on the issues that were raised during the division's public process.

Answers to questions on requests for electric utilities to energize

The division adopted, by rule, a uniform and consistent process by which general supervising electricians can request electric utilities to energize a completed electrical installation before the installation has been inspected by a local building official. Since the rule took effect in October, the division has received questions from homeowners, supervising electricians, and electric utilities on the process for making such requests. Answers to the most frequently asked questions received by the division have been collected into a single document which is available on the division's Web site. If, after reviewing the FAQ, you still have questions regarding the process, please contact Matthew Barber, Policy Analyst, at 503-373-1227 or matthew.e.barber@state.or.us.

January 1st is just around the corner

The new consistent form and fee calculation methodology becomes effective January 1, 2009. Your jurisdiction should be well on its way to adjusting to the new methodology. Model forms and a summary of the rules are available on our Web site. If, for any reason, it looks like you will have trouble meeting the January 1 effective date, please contact aeron.teverbaugh@state.or.us, as soon as possible. Quick Permit jurisdictions, remember that we will need to receive your new fees by December 15th so we can make changes to the system.

Signing supervising electricians

We have been receiving questions about the responsibilities of general supervising electricians. The division issued a clarification in April 2008, addressing some of the questions we received. In general, supervising electricians are responsible for ensuring that work is preformed in a safe manner, that installations are preformed under the appropriate label or permit, and that work is being preformed by individuals acting within the scope of their license. The signing supervisor's signature required on a permit prior to inspection signifies their responsibility for the installation.

Regional Program Services

The ePermitting road show
Would you like to take a look under the hood of BCD's new ePermitting system? You can get a better idea of what the package of services is all about. As part of the effort to provide information on the division's ePermitting program to local government, the regional coordinators, along with the ePermitting team, are partnering with Accela to take the show on the road by doing a series of statewide demonstrations on the ePermitting project in mid-December. These sessions will showcase the functionality of available tools for local building departments (Accela Automation permit software, electronic plan submittal, GIS capability, wireless access, internet portal, and IVR) as well as highlighting the supplemental products available, such as the planning, licensing, and public works modules.

Given the range of topics these demonstrations will cover, please feel free to bring not only key building department staff, but integral local government staff that would benefit from a better understanding of this project. This could include community development managers, planning, finance, and public works staff as well as city/county management as appropriate.

Below you will find a list of the locations and dates of the demonstrations:

December 8: Pendleton, 1:00-3:30 p.m., Blue Mountain Community College,
2411 NW Carden

December 9: Hood River, 8:30-11:00 a.m., Hood River County Commission offices, 601 State Street

Portland, 1:00-3:30 p.m., NECA Portland Headquarters, 601 NE Everett

December 10: Medford, 1:30-4:00 p.m., Smullin Center,
2825 East Barnett Road

December 18: Salem, 8:30-11:00 a.m., Department of Consumer and Business Services, 350 Winter St. NE, Room 260

Eugene, 1:30-4:00 p.m., Lane Community College, Center for Meeting and Learning, Room 226, 4000 East 30th Avenue

December 19: Redmond, 10:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m., Redmond Fire Station

Please feel free to attend any demonstration that best meets your needs for location and scheduling.

You may have already contacted your regional coordinator about attending this event. If not BCD needs advance notice of who will be attending these demonstrations. If you have not done so already, you can RSVP to Kaylan McAllaster at kaylan.l.mcallaster@state.or.us or 503-373-0723. Having an idea of who plans to attend will help us with room planning and other logistics. This opportunity is a great way to learn more about the next steps of BCD's ePermitting project.

Staff Update
Michael Morter, who has been the regional coordinator for both the Mid-Valley/Coastal region and the Southern region, has just accepted the position of Regional Program Services Manager. Prior to joining BCD, Michael was a senior policy advisor and legislative liaison for DCBS's Insurance Division. He also worked for Speaker of the House Mark Simmons, and as staff in the Alaska Legislature. Throughout his tenure with BCD Michael has built strong ties in the communities he serves because of his ability to see all sides of an issue.

ePermitting

A new ePermitting team member
Lori Graham has accepted the position of ePermitting Program Manager for the division as of December 1. Lori comes to BCD from the City of Portland's Bureau of Development Services. Lori will be working with the project staff in addition to dealing with the program aspects of ePermitting. Lori's knowledge of the codes and her understanding of both policy and the workings of a jurisdiction's permitting department will be valuable to BCD's ePermitting program. Her ability to get policy, the codes, and the technical specialists talking on the same page will help us continue to develop a system that meets our customer's needs.