19 - BUILDING REDEVELOPMENT - Laserfiche WebLink

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• In addition, when the city replaces the water and sewer mains in downtown as part of the current major 2013 bond utilities construction project underway, we will include stub - outs at city expense to make it easier and more cost effective for those few structures that will need sprinklering. • The building code states "No building or structure shall be used or occupied [by humans or for storage] ... until the building official has issued a certificate of occupancy." The purpose of the CO is to make sure a building is safe once it is occupied. This is not a new requirement, and is common all across Texas, in urban and rural areas alike. Completely empty buildings in downtown do not require a CO; therefore, they are not out of compliance. • To turn on power to a commercial building the owner must apply for a CO and submit what the intended use(s) will be. The city also has the authority to inspect vacant shell space that is part a building that is being actively used. This is important not just for the safety of the owner and his/her building, but for neighboring structures owned by others and often physically connected, and for firefighters who may have to enter in the case of an emergency. • In an effort to help make sure downtown buildings are safe, we recently began a program to inspect all structures with more than one floor. As I have previously reported to you, most of these inspections have been completed, with full cooperation from property owners. Our purpose is not to discover violations, but to point out needs to property owners to help ensure their safety, and help our fire department better pre -plan in the instance of an actual fire. Such pre - planning is a key to keeping a fire from spreading and also to firefighter safety. • There are three different grant opportunities available for redevelopers in downtown, and the city has partnered with four local financial institutions to offer low interest repair loans of up to $15,000 specifically for downtown buildings. The city has also discussed creation of a TIRZ, or TIF, to help encourage downtown investment. Another option that is available to cities is creation of an empowerment zone, which would leave development fees to be spent on downtown improvement and maintenance. • Because we understand that redeveloping an existing building is simply different from building a new structure, the city adopted and enforces the Existing Building Code. This ameliorates some of the requirements of the standard Building Code, making requirements more reasonable, more common - sensical, and usually more affordable. In other words, older buildings do not have to meet all of the requirements of building a brand new one, provided life safety is addressed. • One of the issues we experience is developers jumping into the process without a full knowledge of what needs to be done and when. This is much more common with redevelopment projects than traditional projects, so we see a much higher percentage done by "amateur" developers, usually the owners themselves. The city engineer has instituted a new development process which encourages meeting with the development in