17 - Amend Residency Requirement for Building Board of AppealsItem No. 17
Memorandum
TO: Mayor, Mayor Pro Tem and City Council
Grayson Path, City Manager
FROM: Andrew Mack, AICP Director Planning & Community Development
Duke McGee, Building Official
SUBJECT: Consider and Adopt Amendment to the City Code Removing a Residency
Requirement for Council Appointment to the Building Board of Appeals
DATE: April 24, 2023
BACKGROUND
The newly adopted updates for the 2021 ICC Building and Fire Codes, including the local
amendments created a conflict with the current City Code Section 4.02.002 (a) which requires that:
"The appointed members shall be residents ofor own or operate businesses located ivithin the city
and shall not be employees cif the city." This required residency provision for appointment by the
City Council to this board conflicts with the newly adopted 2021 Codes best practices which is not
based upon a residency requirement, but rather upon training and qualifications within the specific
technical area(s) of expertise.
Community Development and Fire Department Staff believe that certain qualifications under these
required duties, roles and responsibilities will be very difficult to find from within the City of Paris
corporate boundary. There is a concern with being able to 1) find the full slate of required
professionals needed to fill this Board living within Paris and 2) the lack of there being many
professionals in a certain field may create instances of conflict of interests. A specific example
from the newly adopted International Building Code (IBC) cites as follows: Section B 101.3.6
states: "A member with any personal, professional or financial interest in a matter before the
board shall declare such interest and refrain from participating in discussions, deliberations
and voting on such matters." The concern regarding this safeguard relates back to the
qualifications of the Building Board of Appeals appointments requiring that they have professional
experience, training, licensing and expertise in the various trades. The attached amendment will
make all references to this residency requirement consistent within both documents and give us
the greatest chance of filling these positions with candidates having the required qualifications.
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends approval of the ordinance amendment to the City Code removing a residency
requirement for Council Appointment to the Building Board of Appeals.
ORDINANCE NO.
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS,
AMENDING CHAPTER 4, "BUILDING REGULATIONS," SECTION
4.02.002(a), OF THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS CODE OF ORDINANCES TO
DELETE THE RESIDENCY REQUIREMENT FOR SERVING ON THE
BUILDING BOARD OF APPEALS; MAKING OTHER FINDINGS AND
PROVISIONS RELATED TO THE SUBJECT; PROVIDING A REPEALER
CLAUSE, A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE, AND A SAVINGS CLAUSE; AND
PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
WHEREAS, Section 4.02.002 provides for a Building Board of Appeals to hear and
decided appeals of orders and decisions or determinations by the building official or fire
marshal relating to the application and interpretation of the technical provisions of the
city's adopted building and fire codes as relates to commercial and residential construction
in the city; and
WHEREAS, the City Council of the of Paris has recently adopted the 2021 editions of
the International Building Code, the International Fire Code, the International Existing
Building Code, the International Residential Code, the International Fuel Gas Code, the
International Plumbing Code and the International Mechanical Code as well as the 2020
Edition of the National Electrical Code, each of which prescribes the requirements and
qualifications for service on a Building Board of Appeals, which qualifications do not
contain a residency provision nor a requirement that a member, if not a resident, own a
business within the city; and
WHEREAS, because Paris is a small community, the existence of a residency or
business ownership requirement for membership on the Building Board of Appeals has
made it extremely difficult to constitute this board; and
WHEREAS, the City Council, taking into consideration the above and wishing to
eliminate any inconsistencies between Sec. 4.02.002 and the City's adopted building and
fire codes, finds it to be in the best interest of the city to eliminate the residency and
business ownership requirements for service on the Building Board of Appeals;
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NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
PARIS, TEXAS THAT:
Section 1. The findings set out in the preamble to this ordinance are hereby in all
things approved.
Section 2. Section 4.02.002 (a) of the Code of Ordinances shall be amended to delete
the residency and alternative business ownership or operation requirements for service on
the Building Board of Appeals, and shall read as follows:
"4.02.002 Building board of appeals.
(a) Created, composition. There is hereby created a board to be known as the
building board of appeals. The board shall be composed of five (5) regular voting
members who are appointed by the city council and that are qualified through their
individual experience to pass upon matters pertaining to building and fire code
related issues. The city council shall also appoint two (2) alternate members to
serve in the absence of a regular member. The appointed members shall be
residents of er eu n -Ar-- operate businesses leeated t ,4hi the nl+-.T and shall not be
employees of the city. The building official and fire code official shall be ex -officio,
non-voting members of the board."
Section 3. That all provisions of the ordinances of the City of Paris, Texas in conflict
with the provisions of this ordinance are hereby repealed, and all other provisions of the
ordinances of the City of Paris not in conflict with the provisions of this ordinance shall
remain in full force and effect.
Section 4. That the repeal of any ordinance or part of ordinances affected by the
enactment of this ordinance shall not be construed as abandoning any action now pending
under or by virtue of such ordinance or as discontinuing, abating, modifying, or altering any
penalty accruing or to accrue, or as affecting any rights of the municipality under any
section or provisions of any ordinance at the time of passage of this ordinance.
Section 5. That it is the intention of the City Council of the City of Paris that this
ordinance, and every provision hereof, shall be considered severable, and the invalidity or
partial invalidity of any section, clause, or provisions of this ordinance shall not affect the
validity of any other portion of this ordinance.
Section 6. That this ordinance shall become effective from and after its passage.
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PASSED AND ADOPTED on this 24th day of April, 2023.
Paula Portugal, Mayor
ATTEST:
Janice Ellis, City Clerk
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
Stephanie Harris, City Attorney
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