Chapter 31.90 COMMERCIAL BUILDING INSPECTION PROGRAM
31.90.030 Inspection Program Established.
31.90.040 Inspections, Violations, and Certificate of Inspection.
31.90.050 Change of Use or Occupancy, and Revocation
31.90.094 Collection of Accounts by a Collection Agency.
31.90.098 Adjustment of Accounts.
31.90.010 Purpose.
(Amended by Ordinance No. 175646, effective July 1, 2001.) A major responsibility of the Bureau of Fire’s operations is fire prevention. One method employed to reduce the number of fires is to enforce the fire regulations. This can best be achieved through a building inspection program. Therefore, the purpose of this chapter is to establish an enhanced fire prevention inspection program for all properties subject to fire regulations. These do not include one and two family structures. The goal of the program is to reduce the number of deaths, injuries and property loss from fire, and, hence, to enhance the public health, safety and welfare.
The Bureau of Fire has limited resources and staff. Therefore, the purpose of this chapter is to establish fees for certain inspections which will be used to supplement General Fund resources to provide an enhanced level of inspection service and to authorize the Fire Marshal to implement a program of fire safety reviews in low risk uses, to be conducted by persons approved by the Bureau of Fire. Under certain circumstances the fire safety reviews will be accepted in lieu of fire inspections.
31.90.020 Definitions.
(Amended by Ordinance Nos. 175646 and 176613, effective July 26, 2002.)
A. “Business Owner” means the person or entity legally responsible for the delivery of services or housing or the buying, selling, handling, manufacture or storage of commodities.
B. “Commercial Building” means any structure, tank or yard that is subject to regulation under applicable fire codes but does not include one and two-family residential structures. It includes occupancies on public and private property as well as on all other types of ownership.
C. “Occupancy” means the activity in a building or on property outside a building where services or housing are provided or commodities are bought, sold, handled, manufactured or stored. A single business entity with multiple uses or activities in a building as defined by the Uniform Building Code is considered one occupancy. For activities outside a building such as tank farms, moorage and outside storage all outside activities or storage are considered one occupancy. The definition includes individual businesses within a multiple occupancy commercial building but it does not include individual dwelling units within a multiple residential building.
D. “Periodic Inspection” means an inspection performed on a periodic frequency by a member of the Fire Prevention Division, or others as referenced in Section 31.90.030 D. Such inspection is for the purpose of determining that the entire occupancy is in compliance with the requirements of fire regulations. A periodic inspection is also known as a regular inspection by the Bureau of Fire. It does not include specific requests for inspection.
E. “Certificate of Inspection” means a document issued by the Fire Marshal for the purpose of certifying that all violations of the fire regulations identified by the inspection have been corrected.
F. “Fire Regulations” means the statutes and administrative rules adopted by the State of Oregon and the Portland City Code adopted by the Council and the policies adopted under the authority granted under this Chapter to the Fire Marshal which are for the purpose of safeguarding life and property from the hazards of fire and explosion arising from the storage, handling and use of hazardous substances, materials and devices, and from conditions hazardous to life or property in the use or occupancy of buildings or premises.
31.90.030 Inspection Program Established.
(Amended by Ordinance Nos. 175646 and 176613, effective July 26, 2002.)
A. The Bureau of Fire shall establish a program for the inspection of all occupancies of commercial buildings for compliance with the fire regulations.
B. The Fire Marshal shall adopt a policy regarding the frequency, priority, and type of inspection of occupancies in commercial buildings based on the degree of risk to life safety, history of violations, characteristics of the use, and the availability of budgeted funds and staff.
C. The Fire Marshal shall establish procedures for periodic inspection. Prior to a periodic inspection, each occupancy shall be mailed a letter by first class mail, giving notice of the inspection and listing the most commonly found code violations. The occupant will be asked to correct these violations if any are found by the occupant prior to the inspection. Failure to correct these types of violations shall result in an additional fee for each class of violation, as set forth in Portland City Code 31.90.090 B.2.
D. The Fire Marshal shall adopt a policy regarding minimum qualifications of individuals performing inspection. Individuals may be members of the Fire Prevention Division, members of other Divisions within the Fire Bureau, members of other public agencies operating under an interagency agreement or employees or individuals working under contract with the Fire Bureau.
31.90.040 Inspections, Violations, and Certificate of Inspection.
(Amended by Ordinance No. 175646, effective July 1, 2001.)
A. Each occupancy in a commercial building shall have a valid Certificate of Inspection in accordance with a schedule established by the Fire Marshal. A separate Certificate of Inspection is required for spaces that are used in common by more than one occupant.
B. The Fire Marshal shall issue a Certificate of Inspection upon a finding that the occupancy satisfies the fire regulations in the case of a periodic or requested inspection.
C. In the event the inspection reveals a violation of the fire regulations or fire safety review criteria, the Fire Marshal shall prescribe the date by which all violations shall be abated.
D. The Fire Marshal may order an inspection or reinspection at any time there is reason to believe there is a violation, and if a violation is found, the Certificate of Inspection may be revoked.
E. The Certificate of Inspection shall be valid until a subsequent inspection or review or until it is revoked.
F. The Certificate of Inspection shall be kept on the premises at all times and be available for review by Bureau of Fire personnel or other authorized City personnel.
G. The Certificate of Inspection shall contain the following information:
1. The address of the occupancy.
2. The name and address of the business owner.
3. A description of the existing use(s) by Uniform Building Code classification and a description of that portion of the building for which the certificate is issued.
4. A statement that the described occupancy complies with the applicable regulations and policies.
H. The issuance of a Certificate of Inspection does not suspend the applicability of any fire regulations.
I. The Certificate of Inspection is issued to the business owner for the existing use at the location specified in the Certificate. It is not transferable.
31.90.050 Change of Use or Occupancy, and Revocation
(Amended by Ordinance No. 175646, effective July 1, 2001.)
A. Any change of use from the Building Code classification recorded on the Certificate of Inspection or addition of uses outside the approved Uniform Building Code classification in an existing occupancy shall invalidate the Certificate of Inspection. A new inspection shall be required.
B. The Fire Marshal shall be authorized to issue a notice of revocation of a Certificate of Inspection upon a finding that:
1. The Certificate is being used at a location other than that for which it was issued;
2. The Certificate is being used for uses which are new or in addition to the existing approved use and which are in a different Uniform Building Code classification than the uses approved under the current Certificate of Inspection;
3. A subsequent inspection finds violations of the fire regulations; or
4. There has been a false statement or misrepresentation of a material fact on which the certificate was issued.
C. The Fire Marshal shall give notice to the business owner that the Certificate shall be revoked and the basis for the revocation and shall advise the business owner that the revocation shall be effective 30 days from the date of the mailing of the notice unless the business owner appeals the decision of the Fire Marshal to the Fire Code Appeals Board as provided by Portland City Code 31.90.070. If an appeal is filed, the revocation shall be suspended until the decision of the Fire Code Board of Appeals.
31.90.060 Fees
(Amended by Ordinance No. 175646, effective July 1, 2001.)
A. There shall be an inspection fee applicable to all periodic inspections and inspections requested by the owner, and a fire safety review processing fee when a fire safety review is allowed to be submitted by the business owner in place of a periodic inspection. Inspections of primary and secondary schools and nonprofit hospitals shall be exempt from all fees except illegal occupancy, violation and reinspection fees listed in Portland City Code 31.90.090 B. The fees are set forth in Portland City Code 31.90.090. The fees shall be paid to the City Treasurer within 28 days of the invoice date and shall be considered delinquent after that date. The billing shall state where the fee is to be mailed.
B. A fee may be paid in installments upon a showing that payment in a lump sum would cause an undue hardship. An application to request installment payments shall be filed with the Fire Prevention Division on forms provided by the Division, upon request. The application shall state the reasons for the undue hardship. The application may be approved or denied based on the findings of the Fire Marshal. Installment payments shall be paid within 28 days of the invoice date.
C. The building owner will be billed in situations where the business owner shows the Fire Marshal a lease agreement or some other legal arrangement with the building owner which places the responsibility for fire inspection and the payment of fees on the building owner.
D. Failure to pay the fee within 28 days of the invoice date as required by 31.90.060 A or failure to pay an installment payment within 28 days of the invoice date under 31.90.060 B shall subject the responsible person or business entity to an action by the City in a court having jurisdiction over the matter. The unpaid balance shall be subject to a nine percent per year interest rate.
31.90.070 Appeals
(Amended by Ordinance No. 175646, effective July 1, 2001.) An appeal may be filed with the Fire Code Board of Appeals as set forth in Portland City Code 31.10.150. In addition to the bases for appeal set forth in Portland City Code 31.10.150 E., a business owner or building owner may appeal a decision by the Fire Marshal to revoke a Certificate of Inspection.
31.90.080 Enforcement
Violations which are not remedied within the time provided by the Fire Marshal shall be treated in the manner provided by the City fire regulations for violations of the fire regulations.
31.90.090 Fee Schedule
(Amended by Ordinance Nos. 175646 and 176613, effective July 26, 2002.)
A. The basic inspection fee for each occupancy shall be $35.00. In addition, the following fees will be charged for habitable structures except as provided in Portland City Code 31.90.090 A.4.a. The fees are based on the NFPA 901 Code Classification System except where otherwise noted. In no case will the total fee billed for an inspection be less than $25.
1. Residential Area Inspection Fee.
a. Apartments -- (NFPA 901 Code 420-429; 430-439; 450-459)
3 to 6 units $15.00
7 to 20 units $30.00
21 or more units $60.00
b. Motels --(NFPA 901 Code 440-449)
1 to 19 units $30.00
20 to 99 units $50.00
100 or more units $100.00
c. Dormitories (NFPA 901 Code 460-469)
11 to 20 units $15.00
21 to 50 units $25.00
100 or more units $35.00
2. Non-Residential Area Inspection Fee.
a. 1,000 square feet but less than 2,000 $25.00
2,000 square feet but less than 5,000 $35.00
5,000 square feet but less than 10,000 $50.00
10,000 square feet but less than 20,000 $75.00
20,000 square feet but less than 50,000 $100.00
50,000 square feet but less than 100,000 $125.00
100,000 square feet $150.00
3. Special Situations.
a. The special situation fees shall be in addition to the fees listed above. The fees are based on the definitions in the State of Oregon Structural Specialty Code.
b. Hazardous Occupancy Fee. Occupancies in class H-4 will pay an additional $10.00 fee and in all other H classes there will be an additional fee of $100.00.
c. Assembly Occupancy Fee. An additional fee of $25.00 shall be charged where there is an assembly area in conjunction with the use.
d. Inspection Time Overage Charge. Residential area inspections which require more than 2 hours per occupancy and non-residential area inspections which require more than 4 hours will pay an additional $40 per hour calculated and applied in quarter hour increments.
e. Inspections of occupancies in which no hazards are found, requiring less than 10 minutes, shall pay $25, overriding any higher fee the occupancy would qualify for.
4. Discounts.
a. In situations where a given business occupies more than one building or area and each is located on the same site , the fee for the site shall be the largest fee for an individual occupancy plus $30.00 for each additional occupancy except that if the additional building is a residential structure with no internal inspectable area, the additional charge for each additional structure shall be $5.00.
b. Inspection fees shall be discounted by 1/3 for Business, Factory, Mercantile, or multifamily Residential occupancies which are fully sprinklered OR have zero hazards. Inspection fees shall be discounted 50% for Business, Factory, Mercantile or multifamily Residential occupancies which are fully sprinklered AND have zero hazards.
5. Period Inspections Performed Through Interagency Agreement.
a. A total fee of $25.00 will be charged for periodic inspections performed in accordance with an interagency agreement.
b. Charges associated with unmitigated hazards will apply at all reinspections.
B. Illegal Occupancy, Violation, and Reinspection Fees and Penalties.
1. A fee of $200.00 will be charged for each illegal occupancy. An illegal occupancy is one that has not been approved by the Office of Planning and Development Review or identified on the Certificate of Inspection.
2. Prior to a periodic inspection, the Bureau of Fire will mail a letter to the occupant which lists the most commonly found violations. The occupant will be asked to correct any of these commonly found violations before the inspection. If during the periodic inspection, the fire inspector finds a violation on the list of commonly found violations, there will be a $10.00 charge for each class of violation.
3. The following fees and penalties will be charged when violations are unmitigated at a reinspection. The charge is for the purpose of determining whether the violations have been corrected.
a. First reinspection visit is $10.00 per unmitigated violation class, a $100 penalty in addition to penalties assessed in 31.90.092.
b. Second reinspection visit is $10.00 per unmitigated violation class, a $200 penalty in addition to penalties assessed in 31.90.092.
c. The third and each subsequent reinspection visit is $10.00 per unmitigated violation class plus a $400 penalty in addition to penalties assessed in 31.90.092.
31.90.092 Penalties
A. A penalty shall be assessed if a person fails to pay the fee when due.
B. The penalty under subsection A shall be calculated as:
1. Five percent (0.05) of the total fee liability of the account but not less than $5 if failure is for a period more than three months from the invoice date, except invoices initially created before June 1, 1999;
2. An additional penalty of 20 percent (0.20) of the total fee liability but not less than $50 if the failure is for a period of 6 months from the invoice date, except invoices initially created before June 1, 1999.
31.90.094 Collection of Accounts by a Collection Agency.
A. Invoices returned by the U.S. Postal Service as "refused" may be turned over to a professional collection agency for collection.
B. Accounts with amounts 8 months or more past due may be turned over to a professional collection agency for collection.
C. Fees imposed by such agency shall be added onto the current fee liability of the account.
31.90.096 Waiver of Fees
(Amended by Ordinance No. 175646, effective July 1, 2001.) Commissioner in Charge of the Bureau of Fire is authorized to waive any fees in this Title based on guidelines established by the Commissioner. The authority to waive fees based on the established guidelines may be delegated to the Fire Marshal.
31.90.098 Adjustment of Accounts.
At the discretion of the supervisor in charge of billing accounts under this program, account balances may be zeroed out if that balance represents only residual unpaid interest and/or penalties.