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Tri-County Service Center |
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Building Codes Division |
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State of Oregon |
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Legislation was proposed by industry. |
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Created board of industry and local govt. |
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Industry demanded a less complicated way of
doing business. |
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Voluntary agreements among jurisdictions had not
been successful. |
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13-member board. Industry members include architects, contractors, home
builders, plumbers, electricians, labor and a public member. |
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Mission: develop uniform practices and
procedures for the building industry in Clackamas, Multnomah and Washington
counties. Establish Service Center. |
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More than 50% of state’s building activities
occur in the“Tri-County” region. |
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Standard permitting forms and processes. |
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Standard fee methodologies. |
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Consistent application of code. |
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Regional minor permitting program for plumbing
and electrical. |
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Local and timely dispute resolution. |
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Standard permit application forms for plumbing,
electrical, mechanical and building. |
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One- and Two-family plan review checklist. |
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Commercial application process and checklist. |
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Phased permitting process. |
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Deferred submittal process. |
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Processes for recording inspections and issuing
permits when no plan review required. |
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Fee methodologies are consistent throughout the
region. |
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Contractors can trust that fees are calculated
in the same manner in all jurisdictions. |
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Board initiated the code forum concept. |
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Matters of inconsistent code application
discussed at a forum. |
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Criteria for the program: inclusive, structured,
non-site specific, binding, communicated to all, interpretation issues
forwarded to BCD for statewide discussion. |
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Forum facilitated by panel of industry and
government code experts. |
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Held quarterly for plumbing, electrical,
mechanical, one and two-family structural and commercial structural issues. |
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Q and A format. |
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Panel of experts handles the questions; forum
moderated by Service Center. |
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Forum results communicated through newsletters
to all industry and local govt. in region. |
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BO’s agreed to comply with forum results. |
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Industry-inspired program for minor plumbing and
electrical work. |
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Must be licensed contractor to use labels. |
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Regional approach makes the program cost
effective. |
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Replaces jurisdictional programs. |
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One-stop shopping at center. |
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Program so successful, adopted for statewide
application in July 2002. |
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In two years, Service Center sold 46,000 labels.
Previously fewer than 6,000 per year were sold by all jurisdictions
combined. |
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Using the permits is fast, easy and
cheap-translating into better compliance with state laws. |
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Local governments requested expanding the
program. |
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Contractors may ask the center to conduct a
dispute resolution session when the local BO denies a site specific call or
a plan review item. |
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Center arranges conference call with industry
and govt. experts. |
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Contractor presents case and hangs up. |
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Experts discuss with BO. |
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BO renders decision in writing. |
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Contractor may appeal this decision through a
state appeal process. |
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Process has contributed to greater code
consistency |
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Local building officials better networked and
willing to call each other for a second opinion or subject expertise. |
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Regional cooperation |
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Access to expertise |
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Local building officials committed to
consistency |
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Better communication among industry and local
government. |
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Willingness to embark on joint projects such as
“Permits Protect.” |
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Public awareness campaign aimed to educate the
public of the benefits of using permits and licensed contractors. |
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Board committee worked with industry to produce
a PSA, brochures and a web site. |
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Industry and local govt. appearing together at
local home shows. |
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Brochure and Permits Protect logo shared with
industry and local government. |
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Examples |
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Many jurisdictions using “Permits Protect” logo
on printed materials, work shirts (uniforms), and city and county vehicles. |
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Sears is considering using “Permits Protect”
When Do I Need xxx Permit?” brochures in local appliance stores. |
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Local contractors printing brochures using their
logos and contract numbers. |
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Predictable permitting practices and methods of
fee calculation, and code applications. |
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Popular permitting program. |
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Inclusive decision making. |
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Networking of local govt and industry. |
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Enhanced communication. |
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Successful pilots can be implemented statewide. |
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Notes