The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Possible permit application fee
The 2009 International Building Codes being considered by Gunnison County will be available for public comment this month. Already implemented by the city of Gunnison and being considered by Crested Butte, amendment discussions could hold significant bearing for homeowners and county resources.
Homeowners may be asked to submit a $250 nonrefundable permit application fee, applicable to the building permit itself once the permit has been issued. Rich Wojdakowski, Community Development Office building officer, brought along a few show and tell items when he presented the amendment to the county commissioners on Tuesday, February 22—namely, piles of manila folders containing piles of unclaimed building permits.
Each unclaimed permit represents several hours of work—an inefficiency the Community Development Office would like to correct.
“This happens in August and October, when we’re busiest. Applicants then have to wait more than three weeks to get the permit,” Wojdakowski said.
And while the Board of County Commissioners saw no problem with the fee, the possible requirement of blower door tests to determine a home’s air tightness raised questions about county resources. Wojdakowski cited staffing concerns as a reason to continue the visual inspections currently employed. But county planning commissioner Richard Karas, who also submitted an evaluation of the building codes to the commissioners, argued that blower door tests are key if the county wants to improve energy efficiency.
“You simply cannot determine the air tightness of a home by looking at caulking around windows and doors,” Karas said.
County commissioner Hap Channell agreed that encouraging energy efficiency is key, especially in light of the recent report released by the Carbon Policy Task Force.
“Seventy-one million energy dollars are exported out of the Gunnison Valley,” Channell said. “If we can cut that by 4 percent, that’s nearly $3 million that stays in the pockets of people in this valley.”
Implementation of the policy may be hindered by resource availability, however, unless the board can get a handle on resource availability.
“My biggest concern is coordination,” said county commissioner Paula Swenson. “Let’s make certain we have the tools in our community to get it done. If someone has to wait three weeks for a blower test because there’s no one in our community who can do it [that’s not okay].”
The board agreed on the need for further inventory and discussion—a theme likely to color many county discussions as carbon emissions continue to be addressed through strategic planning.
A public meeting will be held April 5 at the end of a 30-day public comment period for the 2009 Building Codes.
