How vital is it for the village to provide its own inspection services?
Although clearly divided over the answer to that question, four of seven Lake Orion councilmen voted yes on Jan. 13 for an ordinance amendment that’s the first step towards taking local building inspections away from the state.
The amendment gives the village the authorization to enforce the Michigan Construction Code.
Council president, Tom Albert, opposes the change. “A year ago we did a survey and overall people were satisfied with the state,” he said.
Resident Curt Bussell agreed with Albert. “Why is the village taking on this responsibility? I’ve heard the village load is a little more than they can handle now,” he said.
“I’ve talked to people who have pulled permits and they haven’t had any problems. I see it as costing the village money.”
According to LO Village Manager JoAnn Van Tassel, taking on the responsibility of inspections wouldn’t cost taxpayers any money.
“The fees charged covers all the (inspection) services. Inspectors would work for a percentage of the fee,” she added.
Albert disagreed with Van Tassel about inspections not costing the village any money. “Someone has to do some administering work in the office,” he said.
“We already have that person here,” Van Tassel said (Nancy Patterson). Her job wouldn’t be significantly enlarged.”
Councilman James Cummins reminded the council it was discussing doing inspections because the village didn’t have control over its own zoning laws at a construction site. “The state overlooks our zoning laws,” he added. “We run the risk of seeing more illegal construction if there isn’t local control.”
Once a building permit is issued, state inspections only verify a builder has complied with the state construction code.
Village attorney Tom Schultz said the village doesn’t lose its zoning enforcement abilities, but the process can be cumbersome and costly.
“If a building permit has been issued, we can’t issue a stop work order without going to court and that means spending taxpayers’ money,” Van Tassel said.
“We also need a building official to make decisions about our maintenance ordinance,” councilman Harry Stephen said.
Van Tassel said the current ordinance officer can look at building/property appearances, but has no training in structural problems.
Councilman Douglas Dendel said he had no problems going back to using Orion Township inspectors. (The township did village inspections before the state took over).
“They said they couldn’t do it this year because of the budget, but are willing to discuss it in the future,” he added.
Van Tassel didn’t seem too interested in using township inspectors again. “We’ve always seemed to be a low priority for the township.”