Introduction

This annual report for the Camarillo Building and Safety Department will document the performance and the amount of activity in the department during the past 12 months.

Building and Safety is responsible for the administration and enforcement of the uniform codes, and for related Federal, State, and City adopted laws and ordinances. This responsibility includes meeting State mandates to assure all structures meet or exceed the minimum life safety standards of the building codes, laws and ordinances.

Highlights

Last year, the 1994 editions of the Uniform Building Codes were adopted. These codes, along with the City's amendments, have improved seismic requirements and enhance the safety of new structures. A new fee schedule was adopted, bringing needed changes that reflect current requirements mandated by the State. The owners of buildings of Unreinforced Masonry Building were notified to provide evidence that their URM'S meet the minimum requirements of the URM ordinance. As a result, the number of URM'S has been reduce to 12 from 17.

As you read this report you can see that service has been maintained or improved during this fiscal year as compared to last fiscal year. When compared to the previous provider, service has increased greatly at a substantial cost savings. The Building Department's cost has been about 70% of the previous provider.

The County of Ventura billed per period (13 a year) and Abbott bills per month (12 a year). The County's lowest bill for fiscal '93 was averaged into each of the remaining periods to make 12 billing periods for equal comparison.

Billing Rate Information

Building and Safety billing is basically based on a per hour rate. An example would be a building inspector whose rate is $57 an hour. What does the billing rate pay for?

1. Wages and Benefits (health, retirement, misc. taxes, etc.)
   
   
   1. Benefits are costly, most Cities pay 35% or more for benefits above the basic salary.
      
      
2. Holidays, Vacations, Sick Time
   
   
   1. If the inspector is not working, the City is not billed, therefore there is no cost to the City.
      
      
3. Seminars and Training
   
   
   1. Seminars and training are included in the Building Department hourly rates. This includes the cost of the training plus the City does not pay for the inspector while he's being trained. With the requirements of AB 717 going into effect this year, this is a major factor.
      
      
   2. Cost of travel to seminars and conventions.
      
      
4. Vehicles
   
   
   1. This includes all costs associated with the vehicles, from insurance to maintenance.
      
      
5. Office Equipment and Supplies
   
   
   1. This includes the computer issuance system, copier, computers, printers, fax machine and most of the office furniture.
      
      
6. Equipment Required in the Field
   
   
   1. This includes earthquake emergency kits, hard hats, tape measures, flashlights, levels, screwdrivers, correction notices, pens, etc.
      
      
7. Organization and Publications
   
   
   1. This includes memberships in I.C.B.O., I.A.P.M.O., C.A.B.O., and others, plus the publications, code books, interpretation manuals and more.
      
      
   2. Cost of certifications and licenses
      
      
8. Liability Insurance
   
   
   1. Cost of liability insurance.
      
      

As you can see, the $57 hourly rate includes considerable expenditures that are usually considered insignificant.

Administration

Administration is the function of the Building Official with the support of the Building and Safety staff. The Building Official is responsible for the administration and enforcement of Federal, State, and City laws and ordinances as they relate to the construction, use, and occupancy of every building in the City. The Building Official is also involved with development and implementation of ordinances, resolutions, policies and code adoptions.

Permit Issuance/Public Counter

The building and safety public counter has continued to provide excellent service with a one-stop process of over 80% of permits issued using computer generated permits. The 80% mark was achieved in 9 out of the 12 months, with an overall average of 84% of permits issued over the counter. This demonstrates that most permits can be issued over the counter in a one-stop manner.

The public counter is the responsibility of the permit technician with help from the inspectors and Building Official. Here are some of the functions of this area:

• Processing and routing applications and plans
• Calculating permit valuations and fees
• Maintaining files
• Answering phones and questions relating to building and safety
• Processing and routing inspection and plan review status requests
• Preparing daily and monthly permit activity reports
• Preparing census reports for the Census Bureau
• Micro fisch of plans
• Processing plans to storage

For fiscal year 1995-1996, Building and Safety issued 2056 permits with a valuation of $90,079,556. The following graph shows the relationship between these numbers. The number of permits issued is not usually consistent with permit valuation. However, the valuation numbers can be beneficial in forecasting trends in development.

Plan Check

Building and Safety review plans thoroughly and in a timely matter. Plan review is essential in order to assure compliance with all laws and ordinances relative to construction, use and occupancy.

Plan check turn-around times are important to the City of Camarillo. In addition to issuing 84% of permits over the counter, the Building Department turn-around time for plan check continues to be excellent. The average turn-around has been 5.5 working days on the first submittal and 2.2 working days on the second submittal. Most first submittals are completed in 5 days or less.

Typically, plans being reviewed eventually convert into building permits that are issued. Within 90 days of plan submittal, inspection resources are usually required for a period of 180 days (or more) after plan submittal or after permit issuance.

Building Inspection

This section is responsible for the proper inspection of all construction work to assure compliance with approved plans, laws and ordinances pertaining to construction, use, and occupancy. Regular inspections include:

• Temporary electric installations
• Setback inspection
• Foundation inspection
• Slab grade inspection
• Ground plumbing inspection
• Shear wall and roof sheathing inspection
• Combination inspection: rough framing, plumbing, electrical, mechanical, and energy conservation inspection
• Insulation inspection
• Drywall inspection
• Stucco mesh inspection
• Disabled access inspection
• Final inspection

Overall inspections have decreased over last year, but because of recent increased activity, inspections are on the rise.

Activity for FY 95-96

The first half of this year many plan checks were processed. The result is that the second half of this fiscal year, especially at the end of this fiscal year, permits at the Camarillo Town Center and many tracts were going at a good pace.

The number of permits issued for new dwellings has increased over last year. The increase is over three times that of the previous year.

Tenant improvements have leveled off as the first and second phase of the Factory Outlet fills up. Tenant improvements should pick up when phase three is complete.

Conclusion