Surveyors, contractors, developers and engineers say they want to be involved in the county's plans to review its building, residential, plumbing, electrical and mechanical codes.
Commissioner Robin Bartlett Frazier, R-District 1, directed county staff to begin a thorough review process of the county's codes to find out what processes could be streamlined, what hurdles can be taken away and what regulations could be reduced. The review process comes after the board approved dozens of code changes during its two-and-a-half years in office.
Over a two-week period, Frazier refused to return phone calls, emails or tweets to the Carroll County Times in order to have an in-depth conversation about her proposal.
Clayton Fischer, project analyst for the commissioners' office, said the review process will include a comprehensive look at the county's various codes and compare how Carroll's codes and development processes stack up against those of surrounding jurisdictions.
Input from experts
In order to learn about what portions of the county code cause problems or hurdles for people, the public has been invited to relay their experiences and put forward alternative solutions to county staff. Those working in the local construction industry have said they want to be part of the review process.
Randy Petkus, with BPR Surveying in Westminster, said there are a number of code sections that could be pared down, which would be a benefit to his business. Code sections that could be modified have to do with stormwater management, sediment control, landscaping, forest conservation and water supply restrictions, he said.
If the surveyors and engineers at BPR Surveying focused on the issue, Petkus said they could come up with a list of regulations and rules that are hurdles for them on Carroll County projects.
"If we sat long enough, we could come up with some pretty good specific things that nail us on every project," Petkus said. "If we could get them reduced a little bit, it might lower some costs and make people interested in developing."
The responses will be collected by staff and they will be sorted into topics that would be discussed by work groups, Fischer said. The work groups will contain any code inspectors, contractors, small and large business owners, architects, insurance companies, representatives from the municipalities and the general public that want to be involved in the process.
"Anybody that contacts us is certainly welcome to be on [a work group]," Fischer said. "Nobody will be excluded."
David Bullock, owner of a Westminster-based construction company, said he appreciates that the commissioners are interested in hearing from the experts when considering changes to the codes.
"It's nice that they made the offer and that they're listening," Bullock said. "I think that it's a good gesture to have open ears, whether it be for home owners or builders to voice their concerns."
Shawn Hagan, president and owner of Classic American Homes, said he applauds the commissioners for asking people in the building industry to weigh in on the codes. It's rare, Hagan said, that the people who are in charge of the codes ask for the opinion of people who are impacted by them.
"It's usually, 'Here's the code. It it what it is,'" Hagan said. "It'd be nice if [the county staff] could see our point and they can take a little bit of what we think with them when they consider some of this stuff."
Cary Cumberland, president of Viking Custom Homes, said the commissioners are taking a step in the right direction by asking for people's input on the county's construction codes. By opening up the process, he said, the commissioners are creating a better line of dialogue with builders that may have issues with the codes.
Fischer said the work groups will apply their experience and expertise to make recommendations about sections of code that could be altered or removed along with short summaries of their reasoning. The recommendations of all the work groups will be put into a report and presented to the board.
Fischer said he is still in the process of determining how the review will be performed and how and when people will be able to offer their input.
Code comparisons with other counties
One of the other components of the building code review is seeing how Carroll stacks up with surrounding counties.
County staff will compare Carroll's building, residential, plumbing, electrical and mechanical codes to those in Frederick, Howard, Baltimore and Harford counties, Fischer said.
The codes will be compared on the basis of restrictiveness. Code officials and contractors will offer commentary on the relative differences in time and expense required to comply with the different sections of each of the codes, he said.
Frank Dertzbaugh, owner of Dertzbaugh Construction in Frederick, said he was involved in Frederick County's code review process. Like Carroll, Frederick County asked for input from those in the construction industry.
It was very beneficial, he said, because it gave people in the local construction industry the chance to use their expertise.
"We've been through it all over the years," said Dertzbaugh, who has been in business for nearly 40 years. "We've earned some respect [with the county] because of what we know and what we've been able to deal with over the years."
Aside from code comparison, Fischer said the review will also compare the Carroll County Bureau of Permits and Inspections' work processes with those of other jurisdictions.
Comparisons will include looking at workload and staffing levels in order to assess the ongoing impact staffing levels may have on the speed and efficiency with which the bureau performs its functions.
