residential build permits
 

I don't know if I'm screwed or not. 9 years ago I had a major renovation done on my primary home. All required permits were pulled and approved. Halfway thru the job I added a porch, just a deck really. This month I hired a contractr to cover the porch by extending the existing roof line. I asked the contractor to pull the permits and he said not necessary since it is a cover for an existing porch.

So he starts the job but I say please double check with the town concerning the permit. He does, they move slowly in this town so the work continues. Now the work is done. Now the town rejects my permit application saying the porch is not on record and it doesn't meet setback requirements. It should be 50' from the road but is only 40'.

Apparently the porch never made it to the review board 10 years ago.

WTF do I do now? Open a can of worms with a variance? Ignore it all?

Heres the nearly complete job:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1540735745.jpg

Did your township switch from a township building officer to using the state Division of Consumer affairs sometime in that 10 yr period?

I wouldn't ignore it because it might get worse with the town. You might want to talk to a lawyer who knows the town for advice and to represent you. Maybe consult a surveyor as well. It could be that the porch doesn't have to be 50' from the road, like the main house.

It's not really clear in your OP if you made formal notification, during the initial build, that a porch/deck would be added. When I first read your post, I got the impression it was added without notifying the building department, but then you added the comment of the porch not being reviewed. Can you clarify?

Why didn't the final inspection pick up the presence of the porch if it wasn't on the plans? If it was there when the final was done, perhaps the inspector saw it as something that did not require a permit. Do you have a copy of your original plans with the porch added? Is it stamped for approval?

Most likely, not doing anything will not be an issue, but if you ever intend to sell or remodel, this will come back to bite you. If you have any documentation that you submitted a revision that included the porch, I would suggest you use that and apply for a variance and granting of a "non-conforming" structure. That would allow its legal existence, but might require a removal or rebuild if you should ever remodel.

Dealing with building departments can be a PITA, or can be very easy, especially in a smaller community. Again, if you have some way to show you submitted a revision, approaching the department, in person, to ask their help in resolving this issue may be the way to go.

The original GC was to make formal notification of the addition of the porch well after the work of the renovation began. The "final" inspection was made before the porch was finished. That was 8 years ago and I trusted the GC to get it right. The town never came back for the porch inspection. I cannot explain the error and the original GC is out of business.

The GC who just did the roof dragged his feet on the roof permit because he thought the porch was constructed under a permit. Then the town dragged its feet , why I don't know. But the porch is properly constructed on footings properly spaced. The only issue is the setback. The house itself meets the setback requirement.

I'm concerned that going thru a variance review would create a bigger mess, just due to paranoia.

Here in south Carolina you can apply for a setback variance. It's a major pain in the a$$, but maybe an option.
Not sure how it would work out after the build.
Like what has been said, i would leave it alone. The only issue would come up if you try and sell the house.
Steve

Normally the IBC allows for a deck under 30" in height to be built just about anywhere on the property. Regions, cities, etc. may have overriding rules.

So the problem begins with the covering structure. You'll likely have to get a variance or take it down. With the variance it will have to meet strict code. Open covers are subject to wind and snow loads that differ from enclosed structures. Read - engineering.

I run into this a lot with customers. You'll have to file permits for whatever was built without one. Then have to file for a variance with land use. That's the toughest part.
Hopefully whatever was built is up to code. Footing size and depth has to be checked. Every town I deal with here in Jersey is different. Also depends on the individual inspector. Some are easy, some are nightmares.

That's the bad thing about doing stuff without permits. It can come back to bite you in the ass big time. I've had to do too many tear downs and rebuilds because of it. I recently had one customer lose the sale of their house over a stupid little 12x12 ground level deck that didn't have a permit. Total BS, but them's the rules!


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Go to the town and do an OPRA request, to see what they have on file.

If you are over the setbacks, you will need to see zoning officer.

If you ignore it, It will bite back when you sell.

Whose property is it, your's or the city's?

It's been that way for 10 years? Perhaps you can claim adverse possession of your own property. :rolleyes:

Land of the Free. Home of the brave... Where rights to purchased property are sold again by the "permitting" class.

Is my disgust showing thru? I'm trying to hide it.

You could ask the city/township when they plan on demo'ing the structure. --They're not. They clearly don't care about the structure. They simply want money.

10 years!

Like Milt said, it is the roof structure, around here anyway. I don't know what goes on where you are and how strict zoning or code officers are. Here in LA, I am already thinking about a variance, sit in a few meetings. My other suggestions are to leave it, enjoy it and remove it when you sell. Have your contractor cut it back 10' and fix the problem. For me, I would go with the first choice. There's always a chance you will get a business stuck to your door from the city inspector asking you to call him, but that one day may never come. How noticeable is it form the street?

Hey Island, he just finished extending the roof line this month.

The one thing I made sure of personally was to see the footings properly done. I trusted the GCs to do the permits, that's my bad. But I'm still very worried about being forced into a teardown, that'd be a financial disaster.

I'm guessing that there is a shared view and thus the need for a set-back requirement.
The city/association wants to preserve equal rights for all the owners along the road.
Any deck below 30" probably won't require a railing by code and thus won't block the common view.

My dad got into a tiff with our new neighbor who broke association rules, built an extended deck, and put in a gastly custom railing system which blocked half the lake view from our house.
"Go ahead and sue me, punk" was rich boy's response.

If you go for the variance route, you might want to get letters of waiver or testimony from the two adjoining neighbors.
If it's okay with them, there might not be any further reason for the city to contest the structure.

Be mindful though, if they give you a waiver, they will have to give everyone a waiver.
A 'new addition' might trigger a re-assessment as well.

Check the rules on the porch itself.

One town I lived in only required a permit if it was attached to the house and over 12"

If unattached and under one foot anything and anywhere on the property was fair game, set backs did not apply.

Worth a shot.

Get copy of city code? Read the instructions first?
Who do you think we are?

You may want to enlist the help of an architect versed in zoning appeals and board hearings. Someone “plugged in”. These types of improvements can have a funny way of initiating what are seemingly unrelated conditions. For example, we added a small kitchen addition (100sqft) which added a small amount of new roof. The city required that we install dry wells as a result of the new roof. I argued unsuccessfully that local climate and precipitation levels were unlikely to be affected by the new roof. In went the dry wells.

Seen this before. Development on a golf course. 2 neighbors side by side right on the dogleg of one of the holes. Neighbor A puts in a tennis court on a deck without reviewing zoning requirements blocking Neighbor B’s view down the fairway.

Neighbor B complains eventually resulting in Neighbor A tearing down the court. Out of spite and because he had the means, Neighbor A has 3 or 4 enormous trees installed instead in the same location which do not need a variance.



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This may vary from state to state... When we bought, we got saddled with $8000 in fines over non permitted work, which we - the buyers - had to pay. Seller didn't...