I live in a three-condo building in Boston, MA. We are in the midst of a repair project on the roof that consists of:
[ul]
[li]removal of a roof deck[/li][li]replacing the roof[/li][li]building a new roof deck (same size)[/li][li]repair of second floor deck and fire stairs (all part of one big structure)[/li][/ul]
This is not a controversial project. We have a very reputable contractor who obtained all the necessary permits for construction (I know because they are all properly posted on my door). Yesterday they removed the old deck and started on the roof. Today they were supposed to finish the roof, but it rained so no work was done. Inspectional Services Division pasted a Stop Work Order on the roof deck construction, stating “failure to secure long term permit for deck.”
I strongly suspect that a neighbor called ISD to put this in motion. (We have a very cranky neighbor). My question is: is there any way to find out HOW this Stop Work Order came about and WHO, if anyone, complained? I doubt if I call ISD they will tell me. Does an official complaint need to be filed in the public record, though? Any way to know? If some asshole neighbor is causing us trouble, I want to know who it is (not to seek retribution or anything, but it’s good to know if you’re living next to a flaming jerk).
Note: I am not asking about solving the permit problem. The contractor is handling that and, given that the deck/staircase is fire egress, I am sure it will be resolved swiftly. Thanks for any help!
I have wondered this same thing about construction on our house. We had a large refuse container on the street, two different times for two different projects, both with permits. We had inspectors come by three times to check the permit (which always makes me wonder why they don’t check at their office first, they never seem to know if we have a permit, let alone if things are posted correctly). No harm done, but I would like to know which of our neighbors is behaving like a jerk.
But I have never taken the time to go down and ask the question.
I suspect that the answer will very by jurisdiction, different states and municipalities probably have different sunshine ordinances.
I’ll be interested to see if anyone has actual experience with this.
Roddy
It’s been years since I pulled a permit in Boston proper, but the Inspectional Services Department are way more fussy than the average suburban building department. They would always take the maximum amount of time (or more, which shouldn’t happen) to award a permit, even for simple things. And I wouldn’t be surprised if they offered a bounty for those who discover un-permitted or under-permitted projects. An electrical inspector once told me he would drive around looking for dusty bootprints going into buildings, hoping to find some illegal demolition going on inside.
Since most permit fees are a percentage of the total cost of the work being done, it is in the contractor’s interest to underestimate the project totals, and maybe leave some of the scope of work off the permit. If they think they can get away with it. So someone who could have looked up the permit details (like the pissy neighbor) could accuse the builder of doing more than was in the permit. ISD would have to look into it.
I agree they will never tell you who complained. Our attitude was mostly to grovel and do whatever they asked, because they are almost IRS-like in their ability to cause you pain if you cross them.
I’m not sure how the permit process works in you jurisdiction, because I am unclear on what a “long term permit” is.
In my jurisdiction, a Stop Work Order is not taken lightly, and can only be issued by the big boss based on the inspector’s recommendation. There are other, lesser orders that can be used for deviation from the approved work, or a code violation, but they only order you to correct the issue, while allowing you to continue working.
From my experience, even though the project is approved, and permitted, many neighbors will complain about anything they can think up to prevent construction from going forward. Unfortunately, all this does is draw out the inevitable, and create bad blood between the soon-to-be neighbors.
Another interesting source of complaints comes from a contractor who bid on the job but was not awarded the contract. They know the ins and outs of the work going on, so know how to submit the most accurate and relevant complaint. This is a good thing when they lost the bid to a contractor who did not get a permit, but is otherwise a little frustrating.
All this to say, I don’t know what happened in your case, but the best way to find out is to call the inspector who posted the order, and have him explain the violation and the required solution.
Yeah, I don’t know what a long term permit is, either. As far as I know, either your property is zoned for a deck or it isn’t. Ours is, and there’s been a deck there for at least 25 years. I am very interested to hear what the contractor says after he talks to the inspector tomorrow.
Boston ISD does have a “Long Form Permit”, which you should have for your situation of reworking a high visibility, outside structure ? (roof top decks affect the neighbours !)
The alternative forms don’t seem suitable.
short form (internal renovations ? you could check to see if the short form applied to the decks…),
You’re right, it DOES say “long form” and not “long term.” (The handwriting is bad and the F looks like a T.) That makes a little more sense now, though again I’m not overly concerned about that part.
I still want to find out how the inspection was initiated.
In case anyone (Roderick?) is interested in an update, I spoke with the inspector who issued the Stop Work Order today and he did, actually, give me some information. He told me that the complaint was initiated by Address A (our neighbor on the left). He also said he had 3 other complaints on file between our address and Address A, totalling two from them to us and two from us to them!
Now, I know for a fact that these complaints are fake, i.e. nobody from our building has complained about work on their building. We spoke to them and they tell us that they did not complain, have never complained to the city and have no problem with what we’re doing (we’re on very good terms with them). In other words, another neighbor - and we know who it is but cannot prove it - called and gave our addresses instead of her own when making the complaints. Amazing.
Thanks to her call, our project may be delayed by 5 months unless we can find an old permit from 25 years ago. She won’t be getting a Christmas card.
Amazing…my opinion of the Boston ISD isn’t high. A few months ago, a woamn dies in a fire, in a hose in Boston. The house had been illegally subdivided into apartments-there was no proper fire escape, and the smoke detectors were not in order. ISD indeed.