Local

2016

October 2016 

To view County Monthly Report for permit and inspections statistics – Click link:  http://www.colliergov.net/your-government/divisions-a-e/building-review/building-permits-reports

CBIA – County Monthly Builder Round Table- Click here for notes from our August and September CBIA-CCGM Builder Round Table Meetings.

Collier County Updates- At the September 13th meeting, the Board completed their review of the 2015 Cycle 2 LDC amendments and approved Ordinance 2016-27. Both of these ordinances are available on the LDC website:  www.colliergov.net/approvedordinances

September 2016

City of Naples
Quarterly Update from CBIA Government Affairs member, R Benson (A Vernon Allen)
Permitting is down year over year for the same period as last year.
o 41616 Applications – down 7%
o 99 Single Family Permits – down 15%
o 539 Multi-family permits-down 16%

The Building Department is working on online permitting, and is considering the CBIA recommendation and assistance with the process. The suggestion for uniformity would be to implement the same system as Collier County. This is in lieu of a “built from scratch” module to work with the current government system or another supplier. Our discussion was that although the Collier County system has issues, at least it is a consistent platform where the contractors would not need to learn an entirely new system and process for the different municipalities. R. Benson (A Vernon Allen and CBIA Government Affairs Committee member) is going to meet with City leaders next month to discuss further and assist with the timeline for implementation and report back.

Building Permits are slightly behind, but catching up. The Building Official is using his authority for early work letters to alleviate this, and contractors are suggested to contact him for assistance.

To view County Monthly Report for permit and inspections statistics: Click link: http://www.colliergov.net/your-government/divisions-a-e/building-review/building-permits-reports

August 2016

City of Naples Monthly Stats: Click here to see permits issued August 2016

City of Naples
Temporary construction fences for demos only will remain unchanged and permitted as a separate permit. All other temp fences will be included in the GC permit for the construction with a sub form required for the fence contractor. The fee will not change but will be included in the main permit. The plan showing the proposed temp fence shall be included on the construction site management plan. This is a policy intended to stream line the process by eliminating a separate permit submission and review for a temp fence. The GC can coordinate this work along with the fence inspection #269 as part of their construction. City ordinance requires a temp fence to be in place during construction, a stop work order may be issued should construction start without a temp fence installed and inspected. Click here for details.

PRIMARY ELECTIONS IMPORTANT DATE
August 24 – Last day voters can request a Vote by Mail Ballot.  Order one at:  www.CollierVotes.com or call (239) 252-VOTE (8683).
August 30 – Election Day.  Polls are open from 7am – 7 pm.
Click here for Map of CC Districts

July 2016

7/27/2016: NAHB Dues Increase 2017 – Resolution – Click here

Click here to see all District 2, 3 and 5 Candidate Responses to a CBIA Survey.

Florida Building Commission  Technical Advisory Committee – Building Codes Commission – See Full report here

Lunch & Learn

Identity Task Force Lunch & Learn Series for Businesses
Click here for dates and topics.

June 2016

06/29/2016: Builder Round Table Meeting Notes
Meeting of June 15, 2016

Builder Topics:

• Question was asked about fee reimbursement. Who is contact at County and How long does it generally take: Could take between 4 – 6 weeks. Contact is Magaly Bowman: MagalyBowman@colliergov.net
• Concerns with inability to see comments without log-in to inspectors’ review. Rich Long explained County is working on this issue and will let us know progress/when solved.
Stock Development piloted the new procedure for master permits…went very well and thanked the County. CBIA members who wish to use master permit process contact Rich Long and he can guide you through the process. RichardLong@colliergov.net
• How many hard copies of plans are currently required: 5 copies for commercial, 3 copies for residential, affidavits depending upon the issue (usually 2 copies)

Building Official/CCGM Topics:

• As of August 1st emails and faxes will no longer be accepted as the County will go to full electronic submittal.
• Affidavit for concealed fasteners on window and door retrofits or replacements. Looking for input from CBIA members to get ideas of acceptable statements and requirements. Email Jonathan Walsh with your comments/suggestions at JonathanWalsh@colliergov.net
• PLEPR – Portal change require customers to install the latest Version of Java on their computer to allow them to upload documents AND portal customers must clear their temporary internet files and cookies on their browser.
CC Building Official – Private Provider Meeting Notes and Resulting Updates
• Pre-issuance meetings will no longer need owner, see PP form change below
• Thresholds on when the pre-permit issuance meetings will be required.
o Residential – three stories and above OR greater than 5000 sq ft
o Commercial – New building OR total renovation OR tenant improvements greater than 3000 sq ft
• Private provider paperwork to be amended such that the owner checks off, initials, signs another portion to address pre-issuance meetings
• Private provider forms to be amended to include another form as a short cut to indicate that the accessory/sub permits are also covered under original PP package rather than having multiple PP packages for same owner and property
• Private provider forms to be adjusted to note usage of county inspection lists for revision to become PP for inspections
• Building staff has the approval of all private providers to check off “missing” inspections rather than reject package
• Submission of paperwork shall conform to digital signature rules. i.e. if emailed digital signature shall be provided, hard copies ink/raised seals
• Private providers to schedule within county system all inspections for the following day once approved
o Partials (structural) shall be at a minimum per floor or as outlined in pre-issuance meetings
o Multiple partials in a week’s period shall be called in at least once per week
• PP inspectors shall use and note line “partial” with notes when applicable.
• If partial inspections were performed a minimum one report for each floor shall state a final report as passed – all portions complete
• Paul D. of GFA to provide other jurisdiction data for review and consideration (this has been provided but not yet reviewed)
• It was agreed that notification by email of inspections to be performed can be emailed to chiefs, however not required to be scheduled until passed and report is on site
• Revisions shall be provided when deemed required (not each and every change but not all at end of project either)
• Reports shall be available onsite at all times (PP to make sure contractor is aware) not available will result in a non-passing notation within the system requiring inspection to be rescheduled.
• Complete package of all inspections shall be provided at end of project
• Private provider packages typically will not be considered the same day as drop off for CO’s please allow one to three days for processing

Enforcement actions for not following requirements (scheduling inspections, surveys, partial inspection, holding inspections until conditions are resolved, revisions, etc) will be incurred on contractor and may result in delays and contractor licensing concerns. Special thanks to CBIA member, Tatiana Gust for spearheading this effort with Jonathan Walsh.

06/22/16: How to Comply and Mitigate the Effects of the Overtime Rule
Filed in Codes and Regulations, Labor, Safety and Health on June 7, 2016 • 8 Comments

Despite strong opposition by NAHB and other leaders in the nation’s small business community, the Department of Labor (DOL) last month issued its final overtime rule, which will more than double the current overtime salary limit of $23,660 to $47,476.
Set to take effect on Dec. 1, the rule will have significant ramifications for many employers, including home building firms and non-profit organizations such as local and state HBAs.

NAHB has prepared an FAQ to help our members better understand and to comply with the rule. In addition, a webinar replay is now available to help you:
• Learn what employers need to know before Dec. 1.
• Find out which staff will be due overtime.
• Assist NAHB’s advocacy efforts on this issue.

Rule Meant to Help Workers Could Harm Them
Most small businesses, including the vast majority of home building companies, operate under tight margins. The huge spike in the overtime threshold could force many employers to convert salaried employees to hourly workers in order to remain solvent. Many employers will be forced to scale back on pay and benefits, as well as cut workers’ hours, in order to avoid overtime requirements and remain in business.
Though the rule is intended to help workers, many could wind up earning less money than they were making previously, and lose the workplace flexibility that comes with being a salaried employee. The rule will also reduce job-advancement opportunities and the hours of full-time construction supervisors, leading to construction delays, increased costs and less affordable housing options for consumers.
Under the new standard, the salary threshold will be indexed to inflation and adjusted every three years, forcing employers to go through this process on an ongoing basis.
NAHB continues to lead the effort to urge Congress to quickly pass the Protecting Workplace Advancement and Opportunity Act (House bill H.R. 4773 and Senate bill S. 2707). The legislation would force the Department of Labor to withdraw this rule until it has considered the effects it would have on small businesses, consumers, workers and the economy.
A Bad Rule that Could have been Worse
The Department of Labor originally proposed to raise the annual salary level to $50,440 to determine if an employee can be exempt from overtime eligibility. NAHB lobbied intensely to get this level reduced and delayed, and in the end achieved a number of improvements in the final rule, including a relatively modest lower threshold of $47,476.
Crunching the numbers, NAHB economists estimate that raising the overtime salary threshold to $50,440 would allow more than 116,000 construction supervisors to become overtime-eligible under this rule. The final threshold of $47,476 impacts 97,213 supervisors.
The difference is significant. In a survey conducted by NAHB last summer, 27% of affected builders said they would respond to the change in the overtime threshold by raising the supervisor’s salary to the new threshold. Thus, an estimated 27% of the 97,213 supervisors would have their salaries raised to $47,476 instead of $50,440. This is a savings of $2,964 per worker, or $77.8 million in labor costs in 2017 because the rule does not take effect until Dec. 1.
For more information, contact NAHB’s Suzanne Beall at 800-368-5242 x8407

06/15/16: The Florida Supreme Court Continues its Assault on Florida’s Worker’s Compensation System
Click Here to read more.

City View Electronic Process Update:
PLEPR – Portal change require customers to install the latest Version of Java on their computer to allow them to upload documents AND portal customers must clear their temporary internet files and
cookies on their browser.

Electronic Plan Review Training
Collier County Growth Management
2800 North Horseshoe Drive
Naples, Florida 34104
Conference Room 610
Session Dates and Time
Monday, June 20, 2016 – 9:00 a.m. to noon.
Monday, June 20, 2016 – 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Tuesday, June 28, 2016 – 9:00 a.m. to noon
Tuesday, June 28, 2016 – 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Wednesday, June 29, 2016 – 9:00 a.m.to noon
Wednesday, June 29, 2016 – 1:30 to 4:30 p.m.

Thursday, June 30, 2016 – 9:00 a.m. to noon
Thursday, June 30, 2016 – 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

To ensure you have a reserved seat for one of the sessions, please RSVP by Friday, June 10, 2016 by contacting one of the Training Coordinators by email or phone:

Dianna Perryman:
diannadperryman@colliergov.net
phone: 239-252-2965 or
Danny Condomina:
dannycondomina@colliergov.net
phone: 239-252-6866.

06/01/16

05/18/16

05/04/2016

4/13/2016

CBIA has partnered with NABOR to hold candidate forums throughout Summer 2016 . See schedule below:

7/13: State Senate District 28, State Reps., Districts 80, 106
7/20: BCC, Districts 1, 3
7/27: BCC, District 5 and potentially District 2
8/3: Clerk of Courts
8/11: School Board, Districts 2 , 4

All Forums will be held from 5:00 p.m – 7:00 p.m.at NABOR. CBIA member participation is critical to ensure our voice is heard!

3/16/2016

The Collier County Board of County Commissioners at the last BCC meeting voted unanimously to lower development-related application, processing review, inspection fees and engineering re-inspection fees. Commissioners also voted unanimously to hire an additional 16 full-time employees in the Growth Management Department to respond to increased customer demand.

Commissioners agreed to lower development-related application, processing review and inspection fees by 3.5 percent. They also agreed to a minor reduction to engineering re-inspection fees in order to be consistent with other inspection fees. The reduction will save about $401,000 annually.

The 16 new full-time positions approved by the commissioners will be funded with current user fee reserves, which require no additional fees and will have no impact on the general fund. CCGM will hire four senior building inspectors, a fire plans reviewer, a permitting supervisor, two planners, three planning technicians, a fiscal technician, a senior operations analyst, a site plans reviewer, a senior project manager and a planned unit development coordinator.

CBIA will partner with NABOR to hold candidate forums. Your participation will be critical as numerous races of importance to the construction industry are on this year’s ballot. As soon as we have identified dates/races for debate, we will notify members.

CBIA Government Affairs Committee is developing a short survey request which will be sent to county commission candidates. We anticipate the survey will be finalized by the end of March and be sent in mid-April. Responses will be collated and sent to all members before the primary.

Plans are underway for “Politics in the Park” with our biggest hurdle being location. We should have the date and location determined my mid-April. Interested in participating on our Politics in the Park Committee, contact kathy@cbia.net.

To access notes of our February CBIA-CCGM Builder Round Table CLICK HERE.

Next CBIA-CCGM Builder Round Table Meeting is scheduled for 3:30-4:30 p.m., Wednesday, March 16th at CBIA. To register, contact nancy@cbia.net or contact her at 436-6100.

The City of Naples Building Department is implementing enhanced Customer Services for new Single family home construction that will mirror current services provided for all new commercial, multi-family and PUD single family construction. This new optional service will provide expedited review where the city will allow single trade corrections to be submitted during the review process (if approved by the Building Official), that do not significantly change the design (i.e.: riser diagrams, NOA’s, or other minor changes). Also included is a dedicated Inspection Team allowing the contractor to schedule an inspection by calling or texting directly the inspector they need for a time specific inspection, and single trade revisions reviewed and approved on site eliminating the need to submit time consuming revisions.

This optional Customer Service Initiative (CSI Project) is currently being offered without any additional permit fees. This new service will initially be offered for new home construction +/-5,500 sf and larger under A/C. When we have a better understanding of the quantity of CSI project customers in relation to CSI program budgeted funding (2015/2016: $160,000) the City may lower the S.F. requirement. To service these projects the City is adding (next week) a new structural plans examiner/inspector to the staff, and with City Council approval, the building department will have 5 outside engineering firms (private providers) that are under contract for 5 years to use on an as needed basis to provide required inspection and plan review services above and beyond the capability of current staffing.

Inspection Teams will include City inspectors along with the outside approved firms inspectors. According to the City Building Official, Craig Mole, this team approach has been successfully implemented on a number of current CSI projects including Moorings Projects Phases 1, 2, 3, and 4 and the New Hyatt Hotel. This new plan to have Teams of Government and Private Staffing will provide the best customer service possible.

The Department’s Plan is to continually expand this program in the next few years to include all multi-family addition and alterations and smaller single family construction. When fully implemented this new initiative will change the way the City Building Department services permits.

The goal of this initiative is to include the Building Department as part of a Team and work together with customers to decrease the length of time needed for construction which will reduce the impact on City residents. Contractors are asked to contact Building Official, Craig Mole CMole@naplesgov.com directly if they would like to take advantage of this new program for one of their projects.

2016

CityView Electronic Plan Review Training

The Collier County Growth Management Department will be holding training classes for the new CityView Electronic Plan Review (EPR) process. With EPR, customers will have the ability to submit new Building Permit applications along with associated plans and documents directly into our existing CityView software.

We are encouraging your participation in this training opportunity. The training is available to all current SIRE users and potential future users. Effective April 1, 2016, all customers that are currently faxing or emailing permit applications to the Business Center will be required to either hand deliver, mail, or use the new EPR process.

The training sessions are limited to a maximum of 20 people per session, so we are requesting that you send no more than two representatives. The training session will cover application submission, corrections, revisions, and navigation. The location, times and dates are as follows:

Collier County Growth Management Department
2800 North Horseshoe Drive
Naples, Florida 34104
Conference Room 610

Session Dates and Times
March 2, 2016 – 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
March 3, 2016 – 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
March 7, 2016 – 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
March 8, 2016 – 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
March 9, 2016 – 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
March 11, 2016- 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

To ensure you have a reserved seat for one of the sessions, please RSVP by Wednesday, February 24, 2016 by contacting one of the Training Coordinators by email or phone:

Dianna Perryman: diannadperryman@colliergov.net, phone: 239-252-2965 or
Danny Condomina: dannycondomina@colliergov.net, phone: 239-252-6866.

We are excited to offer this service and look forward to seeing you at the training sessions.

02/17/2016:Board of County Commissioners Affordable Workforce Housing Workshop-Date: 03/01/2016 9:00 AM
Location: Board of County Commissioners chambers, third floor, Collier County Government Center, 3299 Tamiami Trail E.
Click Here for “Incentive Review Table Summary.” CBIA will speak against a proposed “Affordable Housing” Impact Fee. Please contact Kathy Curatolo with any questions, concerns, suggestions.

2016 Proposed Building Code Bill: HB 535 by Rep. Eagle and SB 704 by Sen. Hutson.

There are several changes in the bill, but key provisions that make this bill critical to pass are:

– Keeping Blower Door Testing and Mechanical Ventilation Testing as an Optional Process
– Returning the zero-lot line fire separation to the prior code standard
– Returning the fire wall standards to the prior code
– Providing an alternative performance-path methodology for home energy calculations;
– Beginning the planning for a 6- year code cycle
– Providing funding for non-binding interpretation of the fire code
– Creation of a construction industry workforce task group.

02/09/2016:  Collier County Submission of Plans Electronically

Building Review Home Page Link: http://www.colliergov.net/index.aspx?page=31

E-Permitting Information Page Link: http://www.colliergov.net/index.aspx?page=3238

E-Permitting User Guide Link: http://www.colliergov.net/modules/showdocument.aspx?documentid=63168

Training dates/times are in the process of being scheduled for early March. As soon as they are confirmed, CBIA will send a follow-up email.

01/27/2016: Electronic Permitting

The CCGM implementation preparation for electronic permitting will begin at 5PM on January 29, 2016 and conclude at 11PM on January 31, 2016. The CityView system, which also includes the IVR phone system and the Cityview Portal, will remain disabled from 5PM, Friday, January 29 until 11PM on Sunday, January 31, 2016. During this period, neither external nor internal users of the system will be able to access it for any purposes. To view notes from our January CBIA-County Builder Round Table Click Here

01/20/2016

The Growth Management Division of Collier County is getting ready to roll out a new system called Electronic Plan Review (EPR) that will streamline the electronic plans submittal, electronic plans tracking, and electronic plans review processes.

The CCGM system will be unavailable for requesting inspections after 4:30 pm Fri. 1/29 thru 12 midnight Sun. 1/31. This really should not interrupt any job schedules or the ability to schedule inspections for Monday and Tuesday. Thank you for all of your support. What this means for inspections scheduling is all inspections needed for Mon. 2/1 will be requested thru CV Portal or IVR before 4:30 pm Fri. 1/29. This is the normal time frame, no change. Inspections needed for Tues. 2/2 will need to be requested on Mon. 2/1 before 4:30 pm.

The purpose of this notification is to inform all that the implementation of the new system will begin at 5PM on January 29, 2016 and conclude at 11PM on January 31, 2016.

Why is this notification important? The Cityview system, which also includes the IVR phone system and the Cityview Portal, will remain disabled from 5PM, Friday, January 29 until 11PM on Sunday, January 31, 2016. During this period, neither external nor internal users of the system will be able to access it for any purposes. If any changes in this plan are made, CCGM will inform CBIA.

Our President, Terry Kelly, spoke at the January 12, 2016 BCC meeting following a meeting scheduled with Nick Cassalanguida (Assistant County Manager), commercial contractors, Joanne Markiewicz (Director, County Procurement Services Division) and Crystal Kinzel (Director of Finance and Accounting, County Clerk’s Office). He spoke on behalf of commercial contractors supporting the recommendation for a vote by county commissioners to reaffirm the continued use of utilizing “lump sum,” “time and materials,” and “unit price.” Terry had been given a tentative time for this item on the agenda for late morning. He arrived at 10:30 a.m. and spoke at 6:00 p.m. Other aspects of this issue are to be addressed in the future; hopefully, to include the 5% above cost payment which is ludicrous.

Fire Sprinkler Pipe Inspection – The GNFD Fire and Life Safety Division requires welded sprinkler pipe inspections on the ground before the pipe is installed. Several fire sprinkler contractors have asked why we do this. One reason is, it is required by NFPA 24. Here is a picture of another reason. The slag inside the pipe on one project is large enough to obstruct the orifice opening of most sprinkler drops. This is from one system.

 01/06/2016

For the past two years, CBIA representatives have been working with the County, to update the Architectural and Site Design Standards. Dominic Amico (Agnoli, Barber & Brundage) and Kathy Curatolo (CBIA) have served on this BCC appointed committee.

The final draft amendment vetted and updated by the Architectural and Site Design Standards Ad Hoc committee can be obtained by calling CBIA, 436-6100.

The next step in the vetting process is a review by DSAC. At the October DSAC meeting, county staff will request that DSAC create a subcommittee to review the amendment to begin the public vetting process. Over the next few months, CBIA and the County will continue to keep you apprised on the proposed amendment.

If you have any questions, concerns or comments on the final draft, please contact Kathy Curatolo at CBIA (436-6100 or kathy@cbia.net).