NARI/First Suburb Coalition Meeting Summary
September 22, 2004

About six representatives of NARI along with six representatives of first suburbs met to discuss the barriers to remodeling and how these barriers might be removed. The meeting was an excellent exchange of ideas.

Consistency

If there was one theme it was “consistency.” Consistency across jurisdictions and within an individual jurisdiction. Basically remodeling contractors want to know what to expect. The idea of consistency applies to a number of aspects of the city’s involvement in the remodeling process. They include:

• Use of the same or similar codes and requirements from one jurisdiction to the next.
• Same or similar fees from one jurisdiction to the next.
• Similar plan review process.
• Same or similar threshold for when a permit is required.
• Similar and reciprocal licensing and testing requirements across jurisdictions.
• Same or similar submittal requirements.
• Consistent application of codes. The contractor does not mind having expectations, they just want to know what those expectations are.
• Consistent inspections. This means that each inspector looks at the project the same way and that requirements of inspectors are consistent with what the city approved in the plan review process.

Inspection process

The inspection process and the relationship between the inspector and the remodeling contractor is critical. Following are the key characteristics of a good relationship that serves the city and the contractor:

• The contractor and inspector meet face-to-face to discuss issues. For example an inspector could call a contractor to let them know they are heading to the site.
• The inspector’s requirements and expectations are consistent with what was approved during plan review and in the city’s published requirements.
• When problems are encountered (and that is the nature of a remodeling job) the inspector works with the contractor to find a solution. There is an attitude of lets figure out how to solve this problem.
• That the emphasis in inspections and requirements is meeting the spirit of the regulations rather than the letter of code. It is often very costly and sometimes impossible to meet the letter of the code, but the spirit of the code could be met if the code was applied with some flexibility.

Promotion

The group decided there were several things that could be done to promote remodeling by better cooperation between the remodeling contractors and local governments. These include:

• MARC will work to survey building officials to develop a booklet that has information on each city’s building fees, threshold requirements for when a permit is required, and other important requirements.
• It was agreed that common training for remodeling contractors and building officials would be very useful. The Johnson County contractor’s licensing training might institute a remodeling track that could focus on these remodeling issues and bring remodeling contractors and building officials together.
• The group will pursue a meeting between remodeling contractors and the local chapter of the ICC to discuss how the industry and local governments can work together to develop more consistency in how remodeling is regulated.

Other issues

Some additional issues were discussed. They include:

• Cities should rely more on an engineer or architects certification that something will work.
• It is very helpful if a city can answer a contractor’s questions in a timely manner.
• Having inspectors equipped with cell phones is very helpful in encouraging communication.
• Zoning requirements also affect remodeling. Cities need to make the variance process as easy as possible. Also should consider applying “old” codes to areas.
• Economics is the biggest issue for homeowners and predicting the cost of a job.