Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 18, September 16, 2024
(a) The municipality shall organize its
enforcing agency in accordance with the ordinance adopted pursuant to
N.J.A.C.
5:23-4.3 and to meet the following additional
requirements:
1. Construction official: The
construction official shall serve as the chief administrator of the enforcing
agency. He shall establish the day to day operating routines of the agency and
shall coordinate the activities of the subcode officials. He shall be qualified
in accordance with subchapter 5 of this chapter in at least one
subcode.
2. Subcode officials:
Subcode officials shall enforce the provisions of those subcodes for which they
are responsible in accordance with N.J.A.C. 5:23-3 and qualified in accordance
with N.J.A.C. 5:23-5 and for which they have been appointed by the appointing
authority. Each subcode official shall be responsible for the administration
and enforcement of the appropriate subcode, subject to the procedures of the
enforcing agency as administered by the construction official. However, each
subcode official shall have exclusive decision-making authority with respect to
the technical provisions of the subcode for which he has been appointed the
official.
3. Interface: Nothing
shall prevent one person from serving in more than one position for which he is
certified and qualified. However, more than one person shall not be appointed
concurrently to the same position.
4. Assistants: The appointing authority may
establish positions other than those provided in N.J.A.C. 5:23-5 as is deemed
necessary. The commissioner reserves the right to establish categories of
certification for such positions. The construction official or appropriate
subcode official shall be responsible for the supervision of any such
personnel.
5. Whenever the
municipality contracts with private on-site inspection agencies for all
subcodes, it shall as a minimum appoint a construction official to coordinate
activities.
6. Acting appointments:
A municipality shall appoint an acting construction official or subcode
official any time the absence of such official would impede orderly
administration of the Uniform Construction Code and other duties mandated by
the municipality. Acting appointments shall be accomplished by any mechanism
acceptable to the municipality; providing, however, that a written record shall
be kept. Notice to the Department shall be provided within seven days any time
an appointment is made for more than 30 days. Acting appointments may not be
made for longer than 60 days, nor may they be extended or renewed beyond 60
days unless specific authority to do so is granted in writing by the
Department.
i. Only an individual licensed as
a construction official may be appointed as an acting construction official and
only an individual licensed as a subcode official in a particular subcode may
be appointed as an acting subcode official for that subcode. The technical
license level of an acting construction or subcode official shall be superior
or parallel to the enforcing agency classification of the municipality or such
municipal classification shall be downgraded to the technical license level of
the acting official for the period of time in the position. Employees of
private on-site inspection agencies shall not serve as acting construction
officials. Employees of private on-site inspection agencies may serve as acting
subcode officials, provided that notice of any such appointment shall be given
to the Department by the construction official within seven days of the making
of the appointment and that such notice shall contain information as to the
form and amount of the payment being made to the agency for the services of the
acting subcode officials.
ii.
Acting appointments shall not constitute the statutory four-year term for
construction and subcode officials or any portion thereof.
iii. Conflict of interest provisions set
forth in this subchapter shall apply to acting officials.
iv. Nothing in (b) of this section shall be
interpreted as prohibiting licensed officials from serving in more than one
municipality in regular or acting appointments.
7. The municipality shall provide the
construction official, each subcode official and each inspector with personal
identification which includes at least the name of the municipality, and the
name, title and photograph of the individual. The identification shall be
validated by the municipality.
8. A
municipality may, in its discretion, employ a mechanical inspector to perform
plan review and mechanical inspections, with oversight by a designated subcode
official, for structures of Group R-3 or R-5.
9. Provisions concerning reappointment of
construction and subcode officials in non-civil service municipalities are as
follows:
i. At least 30 days prior to the
expiration of the statutory four-year term of office of a construction or
subcode official, the appointing authority shall give written notice to the
official indicating whether or not he or she is going to be
reappointed.
ii. In the event that
the official is neither reappointed, nor given written notice that he or she is
not being reappointed, prior to the date of expiration of the statutory
four-year term of office, the official shall be deemed to have been appointed
to serve in an acting capacity for a period of not more than 60 days, in
accordance with (a)6 above. The municipality is not relieved of the obligation,
pursuant to (a)6 above, to notify the Department within seven days any time any
acting appointment will exceed 30 days.
iii. In the event that the official is
neither reappointed, nor given written notice that he or she is not being
reappointed, prior to the expiration of the 60-day period following the date of
expiration of the prior statutory four year term of office, the Department, in
such circumstance, shall not extend any such acting appointment and the
official shall be deemed to have been reappointed, such reappointment being
effective retroactively to the date of expiration of the prior statutory
four-year term.
(b) The municipality shall establish a
central permit office under the direction and supervision of the construction
official. This office shall receive applications for construction permits and
plan review, issue construction permits and certificates of occupancy, collect
fees, penalties, fines and issue notices, and orders. The office shall be open
during normal business hours at times to be determined by the municipality.
These times shall be posted in a conspicuous place and shall be comparable with
the amount of construction activity in the municipality. Nothing herein shall
prevent a municipality from establishing branch offices, but the public shall
not, unless in the case of an emergency, unforeseen or unavoidable
circumstance, be required to do business, except at the central permit
office.
(c) The construction
official and the subcode officials shall be available for consultation and
discussion during normal business hours at scheduled times to be determined by
the construction official. All inspections may take place between 7:00 A.M. and
6:00 P.M. on business days or on days and at times at which construction is
taking place or at such other times as may be acceptable to the owner or the
owner's representative, or otherwise in case of emergency.
(d) The municipality shall ensure that the
enforcing agency has adequate staff to review plans, applications, and
specifications, and to schedule and perform inspections in a timely manner, or
that supplemental arrangements are in place pursuant to (e) below.
1. On or before February 10 of each year, in
a municipality that budgets according to the calendar year (January 1 through
December 31), or on or before August 10 of each year, in a municipality that
budgets according to the State fiscal year (July 1 through June 30), the
construction official shall prepare and submit to the Director of the Division
of Codes and Standards, a plan documenting the means the enforcing agency will
use to meet the expected demand for service in the coming year in order to
conduct the inspections to be performed pursuant to
N.J.A.C.
5:23-2.17A and
2.18, as applicable, are conducted within the
timeframes required by those sections.
i. The
plan shall include an analysis of expected demand for all services including,
but not limited to, review of open permits; development projects pending before
the planning board; the historic demand for inspections for minor work,
alterations, and additions; and the total number of staff hours necessary to
perform the work. The plan is to contain details by each code discipline and
shall be provided on Form F XX, established by the Department.
ii. The plan shall identify current staffing
levels in the enforcing agency and determine whether such staff shall meet the
expected demand. If the enforcing agency has entered into a shared services
agreement or contracted with an on-site inspection and plan review agency or a
private on-site inspection agency, including a supplemental private on-site
inspection agency, the plan shall so specify and determine whether such
alternative arrangements in addition to enforcing agency staff will meet the
expected demand.
iii. If the
construction official determines that insufficient resources exist within the
enforcing agency to meet the forecasted demand, the construction official shall
detail the measures that the enforcing agency plans to take to meet expected
demand to comply with the requirements at
N.J.A.C.
5:23-2.17A and 2.18 and this subsection.
(1) If additional staffing is proposed, the
plan shall include the amount of such staff and the timetable by which such
staff will be hired.
(2) If the
enforcing agency has entered into a shared services agreement contract or
contracted with an on-site inspection and plan review agency or a private
on-site inspection agency, including a supplemental private on-site inspection
agency, the plan shall so specify.
(3) If the construction official plans to
enter into new shared services agreements or contract with an on-site
inspection and plan review agency or a private on-site inspection agency,
including a supplemental private on-site inspection agency, the report shall
describe the functions expected to be undertaken by the additional parties to
such anticipated agreements.
(e) The municipality shall establish a
process for ensuring inspections are performed pursuant to
N.J.A.C.
5:23-2.17A or 2.18, as applicable. Authorized
processes include, but are not limited to, entering into contracts for
supplemental shared service agencies pursuant to
N.J.A.C.
5:23-4.6 or supplemental private on-site
inspection agencies in accordance with
N.J.A.C.
5:23-4.16, as a means to offset inspections
in order to meet all inspection deadlines.
1.
Any contract between a local enforcing agency and another agency for
supplemental shared services or supplemental private on-site inspection
agencies shall detail the nature and projected number of inspections expected
to be undertaken during the valid period of the contract.
2. The process established may include hiring
additional staff to meet the demand for inspections.
