Building Division Unveils Plan for Improving Inspections

Kessler Report Available on County Web Site

The Clark County Building Division and Fire Department has unveiled a strategic plan to the County Commission for making sweeping improvements to processes for investigating complaints about building safety and conducting inspections.

Both county agencies have been working on plans to improve inspection processes following revelations this fall of unpermitted and uninspected work that occurred at two resorts owned by Harrah’s Entertainment, the Rio and Harrah’s Las Vegas. Recommendations from a report by Kessler International, which is posted (as an executive summary,  final report and attachments)  on the county’s Web site at www.accessclarkcounty.com, also are expected to be worked into the strategic plan.

“The Building Division’s investigation into the handling of the original complaint received about unpermitted work at the Rio revealed some serious shortcomings that we are committed to addressing,” said Assistant County Manager Phil Rosenquist, who oversees the county’s Department of Development Services, which includes the Building Division, and the Fire Department. “As the community’s inventory of buildings ages, we expect the number of complaints about building safety to increase. The time has come to allocate resources and train staff to conduct more thorough investigations of complaints, and to integrate the processes of inspecting existing buildings with the efforts of the Clark County Fire Department.”

The plan calls for annual ethics, report writing and investigative training for Building Division staff, and stiffer penalties for doing work without permits.  A key component of the plan is creation of a special investigations unit within Development Services. The new Building Safety and Complaint Unit, calls for a 20-person staff,  and an annual operating budget of about $4 million. The unit will be dedicated to investigating building-code related complaints and working in cooperation with Clark County’s Fire Department to conduct inspections.

The Building Safety and Complaint Unit would be responsible for conducting annual inspections of resort hotels requiring a review of at least 20 percent of guest rooms plus corridors, service areas, stairways, casino areas, offices and show rooms. Additional life-safety tests would be conducted every two years of all high-rise properties in the county, including resorts, condos and apartments. Life-safety tests check the performance of a building’s fire alarm and smoke detection systems. The plan’s other key elements include:

• Training for staff in investigative techniques and legal process for uncovering concealed work done without permits. Traditionally, the Building Division’s core services have been focused on new construction, with staff trained and nationally certified to conduct inspections of construction work in progress, not investigations of concealed work.
   

• Increasing the cap on fees for commercial work done without permits from $4,000 to $50,000. Additional penalties also may be sought with approval from the Nevada Legislature.
   

• Development of an amnesty program for voluntary disclosure of unpermitted and uninspected work. Participants would still be subject to some fees, but could avoid citations for self-disclosing work done without permits and correcting it to code.

During the last decade Development Services has overseen the biggest building boom in Clark County history. The total value of residential and commercial building permits issued by the department increased from $853 million in 1992 to $8 billion in 2007.

 “Traditionally, our staff have been trained and certified as inspectors, not investigators,” said Ron Lynn, director of Development Services. “Inspections involve spot checking work that is in progress to make sure it meets code. Investigations entail uncovering work that has been concealed in some way. It’s important to ensure that existing buildings are being properly maintained to building and fire code standards, and we believe this plan will go a long way to accomplishing that.”

Since fire and building inspections often overlap, it makes sense for the Building Division and Fire Department to integrate parts of their inspection processes, officials said.

“We have always had a close working relationship with the Building Division especially when it comes to commissioning new buildings for occupancy,” said Fire Chief Steven Smith. “We already have some of the most stringent building and fire codes in the nation. Joining forces to conduct inspections of existing high rises and resorts will do even more to enhance the safety of the buildings in our community.”

In upcoming months, both the Building Division and Fire Department also plan to offer the public a new way to lodge complaints about building or fire-safety issues online. Complaints now are handled over the phone or in-person. Additionally, both departments plan to implement a computer-based system that will allow the public to track the progress of complaints online, similar to Web site services the Building Division now offers for building inspection and plans examination services.

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