HomeMy WebLinkAbout06-23-2025 Public Works & Property Vacation Committee Minutes SignedOFFICE OF THE CrrY CLERK
BI ANCA L. TIRADO , C ITY C LERK
P UBLIC WORKS & PROP E RT Y VACATION J UN E 23, 2 025 4 :2 5 P.M .
Co mmittee Me mb e rs Prese nt:
Co mmittee Me mb e rs A bse nt:
Ot he r C ounc il Pr ese nt:
Oth e rs Presen t:
Prese nt er s:
Agend a:
S he il a N iezgo d s ki , O phe lia Good e n-
Ro d ge rs , T ro y Wa rn e r, Dr. O li ve r D av is
Carl L ittre ll
R ac he l To m as Morgan , K ar e n L. White
Bi an ca L. T ira d o , Jasmine Jackso n ,
Matth ew N e a l, Mar ga re t Go tsch , Lari 'onna
Green , B o b Pa lm e r
J e nn a T hr ow, Ra nd y Jam es
Bill No . 64 -24 -All ey Vacati o n -51 2 So ut h
Wa lnut S tree t
Bill No. 38 -25 -Am e ndin g A rti c les 1
T h ro ugh 7 and Art icl e 11 of C ha pte r 6 of th e
So uth Be nd M uni c ip a l Co d e to U pd ate
Reg ul a ti o n s Gove rning th e Building
D e partme nt
Members marked with an asterisk(*) are in virtual attendance .
Please note the attached link for the meeting recording:
https://docs.southbendin.gov/WebLink/browse.aspx?dbid=0&mediaid=396205
Co mmittee C ha ir S he il a N iezgo d ski call e d to o rd e r th e Publi c Wo rk s and P ro p e rty Vacati o n
Co mmittee m eetin g a t 4:25 P.M.
Co mmittee C ha ir N iezgo d s ki a cknowle d ged th e se rv ice of Jaso n Pi o nt e k o n thi s Co mmittee fo r
th e pas t fo ur (4) to five (5) years. Jaso n Pi o nte k has now m ove d o ut of th e C it y of So uth Be nd
and is no lo n ge r e li g ibl e to serve o n the Publi c Wor k s a nd Pro pe rty Vaca ti o n Co mmittee.
Bill No . 64-24 -Alley Vacation -512 South Walnut Street
J as min e J ac kso n
OiJ EF D EPUfY0TY0.ERK / OiJEF OF STAFF
INTE GRI TY I SER VIC E I ACC ESS IBILIT Y
M a tth cll' 1 ca l
D EPlJfY QTY 0.ERK / D IRECTOR OF POLICY
M a r~,1rc 1 G o 1sd1
D IRE CTOR OF SPEOAL P ROJECTS
EXC ELLE NC E I ACCO UNTA BILIT Y I INNOVA TI ON I INC LU SION I EMPOW ER MENT
455 County-City Building 1227 W . Jefferson Blvd . I South Bend , Ind iana 46601 I p. 574 .235 .9221 1 f. 574 .235.9173 1 www.southbendin.gov
.. C ITY OF som ~H BEN D I O FFI CE OF T II E CIT Y CLERK
C ommitte e C hair Ni ezgod s ki stated that Bill No . 6./-2./ w a s withdraw n by the pe titioner. Bill No.
6./-2./ was a n a ll ey va c a ti o n th a t was ta bled o n D ecemb e r 9 , 2024 , a nd re sche dul e d to be h e ard
o n today 's d a te , but th e pe titi o ner ha s now w ithdrawn thi s requ es t and no furth e r con s id e ration is
ne c essary.
Bill No. 38-25 -Amending Articles 1 Through 7 and Article 11 of Chapter 6 of the South
Bend Municipal Code to Update Regulations Governing the Building Department
Presenting th e Bill No. 38-25 we re Je nn a Th row, C it y A ttorn ey , w ith offices o n th e twe lft h (12th )
fl oo r o f th e Co unty -C it y Building , South Bend , [N 46601 , and Ra nd y Ja mes, Building
Co mmi ss io ne r, w ith o ffi ces a t 125 S . Lafaye tt e Bo ul evard , So uth Be nd , [N 4 660 l. J e nna Thro w
sta te d that th ey ha d prev io us ly prese nte d th e propo se d a mendme nt s to th e So uth Bend Building
Cod e to thi s C ommittee o n M ay 20 25 . The foll o win g is a n ove rv ie w of th e prese ntation .
Top ic One (1): Pe rmit Fee A dju stm e nt s (S e cti o n 6-4 ) -minimum fee upd a te d fr o m fort y d o llars
($40 ) to s ixt y do ll a rs ($6 0), and othe r proportiona l ch an ges to a cc o unt for infl a tion and other
ri si ng c osts. P ro posals c o n s id e re d s imil ar muni c ip a liti es w itho ut c reatin g an undue burd e n on
a ppli can ts . To pi c Two (2) : A li gnme nt w ith S tate De finiti o ns (Sec ti o n 6-1 ) -de finiti o n s we re
rev ised to refer to s pec ifi c p rov is ions of th e Indi an a Cod e and th e Indi a na A dmini strati v e C od e ,
w hi c h w ill pro vid e fo r mo re co n s iste ncy and s impli fy th e rev is ion pro cess. To pic Three (3):
In s pecti o n Proto col E nh a nce me nt (Sec tion s 6-6, 6-6. l ) -cl a rifi es th e res pe cti ve rol es of th e
Building and Fire De partments in th e ir mutu a ll y co o p e rati ve rol es in promoting co mpliance and
prov id es fo r re -in s pe cti o n fo ll owin g a c ita ti o n to d e te rmine if th e p ro bl e m has been resol ve d .
To pi c Fo ur ( 4 ): S to p Wo rk O rd e r/Cease a nd Des is t (Se ction 6-4 .3) -c larifi es th e rati o nal e ,
re quire m e nt s, and p ro c e dures fo r th e iss uan ce of sto p wo rk o rd e r o r a cease-and-des ist o rd e r fr o m
th e Build i ng Depart me nt bu t d oes no t pre clud e th e use of o th e r re m e di es. To pi c F ive (5):
A ba nd o ne d Co nst ru c ti o n Pro j e cts (Secti o n 6-4 .7) -prov id es a m o re structured a ppro a ch for
id e nti fy in g a n aba nd o ne d p rojec t b y es ta bli s hin g c rit e ri a and o utlining next ste ps w ith th e g oa l of
preve nting lo ng-te rm safe ty hazard s . To pi c S ix (6): Ex pande d In s pectio n and In ves ti gation
A uthority (Se cti o n 6-4 .8) -cl a rifi es that , to e n sure th a t con struction proj e cts co mpl y w ith th e
rul es se t fo rth by th e F ir e Preve nti o n and Building Safe t y C ommi ss io n , a ll cons truction proj e ct s
a re s ubj ect to in s p ecti o n regardl ess of w he th e r a building pe rmit has been o bta in e d , but pro v ide s
th a t th ese pro v is io n s ar e no t to be co nstru e d a s mo re stringent th a n th e rul es o f th e State
Co mmi ss io n . To pi c Seve n (7): Building De m o liti o n P rocess A li g nm e nt w ith [ndi a n a Depai1me nt
of E n v iro nm e nt a l Manage me nt (ID EM) (Secti o n 6 -6.4) -in c lud es p rov is io n that, prior to
d e m o liti o n o r re novati o n , th e owne r o r o p e rato r of a fa cility mu st m ee t ID E M and notic e
re quire m e nts a nd c la rifi es o th e r it e m s including a cc ess to ri g ht of way, re quire me nt s t o leave s ite
in ·'build a bl e sta te ," and re quire m e nt fo r ha ndlin g of constructi o n a nd d e moliti o n w a ste. Topic
E ig ht (8): Contra c to r R eg istrati o n Reform s (Arti c le 6-7 , Section 6-6 .10 ) -es tabli s hes a nd
streamlines th e pro cess fo r reg istrati o n as a n e lec tric a l a nd heatin g , ve ntil a ti on , and air
co nditioning (HYAC) c o ntrac to r and cl a rifi es applic a ti o n a nd exam re quireme nt s . A lso , d e ta il s
th e require m e nt s to s u s pe nd o r revoke a reg ist ra ti o n based o n a c rimina l co n v ic ti o n , and includ es
th e sta tutory di squa li ficat io n peri o d and a ny exce pti o n s to thi s p e ri o d . To pi c in e (9): Proc ess
a nd Admini s trati ve U pd a tes -fo cu ses on th e D e pa rtm e nt 's a bility to e nfo rc e compli a nce ,
m od e rni ze o pe rati o n s , a nd streamline processes. To pic Te n ( I 0): Refi ne me nt of M e chanica l,
EXC ELLEN C E I ACCOUN TA BILITY I INN OVATI ON I INC LUSION I EMPOWERMENT
455 County-City Building 1227 W Jefferson Blvd . I South Bend, Indiana 46601 I p. 574.235 .9221 I f. 574 235 .9173 1 www .southbendin.gov
....... 11 I,;
.. -. C ITY OF SO UTH BEN D I OFFI CE OF T H E CI T Y CLERK
Electrical , and Plumbing Regulations (Articles 4 , 6 , and 7) -clarifies the line-item fee schedules
in each of these Articles to ensure the fee schedu le aligns with the current forms. Topic
Eleven(l l ): Address HEA I 005 (Sections 6 -4 .9 , 6-5 .2) -addresses c hanges in state law related to
new requirements that a llow private providers to perform certain plan reviews and in spect ion s ,
and the fees app lic ab le to the new requirements. T hese provisions take effect January 1, 2026 ,
whic h is ·the effective date of the new state law.
Randy James noted that several of their standard practices have been codified and the fee
in creases are necessary to keep pace with the cost of inspections . T he new state law requires an
amendment to the Building Code to remain consistent with state requirements.
Committee Member Rachel Tomas Morgan asked how the new ordinance impacted projects that
were previously abandoned.
Randy James stated that previousl y abandoned projects will go through the same process outlined
in the ordinance , but the Building Department is attempting to stream lin e the process by handing
it over to Ne ighborhood Services to initiate the process by indentifying unsafe properties that
have been abandoned .
Jenna Throw noted that the intent of the changes is to speed up the process of dealing with these
abandoned properties by identifying properties where no work has been done for two (2) years
and there is no certificate of occ up ancy.
Committee Chair Niezgodski held the public hear in g , and nobody spoke .
Committee Member Troy Warner moved to send Bill N o. 38-25 to the Full Council with a
fa vorable recommendation , wh ich was seconded by Committee Vice Chair Gooden-Rodgers and
carried by a vote of four (4) ayes , with one (I) Citizen Member absent.
Committee Chair Sheila Niezgodski -Aye Committee Vice Chair Ophe li a Gooden -Rodgers -Aye
Committee Member Troy Warner -Aye Committee Member Dr. Oliver Davis -Aye
Citizen Member Carl Littrell -Absent
With no further business , Committee Chair Shie la Niezgodsk i adjourned the Public Works and
Property Vacation Committee meeting at 4:43 P.M .
Respectfully Subm itt ed ,
Shei la Niezgodski , Committee Chair
EXC ELLE NC E I ACCO UNTABILIT Y I INNOVA TI ON I INC LU SION I EMPOW ER MENT
455 County-City Building 1227 W Jefferson Blvd. I South Bend, Indiana 46601 I p. 574 235.9221 If. 574.235.9173 i www .southbendin .gov
CITY OF SOUTH BEND I OFFICE OF TI IE CITY CLERK
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EXCELLENCE ACCO UNT AB ILIT Y INNOVATION INCLUSION EMPOWERMENT
455 County-City Building 1227 W Jefferson Blvd I South Bend, Indiana 46601 Ip. 574.235.9221 If. 574 235.91731 www.southbendin.gov