The Amador County Administrative Committee meets Tuesday morning to discuss possibly updating the county's policy on outstanding building permits that have not been finalized.

Photo by: Bethany A. Monk

People are moving in and not paying up.

The Amador County Administrative Committee, headed by District 3 Supervisor Ted Novelli and District 2 Supervisor Richard Forster, met with a handful of other county officials Wednesday morning to discuss concerns over the 60 outstanding building permits in the county. Words like "amnesty" and "penalties" were tossed around during the hour-long meeting, and after the brainstorming session, both supervisors agreed that an action plan should be devised before bringing the issue before the full board.

There are myriad reasons why people may have outstanding building permits, Larry Perez, county building official, told the Ledger Dispatch Wednesday. Builders may move out of the area before finishing their projects, or may fall ill and not have the means to clear their permits. Others simply may not have had the county's building department conduct its final inspection of the facility. The list of reasons is long, he said.

"The county will review those files, so we can determine for the future the right thing to do," Perez said of the outstanding building permits. "When they research, they'll know more."

When people don't call the building department to request a final inspection, the department sends out two notification letters, Perez explained. If the department still gets no response, the issue will be turned over to the county's Land Use Agency's code enforcement department, which will post a notice at the property noting that the building is in violation. The current resident would have to pay the final inspection fees when they sell the house, Perez said. However, problems may arise if a homeowner who hasn't paid final inspection fees encounters hardships, gets sick or, in some cases, passes away.

"When I get a referral from an unfinalized building, I record on the deed that there's a violation," code enforcement officer Linda VanVleck told the Ledger Dispatch Wednesday. VanVleck was also present at Tuesday's meeting. "Anyone buying the building would be alerted that there would be a building violation" for not having it inspected, having unpaid fees "or any number or reasons," she said.

Before people move into their homes, they are supposed to have the county building department inspect the following areas of their buildings: the foundation, underfloor frame, rough electric frame, plumbing, Sheetrock and, lastly, conduct a final inspection. Currently, the county charges no penalties for those with outstanding building fees, Perez told the committee.

"We need to get action on the issue in a county where people live in houses for five to 10 years" without records, Novelli said.

Daly suggested the committee create a flow chart outlining the various parameters and situations involving current unpaid impact fees, their deadlines and potential penalties "to see what the different problems are." VanVleck confirmed that there are about 60 outstanding building permits, "and there are probably more to come."

Forster and others at the meeting agreed that such a chart would be helpful. He also told the committee the county might want to consider a forgiveness or amnesty program. There is, however, no amnesty to grant right now because there are, and have been, no penalties in place, said County Counsel Martha Shaver. Perez said it's likely these 60 outstanding building permits have been on file for up to five years.

"The county is willing to work with people," Novelli said. "We can't have these things going on for years and years and years."

"I don't want us to beat anyone up," Novelli added, saying he just wants people to file their paperwork. "Let's get these files cleared up."

The committee agreed to further research and discuss the issue; no date has been set yet regarding its presentation of the issue to the board of supervisors.