Calabasas City Council Approves the 2010 California Building Standards Code

At a meeting marked by intense debate, the Calabasas City Council voted to approve the 2010 California Building Standards Code, with local amendments. Three of the five council members voted in favor of the new code.

While the majority of members welcomed the code, saying it would ensure stringent compliance with building safety regulations and ensure the highest standards of safety, Mary Sue Maurer and James Bozajian disapproved, saying the language of the code was draconian, and could compromise the rights of residents. 

“Any regulation that is more regulative than is minimally required by the state, requires to be justified in order for us to have it,” said Councilmember James Bozajian. “I can see justifications in some situations, but in others I have problems.” 

He gave the example of the definition of “unpermitted structures” as used in the new building code. 

“Why did we have to get so specific?” he asked. “It appears to me that we’re requiring permits for all types of things that we never did before, and it’s overly broad. So for people to make minor adjustments to their structures, they are going to now need permits when they didn’t need it before.”

Maureen Tamuri, Calabasas community development director, explained that the new code does not expand any permits, saying, "The purpose of this language about the status of an unpermitted building is to make it clear who is responsible for making sure the building has valid permits. The language would enable the prosecutor to prosecute violators more easily.”

Mayor Barry Groveman said the new code would reassure people that they are safe in commercial buildings in the city.

“These are very legitimate changes to protect law-abiding citizens against those that are playing games or are reckless,” Groveman said.

City Attorney, Michael Colantuono, said the intent of the specific language of the code is to give people sufficient notice  to get permits and to narrow the city’s decision making authority.

In response to the contentious issue of disconnecting service utilities in the event of a code violation, Tamuri said that a building official’s powers can only be exercised when the utility itself is the source of the emergency conditions.

“If you were to disconnect water it would only be when water is the cause of the emergency itself, not where water is a contributing factor,” she said.

Residents were referring to an incident last year when a 70-year-old longtime resident of Calabasas had to leave his home after the water supply was disconnected following the discovery of building code violations during enforcement raids.

“For the past 20 years, the city has been functioning perfectly without the need for overbearing, punitive, and intrusive codes like the ones proposed here tonight,” said Calabasas resident Jody Thomas. “In these difficult economic times, the city is looking for ways not to cut spending like families and businesses need to do but to punish penalize and squeeze more money from its hardworking residents.”

Another resident, James Moorehead said the “extreme code, unheard of in California,” would cause property values in Calabasas to go down.

“Why should anybody buy a house in Calabasas only to find the next day they move in that they are coded to death? This code will take you straight into litigation as did the septic ordinance,” Moorehead said.  

“This measure is extreme because it grants the pettiest of infractions an unsafe condition, and then declares an unsafe condition grounds to clear the house,” said Calabasas resident David Lewis.

Nancy Rothenberg, president of Calabasas Highlands Homeowners Association, suggested that the clause in the new code, which gives the city the right to shut off utilities by virtue of any violation of the California Municipal Code, be removed. 

She also said that the definition of “unpermitted structures” includes one that was altered at any point of time by any person without the required permits, and that should be changed.

“If you’re not an original homeowner, you don’t know what happened before you moved in,” she explained. “People are afraid to get permits for new fixtures because they think when the inspectors come in, they will find something that somebody else did earlier that lacks a permit, and the present owners will be penalized for it.” 

Tamuri said that the city maintains a folder of all permits granted to a house from the time it was built, and residents are encouraged to come by and make sure the necessary permits have been obtained.

She said the city wants to ensure that building code inspections are not intrusive.

“Usually the building code violations that come to us are exterior—those that are visible from the street—or we have a neighbor coming to us complaining about a neighbor’s activities,” Tamuri said.