I sent my objections to the licensing provision as earlier discussed on this blog to every member of the Northglenn City Council. At first the reaction was disbelief. After the building official came back with some rational for his recommendation, I once again responded as follows:
"When is an ordinance a draft and when not? When it is placed on the agenda for first reading. "These ordinances were presented as drafts with the desire to seek comments from City Council...." is an attempt to downplay the staff's recommendation. In reality, you know that you, as a body, generally make your first comments at the first reading. And, for the most part, you do not analyze staff's submittals with in depth detail; and you should not have to.
Beginning with the second long paragraph,the building official distorts the issue by devoting considerable time discussing the permit requirements in the Residential Code. The fact is that whether a permit is needed under any code or not is totally immaterial. The contractors' ordinance is a free standing ordinance and applies whether you need a permit or not. It is establishing a licensing requirement and procedure for certain individuals. The very misleading and incorrect claim by him, is that a person
does not need to be licensed if the work does not require a permit. The ordinance requires licenses. All he did was to list in his citation of R105.2, examples of the types of construction activity requiring a license
but not a permit under his proposed ordinance. He expanded my list in essence. Check section 10-18-1 which establishes the requirements for a license. There is no reservation or reference to permits except for the fact that permits will be suspended if there is no license."
Several of the council members started thinking and listening to a few choice comments from residents and you. I've learned that the building official has made a major change in his recommendation. Homeowners will not need to be licensed,
but his friend or relative will still be required to do so in order to work on the house. Now it is time to wait until the ordinance is introduced on first reading.
Finally, the intent of the full ordinance is to give the major contractors protection from the handymen and small firms that occasionally work in the city on a routine basis. It applies to all types of construction including commercial. The council has been sold on the idea that the ordinance will protect all residents from scumbags. Stay tuned.