Building permits, inspections coming to Iqaluit

Saying they don’t want to “scare off” developers and construction firms, Iqaluit city councillors and administrators began work this week on a new bylaw aimed at ensuring builders actually put up the buildings they promise to construct.

Cory Chegwyn, the city’s fire chief, tabled a draft version of the proposed bylaw this past Tuesday at a meeting of the city’s engineering and planning committee, which now sits as a committee of the whole council.

The bylaw would mandate inspections at five major construction stages: siting and grading; foundation work; framing, plumbing and mechanical rough-in; insulation and vapour barrier; and a final inspection before occupancy.

As an example of the value of staged inspections, Ian Fremantle, the city’s chief administrative officer, said if the Arctic Winter Games arena construction job had been inspected right after the laying of its foundation, it wouldn’t now be sinking into the tundra.

Fremantle told the committee that the city’s next step must be to meet developers and construction contractors to talk about the draft bylaw.

“It’s probably going to frighten some people, but that is not our intent,” said Ian Fremantle, the city’s chief administrative officer.

He said a major reason for it is to fill a regulatory gap that insurance companies are getting increasingly concerned about.

The city of Iqaluit has a long-established system of development permits aimed at ensuring that new building plans — before construction starts — conform to the city’s zoning bylaw and other regulations.

But after construction has started, there’s no system to ensure that the finished structure is the same as what’s described in the builder’s original plan.

Coun. Simanuk Kilabuk said he supports the idea of the bylaw to protect the public from unsafe buildings.

Coun. Nancy Gillis, the chair of the committee, and Coun. Theresa Rodrigue said council should ensure that the bylaw, when implemented, won’t be put in force in the middle of a construction season.

Rodrigue pointed out that this year, most construction companies have already done their plans for the coming season.

The proposed new bylaw is still a draft, and is not yet ready for first reading at council.

Some highlights of the draft bylaw:

* the building bylaw would apply to the design, construction and occupancy of all new buildings;
* the building bylaw would apply to renovations, alterations, repairs, or relocations of existing buildings, where the cost of the work is greater than $1,000;
* small jobs like patios, decks, fences, cold storage sheds and temporary construction shacks would be exempt from the bylaw;
* the building bylaw would not apply to any building where construction has started prior to the bylaw’s coming into force;
* the building bylaw does apply to any existing building that lies unoccupied for a period of six months or longer, and is then re-occupied;
* construction may not start on any building until after a building permit has been granted;
* the standards set out in the National Building Code would become part of the building bylaw, but not the administrative provisions of the National Building Code;
* a city building inspector may enter any building for the purpose of administering or enforcing the building bylaw, may issue stop-work orders if the bylaw is contravened or if there is an unsafe condition, and may order the removal of any building, or part of any building, that contravenes the bylaw.

Chegwyn said the draft bylaw is based on municipal legislation used in Whitehorse, Yellowknife, and Thompson, Manitoba, with some changes to reflect Iqaluit’s needs.