Minimum Building Code Changes

The City of Tacoma is in the process of updating its minimum building and structures code, and they're accepting feedback from community members, and property and business owners in Tacoma.

The City’s Code Compliance Group needs your help to make sure our codes continue to affectively (sic) hold property owners accountable for the conditions on their property.

The Minimum Building and Structures Code establishes minimum standards for existing structures.

There's a lot of red ink on the code, including clean up of language to refer directly to International Existing Building Code standards recently adopted by the City, and updates to safety standards. You can dig through to see proposed changes for yourself (download the pdf of the proposed changes to the code here), but the City seems specifically to be most interested in how you feel about boarded up and otherwise derelict buildings in the city. 

The 10-question survey available online survey asks first about your experience as a property owner, and with past enforcement actions by the City, either on your property or as a result of a complaint you filed. The last five questions deal more specifically with vacant properties.

6. Do vacant, boarded up buildings impact your community? (Yes/No)

7. If yes, how would you describe that impact? (Positive/Negative)

8. Do you think the City should have the ability to make repairs to a building when an owner cannot or will not make the repairs themselves? (Yes/No/Possibly)

9. Do you think the City should require property owners with boarded up buildings to register their building with the City and to provide 24-hour-a-day contact information? (yes/no/possibly)

10. Please rate how you feel about the following statement: "The City should hold property owners responsible for the condition of their property as well as any fines and fees that are a result of failure to keep their property in compliance with the code." 

The survey provides spaces for further explanation or comments to these questions. 

Like we said, there's a lot of red ink, meaning a lot of changes, but the City seems most interested in what you think about this particular aspect of the code. So, what do you think?

Read more, and complete the survey at cityoftacoma.org/tacomacares.