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City cuts some structural reviewsPolicy change comes amid staff cuts by building departmentThe city of Las Vegas recently eliminated structural reviews on certain types of buildings, including those as tall as four stories as well as strip malls, tract homes and big-box outlets such as grocery stores. Some believe this could jeopardize building safety, or at least heighten the risks to people and property, causing insurance rates to rise alongside the potential for litigation. The Las Vegas Department of Building and Safety is now relying on the assurances of architects and engineers submitting plans to the department that their buildings meet design and safety specifications. The move was detailed in an April 11 city document obtained by the Business Press. Other cities have seen premiums jump after implementing similar measures. Indianapolis, with a metropolitan population of approximately 1 million, has spent the past three years discarding a system that relied on private architects and engineers to verify that their building designs complied with safety codes.
Indianapolis changed its tune after the forecast from ISO -- the International Organization for Standardization -- that property insurance prices would zoom up. "If it costs the homeowner more money to live in their home, you may as well call it a tax," Powers said, adding that business leaders worked with elected officials during the transition to tougher oversight. The ISO collects data on cities and regions and uses the information to set property insurance rates. Jim Wadhams, a Las Vegas lobbyist for the insurance industry, doesn't believe Las Vegas' new procedures will lead to higher insurance rates, though. He considered the city's structural checks a duplication of work already done by private engineers. Architect Wade Simpson said the result of the plans review elimination won't be known for a while. "I don't think it will increase insurance rates, at least early on," Simpson said. "But if for some reason they were not catching things, it might." Records of past structural plan reviews show that errors crop up even for building types that are now exempt from the reviews. In early 2004, for example, a Wal-Mart Neighborhood market at 10440 W. Cheyenne Ave., underwent at least five structural reviews before passage. The new guidelines were issued as the Las Vegas building department eliminated 31 positions because of the construction slowdown. The city has laid off four of its five structural plan reviewers. City officials said the layoffs were necessary because the department, which was designed to be self-supporting from inspection and other fees, was running at a deficit, which would amount to $5.7 million through the end of this year. The reductions cut that deficit more than $4 million to about $1.5 million, city spokesman Jace Radke said. The city will conduct periodic audits of the buildings not requiring staff structural plan reviews, and continue to send its inspectors out to the actual sites, Radke added. Structural plan reviews also will still be required on high-rise projects, "unusual jobs" -- such as the downtown building that renowned architect Frank Gehry has designed for the Lou Ruvo Brain Institute -- and "political jobs," meaning construction in which the city itself is the owner or a principal player, according to the April 11 document. Construction lawyers were split on whether the move by the city would mean more litigation over defects. State law requires a licensed engineer to approve the plans, which the city is also requiring, said Paul Georgeson, an attorney who represents builders. Although structural problems are a common claim in residential defect lawsuits, he said the city's elimination of its own plan reviews "was not unusual." Scott Canepa, a local attorney who has litigated some of the valley's biggest home-defect cases, was stunned to hear of the cutbacks. He believes the city's cost cutting could create more problems for local residents. He suggested eliminating the reviews would lead to more litigation. "I don't know how on Earth they could exclude single-family dwellings from (structural) plans checks," he said. "Basically, there have been a slew of problems." Homeowners, already cash-strapped, often have insurance policies that don't cover structural defects that aren't life-threatening safety hazards. "Certainly, it could lead to significant property damage and even personal injury," Canepa said. Architect Jim Van Campernolle of JVC Architects said local governments always warn design professionals that, ultimately, the designers are legally responsible for a building's inherent safety. The change has found support from some in the building industry. Developer Richard McHale of McHale Consulting said he saw "very little downside" to the revamped Las Vegas process. "Everybody realizes, if there's a push by business owners or builders to do it cheaper, there's always 'pushback' from the structural engineers and architects to keep safety margins intact," McHale said. vmiller@ lvbusinesspress.com 387-5286. Joan Whitely writes for the Business Press' sister publication, the Las Vegas Review-Journal. She can be reached at jwhitely@reviewjournal.com or 383-0268. |
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