Fwd: Rekaivery- Important information about Building Code compliance
Audrey Snyder
Sent: Monday, August 15, 2022 9:23:49 AM
To: Audrey Snyder <aud...@rekaivery.com>
Cc: Missy Nelson <mne...@fcgov.com>; Damien Wilson <dwi...@fcgov.com>; Marcus Coldiron <mcol...@fcgov.com>; chris...@odellbrewing.com <chris...@odellbrewing.com>; Noah Beals <nbe...@fcgov.com>; Shannon Hein <sh...@fcgov.com>; Shawna VanZee <SVa...@fcgov.com>
Subject: Rekaivery- Important information about Building Code compliance
Hello Audrey,
Thanks for looping me into the conversation. Since several City divisions are involved in the review of your project, I’m happy to provide one comprehensive response that lays out a holistic path to addressing outstanding issues.
As indicated in the March 2022 conceptual design review for your previously proposed location, and with the current installation, the container you are operating out of is a structure/building rather than a vehicle. The Municipal Code defines a vehicle as: “a device capable of moving itself, or being moved, from place to place upon wheels or endless tracks.” The placement of a dolly for onsite repositioning under the container does not make the container a vehicle because it is not permitted to travel on the street and cannot be moved to or from the property without being loaded onto a street-legal trailer.
The most pressing issue that needs to be addressed, and which will require immediate action, is that a certificate of occupancy has not been issued for this structure. Adopted building codes prohibit the structure from being used or occupied in whole or in part until a certificate of occupancy has been obtained. In order to protect the safety of the public, the structure must be closed to occupancy and removed from its current location no later than 48 hours from the date and time of this email. If the structure has not been removed from the location by the above-mentioned time and date, we are obligated to post a notice of violation on the structure.
Path to Compliance
The Odell Wine property is approved for Stationary Vending; however, a building permit is required to approve the temporary building, including the building design, location on site, and duration of time it is permitted.
Building permit submittal requirements include:
· Site Plan indicating location of structure and noting a maximum 6 month time limit
· Elevation drawings
· Plans demonstrating that the temporary structure conforms with section 3103 of the 2021 International Building Code (please see attachment)
Once a building permit is obtained, inspections will be required before a certificate of occupancy can be issued. For detailed information about building permits and inspections, visit www.fcgov.com/building, or feel free to work directly with Chief Building Official Marcus Coldiron (copied on this email).
Upon issuance of a certificate of occupancy, Zoning will be able to approve their portion of the sales tax license application so that it can be issued.
Additional Support
We recognize these processes can be challenging to navigate for the first time, and we want to provide support however we can. The City has several programs available to help small businesses, so I want to connect you with Shannon Hein, Small Business Programs Manager (copied on this email). Shannon is a great resource and can serve as a liaison to other departments and connection to various programs that support small businesses.
A new program that was not yet available when we spoke in the Spring is the City’s technical assistance mini grant program. This is a potential source of funds that could help you obtain the professional design services you will need to bring your operations into compliance. Eligible uses for technical assistance include civil/structural engineering, architectural design, and project management. More information and the application can be found here, and you can reach out to Shawna Van Zee (also copied on this email) for more information.
Thank you for your prompt attention to these matters, and we look forward to working with you on these steps. For assistance with obtaining a building permit and for all building code related concerns, please work directly with Marcus Coldiron, Chief Building Official.
Regards,
Paul
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Paul Sizemore, AICP
Director of Community Development and Neighborhood Services
City of Fort Collins
281 North College Avenue
970-224-6140 office
970-305-0212 mobile
Audrey Welsh
I did just get a reply from Jeni this morning saying the situation sounds frustrating and that she will be chatting with Kelly today. I’m unsure with how aware they are of these impacts, but I think it would be really productive if you were able to reach Kelly to give insight to the situation. With your knowledge of local food systems and our work, I think it would help Jeni and Kelly’s understanding and finding an appropriate solution of our situation. At this point, any exemption, extension or variance is what we’re looking for to buy time to keep our doors open and not disrupt our vendors.
I do not have Kelly’s direct phone number, but I did find their email which is KDIMA...@fcgov.com.
Thank you, John.
Audrey
Hello Audrey,
Per our conversations earlier, were you able to connect with Jeni Arndt? Have you forwarded this email correspondence to her? Why are all these issues coming up now after you launched your local food system business? How long is this path to compliance supposed to take? Do they not understand that the food harvest season is now? Let me know if there is someone I should speak with tomorrow, and in the meantime, I will consult with our community development staff to see what the options are. Thank you and so sorry that this is occurring.
John Kefalas
County Commissioner, District 1
Commissioners' Office
200 W Oak St | 2nd Floor
PO Box 1190, Fort Collins, CO 80522-1190
Cell: (720) 254-7598
Audrey Welsh
There is a city council meeting today at 6pm and there is a public comment section, 2 min each. I plan on attending to represent ReKaivery and speak about how the silo culture and lack of alignment with the City's vision has impacting our small businesses and specifically our agricultural community. I will be asking some folks to stand with me, and you are more than welcome to attend if you’re available and wanting to come.
Cheers,
Audrey
I will do my best Audrey.
Audrey Welsh
Thank you for this email and for passing along any additional information from your findings. I know Jason connected with you directly and explained how his company, Container Moving Systems, followed the specific city codes while construction the chassis, but we will comply with whatever is being asked of us in order to remain open since we do not have an option. We have been in communication with your departments since day one and plan to remain in communication - as we have followed the direct advice of the codes and city personnel from the beginning.
To echo back to you, we will remain close to indoor access to the public, other than to our employees - and will operate as a window-serving option or outside market option until the City accepts our new chassis. From my conversation with Jason, chassis take a few weeks to manufacture and has asked for immediate direction so he can get started on the process now.
While there is more communication to be had, I wanted to reply to you as quick as I could. I am available at any time to meet with you all this week to chat about next steps.
Audrey
Good morning Audrey,
Thank you for the additional off-line conversations, and for connecting me with the manufacturer of your wheel/dolly equipment. I’m responding back into our original email chain so that everyone has access to the same information.
To document some of the additional information we have received since Monday:
• You have expressed that your intent was to make this shipping container into a vehicle for the purposes of Fort Collins codes.
• Your intent is for the container to remain in-place 24/7 during the season.
• Your intent is for the container and your operations to remain at their current location until the end of the season in November.
• According to the manufacturer of the dolly equipment, they do produce equipment that is DOT approved as a street legal method for moving storage containers.
• The manufacturer also states that this is not the equipment that is installed on your container.
• The manufacturer indicates that the current wheel system is intended for onsite maneuvering, and different equipment would be required to legally move the container on streets from one place to another.
• The manufacturer has indicated that they will provide the City with written documentation about both the street legal system and the system currently installed (pending).
From this information, it appears that your intent was to convert this container into a vehicle; however, because of the equipment installed on it, it cannot currently be legally moved to or from the property without installation of different equipment.
Since the container is currently functioning as a structure, we need to take measures to ensure we are honoring our adopted building codes. However, we would also like to provide time and space to work through the different options available to you: namely, 1) completing the conversion to a vehicle that can be legally moved to or from the site, or alternatively, 2) permitting the container as a structure.
To that end:
• Tomorrow (Wednesday) morning, the structure must be closed to public access but may remain on the site while you work with the City on a path to compliance.
• It is very important that access to the structure be limited to only staff, who operate in a window-serve or other similar manner. An inspector will verify public access has been restricted.
• We should schedule a meeting between Rekaivery representatives and City staff by the end of this week to review all the information available and discuss what is involved in each pathway, and realistic timelines associated with those pathways.
Please respond to this email letting me know if this seems like workable next steps, as well as with any questions you may have.
Regards,
Paul
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Paul Sizemore, AICP Director of Community Development and Neighborhood ServicesCity of Fort Collins 281 North College Avenue970-224-6140 office970-305-0212 mobilepsiz...@fcgov.com
From: Paul S. Sizemore
Sent: Monday, August 15, 2022 9:24 AM
To: Audrey Snyder <aud...@rekaivery.com>
Cc: Missy Nelson <mne...@fcgov.com>; Damien Wilson <dwi...@fcgov.com>; Marcus Coldiron <mcol...@fcgov.com>; chris...@odellbrewing.com; Noah Beals <nbe...@fcgov.com>; Shannon Hein <sh...@fcgov.com>; Shawna VanZee <SVa...@fcgov.com>
Subject: Rekaivery- Important information about Building Code compliance
Hello Audrey,
Thanks for looping me into the conversation. Since several City divisions are involved in the review of your project, I’m happy to provide one comprehensive response that lays out a holistic path to addressing outstanding issues.
As indicated in the March 2022 conceptual design review for your previously proposed location, and with the current installation, the container you are operating out of is a structure/building rather than a vehicle. The Municipal Code defines a vehicle as: “a device capable of moving itself, or being moved, from place to place upon wheels or endless tracks.” The placement of a dolly for onsite repositioning under the container does not make the container a vehicle because it is not permitted to travel on the street and cannot be moved to or from the property without being loaded onto a street-legal trailer.
The most pressing issue that needs to be addressed, and which will require immediate action, is that a certificate of occupancy has not been issued for this structure. Adopted building codes prohibit the structure from being used or occupied in whole or in part until a certificate of occupancy has been obtained. In order to protect the safety of the public, the structure must be closed to occupancy and removed from its current location no later than 48 hours from the date and time of this email. If the structure has not been removed from the location by the above-mentioned time and date, we are obligated to post a notice of violation on the structure.
Path to Compliance
The Odell Wine property is approved for Stationary Vending; however, a building permit is required to approve the temporary building, including the building design, location on site, and duration of time it is permitted.
Building permit submittal requirements include:
Site Plan indicating location of structure and noting a maximum 6 month time limit
Elevation drawings
Plans demonstrating that the temporary structure conforms with section 3103 of the 2021 International Building Code (please see attachment)
Once a building permit is obtained, inspections will be required before a certificate of occupancy can be issued. For detailed information about building permits and inspections, visit www.fcgov.com/building, or feel free to work directly with Chief Building Official Marcus Coldiron (copied on this email).
Upon issuance of a certificate of occupancy, Zoning will be able to approve their portion of the sales tax license application so that it can be issued.
Additional Support
We recognize these processes can be challenging to navigate for the first time, and we want to provide support however we can. The City has several programs available to help small businesses, so I want to connect you with Shannon Hein, Small Business Programs Manager (copied on this email). Shannon is a great resource and can serve as a liaison to other departments and connection to various programs that support small businesses.
A new program that was not yet available when we spoke in the Spring is the City’s technical assistance mini grant program. This is a potential source of funds that could help you obtain the professional design services you will need to bring your operations into compliance. Eligible uses for technical assistance include civil/structural engineering, architectural design, and project management. More information and the application can be found here, and you can reach out to Shawna Van Zee (also copied on this email) for more information.
Thank you for your prompt attention to these matters, and we look forward to working with you on these steps. For assistance with obtaining a building permit and for all building code related concerns, please work directly with Marcus Coldiron, Chief Building Official.
Regards,
Paul
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Paul Sizemore, AICP Director of Community Development and Neighborhood ServicesCity of Fort Collins 281 North College Avenue970-224-6140 office970-305-0212 mobilepsiz...@fcgov.com
Audrey Welsh
I appreciate you all inquiring about our situation. I really did not know where else to turn to in these moments of immense stress and feared our doors would be officially closed indefinitely from the first email I received. Below is the current information I just received from Paul Sizemore. While I understand Kelly is meeting with Paul today as well, I wanted to forward you all what I have just received.
While it looks like we can now remain open, we are only allowed to either self-serve through our window or outside of the container until we’re deemed compliant under the eyes of the City. While this is good news that we’re not completely shut down, we now are working towards understanding how we fell burden to the misinformation given to us and now our timeline to allow our doors to open is on the timeline of the City. Previously, the last change of ruling took 4 months from us, and so I’m really hoping for this to be a priority on the City’s docket. This unfortunately has been the second time the advisement of a city staff member has resulted in a major loss to us and there hasn’t been any accountability to being misadvised. This misguidance has costed us significantly financially and I’m hoping any decisions to come will be with the assistance of the City.
While I know it sounds like there will be more updates to come, I wanted to send this along since I noticed you all were not included on this email chain.
Thank you,
Audrey
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Paul S. Sizemore <psiz...@fcgov.com>