Part two
When it was time to mandate a state-wide set of building and fire codes for New York State, the Department of State [DOS] and the Office of Fire Prevention and Control [OFPC] became actively involved.
They helped develop these codes and trained people to administer them.
The state building codes that were available, but not mandated, had been under the jurisdiction of DOS.
And certainly OFPC was actively involved with fire prevention and was held in high veneration across the state.
Thus, the race was on…
Which state agency would end up having the job of administration, training and education for the new codes?
Being very involved in the process of everything at that time is something that will never be forgotten.
There was a huge battle between OFPC & DOS… and justifiably so.
Most zoning officers, especially towns and villages, were not trained to do what they were charged to do.
The permit and inspection process for all buildings, whether a house or a major commercial building, a mall or a major public assembly was clearly becoming a critical component to help establish a level of structural and fire safety.
This applied to not just the occupants, but fire responders as well. Locally, many fire departments got aggressively involved in trying to take the zoning officer’s job away, at least the state building code part, not so much the zoning.
In 1984, after four years of intensive hearings, negotiations and lobbying efforts, the Secretary of the State was given jurisdiction for the administration of the first Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code adopted by New York State.
Now nick-named the Uniform Code, this code is mandated to all municipalities within the state.
Along with this mandate for administration and enforcement, came the first ever requirement of minimum education, training and certification requirements for the officers charged with enforcing all the new codes; these people are now referred to as a “Code Enforcement Officer.”
It is amazing how the name “Zoning Officer” has stuck, and stuck hard.
Ever since 1984, which is thirty years ago, people still refer to the position as the Zoning Officer.
Although zoning administration is certainly still part of the job, it is no longer the main reason people are hired as enforcement officers.
Before 1984 people were hired to do the zoning and inherited the building codes.
Ever since 1984, people are hired for the building codes, required to take classes and pass the state exam to get the job, then they usually inherit all the zoning.
The idea of zoning officer vs. code enforcement officer is just a personal gripe. The bigger picture is that over the last thirty years the level of professionalism in the world of code enforcement has exploded and it is only going to continue to grow.
It has to. There are already college programs and courses in code enforcement.
Not too far into the future there will be college degrees offered.
The job no longer just deals with the typical property owner over seemingly routine zoning matters. Knowledge of the construction industry and practices, hi-tech energy concepts, structural design and analysis, materials, assembly of products, engineering, calculation of stress loads, waste water treatment, stormwater management, plan review and inspection techniques are all getting more intense.
Then add to that, people skills. You have to deal with not just the property owner but a whole range of personalities.
Design professionals, engineers, architects, mechanical engineers, contractors, trades-people, home owners, angry people, argumentative people, uninformed people, over informed people, state administrators, other state, county and federal agencies, attorneys who are knowledgeable of NYS Town Law and some not so, staff in the office and local elected officials to name some.
Having said all this, and being closer to the end of a career than the beginning, the world of code enforcement will continue to move in a direction that demands higher standards, better education, a broad range of knowledge, profound communications skills.
It also requires a strong knowledge of the law, budgeting and organizational skills, and the ability to manage others all in a fast-paced and potentially hectic environment.
Code enforcement can offer a very diverse career.
And New York State, with their minimum training, education and exam requirements that exceeds almost all other states, is recognized around the country as a leader in the industry.
Remembering many years ago during the first required state training program and the instructor said; “so you want to be a code enforcement officer…well, good luck.”