by Andrew Getty
Temporary. All too often the term “temporary” is used assuming it provides an avenue to avoid the need of getting a building permit or from complying with state or local laws.
First, what is temporary? Is it a few hours, one day, a couple of days… maybe a week or a month?
There are no provisions in the local law that acknowledges any structure to be exempt because of its assumed temporary nature.
A shed built of skids, is still a shed… just happens to have skids under it.
A roll in dock with wheels is still a dock… just happens to have wheels and is designed to be man-handled into position.
A garage on a slab is still a garage, just does not have traditional footings.
Roll in, on piers, pilings, styrofoam billets or built on a pile of rocks, all docks require a building permit.
Each is used for the purpose of providing any means of docking, berthing, launching, or anchoring of one or more boats.
Usually also providing a means of walking access between boats and the shoreline, including piers, wharfs, breakwalls and similar structures.
Here’s one that should go into the story book of best stories.
A few years ago, someone arguing about the need of a floating dock requiring a permit came up with his unique solution to avoid regulations.
He mounted an outboard motor on his dock and said it was now a boat… he refused to get a permit.
Obviously, boats do not require a building permit, and in most cases do not have to meet the setback requirements from property lines.
But what he really had was a dock that just happened to have a motor on it.
After a lot of screaming and yelling, he did get a permit.
This ‘temporary’ idea is tried in other situations as well.
Most everyone knows that the Town of Webb Office of Code Enforcement is in the same building as he Assessor’s Office, so there is certainly communication between the two departments.
The Assessor’s office will also occasionally get the same remark… “It’s a temporary structure on skids; therefore it should not be assessed.” Nice try.
Codes and assessing are two very different things.
We operate under very different laws, different criteria and do not necessarily use the same definitions.
Building codes, zoning and land use laws have their own definitions to define certain terms or concepts within the law.
Same for assessing.
Neither have a known definition for a temporary structure that would exempt anything from codes, zoning or the assessment of market value.
Even if assessing may not collect a floating dock, the dock is still regulated by zoning.
The two departments must operate under their own rules for the purpose intended.
If you have questions about what the Assessor’s office calls a structure, you need to call the Assessor, not the Code Enforcement Office.
If you have questions about what is regulated, or needs a permit, you need to call the code office, not the Assessor’s office.
Although this code office has been known to offer very limited, very special relief for extreme and extenuating circumstances to allow a storage shed to be placed while something else is going on without a permit, it’s not very often.
And it will be for a short period of time. If it’s more than a few days, maybe a week or so, a permit is required.
There is no automatic exemption because someone says the structure is temporary because it does not have substantial anchoring to the ground.
Getting the permit may actually be a very simple thing anyway… depending on the location.
It’s funny how many “temporary” structures have never been moved; all too often used continually year round for a long, long time… even rotting out in the same spot.
When told that the structure is temporary, (in an effort to avoid local law) because it is built on skids the response from the code officer is usually “great, then this structure will be gone by this time tomorrow?”
You have all heard to old saying; “if it walks like a duck, looks like a duck, swims like a duck, it’s probably a duck.”