Permit and Inspections Bulletin
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Clarifies applicable requirements for the permits and inspections within the Safety Codes Act.
Discussion
Permits and inspections are important parts of the Safety Codes system. Permit applications are required to determine the undertaking of a project. Permit applications are processed based on date and time received. Once an application is entered into the electronic permit tracking system, a review is completed to ensure the application is complete. Applications containing errors and/or omissions may be rejected and returned to the applicant to be fixed and resubmitted. Once the application is found to be completed and accepted by staff, it progresses through various workflows depending on the permit type.
Building permits must include a building code review. The permit may be fast tracked if it qualifies and will be issued within two business days of the acceptance of a complete application. Standard building permits and issued fast tracked permits will be reviewed within 15 calendar days. Final permits will then be issued and drawings will be returned with an “EXAMINED” stamp.
Trade permits for electric, gas, HVAC, plumbing and private sanitation systems are typically issued within two business days of a completed application being entered into the electronic permit tracking system. Delays may be seen if applications include errors and/or omissions, or if they are submitted by email or in person.
Bylaws and Regulations
Alberta Permit Regulations AR 204/2007
Permit required
3(1) Subject to subsection (2), a person shall not start any undertaking for which a permit is required under this Regulation unless a permit has been issued.
(2) If a permit issuer is not readily available and there is imminent serious danger to, or imminent serious danger of damage to, persons or property because of any thing, process or activity to which this Act applies or because of a fire hazard or risk of an explosion, a person may, without a permit, start an undertaking for which a permit is required under this Regulation but that person must apply for a permit as soon as a permit issuer is available.
Safety Codes Permit Bylaw No. 4438
Permits required
5. Subject to section 6, a person shall not start any Undertaking for which a permit is required pursuant to the Safety Codes Act, the Regulations, or this Bylaw unless a valid and subsisting permit has been issued.
6. If there is imminent serious danger to persons or property because of any thing, process or activity to which the Safety Codes Act applies or because of a fire hazard or risk of an explosion, a person may, without a permit, start an Undertaking for which a permit is required pursuant to this Bylaw but that person must apply for a permit as soon as the danger, fire hazard or risk of explosion has been remedied.
Notification of inspection
27. When an Undertaking for which a permit has been issued is ready to be inspected for compliance with the Safety Code Act and Regulations, the person holding the permit shall notify a Safety Codes Officer.
Inspections
28. The Permit Holder shall ensure that access is provided for inspection purposes in the case of an Undertaking involving a Single Family Residential Dwelling or a Single Family Residential Dwelling with a Secondary Suite.
29. Any inspections conducted by or on behalf of a Safety Codes Officer shall be conducted in accordance with the governing Quality Management Plan.
Inspections fees
- 36. Unless otherwise specified, the fees payable pursuant to Schedule “A” include all mandatory inspections.
- 37. The additional re-inspection fee set out in Schedule “A” is payable for every inspection where:
- a) at the time of the inspection, the Undertaking that was required to be inspected had been covered or inaccessible;
- b) the municipal address of the parcel for which the permit was issued is not displayed; or
- c) when an inspection has been previously arranged, and:
- iii. a Safety Codes Officer is unable to access the building;
- iv. the Undertaking is not ready for an inspection; or
- v. a previously identified deficiency has not been corrected.
Offence
42. A person who contravenes this Bylaw or authorizes or directs another person to contravene this Bylaw, is guilty of an offence.
Interpretation
The City of Medicine Hat is working on internal process to minimize the delay of verifying and approving permit applications no matter how they are submitted. In the meantime, it is highly recommended that applicants utilize the online ePermit portal, as delays are often related to applications received via email or when dropped off at the counter.
We understand that delays in processing permit applications may result is delays to job sites, and many contractors then look to Safety Codes Officers in the field to complete inspections before applications have been duly processed and issued as per the regulations and bylaws. Because this is direct violation of both the Permit Regulations and City of Medicine Hat’s Safety Codes Permit Bylaw, Safety Codes Officers have now been directed to forward any requests for inspections where there is no valid permit directly to management for enforcement.
Persons found to be working without a valid permit will be subject to the issuance of a specified penalty of $350 pursuant to the Provincial Offences Procedures Act, by a Bylaw Enforcement Officer. Upon making the voluntary payment, that person is not required to appear before a justice to answer the summons. A person found guilty of an offense is liable upon conviction to pay fines not more than Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000) or in default of payment to imprisonment for a period of not more than one year.
Of course, Planning and Development Services considered fines and penalties a last resort. This notice is to provide clarity to all Permit Holders on the possible severity of working without a valid permit and hope that this action will never be required. The Safety Codes systems is critical to the life and safety of all citizens in Medicine Hat and all Contractors play an important role in this system.
Unless stated otherwise, the Code references in this Bulletin are to Division B of the current National Building Code – Alberta Edition (NBC-AE) Bulletins do not overrule the NBC-AE nor constitute a relaxation of the Code. They serve to clarify the Code in areas where the latter is ambiguous or does not cover a specific topic. Bulletins are City of Medicine Hat clarifications for staff use to enable consistency in the application of the Code. Regulation Bulletins should always be read in the context of the appropriate requirements of the Code.
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