1. A continuous stream of large numbers of construction projects on private properties within the City for many years past has resulted in substantial and continuing adverse impacts on the City and its residents from construction activities;

2. Among those adverse impacts are long-term noise disturbances to neighbors of the construction projects, loss of already inadequate on-street parking due to the presence of large numbers of construction vehicles, and frequent closures of the City’s narrow streets for construction deliveries and staging, which closures hinder and/or eliminate local and emergency access for varying periods of time;

3. The City has seen numerous individual projects designed and built on a very large scale so that construction has often continued for many years, thus prolonging the adverse impacts created by those projects;

4. It is in the interests of the health, safety, and welfare of the citizens of Belvedere to place a reasonable time limit on the duration of each construction project, so as to balance the needs of the owner of the project with those of his neighbors and the community generally in the safe and peaceful enjoyment of their properties;

5. The time limits adopted in this Section allow an adequate and reasonable amount of time for the kinds of construction projects undertaken in the City; and

6. Because of the large monetary value of many of the construction projects in the City, substantial penalties should be imposed upon persons who violate the time limits imposed pursuant to this Chapter, so as to encourage compliance with such time limits and achieve the purposes of this Section.

1. Table. Except where a longer time period is approved pursuant to Subsection D of this Section, the maximum time for completion of approved alterations, additions, modifications, repairs, or new construction, following issuance of the building permit, shall not exceed the following:

2. Time Limit for Landscaping. To complete landscaping work approved as part of a larger construction project, the applicant may have an additional 90 days after the date of final inspection approval of the building permit for the main construction project. To receive the additional 90 days, the applicant must file an application and make a deposit against the timely completion of the landscaping work in an amount determined by the Building Official in consultation with the Director of Planning and Building. The additional 90 days does not apply to projects solely comprised of landscaping and related improvements.

1. An applicant may request a construction time limit extension at any time between the design review hearing and prior to building permit final. An applicant is limited to one construction time limit extension per project.

2. The Planning Commission has the authority to grant, conditionally grant, or deny a time limit extension request made at the time of a design review hearing based on the reasonable anticipation of one or more of the factors in this Subsection. The Planning Commission’s decision may be appealed in writing to the City Council.

3. The extension committee has the authority to administratively grant, conditionally grant, or deny a time limit extension request made after the issuance of a building permit based on one or more of the factors in this Subsection. The extension committee shall consist of the City Building Official, the Director of Planning and Building, and the Public Works Manager, who shall meet with the project contractor, architect and, at the applicant’s option, a representative or the applicant. The extension committee shall review the extension request within 10 working days of receiving a complete application. Within 10 working days of receiving the decision, the applicant may appeal the extension committee’s decision to the Planning Commission and the Planning Commission’s decision to the City Council. All appeals shall be scheduled within a reasonable time of the receipt of the appeal.

4. An application for a construction time limit extension shall be accompanied by complete working drawings for the construction, a written explanation of the reasons for the requested extension, any other information requested by Planning staff, and a fee as established by City Council resolution.

5. Projects with an initial 18-month construction time limit may receive a maximum 6-month extension for a total time limit of 24 months. Projects with an initial 6 or 12-month construction time limit may receive an extension, provided that such extensions do not result in a total construction time limit exceeding 18 months.

6. Landscaping Extension. When landscaping work, which was approved as part of a larger construction project, is delayed because of inclement weather, the applicant may file with the City Manager for an extension to complete the landscaping work. The request must be filed prior to, and may not exceed 30 days beyond, the final building inspection approval, issuance of an occupancy permit, or expiration of the 90-day landscaping time limit granted per Subsection C2 above, whichever occurs later. The City Manager shall grant said extension only if, in his or her opinion, such extension is warranted because of delays caused by inclement weather.

7. Construction Time Limit Extension Factors. Requests for construction time limit extensions shall be determined based on one or more of the following factors:

1. Upon failure of the applicant to complete construction by the established time limit, the Building Official shall issue a compliance order setting a date 30 days from the date of such order within which time the applicant shall be required to complete the construction, and advising the applicant that the following penalties shall be imposed if the applicant fails to comply with said order:

3. The applicant shall be notified in writing of the amount of any penalty imposed pursuant to this Section. Notice shall be served as provided in Section 1.14.040 of this Code. Service shall be deemed complete upon mailing or posting as required in that Section. Penalties imposed pursuant to this Section shall be paid within 60 calendar days of the date of the notice of penalty.

1. A penalty imposed pursuant to this Section may be appealed in writing to the City Council no later than 10 calendar days from the date of service of the notice of the penalty, with payment of an appeal fee as established by City Council resolution. For purposes of filing an appeal, if the final day to appeal falls on a day when City Hall is closed, the final day to appeal shall be extended to the next day City Hall is open for public business. The applicant shall submit all information reasonably requested by Planning Staff related to the appeal including without limitation an executed construction contract.

2. Within a reasonable time of receipt of a construction time limit penalty appeal, the appeal shall be reviewed by an appeals committee consisting of the City’s Building Official, Director of Planning and Building, Public Works Manager, and City Manager. The appeals committee shall conduct a meeting with the project contractor, architect and, at the applicant’s option, the applicant and/or any other designated representative(s). The appeals committee shall make a written recommendation to the City Council on whether to affirm, reduce, or remove the penalty based on one or more of the factors in this Subsection.

3. Table No. 2. The appeals committee may recommend a credit of a certain number of construction time limit days for projects which have incurred a penalty but have employed dismantling techniques, as approved in the project waste management plan, in the deconstruction of a building. The number of credit days shall not exceed the following:

4. Construction Time Limit Penalty Appeal Factors. The City Council may affirm, reduce, or remove a penalty if the construction time limit was exceeded for reasons beyond the control of the applicant, which may include one or more of the following factors:

5. For the purposes of this Subsection, reasons beyond the control of the applicant shall not include:

6. Any penalty finally imposed pursuant to this Section shall constitute a lien on the applicant’s property, to be imposed, recorded and satisfied as provided in Sections 1.14.160 through 1.14.190 of this Code.

7. The provisions of this Section are not the exclusive remedy for addressing violations of a construction time limit. In addition to penalties provided by this Chapter, the City may pursue all other actions and remedies provided by law including but not limited to administrative citations, administrative code enforcement, and nuisance abatement proceedings.