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CCMP-Northampton Construction Certificante Management Procedure-WF12.07.2020.docxConstruction Certificate Management Procedures City of Northampton Building Department and Office of Planning & Sustainability December 1, 2020 City responsibility for the regulatory administration of development review sits in: Building Department for the administration of all building and code permit and enforcement, ADA enforcement related to building projects, and related permitting, inspection, and review of construction, creation of and maintenance of all building permit files and administrative documents (e.g., building guides, applications, and forms). Planning & Sustainability serves as the city’s floodplain manager, coordinates the zoning and subdivision regulations, and supports the regulatory functions of the Planning Board, Zoning Board, Historic Commission, Central Business Architecture Committee, and the Conservation Commission, advises the Building Department before Building issues and Zoning permits, and serves as the City’s ADA Coordinator. Public Works is responsible for the administration of stormwater, curb cuts, driveway, blocking, water access, sewer access, and storm sewer access permits and advises regulatory boards staffed by Planning & Sustainability on engineering issues. Fire Rescue is responsible for the administration of fire lanes, oil tanks, and fire safety as well as advising regulatory boards staffed by Planning & Sustainability on fire and safe access. The purpose of this document is to explain our management procedures for review of Elevation Certificates (ECs) and all other floodplain-related construction certificates required including, but not limited to, Floodproofing Certificates and Engineered Opening Certificates. These procedures outline the types of certificates required, the collection and review of all certificates, how corrections should be made, where the certificates are stored/archived and how we make these certificates available to the general public. WHEN CERTIFICATES ARE REQUIRED When any new construction, substantial improvement or repair for a substantially damaged building is conducted in Northampton as Special Conservancy Floodplain District and Floodplain Overlay District (Northampton’s Special Flood Hazard Areas), the Building Department shall require an Elevation Certificate, and any other floodplain-related certificate that is appropriate (Floodproofing Certificate for Non-Residential Buildings, Residential Basement Floodproofing Certificate, Engineered Opening Certificate) for the development. These same documents are required to be submitted to Planning & Sustainability for any project requiring a wetlands permit from the Conservation Commission. The applicant shall submit an Elevation Certificate marked “Construction Drawings” with the Building Permit Application and, for new projects, any relevant Notice of Intent submitted to Planning & Sustainability. This Elevation Certificate shall be used to determine if the proposed design is in compliance with the Northampton Zoning and Massachusetts Building Code floodplain standards. The applicant shall complete a complete and correct “Finished Construction” (as-built) Elevation Certificate, and any other required certificates (e.g., Floodproofing Certificate for Non-Residential Structures) once construction on the building is finished and all adjacent grading is finalized to the Building Department and, when required by a wetlands Order of Conditions, to Planning & Sustainability prior to any request for a Certificate of Occupancy and wetlands Certificate of Compliance. When engineered flood openings are installed in the foundation of a building, and the Elevation Certificate indicates that they were installed (Sections A8d and A9d on the EC), an Engineered Opening Certificate is required to be submitted with the Elevation Certificate to help verify compliance and the insurance rate (i.e., the International Code Council® Evaluation Service (ICC-ES) form for the engineered opening or an individual certification). Individual certifications must cover the following at minimum: it must identify the building address with the installed engineered openings; the design professional’s name, title, address, type of license, the state issuing the license, signature and seal; a statement certifying the design of the openings will automatically equalize hydrostatic flood loads on exterior walls by allowing for the automatic entry and exit of floodwaters; and a description of the range of flood characteristics tested or computed for which the certification is valid, such as rates of rise and fall of floodwaters. ELEVATION CERTIFICATE REVIEW All Elevation Certificates and Finished Construction Elevation Certificates shall be submitted to the Building Department and Planning & Sustainability. Building Department and Planning & Sustainability clerks will log in the certificates and the Building Commissioner will review for compliance with building, zoning, and wetlands codes. The applicant’s professional engineer, professional surveyor and/or licensed architect, as applicable, licensed in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts must sign and stamp all Elevation Certificates. Certificates of Occupancy and Wetlands Certificate of Compliance will not be issued until all problems are resolved. For any inaccurate or incomplete information in Section C2, the Building Department shall request a new certificate from the applicant or their representative (surveyor/engineer/architect) who certified the form. If incomplete or inaccurate information is found in the other sections, the Building Department will return the form to the applicant or their representative with instructions on what needs to be changed or corrected. All “Finished Construction” Elevation Certificates with errors shall be returned to the applicant for immediate correction. In no cases shall a Certificate of Occupancy or Wetlands Certificate of Compliance be granted until Building Department has approved the permit. If corrections are completed after the Certificate of Occupancy or Wetlands Certificate of Compliance, the applicant and their agent must provide the homeowner/landowner copy of the corrected Elevation Certificate in case the corrections would affect their insurance WHERE THE CERTIFICATES ARE MAINTAINED All Elevation Certificates and all required construction certificates, as well as all other permit application documentation are stored on the City’s Laserfiche® internet “public file cabinet,” filed by the Assessors Map Identification system for the relevant parcel. Copies of the “Finished Construction” Elevation Certificates along with the other required construction certificates (if applicable), shall also be placed in a separate Elevation Certificate folder on the same public file cabinet. Elevation Certificates are available on the Laserfiche® internet public file cabinet, available for public review and downloading.