-
Should I sign this?
A couple years ago, I staked the relocation of a house originally built in the 1860s, along with a new garage. The project required approval from the Board of Appeals, which the architect handled.
I recently completed an as-built plan, and the homeowner submitted it to the Building Inspector. The building inspector is now requiring me to submit the following letter:
‘To the Building Commissioner,
I hereby certify that the structures (allowing for overhangs and all parts of the structure) have been checked by me and I do hereby confirm and declare that the sideline yard/setback distances to the front, side, rear, and elevations are correct and that the same comply with site plan/site plan, as filed with the Building Permit, and all applicable provisions of the Town of xxxxx Zoning By- Laws, Site Plan Approval and Special Permits.
Registered Land Surveyor____________________________”
The problem I have is that the as-built setbacks (to the roof) do not exactly match those on the proposed plan. The new garage setbacks are all larger than proposed. Most of the relocated house setbacks are larger, but 3 are slightly less (by 0.1′, 0.4′ and 0.2′). All are larger than the minimum setbacks in the zoning bylaw. The homeowner told me that at the Board of Appeals meeting last year, he asked how much tolerance they had in the setbacks, and the Board replied that they must match exactly. The architect’s plan gave dimensions to all 4 property lines, and his roof overhangs were incorrectly calculated (didn’t account for a 30 degree skew), AND the old house is not exactly vertical, so it was impossible to exactly match the setbacks. It was not possible to adjust the roof overhangs on the old 2 story house. I told my client this when I found out, but he wanted to proceed.
I was thinking of adding something like the following to the end of the letter:
“…except for the following: rear house setback of 53.5′ (53.6′ proposed), left house setback of 142.7′ (143.1′ proposed), front house setback of 218.7 (218.9′ proposed).”
In 35 years, I have never seen anything like this letter. In my experience, the surveyor reports measurements, and it is the Building Inspector that determines if they comply.
It looks like my client needs this letter in order to obtain an occupancy permit.
Would you sign this letter? If so, with or without my addendum? As I said, all as-built setbacks are larger than the minimums set forth in the Zoning Bylaw.
Any other suggestions?
Thanks.
Another job for me to lose sleep over…
Log in to reply.