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HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrd.1100.11-04-1991 BILL NO. 91-218 ORDINANCE NO. AN ORDINANCE PERTAINING TO THE LICENSING OF PERSONS ENGAGED IN THE CONSTRUCTION TRADES BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CAPE GIRARDEAU, MISSOURI, AS FOLLOWS: ARTICLE 1. Chapter 15 of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Cape Girardeau, Missouri, relating to licenses and business regulations is hereby amended by revoking Article XIV regarding Plumbing License and Article XV relating to Gas Fitting License and by enacting a new Article XIV relating to Construction Trades Licenses, in words and figures, as follows, to-wit: ARTICLE XIV. CONSTRUCTION TRADES LICENSES. Sec. 15-426. Board of Examiners. (a) Creation. There is hereby created a Board of Examiners of construction trades consisting of five (5) regular members plus three (3) alternate members. (b) Term, appointment, Qualifications. The City Council shall appoint by formal motion and majority action the first five (5) regular members of the construction trades licensing Board of Examiners as follows: two (2) members to serve for a term of three (3) years each commencing on the effective date of this article; two (2) members to serve for a term of two (2) years each commencing on the effective date of this article and one (1) member to serve a term of one (1) year commencing on the effective date of this article. As the term of each member expires, the city council shall appoint a successor for a term of three (3) years. Four (4) of the five (5) regular members of the Board shall have at least six (6) years practical experience in one of the construction trades, and be licensed hereunder and be actually engaged in or working at their construction trade at the time of their appointment. These four (4) regular members of the Board must include one (1) plumber, one (1) mechanical installer, one (1) electrician and one (1) construction contractor. The fifth regular member of the Board need not be a licensed practitioner of one of the construction trades but all members, including the alternate members, must be residents or property owners in the City of Cape Girardeau, Missouri. The three (3) alternates shall be appointed by the City Council by formal motion and majority action for terms of three (3) years each beginning July 1, 1991. The three (3) alternate members shall all be licensed pursuant to this ordinance as either a plumber, an electrician, a mechanical installer or a construction contractor and must be actually engaged in or working at their trade at the time of their appointment. (c) Removal. The members of the Board of Examiners may be removed by a majority vote of the City Council. (d) Meetinqs. The Board of Examiners shall meet regularly at least once each calendar month for the purpose of examining all applicants who have requested licenses pursuant to this ordinance. (e) Duties. It shall be the duty of the Board of examiners to examine the qualifications of all applicants for a plumbers license and mechanical installers license, as to their knowledge of and ability to perform the duties and services of the plumber and mechanical installer trade for which the application is made. The results of such examination shall be certified to the City Clerk, where the certified results will become a permanent record. As a result of the aforesaid examination, the Board of Examiners may, when satisfied as to the competency and ability of the applicants for plumbers and mechanical installers licenses, authorize the City Clerk to issue a plumbers or mechanical installers license to the applicant. The Board may commission the administration of tests as required herein to a qualified testing agent. The Board shall also serve to advise the City Council and City staff as to any recommendations they deem appropriate with regard to the licensing of various trades in the City of Cape Girardeau, Missouri. The City Clerk of Cape Girardeau is hereby authorized to act on behalf of the Board of Examiners in issuance of licenses for electricians and construction contractors. Sec. 15-427 . License required. (a) License required. Any person who engages in or performs work on installing or altering plumbing facilities in a building or structure, or for any building or structure or who engages in or performs the work of installing the sanitary or building storm sewer, or any work concerning the installation of sanitary or storm, trunk, main and lateral sewers on public property, recorded easements or on private property, when such work is required to be done in accordance with the BOCA - 2 - National Plumbing Code, shall be a licensed plumber or shall be working under the direct supervision of a licensed plumber, except as otherwise provided in this Code. Any person who engages in or works at the installation, extension, alteration or repair of any gas appliances or piping pertaining to or in connection with gas service on consumers premises within the city, where such work is required to be done in conformity with the BOCA National Mechanical Code, shall be a licensed mechanical installer or shall be working under the direct supervision of a licensed mechanical installer, except as otherwise provided in this Code. Any person who engages in or works at installing or repairing of electrical wiring, fixtures or other appurtenances, whenever such work is required to be done in conformance with the National Electrical Code, shall be a licensed electrician or shall be working under the supervision of a licensed electrician, except as otherwise provided in this Code. Any person who engages in or works at building, constructing or renovating any buildings or structures within the City of Cape Girardeau, when such work is required to be done in conformance with the BOCA National Building Code, shall be a licensed construction contractor or shall be working under the supervision of a licensed construction contractor, except as otherwise provided in this Code. (b) Classifications requirinQ license . Classifications of building trades construction licenses for which the Board of Examiners shall examine qualifications are: (1) Plumber. (2) Mechanical installer. (3) Electrician. (4) Construction contractor. (c) Oualifications. Applicants for a plumber license and mechanical installer license, shall have the indicated minimum qualifications: (1) The applicant for the plumber and mechanical installer licenses shall have at least four (4) years practical experience working in the - 3 - trade for which the applicant is applying for a license. The Board of Examiners may waive two (2) years of the practical experience requirement if an applicant has a two (2) year degree from a certified technical school, college or university and the Board of Examiners may waive the entire four (4) year practical experience requirement if the applicant has a four (4) year degree from a certified technical school, college or university. (2) Applicants for the plumber and mechanical installer licenses must also successfully complete an examination approved by the Board of Examiners to test his or her knowledge and skill of the subject matter for which he or she is requesting a building trades license. (3) Applicants for the electrician and construction contractor licenses need have no practical experience nor are they subject to any examination by the Board of Examiners as to their competence and ability, but instead shall be issued their license upon application to the City Clerk. (d) Fees. The annual fee for a building trades license issued hereunder shall be thirty-five dollars ($35. 00) for each of the construction trades licenses. (e) Expiration and renewal. A license issued by the Board or the City Clerk shall expire on April first of the year following the year in which it is issued and may be renewed upon payment of the annual fee in the amount provided in the section above. Expired licenses may be renewed within thirty (30) days after they expire upon the payment of the penalty of ten dollars ($10 . 00) , all without reexamination. A licensee whose license has expired longer than thirty (30) days shall be reexamined in the same manner as the initial examination under this Code. (f) Revocation, suspension. The Board of Examiners may suspend the license of any person who is convicted in the Municipal Court of Cape Girardeau, Missouri, of violating any provision of the Cape Girardeau Construction Codes. The suspension shall be for a period of up to ninety (90) days. - 4 - The Board of Examiners may revoke any license obtained through nondisclosure, misstatement or misrepresentation of a material fact. Further, the Board may revoke the license of any person who shall have been convicted for the second or subsequent offense of any violation of the Cape Girardeau Construction Codes. Such revocations shall be for a period of one (1) year. Before a license may be suspended or revoked, the licensee shall have notice in writing enumerating the charges against him and be entitled to a hearing by the Board of Examiners not sooner than five (5) days from their receipt of the notice. The licensee shall be given an opportunity to present testimony, oral or written, and shall have the right of cross-examination. All testimony shall be given under oath. The Board shall have the power to administer oaths, issue subpoenas and compel the attendance of witnesses. The decision of the Board shall be based upon the evidence produced at the hearing and made a part of the record thereof. A person whose license has been revoked shall not be permitted to apply for a new license within one (1) year of the date of revocation and at the time of the application for a new license shall be required to be examined as though being licensed for the first time. (q) Examination and registration. Any person desiring to engage in business as a plumber or mechanical installer, shall make written application to the Board of Examiners for a license. The application shall be made on forms available at the Office of Building Inspection. The applicant shall appear at the next regularly scheduled meeting of the Board so as to establish the applicant's compliance with the experience requirements of this ordinance. Applicants for plumber or mechanical installer licenses shall undergo such examination as the Board shall direct so as to establish the competency and qualifications of the applicant. The Board may, at its option, designate an independent third party for the preparation and supervision of the testing required herein. All examinations given by the Board of Examiners or its designee shall be standardized in nature and shall test the qualifications of the applicant as to his or her ability to perform as required by the construction codes of the City. Such examinations may be in written form or may be a field practicum. Such test shall include an open book segment on the pertinent construction code. Applications for an electrician or a construction contractor license shall be made on forms available at the office of building inspection. - 5 - (h) Existinq license holders. Persons engaged in or working at the business of plumbing or mechanical contracting at the time of the passage of this ordinance shall be entitled to continue working in that capacity under their previously issued license without further examination, provided, however, that they must obtain a new license issued pursuant to this ordinance within six (6) months of the adoption of this ordinance. (i) Insurance. Any person who shall apply for a construction trades license pursuant to this ordinance shall state to the City Clerk whether such applicant has obtained general liability insurance coverage for his or her work to be done pursuant to such license. If the applicant has obtained such general liability insurance, applicant shall provide the City Clerk with the name of the insurance carrier and the limits of coverage and the duration of the policy which has been purchased. No applicant shall be required to obtain general liability insurance in order to be issued a license pursuant to this ordinance. (j ) ExceQtion. Any permit required by the City Code may be issued to any person to do any work regulated by this article in a single-family dwelling used exclusively for living purposes, including the usual accessory buildings and quarters in connection with such building, provided the person is the bona fide owner of such building and that the same will be occupied by the owner. Volunteers working for a not-for-profit organization need not be licensed. Any work performed under a permit issued under this section shall be subj ect to all of the applicable regulatory provisions of this article and all building codes in force in the same manner that they would apply if the permit was issued to a licensed plumber, mechanical installer, electrician or construction contractor hereunder. (k) Use of licensee's name by another. All permits required for any work done by persons licensed hereunder must be acquired in the name of the licensee and the work to be performed pursuant to that permit must be performed under the supervision of the licensee in whose name the permit is given. A person having obtained a license pursuant to this Ordinance shall not allow his name to be used by another person either for the purpose of obtaining permits, or for doing business or work under the license. Every person licensed shall notify the Board of the address of his place of business, and the name under which such business is carried on and shall give immediate notice to the Board of any change in - 6 - either. The licensee obtaining a permit shall be responsible for all work performed and may be summoned to the site of any such permitted work by the City's inspector when needed. (1) Inapplicability. The provisions of this Ordinance shall not apply to construction, reconstruction, repairs, maintenance or operations of storm sewers or sanitary sewers by the City or a person under contract with the City to provide such construction, reconstruction or repairs. Sec. 15-428. Other license. The construction trades license required pursuant to this Code shall not be a substitute for any other business license which may be required pursuant to Chapter 15 of the Cape Girardeau City Code, but shall be in addition to any such other license required by other provisions of Chapter 15 . Sec. 15-429 . Penalties. No person shall engage in the construction trades for which licenses are required pursuant to this Code without obtaining the appropriate license in accordance herewith. Any person found guilty of working as a plumber, mechanical installer, electrician or construction contractor without obtaining the appropriate 1 icense sha 11 be subj ect to a f ine not to exceed f ive hundred dollars ($500 . 00) and/or confinement in City Jail for a period not to exceed three (3) months. Further, any person so convicted shall be prohibited from obtaining a construction trades license pursuant to the requirements of this code for a period of six (6) months following the date of conviction. ARTICLE 2 . If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase or portion of this Ordinance is for any reason held invalid or unconstitutional by any court of competent jurisdiction, such portion shall be deemed a separate, distinct and independent provision and such holding shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions hereof. ARTICLE 3 . It is the intention of the governing body and it is hereby ordained that the provisions of this Ordinance shall become and be made a part of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Cape Girardeau, Missouri, and the sections of this Code may be renumbered to accomplish such intention. - 7 - , ARTICLE 4 . This Ordinance shall be in full force and effect January 1, 1992 . PASSED AND APPROVED THIS _�� DAY OF , 19�. �.� �; � ` - �� r ,� _ , � � Francis E. Rhodes, Mayor ATTEST: Julie A. Dale Deputy City Clerk - 8 -