Section 307.37. Adoption of county building code

(A) As used in division (B)(3) of this section, "proposed new construction" means a proposal to erect, construct, repair, alter, redevelop, or maintain a single-family, two-family, or three-family dwelling or any structure that is regulated by the Ohio building code.

(B)

(1)

(a) The board of county commissioners may adopt local residential building regulations governing residential buildings as defined in section 3781.06 of the Revised Code, to be enforced within the unincorporated area of the county or within districts the board establishes in any part of the unincorporated area. No local residential building regulation shall differ from the state residential building code the board of building standards establishes pursuant to Chapter 3781. of the Revised Code unless the regulation addresses subject matter not addressed by the state residential building code or is adopted pursuant to section 3781.01 of the Revised Code.

(b) The board of county commissioners may, by resolution, adopt, administer, and enforce within the unincorporated area of the county, or within districts the board establishes in the unincorporated area, an existing structures code pertaining to the repair and continued maintenance of structures and the premises of those structures provided that the existing structures code governs subject matter not addressed by, and is not in conflict with, the state residential building code adopted pursuant to Chapter 3781. of the Revised Code. The board may adopt by incorporation by reference a model or standard code prepared and promulgated by the state, any agency of this state, or any private organization that publishes a recognized or standard existing structures code.

(c) The board shall assign the duties of administering and enforcing any local residential building regulations or existing structures code to a county officer or employee who is trained and qualified for those duties and shall establish by resolution the minimum qualifications necessary to perform those duties.

(2) The board may adopt regulations for participation in the national flood insurance program as defined in section 1521.01 of the Revised Code and regulations for the purposes of section 1506.04 or 1506.07 of the Revised Code governing the prohibition, location, erection, construction, redevelopment, or floodproofing of new buildings or structures, substantial improvements to existing buildings or structures, or other development in unincorporated territory within flood hazard areas identified under the "Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973," 87 Stat. 975, 42 U.S.C.A. 4002, as amended, or within Lake Erie coastal erosion areas identified under section 1506.06 of the Revised Code, including, but not limited to, residential, commercial, institutional, or industrial buildings or structures or other permanent structures, as defined in section 1506.01 of the Revised Code. Rules adopted under division (B)(2) of this section shall not conflict with the state residential and nonresidential building codes adopted pursuant to section 3781.10 of the Revised Code.

(3)

(a) A board may adopt regulations that provide for a review of the specific effects of a proposed new construction on existing surface or subsurface drainage. The regulations may require reasonable drainage mitigation and reasonable alteration of a proposed new construction before a building permit is issued in order to prevent or correct any adverse effects that the proposed new construction may have on existing surface or subsurface drainage. The regulations shall not be inconsistent with, more stringent than, or broader in scope than standards adopted by the natural resource conservation service in the United States department of agriculture concerning drainage or rules adopted by the environmental protection agency for reducing, controlling, or mitigating storm water runoff from construction sites, where applicable. The regulations shall allow a person who is registered under Chapter 4703. or 4733. of the Revised Code to prepare and submit relevant plans and other documents for review, provided that the person is authorized to prepare the plans and other documents pursuant to the person's registration.

(b) If regulations are adopted under division (B)(3) of this section, the board shall specify in the regulations a procedure for the review of the specific effects of a proposed new construction on existing surface or subsurface drainage. The procedure shall include at a minimum all of the following:

(i) A meeting at which the proposed new construction shall be examined for those specific effects. The meeting shall be held within thirty days after an application for a building permit is filed or a review is requested unless the applicant agrees in writing to extend that time period or to postpone the meeting to another date, time, or place. The meeting shall be scheduled within five days after an application for a building permit is filed or a review is requested.

(ii) Written notice of the date, time, and place of that meeting, sent by regular mail to the applicant. The written notice shall be mailed at least seven days before the scheduled meeting date.

(iii) Completion of the review by the board of county commissioners not later than thirty days after the application for a building permit is filed or a review is requested unless the applicant has agreed in writing to extend that time period or postpone the meeting to a later time, in which case the review shall be completed not later than two days after the date of the meeting. A complete review shall include the issuance of any order of the board of county commissioners regarding necessary reasonable drainage mitigation and necessary reasonable alterations to the proposed new construction to prevent or correct any adverse effects on existing surface or subsurface drainage so long as those alterations comply with the state residential and nonresidential building codes adopted pursuant to section 3781.10 of the Revised Code. If the review is not completed within the thirty-day period or an extended or postponed period that the applicant has agreed to, the proposed new construction shall be deemed to have no adverse effects on existing surface or subsurface drainage, and those effects shall not be a valid basis for the denial of a building permit.

(iv) A written statement, provided to the applicant at the meeting or in an order for alterations to a proposed new construction, informing the applicant of the right to seek appellate review of the denial of a building permit under division (B)(3)(b)(iii) of this section by filing a petition in accordance with Chapter 2506. of the Revised Code.

(c) The regulations may authorize the board, after obtaining the advice of the county engineer, to enter into an agreement with the county engineer or another qualified person or entity to carry out any necessary inspections and make evaluations about what, if any, alterations are necessary to prevent or correct any adverse effects that a proposed new construction may have on existing surface or subsurface drainage.

(d) Regulations adopted pursuant to division (B)(3) of this section shall not apply to any property that a platting authority has approved under section 711.05, 711.09, or 711.10 of the Revised Code and shall not govern the same subject matter as the state residential or nonresidential building codes adopted pursuant to section 3781.10 of the Revised Code.

(e) As used in division (B)(3) of this section, "subsurface drainage" does not include a household sewage treatment system as defined in section 3709.091 of the Revised Code.

(C)

(1) Any regulation, code, or amendment may be adopted under this section only after a public hearing at not fewer than two regular or special sessions of the board. The board shall cause notice of any public hearing to be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the county once a week for the two consecutive weeks immediately preceding the hearing, except that if the board posts the hearing notice on the board's internet site on the world wide web, the board need publish only one notice of the hearing in a newspaper of general circulation if that newspaper notice includes the board's internet site and a statement that the notice is also posted on the internet site. Any notice of a public hearing shall include the time, date, and place of the hearing.

(2) Any proposed regulation, code, or amendment shall be made available to the public at the board office. The regulations or amendments shall take effect on the thirty-first day following the date of their adoption.

(D)

(1) No person shall violate any regulation, code, or amendment the board adopts under sections 307.37 to 307.40 of the Revised Code.

(2) Each day during which an illegal location, erection, construction, floodproofing, repair, alteration, development, redevelopment, or maintenance continues may be considered a separate offense.

(E) Regulations or amendments the board adopts pursuant to this section, with the exception of an existing structures code, do not affect buildings or structures that exist or on which construction has begun on or before the date the board adopts the regulation or amendment.

(F)

(1) The board may create a building department and employ the personnel it determines necessary to administer and enforce any local residential building regulations or existing structures code the board adopts pursuant to this section. The building department may enforce the state residential and nonresidential building codes adopted pursuant to Chapter 3781. of the Revised Code if the building department is certified pursuant to section 3781.10 of the Revised Code to enforce those codes.

(2) The board may direct the building department, upon certification, to exercise enforcement authority and to accept and approve plans pursuant to sections 3781.03 and 3791.04 of the Revised Code for the class of building for which the department and personnel are certified.

Effective Date: 10-29-2003; 05-06-2005; 05-27-2005; 04-06-2007