Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto wants to transform the city Bureau of Building Inspection into a new Department of Permits, Licenses, and Inspections.
The intention of this effort is to streamline the department and make issuing permits and code enforcement more effective. Under the plan, the cityās Urban Redevelopment Authority, planning, zoning, building inspection bureau, and the housing authority would work together more cohesively, according to a spokesman for the mayor. The proposal would also impose a new rental registration program and fee targeted at keeping better track of problem landlords.
In a related development, Pittsburgh is attempting to overhaul a dated approach to land use and management. The city, working with a land bank approved by the city council earlier this year, wants to create a new and more efficient entity to hold and return vacant, derelict, and tax-delinquent property to productive to use.
āItās ultimately about rebuilding neighborhoods,ā the mayorās chief of staff told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Related Stories
| Sep 8, 2011
OSHA issues alert on incorrectly rebuilt circuit breakers
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has issued a hazard alert, warning workers and employers of certain Eaton/Cutler-Hammer molded-case circuit breakers that were incorrectly rebuilt.Ā
| Sep 8, 2011
USGBC Streamlines LEED EB: O&M
The Council has reorganized the prerequisite and credit structure of LEED EB: O&M.Ā
| Sep 8, 2011
USGBC: 30 Legislative āWins For Green Buildingā So Far In 2011
A mid-year report by the U.S. Green Building Council says that there have been ā30 legislative wins for green buildingā across 22 states in 2011.Ā
| Sep 8, 2011
Revised Building Codes Adopted After WTC Attacks Being Implemented
U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) code revision recommendations in the wake of the World Trade Center terrorist attacks are being implemented in new high-rise construction including One World Trade Center, the lead building of the new World Trade Center complex.Ā
| Sep 8, 2011
New Sustainability Standard Addresses Disaster Resistance
To aid local governments to adopt high-performance green building codes, the Portland Cement Association (PCA) and the Institute for Business and Home Safety (IBHS) have developed High Performance Building Requirements for Sustainability 2.0.Ā
| Sep 8, 2011
Pilot ISO 50001 Implementations Report Big Energy Savings
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) recently published ISO 50001 to provide a recognized framework for integrating energy performance into management practices.Ā
| Sep 8, 2011
USGBC Revises Energy Demand Response Credit
Originally launched in 2010, the revised and enhanced Demand Response Pilot Credit establishes guidelines that are anticipated to increase participation in automated energy demand response programs.Ā Ā
| Sep 8, 2011
Water Safety in Buildings Guide Published by World Health Organization (WHO)
This WHO book provides guidance for managing water supplies in buildings where people may drink water, use water for food preparation, wash, shower, swim or use water for other recreational activities or be exposed to aerosols produced by water-using devices, such as cooling towers.Ā
| Sep 7, 2011
NFPA Fire & Life Safety Conference in December
Presentations on recent Fire Protection Research Foundation projects, how September 11th and the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire affected high rise design, and a panel discussion on emerging code issues will be featured at theĀ National Fire Protection AssociationĀ (NFPA)ās Fire & Life Safety Conference on December 12-14 in Orlando, FL.The meeting will include more than 60 educational sessions in which participants can earn continuing education units (CEUs). Presentations will be led by NFPA staff experts and technical committee members, and will be organized in four tracks ā building and life safety, detection and alarm, fire suppression, and codes and standards. For more information, visitĀ www.nfpa.org/FLSCONF. Ā
| Sep 1, 2011
Project Aims to Automate Code Compliance Assessment
FIATECH, a consortium of owners from the industrial, power, and retail markets that build large structures, launched a project this year to validate the use of automation technology for code compliance assessment, and to accelerate the regulatory approval process using building models. Long-term objectives include the development of an extensive, open-source rule set library that is approved by industry and regulatory bodies for use by technology developers and code officials.
