Building inspections strain city

Published: Friday, December 27, 2013 at 10:34 p.m. Last Modified: Friday, December 27, 2013 at 10:34 p.m.

PORT ORANGE A high volume of building inspections has caused delays for some home and business owners, but Port Orange is hiring new staff early next year to keep up with demands, said City Manager Greg Kisela.

Kisela said that home and building inspections took a dip during the recession, but construction in the city has significantly increased over the last year and is putting a strain on Port Oranges community development department. Inspections are required for everything from home and business construction to smaller remodeling projects. The city is on target to conduct more than 16,250 inspections for 2013, an increase by more than one-third from two years ago.

The increase in inspections signals a promising economic recovery, but city officials are being cautious about how many staff members to add. The city currently has six staff members capable of conducting inspections and plans to hire another full-time inspector by mid-January. An inspector from the city of DeLand will also contract with the city for one day each week starting early next year.

Its something we have to juggle, Kisela said. What we dont want to do is hire a bunch of folks and then the economy cools and we are forced to lay them off.

Because building inspections can include minor home renovations, Port Orange Mayor Allen Green said an increase in inspections is not always the best indicator of economic growth.

Weve been through this before and we get all tuned up with a lot of (inspectors) and then it levels off, he said. The housing market is just starting to pick up, but what we are seeing is a lot of remodeling.

Kisela said that inspectors aim to complete each request in one business day, but the current wait time is now up to two days.

Even an additional wait of a few hours can make a big difference to a home developer or a business owner who is on a tight schedule. Home and business owners are required to be on site for the inspection and must wait for a time window when the inspector can show up.

We understand that if you are a single-family homeowner who is remodeling your bathroom and have to stay home an extra day to wait on an inspector that it would be frustrating, Kisela said.

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Building inspections strain city