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City of Hastings takes over delegated authority
Hastings Fire & Rescue was recently granted delegated authority by the Nebraska State Fire Marshal’s Office.
Delegated authority means the State Fire Marshal authorizes a local municipality to review and approve building plans and inspect projects to meet applicable statewide fire codes.
While both the city and state codes would remain in effect, this is intended to simplify the code-enforcement process for contractors. City inspectors could draw from applicable codes in helping builders find the best and/or most cost-effective solutions while remaining code compliant.
Authority from the state comes after members of the Hastings City Council voted 5-3 during their regular meeting on May 28 to support the fire department’s request for a one-year pilot program, with affected customers to be surveyed on their experiences with the new arrangement.
Risk Reduction Officer Anthony Murphy said this process is a giant leap forward in making Hastings more developer friendly.
“We see growth and positive experiences happening in communities that have the benefits of the delegated authority process,” he said. “When we reduce red tape and delays, we reduce the overall cost and frustration that can come with a project. There’s a reason why other communities want to have delegated authority, and keep it.”
Businesses, contractors, and citizens have encouraged the city to streamline the review and inspection processes and make it easier to navigate the building process. One area that can be improved is the way building plans are reviewed and inspected for fire and life safety issues.
Previously, owners and contractors have had to coordinate plans reviews with inspectors at both the state and local level. For the majority of construction projects this new process will consolidate the potential of six code officials’ involvement down to one single contact. This expedites reviews and answering questions that frequently arise throughout a project lifecycle.
Delegated authority does not extend to every type of inspection. For example, the state still would conduct federal surveys for licensed health care facilities, and their own inspections for regulated underground fuel tanks.
In addition to the benefits of the existing Fire Code Board of Appeals made up of Hastings-only residents, this would also allow the city to retain the revenue generated from the required reviews and inspections as opposed to the revenue going to the state. Hastings joins the following delegated authorities: Bellevue, Boys Town, Grand Island, LaVista, Lincoln, Norfolk, North Platte, Omaha/Elkhorn, Papillion, Scottsbluff, and UNL/UNO/UNK.
The Nebraska State Fire Marshal’s Office is coordinating with the City of Hastings on the transition process. Certain projects will still include some level of State Fire Marshal involvement until completion, while others are already streamlined to the new single point of contact. If you have a current construction project and have not already received word regarding if or how your project is affected, please reach out to Hastings Fire & Rescue at 402-461-2350, select option 4.
Published Date: 09/ 4/2024