Chapter 7 — Permits, Certificates, Fees and Finances, Article 6 — STANDARDS FOR PERMITS AND CERTIFICATES
Compliance.
No permit or certificate shall be issued until the department determines that all provisions of this Code and other applicable codes will be, or have been, complied with in all respects on proposed or completed projects. Copies of adopted codes are public record and are available for public review. True and correct copies of these documents shall be maintained in the office of the department, together with all amendments thereto, and such documents and amendments shall be accessible in the department to members of the public who may be affected by them.
Building Code.
No building or other structure shall be erected, moved, extended or enlarged, or structurally altered unless in compliance with all provisions of the International Building Code or International Residential Code for One and Two Family Dwellings as adopted by the Georgia Department of Community Affairs and as changed or amended from time to time.
Plumbing Code.
No building or other structure shall be erected, moved, extended or enlarged, or structurally altered unless in compliance with all provisions of the International Plumbing Code or International Residential Code for One and Two Family Dwellings as adopted by the Georgia Department of Community Affairs and as changed or amended from time to time.
Swimming Pool and Spa Code.
No building or other structure shall be erected, moved, extended or enlarged, or structurally altered unless in compliance with all provisions of the International Swimming Pool Code as adopted by the Georgia Department of Community Affairs and as changed or amended from time to time.
Mechanical Code.
No building or other structure shall be erected, moved, extended or enlarged, or structurally altered unless in compliance with all provisions of the International Mechanical Code or International Residential Code for One and Two Family Dwellings as adopted by the Georgia Department of Community Affairs and as changed or amended from time to time.
Gas Code.
No building or other structure shall be erected, moved, extended or enlarged, or structurally altered unless in compliance with all provisions of the International Fuel Gas Code or International Residential Code for One and Two Family Dwellings as adopted by the Georgia Department of Community Affairs and as changed or amended from time to time.
Electrical Code.
No building or other structure shall be erected, moved, extended or enlarged, or structurally altered unless in compliance with all provisions of the National Electrical Code as adopted by the Georgia Department of Community Affairs and as changed or amended from time to time.
Energy Code.
No building or other structure shall be erected, moved, extended or enlarged or structurally altered unless in compliance with all provisions of the International Energy Conservation Code as adopted by the Georgia Department of Community Affairs and as changed or amended from time to time.
Review.
Department personnel and, where applicable, other approved individuals, including approved third party plans reviewers, shall review all aspects of a proposed project prior to issuance of a building permit to ensure that the plans for such project comply with all provisions of this Code and the codes referenced in this chapter. Department personnel shall likewise review existing buildings or structures and completed projects prior to issuance of any permits or certificates to ensure that all provisions of this Code and applicable codes referenced in this chapter are met.
Inspections.
Construction or work for which a permit is required shall be subject to inspection by the building official and such construction or work shall remain visible and able to be accessed for inspection purposes until approved. Approval as a result of an inspection shall not be construed to be an approval of a violation of the provisions of this code or of other ordinances of the jurisdiction. Inspections presuming to give authority to violate or cancel the provisions of this code or of other ordinances of the jurisdiction shall not be valid. It shall be the duty of the owner or the owner's authorized agent to cause the work to remain visible and able to be accessed for inspection purposes. Neither the building official nor the jurisdiction shall be liable for expense entailed in the removal or replacement of any material required to allow inspection.
Preliminary Inspection.
Before issuing a permit, the building official is authorized to examine or cause to be examined buildings, structures and sites for which an application has been filed.
Required Inspections.
The building official, upon notification, shall make the inspections the following inspections:
Exception: Gypsum board and gypsum panel products that are not part of a fire- resistance-rated assembly or a shear assembly.
Inspection Requests.
It shall be the duty of the holder of the building permit or their duly authorized agent to notify the building official when work is ready for inspection. It shall be the duty of the permit holder to provide access to and means for inspections of such work that are required by this Code.
Approval Required.
Work shall not be done beyond the point indicated in each successive inspection without first obtaining the approval of the building official. The building official, upon notification, shall make the requested inspections and shall either indicate the potion of the construction that is satisfactory as completed, or notify the permit holder or his or her agent wherein the same fails to comply with this Code. Any portions that do not comply shall be corrected and such portion shall not be covered or concealed until authorized by the building official.
Inspection Personnel.
Inspections required by this Code shall be effected by building inspectors or other personnel of the department who shall be employed for such purpose under the provisions of Chapter Five of this Code, or where applicable, by approved third party inspectors.
Factory-built Housing.
Department personnel and employees shall ensure that open construction factory-built housing meets all requirements of this Code and other applicable codes. In all cases of factory-built housing, whether open or closed construction, Department personnel and employees shall ensure that all locally controlled aspects of construction, including but not limited to zoning provisions, footing and foundation requirements, and other matters not preempted by state regulations are enforced according to the terms of this Code and applicable codes.
Driveway Culverts.
Driveway culverts shall be installed as required by the Engineering Department's Stormwater Design Manual. No certificate of occupancy shall be issued for a building or structure for which access to the building or structure is over a driveway or other way to a public street unless and until an appropriate culvert not less than 18 inches in diameter is installed under the driveway surface sufficient to maintain the integrity of the public drainage system, as required by the Engineering Department's Stormwater Design Manual.
In exceptional cases an exemption may be granted by the Director of Engineering after a field inspection. The builder or homeowner must call the Director of Engineering to request an exemption (curb and gutter subdivisions are exempted).