Development and Building Inspector

JOB SUMMARY

This position shares responsibilities between two departmental divisions for site review, inspections and other matters related to:

1. Compliance with Town of Mount Pleasant land development and zoning regulations; and
2. Compliance with Town of Mount Pleasant building codes.

Employee performs field work associated with compliance and enforcement of regulations and coordinates with other departments and agencies with respect to enforcement action involving single family land development, individual tree removals, and code compliance matters.  Upon attaining the required minimum single discipline inspector certification, the employeeis responsible for conducting appropriate trade inspections (building, electrical, plumbing, gas, mechanical) according to his/her qualifications.

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS: 

• Performs specialized field and administrative duties to ensure compliance of construction and development projects with the Town’s zoning and land development standards and regulations, including tree protection.
• Investigates clearing, grading, tree removal and buffer violations; issues citations where such violations exist; and follows up on violations until the situation is appropriately remedied.
• Conducts on-site inspections on construction projects to ensure code compliance.

• Serves as a member of the Flood Investigation Team, which assists in evaluation and proposal of solutions to new and frequently occurring flood calls and complaints. 
• Manages vision corridor requests within the Town’s critical line buffers. 
• Performs field inspections related to the tree protection ordinance to include verification of tree mitigation requirements on construction sites and individual properties.
• Assists citizens with complaints or requests for information involving zoning, construction or inspection issues.
• Prepares detailed and accurate project reports, routine department reports, and special reports, as required.
• Observes conditions and issues notices of correction and related violations.

• Conducts visual surveys of the Town in order to identify any unauthorized construction, renovation or repair activity.
• Performs field damage assessment inspections in response to natural disasters as part of the Town’s response team.
• Maintains current certification and license requirements.
• Maintains International Code Council (ICC) and state continuing education requirements to stay abreast of current regulations, techniques and practices, among other things.

• Performs all similar or related duties as assigned.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS TO PERFORM WORK:

• High School diploma and one (1) year of work experience.
• Willingness to learn building practices related to civil site drainage installations, use of topographic software such as GIS, CityWorks and/or Pictometry and use of logging, tracking and updating software such as BluePrince, Oracle, and BlueBeam.
• Currently maintain or attain within one (1) year of hireat least one single discipline inspector licensure from the South Carolina Building Codes Council. New, unlicensed employees may be required to register with the South Carolina Department of Labor Licensing and Regulation as a Provisional Inspector immediately upon hire and must complete full licensure as indicated above.
• Valid South Carolina driver’s license.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES:

• Knowledge of basic principles and practices of land development, grading, building construction, hydraulics and site development.
• Knowledge of all phases of building and construction trades, including plumbing, gas, electric, etc.

• Knowledge of department inspection and permit practices and techniques.

• Ability to understand environmental benefits of preserving and protecting sensitive areas. 
• Understanding of stormwater drainage systems, hydraulics, and area hydrology. 
• Ability to understand and interpret topographic maps and utility plans.
• Ability to deal tactfully with disgruntled members of the public.

• Ability to establish effective working relationships with department staff, owners, designers, contractors, subcontractors, the public, and other agencies.
• Ability to read and interpret construction plans, diagrams and blueprints.

• Skill in problem solving using critical thinking skills. 

• Skill in the use of computers.

• Ability to communicate well in writing and orally.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS:

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to talk or hear. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, usage of computers and reading.

This position requires substantial repetitive motion of wrists, hands, and fingers.  The employee is frequently required to stand; walk; use hands to finger, handle, grasp or feel; and reach with hands and arms.

The employee consistently maintains balance either sitting, standing or walking and is occasionally required to stoop or crouch. The employee may occasionally push, pull or lift and move objects up to 10 pounds. 

The work requires some agility and physical strength, such as moving in or about construction sites or over rough terrain or standing or walking most of the work period. Occasionally, work may require lifting heavy objects and carrying them (up to 20 lbs.). There may be need to stretch and reach to retrieve materials.  Usually, the work does not require extended physical effort over a significant portion of the workday.

COGNITIVE REQUIREMENTS:

The work requires the following mental abilities to perform critical tasks:

• Work pace - varies
• Verbal interactions - constantly
• People skills - more than basic (more than simple communication with others)
• Problem solving – more than once per day
• Working with the general public
• Working around crowds

WORK ENVIRONMENT:  

The work environment involves everyday discomforts typical of offices, with occasional exposure to outside elements. Noise or physical surroundings may be distracting, but conditions are generally not unpleasant.  Work may also involve occasional mental stress, such as completing several unrelated tasks within a relatively short period of time.

Employee will be required to work beyond normal business hours in response to natural disasters, emergencies, Town special events, to attend evening meetings.