Belleville appoints new Construction Board of Appeals members

By Rosemary K. Otzman
Independent Editor
The City of Belleville has some buildings that need to be torn down and the owners have a right to appeal that action to the city’s Construction Board of Appeals.
The Construction Board of Appeals can reverse a decision of the city’s Building Official and can interpret the building code. The board’s word is binding.
It costs $500 to have an appeals hearing before the Construction Board of Appeals, but the members do not get paid.
The problem was that the city hadn’t used the state-mandated appeals body since Victoria Commons was being constructed in the early 1990s.
At the regular meeting of the Belleville City Council on Jan. 7, DPW Director Keith Boc explained that it was time to reappoint an appeals board. Boc said the board has only been used twice in all the time he has worked for the city, during the construction of Victoria Commons and Harbour Pointe subdivisions.
The city council approved the following professionals, as recommended by Boc in conformance with the Michigan Construction Code:
• John Hennessey, registered design professional;
• Rick Rutherford, registered building with over 20 years of experience;
• Bob McCraight, mechanical contractor with over 10 years of experience, Building Official City of Romulus;
• Rich Evans, registered master electrician with over 10 years of experience; and
• Mike Evans, registered fire inspector, plan reviewer for State of Michigan, certified fire officer for the State of Michigan, Deputy Director/Deputy Fire Chief Wayne County Airport Authority.
Two alternates are required. They are:
• Joe Watts, electrical inspector and contractor with over 20 years of experience; and
• Bernie Zarb, master plumber and plumbing inspector with over 20 years of experience.