Audit questions L&I inspections, safety of demolitions

An audit released by City Controller Alan Butkovitz reviewing demolition inspections that occurred after the fatal building collapse at 21st and Market streets found that nearly half of the inspections that claimed to have been conducted were not documented.

The week after the building collapse, which left six dead and 13 injured, the city’s administration publicly said L&I officials inspected 300 open demolitions. But, when auditors reviewed the records, there were 442 open demolitions, 210 of which had no supporting documentation.

“Beyond the variation in numbers, it is extremely troubling that almost half of the inspections claimed to have been made had no documentation to prove inspectors actually visited these sites,” Butkovitz said at a press conference.

As to why there was a difference between the 300 properties and the 442 permits on the listing, L&I management said “300 was a ballpark figure thrown out to describe what we were doing to ease public concern,” according to the audit. Furthermore, the audit claims that L&I management said that many sites remained open because of “administrative reasons.”

Here’s more of what the audit found:

For more than 70 percent of the demolition permit applications reviewed, plan examiners inconsistently enforced the new standards because the examiners lacked clear criteria for applying some standards, felt certain standards were unnecessary or waived requirements when imminently dangerous properties needed expedited processing.

For nearly 85 percent of the completed demolitions after the building collapse, inspectors routinely failed to perform all demolition inspections required by newly established procedures, waiving the inspections in L&I Hansen System without explanation or supervisory approval. Some inspectors also lacked required certifications to perform the inspections.

L&I inspection records were insufficient, often lacking required photographs for demolition site visits and failing to document important details about work performed during inspections. There was also no evidence of independent supervisory review of inspectors’ activity.

Read the full audit here.

The commission recently launched a website asking for public input to create a more comprehensive report on the L&I department. Public feedback will end on Aug. 1., with a written report due to Mayor Michael Nutter on Sept. 15.

Source: Philadelphia Business Journal