A package of bills and resolutions to strengthen the city's
regulation of demolition and construction practices won preliminary approval
from City Council on Monday. Encouragement came from parents who lost their
daughter in the Center City building collapse that killed six people last June.
"We appeal to you to remember the disturbing questions
we ask every minute of every day in an effort to understand how this tragedy
could have occurred in our city," testified City Treasurer Nancy Winkler,
whose daughter, Anne Bryan, 24, died while dropping off clothes at a Salvation
Army thrift shop at 22d and Market Streets.
John Bryan, Anne's father and a licensed structural
engineer, said that beyond the specific details of the new legislation,
"there needs to be a clarification of the responsibilities of [the
Department of Licenses & Inspections] to vet contractors and to ensure
public safety.
"It is remarkable that although six people died in an
avoidable collapse of which the city was given repeated warnings," Bryan
said, "nobody did anything to protect the public safety."
Curtis Jones Jr., chairman of a special Council committee,
established after the June 5 accident, that developed all the proposals, said
he expected the legislation to pass before the end of the year, allowing
Council to turn its focus to improved funding for L&I in next year's
budget.
A four-story brick wall, part of a building under
demolition, collapsed onto the adjacent thrift shop.
Among the requirements awaiting final action by Council:
Every applicant for a demolition permit would have to
include a site-safety plan developed by a licensed engineer or other qualified
person, including plans to protect pedestrians and adjacent structures.
Demolition contractors would have to demonstrate past experience, disclose any
building-code violations, and complete at least a 30-hour training program
developed by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
L&I would conduct mandatory site inspections on all
demolition projects, with additional requirements for buildings over three
stories.
City inspectors would have additional authority to issue
stop-work and cease-operations orders.
L&I code inspectors, construction-plan reviewers, and their
supervisors would be required to complete 30 hours of OSHA safety training, and
L&I would be required to arrange for free or reduced-price OSHA training
for the public.
A proposal to require an independent site-safety monitor on
all demolition and construction sites was removed from the package last week,
on the ground that the position would not be necessary if the other changes are
implemented.
An additional series of resolutions awaiting Council
approval call on other agencies or officials to take various steps to upgrade
public safety.
One calls on Mayor Nutter to reverse a step he took at the
outset of his administration putting control of L&I under Alan Greenberger,
deputy mayor for economic development. The resolution says L&I's
enforcement functions should report to the Department of Public Safety, the arm
that includes the Police and Fire Departments.
Another resolution asks the School District, Community College of
Philadelphia, and all regional school districts to offer OSHA training and
certification to Philadelphia residents and students involved in career and
technical-education programs.
Source: Philly.com
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