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Leo Null
Building Official
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Address:
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155 Deer Hill Avenue
Danbury, CT 06810
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Telephone:
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203-797-4580
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Permit Applications
About us:
The Building Department is a key branch of our municipal government for the planning of our city’s future. We work with people throughout the life of a building project, from the planning stages, through all required inspections, to its completion, and any problems that may arise in between and thereafter.
Building applications are first submitted through the Permit Center, then the Zoning Department approves the use and location of the building before it is reviewed by the Building Department. All of our inspectors review plans, perform inspections, and answer technical questions daily. We respond to questions and complaints from the public who stop in, who e-mail us, or who place phone calls to our office. We also address complaints and issues referred by other departments including the Fire, Police, Zoning, Health and Human Services, and the Office of Neighborhood Assistance.
All plans are reviewed for conformance to the State Building Code. Applications for a deck or shed can be reviewed in twenty minutes, while bigger project plans for commercial buildings can require weeks. Upon approval, permits are issued, and inspections performed as requested. Once a final inspection at 100% completion is performed, a Certificate of Occupancy is issued.
We continually work with applicants to resolve open permits lacking inspections, and CO’s sometimes brought to us at the last minute – some even thirty years later. We are also called upon to act as expert witnesses and defend abatements in court.
The Building Department’s inspectors are on emergency call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Our inspectors respond to fires, explosions, freeze-ups, pipe breaks, electrical issues, gas leaks, vehicles striking buildings, and other unsafe conditions. One never knows what to expect when responding to an after-hours call.
Our staff consists of a Building Official, six Assistant Building Officials, a Chief Electrical Inspector, and a Clerk. Our inspectors attend continuing education classes on a regular basis for stay aware of the latest knowledge in construction and public safety. This is a state requirement to maintain our licenses.
Our accomplishments:
The Building Department remained busy throughout 2011 with new and renovation construction, requests for information, and resolution of complaints and unsafe conditions.
Danbury Hospital underwent renovations in their Radiology sector and in the NICU, they also began construction on their cogeneration plant. We look forward to continuing our work with the hospital on their tower and garage expansions.
Our impressive Matrix Corporate Center welcomed tenant fit-outs for new tenants GM, Odyssey, Guideposts, and an improved employee fitness facility.
New housing units at the Reserve are coming to fruition with the completion of six new 40-unit buildings at Crown Point. In addition, Toll Brothers will continue the development of Rivington, and we are overseeing the construction of new multi-family housing on Osborne Street and Chestnut Street.
Danbury also welcomed the opening of several new restaurants. Our department inspected the construction of Max 40, Kibberia, and Bambu on Mill Plain Road, Pepe’s Pizza on Federal Road, and Papa John’s Pizza and Bruegger’s Bagels on Crosby Street.
Danbury Fair Mall continues to welcome new tenants; most notably, the former Filene’s space now holds Dick’s Sporting Goods, Forever XXI, and is working on two exciting new restaurants, Cheesecake Factory and Brio. Exterior building improvements are also underway.
This past winter brought harsh weather conditions and a lot of snow! We were kept very busy with the monitoring of snow loads on the roofs of public schools and city buildings, and responding to collapses when needed.
Due to a busy local real estate market, our office is deluged with requests for information on properties, permits, CO’s, and violations. Last year our clerk provided information on over 500 such requests, that is one hundred more than the previous year.
We are always pleased to work with citizens and developers to protect the public safety and enhance the quality of life in Danbury, through the creation of a visible difference in the appearance of the city, and support for the growth and vitality of our economic and community base. The Building Department looks for construction within the City of Danbury to remain strong well into the future, and stands ready to embrace the challenges that it will bring. We are also working on projects to revamp our storage archives and index older permits.