2022 CAI-NJ September LAC Issue

Structural Integrity, Inspections, Reserve Funding By Ed San George, MPA, PCAM, INTEGRA Management Corp., AAMC and Mitch Frumkin, PE, RS, Kipcon, Inc.

I t has been slightly more than a year since the trag ic collapse of Champlain Tower South in Surfside Florida on June 24, 2021. Immediately following this tragedy, CAI National convened task forces with a goal to, “explore changes to laws and best practices for the community association housing model that may help other communities avoid this type of devastation and to provide solutions for legislators seeking to address building safety in their districts.” In October 2021, the Condominium Safety Public Policy Report was issued and has been used by legislators across the country to address these concerns. In New Jersey, a bill was introduced on June 2, 2022 (S2760) by Senator Troy Singleton and co-sponsored by Linda Greenstein concerning structural integrity regula tions for certain residential buildings. Assemblywoman Lopez has agreed to co-sponsor the Senate version in the Assembly. Thanks to CAI’s Legislative Action Committee having the opportunity to work directly with Senator Singleton, the bill is very much in conformance with CAI’s public policy report.

1. Building safety protocols will not be based on the type of building (such as a high rise) but rather on the type of materials used. This is reflected in the bill with the following wording, ”Covered building means a residen tial building… having load bearing concrete, masonry, steel, hybrid structure including, but not limited to, heavy timber, and a building with podium decks.” 2. Building safety measures are to begin during con struction by confirmation that the “primary load bearing system” has been built in conformance with the design drawings. This requirement is described in Section 3 of the bill and requires that any changes to the structure be documented and confirmed for equiv alency by a licensed engineer prior to issuance of a certificate of occupancy. 3. Building safety measures will continue after construc tion by requiring periodic structural inspections of the buildings’ “primary load bearing system” and the issuance of a report of the findings. This requirement CONT I NUE S ON PAGE 30 Below is an overview of key portions of this bill.

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