Building and zoning ordinances are meant to keep residents safe

By Karyn Spory, Mt. Pleasant News

For those wanting to build a house in Mt. Pleasant, far before they begin selecting countertops and flooring, one stop they?ll need to make is to the office of Jack Swarm, building and zoning administrator for the City of Mt. Pleasant.

Swarm said his job is twofold ? making sure homes are compliant with the city?s ordinances and that new developments are built in the correct zone. ?The basic rule of thumb is if you want to do something with your land, it?s a good idea to call and ask,? said Swarm.

Swarm said building and zoning ordinances are not imposed to make it difficult for residents to build homes, but rather to make sure they?re safe and homeowners are protected.

?At its most basic level, city ordinances are designed for safety when it comes to residential structures,? said Swarm. ?(A home?s) main purpose is to protect human life. What we want is to make sure they?re safe.?

As for zoning ordinances, Swarm said they?re also developed to protect homeowners and their neighbors. ?In a city we have lots of people living close together. Whenever you have a lot of people, you (can) have a lot of problems. Zoning is basically a list of guidelines or rules that we need to follow.?

Zoning ordinances keep land uses similar within a given area. Swarm says you wouldn?t want a factory or busy gas station to be built right next to a quiet neighborhood. They also allow cities to plan for the future. Designating an area residential or commercial allows the city to plan what kind of infrastructure needs to be placed there and, in the long run, helps to keep infrastructure costs down.

Zoning ordinances also help keep peace between neighbors, Swarm says. Within a neighborhood, homes have to be built within certain distances of the property line. ?We have relatively unified looking front yards, side yards and backyards,? said Swarm. ?And zoning ordinances require off street parking that way the streets don?t get congested with people parking on them.? This keeps neighborhoods looking similar and can help retain property values when the homeowner or their neighbor decide to sell.

For those not looking to build or even move into a new home, Swarm has some tips to make sure any residence is safe.

Smoke and carbon

monoxide detectors

The most basic, most important and often the most common missing feature in any home are smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. ?I think we?ve heard the term so much that it is immune to us,? said Swarm.

Smoke and carbon monoxide detectors are required in residential properties by State code. The detectors should be placed anywhere residents would not be able to quickly detect fires. One of the most common misconceptions is that a smoke detector is required in the kitchen. ?If you have (smoke detectors) in the kitchen you tend to get a lot of nuisance trips, so people tend to disable them,? said Swarm. Instead, smoke and carbon monoxide detectors are required to be placed in any room where people sleep and immediately outside of rooms people sleep; think bedrooms, hallways and living rooms. Detectors must also be placed on every level of a home.

Carbon monoxide detectors should be installed wherever a smoke detector is. And if possible, in homes with more than one detector, they should be connected. ?If you?re in your room sleeping and a fire starts in the basement, instead of waiting until enough smoke builds up outside of your bedroom door and seeps in to set off the detector in your room, you?d know instantly. Now your only hope is to escape through a window,? Swarm says lamenting at this point there would be too much smoke, and possibly fire in the hallway to make it out the front door.

Swarm says most of the reports he?s read on fire related deaths usually could have been prevented if a smoke alarm had been installed and fully operational. Some homes Swarm has been to may have smoke detectors, but they?ve had the batteries taken out because they?ve expired and the detector beeping has annoyed the occupants. ?It doesn?t scare us, it doesn?t concern us if we?ve taken the batteries out,? and that could lead to disaster.

Swarm also advises individuals to never sleep in a room without a window. ?A lot of people let their kids sleep in the basement where there might be only a small window. That?s really dangerous,? he said. ?Anywhere people sleep there should always be two ways to get out. There should be a window, large enough for people to go out, and a doorway.?

Heating and cooling

If spring ever comes, Swarm recommends homeowners have their air conditioner checked out by a professional before they?re put on full blast for the warm temperatures that will eventually come. ?They need to be well maintained so that you?re not creating any electrical system hazards or you don?t have a risk of leaking the refrigerant in the air.?

The same should be done in the fall with the furnace. Before either equipment is turned on for the first time each year, Swarm says it?s a good idea to have a professional check them out. ?Furnaces, especially gas furnaces, if they?re not running properly can leak carbon monoxide into the house.?

Carbon monoxide is an odorless gas that can be lethal. This is also why homes should be outfitted with carbon monoxide detectors.

For extra warmth in the winter months, Swarm says space heaters are fine, but they should not be used to supplement the use of a furnace. ?Space heaters were not meant to replace a permanently installed heating system.? Space heaters should be turned off when the user leaves the room.

Swarm also recommends having a professional check out the house if it?s having any kind of electrical issues. ?Electricity is a huge cause of fire so if you?re having anything weird like lights flickering, a breaker that constantly trips, get it checked out by a professional,? he says.

And just like space heaters, Swarm said extension cords should be used only temporarily. ?If you have an extension cord snaked behind the furniture so you can run your TV, what you really need to do is bring in an electrician and get an outlet installed right there.?

Extension cords are built to a lower standard and have small wires that can?t handle as much heat as permanently installed electrical equipment, he added.

Swimming pools

When summer eventually makes its way, Mt. Pleasant residents will be wanting to put up their swimming pools. Swarm says, by all means set them up, but remember that safety is also a must for summertime activities. Anything with over two-feet of water must have a fence around it, Swarm says. Most of the above ground pools on the market come with a wall around it, which acts as a fence. The key feature to those types of pools is the removable ladder. And Swarm warns homeowners to make sure to remove the ladder when the pool is not in use. ?You don?t ever want the neighbor?s toddler to wander over into your yard and climb the ladder and get into the pool,? said Swarm.

Swimming pools are labeled an ?attractive nuisance? in the ordinance world. ?It?s going to draw curious kids who should be under adult supervision, but for whatever reason aren?t,? he said. ?Kids don?t know where property lines are.?

In the city of Mt. Pleasant, swimming pools must be in either backyards or side yards, at least 10 feet away from property lines. Swarm says besides being respectful of the neighbor?s property, keeping the pool out of the front yard also helps limit the ?attractiveness? of the swimming pool with limited visibility to neighborhood kids.

In an emergency

In the age of smartphones, Swarm still believes it?s a good idea to have a landline in the home. Swarm says he remembers as a child being taught how to call 911 on his family?s landline and he believes it?s a lesson that should be passed down. Landlines are also tied to an address when calling 911. If homes don?t have a landline, Swarm suggests talking to children about how to make an emergency call from a cellphone that might be locked.

When calling in an emergency, Swarm says it?s imperative to know where you?re at to help first-responders find you quickly. Having the address clearly displayed on the front of a home is one way to help.

And last, but not least, Swarm says building ordinances aren?t just for the safety of the homeowner?s family, it?s also in place to help keep emergency personnel safe. ?We have a volunteer fire department, a bunch of really good people, coming in to save you. We need to respect them and try to keep them safe as well.?