# Standoff continues between downtown property owner and Ann Arbor fire inspectors The



## mark handler (Feb 17, 2014)

Standoff continues between downtown property owner and Ann Arbor fire inspectors

The standoff between downtown property owner Ed Shaffran and the Ann Arbor Fire Department has lasted roughly a year now.

http://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/index.ssf/2014/02/ann_arbor_fire_inspections.html

Shaffran is refusing to let the city's fire safety inspectors into his buildings until they can legally justify the inspections and the fees they charge.







Ed Shaffran stands in the entrance of 306 S. Main St., one of multiple downtown Ann Arbor buildings he owns and isn't letting the city's fire safety inspectors inside to inspect.

Ryan Stanton | The Ann Arbor News

 "Arrest me. Take me to jail," says Shaffran, owner of the Ann Arbor-based real estate firm The Shaffran Companies Ltd.

The Ann Arbor News learned of the dispute between Shaffran and the city from emails uncovered through a Freedom of Information Act request.

The emails show Shaffran has been at odds with city officials over the city's ramped-up fire inspection program since last February when inspectors made contact with him to schedule fire safety inspections of his buildings for the first time in many years.

A year later, city officials still are discussing strategies for getting the reluctant property owner to comply with the city ordinance that requires fire safety inspections for commercial properties. Emails show fire department leaders and the police chief have gotten the city attorney's office involved, but there's been no resolution yet.

Shaffran said he questions what authority the city has to hold him to new fire codes when he's not renovating his building.

"All I keep asking, and I've been asking this question for over a year now, is just show me the state law," he said. "Show me the law and I'll bug off."

'Get a warrant!'

City records indicate fire safety inspectors Andrew Box and Ira Harrison made initial contact with Shaffran last February. When Box later emailed Shaffran in July to schedule inspections at three of his properties — 306 S. Main, 120 E. Washington and 114 E. Washington — Shaffran replied: "Get a warrant!"






Shaffran inspects the lobby of his building at 306 S. Main St. on a recent afternoon. He won't let fire safety inspectors inside, though.

Ryan Stanton | The Ann Arbor News

 Shaffran said regrettably the inspectors went and conducted inspections of some of his tenants' spaces without informing them of the fees.

He said he finally had it when the inspectors came with a warrant in hand and a police escort to inspect the common areas of his building at 306 S. Main.

"This is where the big confrontation took place," he said, standing in the main lobby on a recent afternoon. "I introduced myself to the police officer and they said, 'You know, we have a warrant here,' and I just turned to him and said, 'Are you going to arrest me if I don't allow them in?' He said, 'No, I'm not going to arrest you.' "

Shaffran said he then turned to Box and told him to leave.

Before the fire inspectors came knocking last year, the last time Shaffran's building at 306 S. Main had a fire safety inspection was in October 2004.

That inspection turned up several code violations, including exit lights missing bulbs, emergency lights that weren't functioning, improper propane cylinders being used, items obstructing a basement exit, other combustable items too close to a basement furnace, a sprinkler head covered with tape, and multi-plug adaptors that needed to be replaced with fused power strips, among other issues cited.






Shaffran purchased and renovated the building at 306 S. Main St. in 1995. He said his building complied with fire codes at the time and he shouldn't be held to new ones if they change unless he's going to renovate his building again.

Ryan Stanton | The Ann Arbor News

 According to fire department records, the property was scheduled for a re-inspection in December 2004, but there's nothing to indicate that happened.

Shaffran said he's proud of the fire suppression system in the 306 S. Main building, including overhead sprinklers and a sophisticated alarm system. He said it's inspected every year by a private company, and that information is shared with his insurance company.

Shaffran said the fire department is right to be concerned about safety. But he doesn't think the city should be able to hold him to new rules when his building met all of the codes in place when he purchased and renovated it in 1995.

"If you want to inspect my building, fine," he said. "But don't bring a 2009 book when my building was sufficiently certified in 1995."

Senior Assistant City Attorney Kristen Larcom sent Shaffran a letter on Oct. 25, responding to his concerns about the city inspection program.

Larcom referred to the 2009 International Fire Code. She said the Home Rule Cities Act authorizes the city to adopt and enforce the code.

Shaffran wrote back on Dec. 20, accusing Larcom of dodging his question about what authority the city has to retroactively apply new codes to old buildings that have not been modified since last receiving a certificate of occupancy.


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## mark handler (Feb 17, 2014)

Shaffran also said he hasn't seen justification for the fees the city charges for inspections, and he questions whether it's just a "money grab." He calculates it would cost him thousands of dollars annually to go through the inspections.

Larcom said she believes she answered all of Shaffran's questions in the letter she sent back in October.

"What the city is doing is within the law. We've provided him with as much information as we can," she said. "We have been very patient with him."

She added, "We will get warrants if necessary from a court to authorize the fire inspectors to enter to do their job. I don't know what we'll do if he doesn't let us in, but the city is going to do what the city needs to do for the safety of the public."

A threat to the program

Emails show Fire Marshal Reka Farrackand raised concerns in November about the roadblocks fire inspectors were facing from certain downtown property owners, including Shaffran, when attempting to conduct fire safety inspections. She requested a sit-down meeting with the city's administration and city attorneys.






Chuck Hubbard ramped up the city's fire safety inspection program after he became fire chief in 2011. The city is now doing significantly more fire inspections than in years past when the city failed to conduct ordinance-required inspections of businesses.

City of Ann Arbor

 Farrackand wrote in a Nov. 7 email that if the city lets property owners get away with blocking inspections of their buildings, even after all proper procedures have been followed to obtain warrants, it could be detrimental to the program.

"Simply put, if all a property owner has to do is deny entry and it is upheld (with warrant in hand), the inspection program will face elimination," she wrote.

Farrackand said the vast majority of property owners in Ann Arbor have welcomed the fire inspectors into their buildings, but about four or five of them, representing about 90 individual businesses, have contested the inspections.

Fire inspectors have had to obtain warrants to conduct inspections four times since last year, Farrackand said.

City officials declined to identify any of the other property owners. Shaffran is the only one named in the emails obtained by The Ann Arbor News.

Farrackand said the inspections are done for the safety of employees and customers of the businesses, as well as surrounding businesses.

"Our fire inspectors make every effort to accommodate the business owner when scheduling an inspection, and we educate the business staff on any violations we may find," she said. "Our main goal is to decrease any potential fire and life safety hazards and to educate business owners and staff on how to operate safely."

The Ann Arbor News followed inspectors Box and Harrison on their regular round of inspections on Thursday. The process went smoothly and property owners seemed generally appreciative to have potential fire hazards pointed out.

"It's an opportunity for us to establish a relationship with the community to create a safer environment, and it's overall well-received," Box said of the program.

Box said property owners or businesses typically get six weeks to make the necessary changes following an inspection, but as long as they're making progress in good faith the department isn't going to give them a hard time about taking longer.

Farrackand said the majority of violations found are non-working emergency lights, exit signs not working or missing, blocked exits, outdated fire extinguishers, misuse of extension cords and power strips, expired sprinkler and fire alarm system tests, and combustible materials stored too close to an ignition source.

'A proactive effort for public safety'

The frequency of fire safety inspections is set forth in city ordinance and the City Council establishes the fees, which vary depending on building size.






Fire safety inspectors Andrew Box, right, and Ira Harrison conduct an inspection of an office space in downtown Ann Arbor on Thursday.

Ryan Stanton | The Ann Arbor News

 For example, there's a $690 base fee for a building that's 20,001 to 50,000 square feet, and $1,290 for a building that's 100,000 to 250,000 square feet.

If there are multiple tenants, there are additional fees that amount to $120 per tenant space, or $60 if a space is less than 400 square feet.

Shaffran said he considers it "double dipping" that the city charges a fee for the entire building square footage and then an additional $120 per tenant space.

City officials said the fees are carefully calculated to recoup the city's costs, and they take into account labor, supplies, equipment and administrative costs.

The initial fee includes one re-inspection at no extra cost. If a second re-inspection is required to address outstanding issues following the first re-inspection, an added fee can be charged equal to double the initial fee.

Places of worship and commercial spaces used exclusively by nonprofit agencies receive courtesy inspections.

The city collected roughly $342,000 from fire safety inspections in 2012-13, short of the $643,000 projected at the start of the year.

Tom Crawford, the city's chief financial officer, said the city is projecting $330,000 in revenue from the inspections next fiscal year, the same as the revised amount the city is expecting this year. Earlier projections put it at more than $470,000.

Fire safety inspections became a higher priority when Chuck Hubbard took over as fire chief in 2011. Hubbard, who recently retired, built up the fire prevention bureau and shifted firefighters off the front lines so there would be six inspectors.

Prior to that, the department had three inspectors who focused on inspecting bars, restaurants, hotels and other businesses that required a fire safety inspection in order to obtain a specific permit. But they weren't able to keep up with conducting inspections at the frequency specified by city ordinance.

Types of businesses required to be inspected every year include restaurants, retail shops, bars, theaters, places of worship, factories and industrial properties.


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## mark handler (Feb 17, 2014)

Box inspects a room that houses the sprinkler system in the basement of an office building on Huron Street on Thursday.

Ryan Stanton | The Ann Arbor News

 Businesses inspected every two years include banks, outpatient clinics, dentists, physicians and office buildings.

Storage buildings that are not classified as a hazardous occupancy are to be inspected every three years.

Fiscal year 2012-13 was the first full year in which the fire department conducted fire safety inspections under the reorganization. City officials received numerous questions and complaints about the program, since many businesses and property owners had gone years without having fire safety inspectors show up at their doors.

Responding to those concerns, city officials conducted a review of the inspection program last year and met with property owners in July. There were some minor tweaks to the program, but city officials are standing behind the inspections.

Police Chief John Seto, who oversees the fire department as the city's safety services administrator, said fire safety inspections are important and the fire department is committed to ensuring they occur in accordance with city ordinance.

"This is a proactive effort for public safety," he said. "The fire marshal and the fire inspectors do a great job working with the business owners, educating them on fire safety. That's a tough job, this is important work, and I commend their efforts."

As long as the inspections are required by city ordinance, Farrackand said, the fire department will take every step necessary to ensure they take place.

"It doesn’t matter if a building is constructed in 1995 or 2013, some fire safety violations will never be acceptable," she said.


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## cda (Feb 17, 2014)

"""""""This is where the big confrontation took place," he said, standing in the main lobby on a recent afternoon. "I introduced myself to the police officer and they said, 'You know, we have a warrant here,' and I just turned to him and said, 'Are you going to arrest me if I don't allow them in?' He said, 'No, I'm not going to arrest you.' "

Shaffran said he then turned to Box and told him to leave."""""

Does the police officer need to go to a warrant class????

I have a little problem charging for annual inspections

"""For example, there's a $690 base fee for a building that's 20,001 to 50,000 square feet, and $1,290 for a building that's 100,000 to 250,000 square feet.

If there are multiple tenants, there are additional fees that amount to $120 per tenant space, or $60 if a space is less than 400 square feet"""""

If all the city employees got $ 40 an hour that is 17 hours worth of work or wear and tear on pens and computers


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## FM William Burns (Feb 17, 2014)

One of the many reasons the state will need to develop a single state fire code an hopefully it will be NFPA 1 based on the excellent work the Ad Hoc committee did to make their recommendations


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## ICE (Feb 17, 2014)

> multi-plug adaptors that needed to be replaced with fused power strips, among other issues cited.


Fused power strips are not to be used in place of a permanent wiring method.

Saffron's argument about applying today's code is ridiculous.  None of the violations he has incurred in the past were legal in any code...ever.


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## cda (Feb 17, 2014)

ICE said:
			
		

> Fused power strips are not to be used in place of a permanent wiring method.Saffron's argument about applying today's code is ridiculous.  None of the violations he has incurred in the past were legal in any code...ever.


Maybe a little code communication problem

Maybe a little owner educating problem


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## mark handler (Feb 17, 2014)

cda said:
			
		

> Maybe a little code communication problem Maybe a little owner educating problem


Maybe just a governmental dissenter. Like some on this forum.

City could withhold business licenses, buisness CoO, of him and his tenants….

Regardless, going to end up in court


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## cda (Feb 17, 2014)

well if I read the census correctly there are at least 11,000 businesses

Six inspectors ain't going to make it

And 27 sq miles

http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/26/2603000.html


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## fireguy (Feb 17, 2014)

The general public has no idea how much an employee costs.  It is not just the per hour cost, add in vacation, sick leave, insurance, education, retirement,  vehicles.  Some here have noted how their budgets are strained, and how difficult it is to cover the cost of their departments.   That being said, how much time does it take to inspect a building? An hour, 2 hours?  Are inspection reports checked for deficiencies?   Are filters being pulled in resturants, and do inspectors go on the roof?  I have been told too many times that the FD was just in and everything is OK.  I see extinguishers that are past due for service, smokes that indicate they are in trouble, FACPs with trouble lights on, corroded sprinkler heads, blocked exits, fire doors blocked open.    $690.00 for an in depth inspection sounds like a lot, but if 2 inspectors take 2 or 3 hours + time to write up a good inspection report, there is not a lot of profit in that figure.  How did the City arrive at those rates?  SWAG it?


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## FM William Burns (Feb 17, 2014)

It's a political mess there and has been going on for years and many administrations.


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## mark handler (Feb 18, 2014)

City attorney: City will conduct fire inspections with or without property owner's consent

In the latest round of communications between Ed Shaffran and the Ann Arbor city attorney's office, the downtown property owner is once again telling the city and its fire safety inspectors to stay out of his buildings.

Meanwhile, the city attorney's office is now saying the inspections will go ahead with or without Shaffran's consent on March. 5.

Documents obtained by The Ann Arbor News show Senior Assistant City Attorney Kristen Larcom sent another two-page letter to Shaffran on Friday, regarding inspections of buildings at 114 E. Washington St. and 306 S. Main St

More at:

http://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/index.ssf/2014/02/ann_arbor_city_attorney_tells.html


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## mtlogcabin (Feb 18, 2014)

> Shaffran said the fire department is right to be concerned about safety. But he doesn't think the city should be able to hold him to new rules when his building met all of the codes in place when he purchased and renovated it in 1995."If you want to inspect my building, fine," he said. "But don't bring a 2009 book when my building was sufficiently certified in 1995."


He is correct,  and the IFC recognizes that, except Chapter 46 now has some limited retro requirements.

The fees charged would be a problem in most jurisdictions and probably seen as a revenue source for the FD


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## conarb (Feb 18, 2014)

I think he's got interesting case for a lawsuit, if he can afford it, discriminatory enforcement and malfeasance.


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## mark handler (Feb 18, 2014)

By not enforcing the code they would be guilty of discriminatory enforcement and malfeasance, not by enforcing the code.


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## conarb (Feb 18, 2014)

mark handler said:
			
		

> By not enforcing the code they would be guilty of discriminatory enforcement and malfeasance, not by enforcing the code.


Mark:

He could make the case that by not enforcing the code equally as to all uses the department is using discriminatory or selective enforcement, he could also make the case that the primary intent of the department is to make money and health and safety is secondary, this would bring up the reasonableness of the fees.  This isn't to say he would win, but he could cost the city a ton of money in legal defense.


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## mtlogcabin (Feb 18, 2014)

I don't believe the IFC "requires" annual fire inspections of commercial buildings. There should be a local ordinance. I wonder if they ever provided the documentation where the FD is "required" and not just a policy of "right" given by the IFC

The warrant is only good for the common areas. I believe the tenants could give permission at any time or require a warrant. Each tenant would have to be dealt with separately.

04.3 Right of entry.

Whenever it is necessary to make an inspection to enforce the provisions of this code, or whenever the fire code official has reasonable cause to believe that there exists in a building or upon any premises any conditions or violations of this code which make the building or premises unsafe, dangerous or hazardous, the fire code official shall have the authority to enter the building or premises at all reasonable times to inspect or to perform the duties imposed upon the fire code official by this code. If such building or premises is occupied, the fire code official shall present credentials to the occupant and request entry. If such building or premises is unoccupied, the fire code official shall first make a reasonable effort to locate the owner or other person having charge or control of the building or premises and request entry. If entry is refused, the fire code official has recourse to every remedy provided by law to secure entry.

It is a big  line between unsafe, dangerous or hazardous and I want to do an annual inspection without an ordinance or law to authorize an annual inspection. Granted they have a history of some violations


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## FM William Burns (Feb 19, 2014)

The generic "state" fire prevention code (for now) allows for the inspection of buildings so the owner of the buildings will eventually lose as many others who have atempted this....it's news for now and like mentioned previously, political with a ignorant chaser:

http://www.legislature.mi.gov/(S(2dlnvc45lul5nkufa3nait55))/mileg.aspx?page=getObject&objectName=mcl-29-8


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## mtlogcabin (Feb 19, 2014)

If the Fire Marshal has reasonable cause then I would whole heartily agree with this statue. However to charge fees I don't believe is the intent of the statue.


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## JBI (Feb 19, 2014)

The cop dropped the ball, period. The warrant gave the police the right of entry, and the fire inspectors become expert witnesses at the execution of the warrant. The correct answer should have been "Yes Sir, I would have to arrest you for obstructing Governmental administration if you do not allow us to enter and inspect as indicated on the inspection warrant."


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## FM William Burns (Feb 19, 2014)

Personally, I'm not in favor of fee's either but I understand the operating costs of the fire prevention bureau's when it comes to fire department budgets too.  Also, the statute does not require cause for entry for the fire official.


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## MASSDRIVER (Feb 20, 2014)

Is the inspector on his normal working hours?

What additional cost is there for inspections.

In other words, if the salary is paid, and no additional costs incurred why the need for a fee, unless done outside of normal working hours, or another inspector being used that will need to be paid for their additional time.

Brent


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## TJacobs (Feb 22, 2014)

Roll the inspection fees into the business license and make the annual fire inspection a condition of the business license.  Fees sound pretty steep.


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## fatboy (Feb 22, 2014)

We don't charge for fire safety inspections........


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