Altoona developer urges council to drop city master electrician, master plumber requirements; council asks staff to review

Tony Luther, a local landlord who told the City Council he is closing on a multiunit building next week, asked the Altoona City Council on May 12 to remove city requirements that electrical and plumbing work be performed by city-designated master electricians and master plumbers.

Luther said the city ordinances — cited as chapter 3-14 (master electricians) and chapter 5-42 (master plumbers) in his remarks — add costs on top of the Uniform Construction Code and that removing them would make renovation projects more affordable. “With the current requirements ... this equates to a $75,000 overage in expenses compared to using our preferred contractors to perform the work,” Luther said, describing his planned “three-quarter-of-a-million-dollar investment” in a downtown property damaged by a 2021 fire.

The request prompted council discussion about balancing public-safety oversight with efforts to reduce barriers to property rehabilitation. Vice Mayor Ellis praised Luther’s decision to invest and said he had visited the building: “The view from that third-floor balcony … blows you away,” Ellis said. Councilman Beatty also thanked Luther for putting a dollar figure to the renovation costs and said the information adds to the discussion about how to attract property owners and developers.

City Manager Chris McGuire told the council staff would look at possible ways to modify the city’s rules. A city staff member and others noted that the Uniform Construction Code (UCC) already governs many technical requirements. A later comment from staff and a solicitor clarified that the Pennsylvania Third Class City Code requires plumbers be licensed in some form for third-class cities but does not itself mandate examinations for licenses; the solicitor said the council could determine the specifics of any local licensing program.

Some council members suggested narrower changes rather than wholesale repeal. One councilor proposed allowing qualified individuals who can pass an examination the ability to obtain city authorization without requiring the usual hours-based apprenticeship progression. “If somebody has the qualifications and the capabilities to take the test and pass it, they should absolutely be able to,” the councilor said.

No ordinance change was adopted at the meeting. The council directed the city manager and staff to examine options for amendments and to return with recommended language or alternatives for council consideration.

Clarifying details: Tony Luther said his project is a roughly $750,000 renovation and estimated $75,000 in added cost from the city licensing requirements (about 10% of the project). He identified the local ordinances as chapter 3-14 and chapter 5-42; staff and the solicitor referenced the Uniform Construction Code and the Third Class City Code while noting those statutes set some, but not all, licensing parameters for municipalities.

Next steps: The city manager will examine possible ordinance amendments and present options to the council; no formal vote or ordinance change occurred at the May 12 meeting.