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Board finds Building Official misinterpreted Michigan Mechanical Code 401.4(2), approves Grand Ledge iron removal plant plans
Summary
The Grand Ledge Construction Board of Appeals unanimously found that the Building Official misinterpreted Michigan Mechanical Code Section 401.4(2) and approved plans for the Iron Removal Plant (plans originally approved April 17, 2023) after city staff outlined safety measures and cost concerns.
Grand Ledge’s Construction Board of Appeals voted unanimously Jan. 8, 2025, to find that the Building Official had misinterpreted Michigan Mechanical Code Section 401.4(2) and to approve the Iron Removal Plant plans that were previously approved on April 17, 2023.
The City presented the appeal to the Board, arguing the Building Official’s interpretation would require costly modifications that are unnecessary for the plant site. Kurt Ristow, Public Works Superintendent, told the Board the building is designed for deliveries on the south side, described property access controls and the location of the air intake, and outlined the City’s estimate of the costs associated with the Building Official’s required solution. Jon Willemin of Fishbeck, Inc., an engineering consultant, said the area adjacent to the air intake is not used for parking or loading and reiterated the City’s concerns about the expense of the prescribed remedy.
Rich Morrison, Community Development Director, said the City’s priority is safety and described the City’s plan to add 'No parking, loading, and unloading' signs and pavement striping in the area near the air intake. Morrison told the Board he believed the Building Official’s interpretation applies to enclosed parking garages, not to the uncovered paved area at the Iron Removal Plant, and asked the Board to rule the Building Official’s interpretation incorrect.
City Manager Adam Smith said the City had tried to work with the Building Official on the interpretation and added that the City intends to install carbon monoxide detectors at the Iron Removal Plant as a further safety measure.
After brief Board discussion about the intake location and the intent of Section 401.4(2), Member Jack McNamara II moved and Member Mike Stevens seconded a motion ‘‘to find Michigan Mechanical Code Section 401.4(2) has been incorrectly interpreted by the Building Official and to approve the Iron Removal Plant plans approved on 17 April 2023.’’ The motion carried unanimously.
The Board’s action reverses the Building Official’s applied interpretation for this site and leaves the April 17, 2023 plan approval in place; the minutes record no additional conditions or follow-up schedule. The meeting adjourned at 4:29 p.m.
