Should I Act or Should I Wait : DOB COMPLAINT
As mentioned in previous posts, I have had a 311 complaint lodged against my property for the following: “A 1-FAMILY HOME IS DOING CONSTRUCTION, AN EXTENSION IN THE FRONT W/O ANY PERMITS. Category 5.” Unbeknownst to me, the contractor did not have a permit. (Outside of taking action against the contractor), what should I do…
As mentioned in previous posts, I have had a 311 complaint lodged against my property for the following: “A 1-FAMILY HOME IS DOING CONSTRUCTION, AN EXTENSION IN THE FRONT W/O ANY PERMITS. Category 5.” Unbeknownst to me, the contractor did not have a permit. (Outside of taking action against the contractor), what should I do about the complaint. Do I
1) Wait for the DOB to issue a violation or
2) Act now and hire an architect to try to legalize the renovation and request a variance (even though it looks like the new front exterior 6.5’x10′ vestibule exceeds existing R2A code by about 35 sqr.ft – the new structure is 3.5 feet ahead of my adjacent neighbor’s property)
I have been advised by a few people that it might be best to wait and get the violation first before acting on it. A few people have warned me that the DOB may just want to throw in violations for other things that they may or may not find on the premises and that its best to wait and see what they do. I was told that they can be very fickle and thrown in frivilous violations based on asssumptions that they make, sometimes without proof, especially if you avoild letting them into your house). And that they will make 3 physicall attempts to enter the house. This whole thing sounds crazy and unbelievable. Others have advised me to go ahead and start the process.
As the DOB has been eliminating jobs recently, is it possible that they may not ever get to me or am I just dreaming (assuming there was only one complaint call lodged to 311) ?
I had a friend who also received a visit and when they entered his place, they tried to issue a lot of different violations. In the end, none of the violations were valid and all were dismissed because he had paperwork.
I would go ahead and get an architect on board now so you can stress less about this situation. I mean, it’s not your fault, but now that you know about it, you might as well take care of it.
I am an architect, so maybe I am of the wrong influence, but you need to get an architect on board to tell you if it can be legalized. Maybe you will be luckey and the contractor actually built something that can be legalized. That is assuming it meets both the zoning and building code. If it meets the zoning but does not structurally meet code, then maybe it can be corrected. BTW, variances are veryexpensive, if you have to go that route I would just take it down.
Your best move is hire an architect now and let the architect advise you as to the best way to proceed. In fact, interview several in the hiring process and you’ll a collection of good advice.