San Luis grandfathers 200 non-compliant shade structures
SAN LUIS, Ariz. — Nearly 200 homeowners here who have ramadas that don’t comply with city building codes will be able to keep them, under a new program aimed at ending a lingering dispute with residents who have fought the city’s order to remove the shade structures.
The exemption, offered until December will be given to those residents with existing ramadas on their property who are insured for any damage resulting from the structures, and who agree to take down them down if they sell their homes.
Also, as many as 12 homeowners who removed their ramadas under orders from the city can receive up to $6,000 in reimbursement for the money they originally spent erecting the ramadas.
The program, approved recently by the San Luis City Council, seeks to end a controversy that began in 2015 when the city sent out notices to property
owners with ramadas that did meet standards for design, dimensions or building materials. The notices ordered them to take down the structures or upgrade them to meet the codes.
The notices prompted an outcry from homeowners, leading the city to postpone enforcement of the regulations. Then in February of this year, the city inspector again notified residents to remove or correct noncompliant ramadas, fueling new protests and prompting one resident to take out recall petitions against council members.
In April, the council decided to give a residents a 1-1/2-year grace period to bring the structures into compliance. But Mayor Gerardo Sanchez said he hopes the new program, drafted by the city administration and city attorney, will resolve the issue once and for all.
“This is a difficult issue,” he said. “It’s a chronic program that goes back many years — there are some ramadas that have been there since the 1980s. This is a problem we couldn’t resolve overnight.”
Jorge Villicaña, the resident who took out the petitions, praised the city for the new program that grandfathers existing shade structures. “We thank them for listening to
the people,” he said.
Sanchez said the exemptions from building codes will be available to 195 property owners with existing illegal shade structures, provided they sign an agreement with the city by December.
Among other conditions in the agreement, the property owners can not make any modifications to the ramadas other than those needed done for repairs or maintenance. And prompted by concerns about fire
hazards, the city will not allow them to keep flammable items beneath the shade structures.
Also, those property owners who accept the reimbursement for having removed their structures must agree to testify in court against the contractors in the event those contractors were not licensed to do the work.
Sanchez stressed the exemptions do not cover any new structures that do not meet city codes. And he
said those structures that are grandfathered will still be subject to inspection by the city.
“We are going to increase our inspections of construction throughout the city,” he said, “because these agreements are only for the property owners who are already signed up on a list. They aren’t for new structures. Anyone who wants to build a ramada will have to come to the city and get information about the requirements.”