Rockland has taken another step in the potential takeover of building code enforcement duties for the village of Spring Valley, but the county legislature so far is balking. Rockland County Executive Ed Day last week submitted the draft Local Law to the legislature to create an Office of Buildings and Codes. Day says the new laws are modeled after the 2015 Rockland Codes Initiative designed to combat illegal housing and fire safety issues under the Rockland County Sanitary Code, and he says the new codes aren’t just going to be a slap on the wrist…
In a state-wide first last November, New York’s Department of State gave Rockland the go-ahead to take over Spring Valley’s Building Department. Staffing-needs for the new office have been determined, and office space identified and ready to be equipped, to be prepared for takeover on February 14th. Day says it is still possible the state could reverse course and let Spring Valley handle the codes on their own, if they prove they can do so, but he doesn’t think it’s likely at this point.
Meanwhile, the county legislature last night put off a vote on the funding for the project until February first, citing the appointment of a new State secretary of state, and the legislature’s accepting comments to the clerk’s office until then. Legislature Chairman Jay Hood told News 12 the law still needs to be reviewed to see if it is constitutional. We reached out to the legislature’s spokesperson but have not yet heard back.