Building Code
Consulting/Land Use Review Preparation
Marty Jones is an ICC-
and State of Oregon-certified A-Level Plans Examiner and Structural
Inspector,
as well as a One & Two Family Plans Examiner and Structural Inspector;
with 14 years of experience working for the City of Portland as a
Commercial and Residential Building Plans Examiner for the Bureau of Buildings.
MJ Arts is licensed by the State of Oregon as a Plan Review business [indivdual].
Marty occasionally works as a Plans Examiner for the City of Salem,
and is a member of the International Codes Council.
MJ Arts has operated as a
Code Consulting business since 1998,
preparing Code interpretations, Building Code Appeals, Land-Use Review narratives
and Life Safety Summaries for existing structures.
Prior to working for the
City of Portland as a Building Plans Examiner, I was the working-owner/CEO of a small
design and construction company. Prior to that, I earned a Bachelor's degree in
Architecture from the University of Oregon.
During the 14 years I worked for Bureau of Buildings, it became very clear to me that the
world of governmental regulatory bureaucracy is convoluted at best, and at its worst,
totally defies understanding. For this reason, I use the brick wall background image
on this page. From both sides of the counter, working with Authorities Having Jurisdiction
can seem like an encounter with a brick wall...
One of my biggest surprises was to find that my previous years of construction and architectural experience did not prepare me for working with, much less for, the government as a Code official. One of my primary goals became that of attempting to assist the general public and the construction professional in understanding how the Bureaucratic system worked; as well as trying to 'translate' the Building Code into more-understandable language. I continue to have the same goals today. As a means of helping to provide clarity and understanding, in addition to my consulting work, I occasionally publish "Building Code Updates" as well as teaching Code-related classes. A file of these Updates is accessible through the link below.
As a Building Code consultant, my goal is to identify Code-related problems in the early stage of design so that when a project does go through a plan review process, it will travel through that system in a more efficient manner. Since I do not work for a particular 'Authority Having Jurisdiction' I do not provide the customer with complete plan reviews that can immediately be approved by a governmental jurisdiction.
The Land Use Review process is time consuming, frustrating, and rarely yields satisfactory results for the general public; because the goals of Planners are usually quite different from the goals of the property- or business-owner. Land Use Review results can be improved by research and cooperation mixed with some creativity. Zoning Codes change on a regular basis, and are rarely written for the benefit of the layman. I cannot guarantee the success of the documents I prepare, in terms of meeting the desires of my client; my goal is to prepare review documents that are complete and thorough, prepared in a timely manner. As of this writing, I have yet to prepare a Land Use Review document that has not been approved by the Authority Having Jurisdiction.
I accept inquiries by phone, FAX or e-mail; my fees are based on a rate of $60.00 per hour. I normally provide my answers in writing, with sketches as necessary, as an aid to my memory and as a record for the client.
Partial Client List
