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City Council needs to resolve building issue

There was some confusion this week when the Fairmont City Council voted 3-2 to approve an ordinance change, but it was pointed out that such approval requires a two-thirds majority vote. It may seem a little odd, but essentially this means coming up with four — not three — votes to make such a change.

Supermajority requirements exist elsewhere in government, so no big deal there. The fact that the council has five members does mean that what we are really talking about is a four-fifths, not a two-thirds, vote. However, should fewer council members be present, then three out of four would suffice, or even two out of three, with three members constituting a quorum.

Beyond the intricacies of all that, the council failed to approve an ordinance that would have updated the city’s building code to match a long-held practice of city officials. For one Fairmont resident, this is a big deal, since he began a major project at his home with the city’s blessing, i.e. a building permit. But now his project is in jeopardy because it does not meet the letter of the law, even though it meets the aforementioned practice of city officials. What the city is doing to this resident is astonishingly unfair.

Unfortunately, the resident’s neighbor and two council members are pressing the matter, for different reasons, leaving his project in limbo. Councilman Tom Hawkins believes a variance is in order, but it’s not clear the resident can obtain one. (A variance allows for a departure from code in special circumstances.)

We believe the council needs to find a way to make this right, since the city issued a permit. What’s happening is no way to govern.

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