After more than three years of being presented with the United Neighborhoods for Reform (UNR) resolution calling for responsible demolition practices regarding hazardous materials—both in terms of oversight and management—the City Council adopted an ordinance in February that will require best practices when removing a residential structure with four or fewer dwelling units. This ordinance (Chapter 25.55, as amended) was in response to the passage of Senate Bill 871 (SB 871) that established a menu of recommended best practices developed by the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) and Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), from which municipalities could chose to mandate during residential demolitions.
The efforts by UNR activists to enlist community, city bureau, and state legislative support were acknowledged at the hearing as contributing greatly to this ground-breaking City Council decision, which establishes Portland as a model for other cities to follow in protecting citizens from potential exposure to asbestos and lead paint dust, as well as other potentially harmful chemicals, near residential demolition sites. Since compliance is the key to the effectiveness of any ordinance, proper inspections and meaningful penalties are a must. Therefore, UNR is lobbying the Bureau of Development Services (BDS) to accelerate the hiring and training of two new inspectors and move up the implementation date as quickly as possible prior to the “no later than” July 1 date passed by the Council.
Key provisions of the ordinance include:
- Documentation of asbestos and lead surveys, plus abatement and dust control plans prior to the issuance of a demolition permit.
- Mandatory pre- and post-inspections and optional during-demolition inspections by city and a contractor-designated Demolition Manager to assure dust control plans are effective. (Making during-demolition inspections optional—i.e., not mandatory in all situations—is a concern, and UNR encourages residents to report problems to BDS.)
- Effective use of wetting during dust-generation activities as well as during storage and transfer of materials at the site.
- Use of partial deconstruction of high-lead content exterior components prior to any mechanical demolition activities.
Also noted in the SB 871 recommendations and city ordinance is the preferred use of full deconstruction as a means of removing a residential structure. UNR continues to advocate that this method be extended to all residential demolitions regardless of the age of the house (i.e., not just houses built on or before 1917 as the law reads now), since construction material suppliers cannot guarantee that asbestos-containing materials will never be imported from other countries and find their way into American homes. Deconstruction also results in many tons of materials being recycled and/or reused rather than adding waste to garbage landfills.