A. 
This chapter shall be known as the “building code ordinance of the town of Mesilla.”
B. 
The town of Mesilla hereby adopts the 2003 International Building Code and the 2003 International Residential Code, including all amendments thereto and all future editions thereof. A copy of said codes are on file in the office of the building official.
C. 
The NMBC is hereby adopted by the town for the purpose of prescribing regulations governing the erection, construction, enlargement, alteration, repair, removal, change of use, demolition, occupancy, use, height, area and maintenance of buildings or structures, and providing for the issuance of permits and the collection of fees, and providing penalties for the violation thereof. The NMBC is hereby adopted and incorporated as if set out in full, except as to the section of the NMBC relating to building permit fees, which fees shall be established in accordance with MTC § 15.15.040.
D. 
The 2003 International Building Code and the 2003 International Residential Code (or any future editions thereof) and the building permit fees established by this chapter shall be in force from July 1, 2004, or from the date on which the ordinance codified in this chapter shall take effect (whichever date is later), and the provisions thereof shall be controlling within the limits of the town.
(Prior code § 11-8-1; Ord. 2001-03; Ord. 2004-12 § 1; Ord. 2008-06 § 3)
A. 
The words “city” or “municipality”
shall be held to mean the town of Mesilla.
B. 
“Building official”
means the duly authorized representative of the town of Mesilla, responsible for administering building code compliance and plan review, as recognized by Construction Industries Division.
C. 
The word “person”
shall include any individual, firm, corporation or other entity.
D. 
“Special topography”
shall be defined as topography where slopes of 15 percent or greater are proposed to be disturbed by development.
(Prior code § 11-8-2; Ord. 2001-03; Ord. 2008-06 § 4)
A. 
Procedure. Any person desiring to construct any residence or business or other structure in the town or to make any alteration or improvement to existing buildings or structures shall make a written application, on the prescribed form being used by the town of Mesilla, to the community development department of the town, specifying the nature of the work being proposed, its location and proposed cost of same. No excavation or clearing of land before construction will be permitted without having first obtained a building permit.
All building permits issued in the town of Mesilla shall be subject to building permit fees as described below. The application shall be reviewed by the community development staff to define the scope of the proposed project and determine the applicable process for approvals.
1. 
Types of Building Permit Processes.
a. 
Administrative approval permit.
b. 
Historic zone or commercial zone permit.
c. 
Nonhistoric zone permit.
B. 
Administrative Approval Permit. Applications that are minor repairs or maintenance and do not alter or create additions to structures (buildings), walls or any other permanent fixtures on site may be approved administratively by staff, pursuant to guidelines established by the board of trustees by adoption of a resolution. Applications for administrative approval permits require, at a minimum, a completed building permit application including a description of proposed work, cost of proposed work and all information required on the application form. Community development staff may require additional information as necessary. Once all required information is provided, the community development staff may approve and issue the permit.
C. 
Historic Zone or Commercial Zone Permit.
1. 
Applications for all proposed work except for work described in subsection (B) of this section, and shall be required to submit the following information:
2. 
Application is submitted with plans, site plan, and other required documents such as, but not limited to:
a. 
Plat, plot plan or site plan showing, with dimensions, the lot line, the buildings, and the locations of buildings upon the lot. The drawing or plat shall be prepared and certified by a registered New Mexico surveyor or engineer. For building permit applications for additions to existing residential structures or ancillary structures thereto which can be readily verified by the building official as being substantially within required setbacks and outside easement areas, the building official may waive the survey requirement and allow the applicant to prepare drawings containing all information required under this subsection. For purposes of this subsection, the term “substantially within required setbacks” shall mean five feet or more in excess of required setbacks. The drawings shall contain notations indicating the proposed use of all land and buildings.
b. 
Foundation plan with details.
c. 
Floor plan showing rooms, their uses and dimensions.
d. 
Cross-section of walls.
e. 
Roof and floor framing plan.
f. 
Drainage plan.
g. 
Details of architectural style.
h. 
Completed building permit application form.
3. 
The application shall be required to go through a formal approval process which includes:
a. 
Obtaining a Certificate of Historical Appropriateness Permit. All applications for a permit must first be reviewed for historical appropriateness and compliance with Chapter 18.33 MTC as per the process described in MTC § 18.33.060. Once the application has completed the process of obtaining an historical appropriateness permit from the PZHAC the application shall be placed on the regular agenda of the PZHAC for consideration of recommendation of approval of the building permit.
b. 
Board of Trustees. The plans and application will be forwarded to the next regularly scheduled meeting of the board of trustees of the town of Mesilla. The board of trustees (BOT) shall make the final decision regarding the building permit application. The BOT will review the application, plans, any relevant town codes and the recommendations from the PZHAC in order to determine whether or not to approve or deny a permit application. If approved, the community development staff shall issue the building permit.
D. 
Non-Historic Zone Permit.
1. 
Applications for any permit, except for work described in subsection (B) of this section, shall consist of submitting a completed application form, plans and data as prescribed by the community development department as follows:
a. 
Plat, plot plan or site plan showing, with dimensions, the lot line, the buildings, and the locations of buildings upon the lot. The drawing or plat shall be prepared and certified by a registered New Mexico surveyor or engineer. For building permit applications for additions to existing residential structures or ancillary structures thereto which can be readily verified by the building official as being substantially within required setbacks and outside easement areas, the building official may waive the survey requirement and allow the applicant to prepare drawings containing all information required under this subsection. For purposes of this subsection, the term “substantially within required setbacks” shall mean five feet or more in excess of required setbacks. The drawings shall contain notations indicating the proposed use of all land and buildings.
b. 
Foundation plan with details.
c. 
Floor plan showing rooms, their uses and dimensions.
d. 
Cross-section of walls.
e. 
Roof and floor framing plan.
f. 
Drainage plan.
g. 
Completed building permit application form.
2. 
Application is reviewed by community development staff for the following:
a. 
Zoning.
b. 
Setbacks.
c. 
All required documents have been submitted.
d. 
Plan review for building code compliance.
e. 
Designation on flood maps checked.
f. 
If application is in a newly annexed area, a site visit to determine if special topography is a concern.
3. 
If the project is within a flood hazard zone or if there are special topographic concerns, the plans are sent to the floodplain administrator for review and comments.
4. 
For all work involving new residences or residential additions of heated living space and construction involving flood hazards or special topographic concerns, the application shall be for-warded to the PZHAC for consideration of approval. Upon approval of the application by the PZHAC, the building permit may be issued.
5. 
Once all reviews of the application for a building permit are completed (with the exception of work described in subsection (D)(4) of this section), and found to be in compliance with all pertinent town codes, the building permit may be issued.
6. 
Any applicant that is aggrieved by any decision of the community development department may have their case reviewed by the PZHAC and the BOT.
E. 
The building official may, upon reasonable belief that a person has deviated from the approved plans, revoke the person’s building permit.
(Prior code § 11-8-3; Ord. 2001-03; Ord. 2005-05 § 1 – 4; Ord. 2008-06 § 5)
A. 
The building permit fees set forth in Table 1-A of the International Building Code are not adopted in this chapter and in their place the following fees are established (as described below and as set forth in Table 1):
Total Valuation
Fee
$1 to $300
no charge; valuation fee shall not be artificially divided so as to constitute a no charge fee under this section
$301 to $500
$45
$501 to $2,000
$50 for the first $500 plus $2 for each additional $100 or fraction thereof, to and including $2,000
$2,001 to $25,000
$80 for the first $2,000 plus $10 for each additional $1,000 or fraction thereof, to and including $25,000
$25,001 to $50,000
$310 for the first $25,000 plus $15 for each additional $1,000 or fraction thereof, to and including $50,000
$50,001 to $100,000
$680 for the first $50,000 plus $15 for each additional $1,000 or fraction thereof, to and including $100,000
$100,001 to $1,000,000
$1,450 for the first $100,000 plus $15 for each additional $1,000 or fraction thereof, to and including $1,000,000
$1,000,001 and up
$14,700 for the first $1,000,000 plus $25 for each additional $1,000 or fraction thereof
B. 
Determination of Value. The determination of value or valuation for purposes of calculation of building permit fees shall be made by the building official based on regionally adjusted building valuation data published by the International Conference of Building Officials in the Building Standards publication amended annually based on the then-current valuation data. Where the owner or contractor provides a signed contract stating the value of construction, such value shall be used in calculating the permit fee under the following conditions:
1. 
Work involved is for renovation of existing structure when no new square footage is added and/or no I.C.B.O. valuation covers work involved.
2. 
Contract value is greater than I.C.B.O. valuation and involved quality of work which is better than I.C.B.O. listed valuation for work involved.
C. 
Plan Review Fee. A plan review fee shall be assessed for all permits that require construction drawing/site plan review. Upon application, a building permit fee shall be assessed. Thirty percent of the building permit fee will be collected upon submission of a building permit application. The remaining 70 percent of the building permit fee will be collected at the time of permit issuance (see Table 1).
D. 
Investigation Fees – Work without a Permit.
1. 
Whenever any work for which a permit is required by this code has been commenced without first obtaining said permit, a special investigation shall be made before a permit may be issued for such work. For work without a permit in the $1.00 to $300.00 valuation category, the investigation fees will be $60.00.
2. 
An investigation fee, in addition to the permit fee, shall be collected whether or not a permit is then or subsequently issued. The investigation fee shall be equal to the amount of the permit fee required by this code. The payment of such investigation fee shall not exempt any person from compliance with all other provisions of this code nor from any penalty prescribed by law.
E. 
Expiration – Extension. All building permits shall expire 12 months from the date of issuance. Six-month extensions may be granted for half the original fee at the time of expiration.
F. 
Additional Reviews. For plan sets resubmitted before the initial review time period has been completed, a $50.00 assessment fee is to be imposed at the time the additional plan set is resubmitted.
G. 
Revised Permits. A $50.00 fee will be assessed when revisions to permits are requested.
(Prior code § 11-8-4; Ord. 2001-03; Ord. 2004-03 §§ 1 – 3; Ord. 2008-06 § 6; Ord. 2009-02 § 1)
Any person violating any of the provisions of this chapter, upon conviction thereof shall be fined in a sum not exceeding $500.00 or imprisonment in the county jail for a period not exceeding 90 days, or both such fine and imprisonment.
(Prior code § 11-8-5; Ord. 2001-03)