While the current construction boom may be good news for Chicago, builders with bad housekeeping habits can cause numerous problems for their neighbors. Uncontained dust, construction debris and food garbage can blanket an area with filth, increase health risks and attract rodents. Mud and loose debris falling off trucks can create additional hazards for both pedestrians and motorists.
Until now, the City has been addressing these issues on a case by case basis. But a combination of new, targeted inspections combined with increased authority from the Chicago City Council will permit the City to make weekly cleanliness inspections of larger construction projects, and to shut down repeat offenders for up to 10 days at a time. This will include work sites where City projects are under construction. On Nov. 3 the City introduced changes to existing ordinances before the City Council's Committee on Energy, Environmental Protection and Public Utilities that, among other things, require major construction projects to use fabric mesh on each floor, install dust screens around construction sites and recycle reusable construction and demolition debris.
"We have seen an aggressive building boom taking place throughout Chicago's neighborhoods and have come up with an equally aggressive plan to make sure that contractors do their job without doing a number on their neighbors," said Streets & Sanitation Commissioner Al Sanchez. "Most contractors will be okay because they play by the rules and are good neighbors, but we will come down hard on anyone who puts completion of their projects ahead of the health, safety and well being of our residents."
Streets & Sanitation will serve as the main enforcer for construction site cleanliness by using new, uniform guidelines. Additionally, the City will use a data base that tracks construction site locations, recorded complaints and citations and inspection reports. Cleanliness inspections will be recorded on the permit that is required at each construction site.
There will also be new contractor recycling requirements, beginning in January 2006. They will initially require that 25 percent of the debris from a construction or demolition project be recycled. This will apply to major projects in both the public and private sectors. In fact the City recycled over 92 percent of the construction debris for the recently opened 22nd District Police Station with little extra effort or cost.
To avoid a stop work order and fines, contractors will have to make sure that they have obtained all required permits, obey all Municipal Code requirements, comply with future recycling requirements, fence and secure work sites, keep the work site and adjacent public way clean, control/contain dust and debris, are diligent about waste disposal, take appropriate steps to keep sites rodent-free and observe noise regulations.
The City will be providing construction contractors with an informational poster that covers the new initiative's details. On the back of the poster there will be a checklist to further clarify contractor compliance responsibilities. Contractors will receive this poster/checklist upon being issued construction permits. This information can be viewed online at the City of Chicago's Home Page, cityofchicago.org; click on Streets & Sanitation. As with any request for City services, Chicago residents should call 3-1-1 to report any construction site problems in their neighborhoods. |
