The Harlem Planning Commission wrestled with a years-long code enforcement issue during its monthly meeting Tuesday evening, in a hearing to decide whether to issue an order of compliance to contractor Tice Construction & Demolition.
The Knox Road address of the business is also a residence, built by proprietor Jason Tice. Per city ordinances, the business requires both a land permit and a business tax certificate to operate from that location.
The structure at the address also requires a certificate of occupancy, which would itself entail inspection of the house by water utility and the city fire marshal.
Tice cited to the commissioners several hardships he endured over the course of completing the home over the past three years, including personal health issues, deaths in the family, and accruing debt associated with these issues, all exacerbated by the COVID pandemic, as causing the delay in completing the home and securing the proper certificates.
Community Development Director David Jenkins recommended the commissioners issue an order of compliance by Aug. 11.
However, when Commissioner Dustin Druggers asked Tice whether he could have the home completed to the satisfaction of inspectors by that date, Tice admitted that he wasn’t sure, though he expressed confidence that he could bring the structure up to code by the middle of September, noting certain items in the structure that needed work.
Planning Commission Chairman Robert Holland asked Fire Marshal Pam Nickles whether the home was safe for Tice and his family to currently occupy.
Nickles told the commissioners that she had not done a walkthrough of the building since Georgia Power granted it permanent permission to have electrical power (for the sake of continuing construction, not occupation) in May of 2022.
Nickles also noted, however, that the home was “very well put together for the structure that it is.”
City attorney Adam Nelson acknowledged the difficulty of the decision before the commissioners, noting that the code is “not so unmalleable” that the board need be “hardline” in its decision, especially considering Tice’s adversities.
However, Nelson advised that though the commissioners had the power to decide how to handle the matter as they see fit, including extending the deadline for the compliance order, the board would not want to set a precedence of accommodating individuals.
“There are times where we have to step in and immediately fix a problem, but there is some discretion that lies with you and your administration to try to work things out. That discretion though lies with you as a commission,” said Nelson. “If we aren’t able to reach some type of resolution, then ultimately you go into a code violation situation, and that’s really what we’re trying to avoid.”
The commissioners ultimately voted unanimously to issue an order of compliance to Tice’s business on Aug. 11. Tice expressed gratitude to the commissioners, and for the patience of Jenkins, who assured the commission that the city would be willing to work with Tice to secure his paper and bring his home and business under compliance.
Skyler Q. Andrews is a staff reporter for The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com.
