About Town: Your Building Department, answering the call

The Building Department means different things to different people. Most people associate the Building Department with permits that allow them to build their home. Others use the Building Department to access plans and documents that were used to build on their property or when purchasing a property to check for permits that have been issued and finalized. These name a few services, but there are other resources that can be used.
Your early morning sleep is interrupted by the melodious crowing of a rooster. You value your sleep time, so what can you do or who can you call? The Building Department will answer this type of complaint. Roosters are not allowed by zoning ordinance within Town limits. Sorry Mr. Rooster, only a maximum of five hens allowed per household.
This winter we had an unusual amount of rain. This created numerous storm related issues and your neighbor’s drainage was running onto your property. The Building Department addresses this type of complaint also.
The general rule for drainage is that any water that falls onto your property has to go to the public street or an approved drainage device. With the additional moisture, mold seems to follow. The Building Department responds to these complaints, too.
Our first recommendation is to follow the online suggestions of the Sonoma County Environmental Health Department, which suggests to wash the mold area with a solution of bleach and water. If you are a tenant, chances are that you are responsible for cleaning the interior of your unit which may mean the mold. Typically, the landlord is responsible for keeping the rain and other unwanted water out of the living area.
The neighborhood that you live in may be packed with cars and you see people going in and out of the neighbor’s garage, but the garage doors are never used. The Windsor Police handles all complaints concerning vehicles on private property and in the public streets, but the Building Department responds to complaints about someone living in a garage. It is possible to have a garage converted into living space. If this has been done legally, the Building Department will have a record. If we do not have a record, then the unit will need to be permitted. 
If you own a building in Windsor, the Building Department makes sure that any work that you have done on the property meets the standards in the International Building Code. If there is non-permitted work on the property, we will make our best attempt to work with the property owner to bring their building into compliance with the current code. 
Our contact information is below.  We welcome all questions and hope that we can help you in the future. 
Clif Castle, Building Official


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(707) 838-5341
Kevin Lundborg, Senior Building Inspector


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(707) 838-5342
Courtney Rider, Technician


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(707) 838-1105