Santa Rosa reinstates chief building official

Santa Rosa has reinstated its chief building official after placing him on paid administrative leave for more than three months while it investigated a complaint against him by an applicant on a large commercial development project.

The complaint was found to be baseless, but it had the effect of sending Mark Setterland - the official in the city with the most knowledge of building codes and permitting rules - to the sidelines during the October firestorms and subsequent recovery effort, according to his attorney, Jack Weaver.

Setterland was placed on paid leave shortly before the Oct. 8 wildfire began for what he called a “minor investigation” and was reinstated about two weeks ago, Weaver said.

While he didn’t fault the city for the delay in the investigative process, noting the city’s need to prioritize responding to the fires and their fallout, Weaver said the timing of the leave was unfortunate.

“I think it was a significant disadvantage for them not to have their chief building official available to assist during the firestorm,” Weaver said this week. “And I know that ?Mr. Setterland wanted to be there.”

Setterland was hired as the city’s chief building official in 2014. He oversees a 20-person building department, including four plans examiners, who ensure proposed building plans are designed to code, and six building inspectors, who ensure structures are built safely before allowing them to be occupied.

State law requires chief building officials have special certification or be licensed engineers, and they have the final say on issues of building safety.

He has won praise from some in the development community for his knowledge of building codes and his flexibility, like when he agreed to accommodations that allowed a theater troupe to stage plays in a ruined cannery in Railroad Square.

But he’s been viewed by some in City Hall as being not sufficiently flexible, including when it comes to city projects like Fire Station 5, which Setterland flagged right before it was to open as not being accessible to people with disabilities as the law requires.

The city spent nearly $200,000 to remodel the $4 million station, which burned to the ground in the Tubbs fire.

Setterland directed all questions to his attorney, who represented Setterland during the protracted investigation.

Weaver said the complaint was related to job performance and involved Setterland’s “efficiency” in the plan check review process, “how quickly he was reviewing and approving - or not approving - a certain project.”

He declined to name the project or detail the complaint further, but said it involved a large, complex commercial development project in the city.

David Guhin, the city’s director of planning and economic development, declined to comment, citing rules against discussing personnel issues.

You can reach Staff Writer Kevin McCallum at 707-521-5207 or kevin.mccallum@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @SRCityBeat.