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Article
Courtesy of The Sun Sentinel
By Melissa
Hoyos
Published May 10, 2007
POMPANO BEACH
· Anis and Sandra Aoun fear the storm-resistant windows planned for
Renaissance II, their aging, beachfront condominium, won't ride out the
hurricane season.
The couple says windows intended for the third through fifth floors don't
meet code, and they have been confronting construction authorities to
prove their case. The windows are promoted as hurricane-resistant glass
that eliminates the need for shutters.
So far, they have
irritated their condo board, second-guessed Pompano Beach's
chief building official and prompted testing that suggests
they may be right.
"It's a life-safety item and I want everybody to
understand this," Anis Aoun recently told the Broward
County Board of Rules and Appeals, the group that oversees
local building departments and Florida Building Code
construction rules.
He filed a complaint with the rules and appeals board in
December. The city stopped work on the $7.5 million condo
project, based on the county board's recommendation, until
the appeal could be investigated.
The Aouns say they will continue to fight the window
installation in front of the rules and appeals board, which
will hear their case tonight at 7 p.m.
The couple began to raise questions about the windows last
July, when the condo board first proposed them for the
project at 1370 S. Ocean Blvd.
Sandra Aoun, a condo board member, said most board members
were concerned the old windows needed to be replaced. She
said more consideration should have been given to shutters.
After the disagreement, the Aouns started researching the
proposed windows for the 28-year-old building. |
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Safety
issue
Sandra Aoun, a Renaissance II condo board member, says replacement
windows do not meet hurricane impact standards. |
Anis
Aoun, a mechanical engineer, said when he reviewed the windows for the
upper floors, it appeared they did not meet hurricane standards.
"It's not fair to put products that are sub-quality," said Aoun,
who lives on the third floor.
Despite their concerns, the condo board voted 5-2 to approve the windows.
Sandra Aoun cast one of the dissenting votes.
When the city was asked to issue a building permit for installation of the
windows, building department staff declined to sign off on issuing a
permit, deferring the decision to Chief Building Official Jerry Sanzone.
He reviewed the windows and issued a permit in December.
That's when Anis Aoun says he filed his appeal to the county and hired his
own engineer to look over the window design.
Currently, the windows are being tested at the Miami-Dade Product Control
Division, an agency that Broward generally relies on to decide if windows,
doors, shutters and other items work as designed and meet construction
standards.
"I feel they are safe now, without having Miami-Dade [look at
them]," Sanzone said. His department has been criticized this year
for a lack of oversight in the construction at the Isle of Capri Casino.
But according to Jaime Gascon, building code compliance chief for the
product control division, the original paperwork submitted for the windows
project described pressure-resistance "lower than what they needed on
this job."
The window manufacturer has since turned in new paperwork to Miami-Dade
for review, Gascon said.
The Aouns continue to face criticism from their condo board president and
neighbors who favor the new windows. Originally, the work might have been
completed by the start of hurricane season on June 1. Now, they won't make
that deadline, Anis Aoun said.
Mike Zaharna, condo board president, said residents must split the condo
restoration costs and Aoun didn't want to pay his $40,000 share.
"He continued to use any delay tactics he could," Zaharna said.
The Aouns deny that.
Zaharna said he's confident the project will move forward. "We do
have a window that is safe, a window that meets the requirements."
The Aouns say the issue won't be resolved until the windows are replaced
with reliable ones. Said Sandra Aoun: "I'm sure I'm doing the right
thing."
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