City of Rochester officials talk building inspection process hours before Rochester Towers evacuation

(ABC 6 News) – On Monday, about 200 people are still being asked to stay away from the Rochester Towers Condominium after it was evacuated Friday night. The City ordered the evacuation because of structural safety concerns.

RELATED: Rochester Towers Condominium appears “stable”; Residents still unable to return home

Hours before the evacuation on Friday, ABC 6 News Good Morning reporter Sydney Zatz spoke with the City of Rochester about the Davenport, Iowa apartment collapse to see what Rochester’s inspection policies are.

“There’s no annual inspection by the city for existing buildings. Nothing like that. The building owner is required to maintain the building in good order,” said James Coyle, the Manager of Building Inspection Services for the City of Rochester.

Jerry Norman, Manager of Plan Review and Permit Services for the City of Rochester, said:

“Architectural and engineering standards have requirements when buildings have to be designed and certified by architects and engineers. Not all buildings have to be. The larger commercial buildings absolutely have design professionals. We’re not here to redesign the building. We’re here to make sure they have proper care in the design of the building.”

Any type of rental property – house or apartment is required to have those annual inspections.

To reiterate, this information was in regard to the Davenport apartment collapse and what the City of Rochester’s inspection policies are. The interview was done before the evacuation of the Rochester Towers.

In Davenport, the bodies of three men have been removed from the site of the collapsed six-story apartment building, about a week after part of the century-old structure tumbled to the ground, the city’s police chief announced Monday.

RELATED: Resident sues after Iowa building collapse kills 3, says city and owners didn’t warn them of danger

One contractor whose repair job bid was rejected said he warned workers doing the repairs that the building could fall in the days or hours leading up to the collapse.

The building, built as a hotel in 1907, had been converted into about 80 apartment units that were home to roughly 50 people.