STATE OF FLORIDA FLORIDA BOARD OF PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERS ee Evette Lawson-Practor FLORIDA BOARD OF PROFESSIONAL aleaz0't ENGINEERS, = — = FILED Florida Engineers Petitioner, Management Corporation 3/24/2017 Clerk: Rebecca Valentine Vv. FEMC Case No. 2016044376 STEPHEN E. MITCHELL, P-E., Respondent, ADMINISTRATIVE COMPLAINT COMES NOW the Florida Engineers Management Corporation (FEMC) on behalf of Petitioner, Florida Board of Professional Engineers, hereinafter referred to as “Petitioner,” and files this Administrative Complaint against STEPHEN E. MITCHELL, P.E., hereinafter referred to as “Respondent.” This Administrative Complaint is issued pursuant to Sections 120.60 and 471.038, Florida Statutes. Any proceeding conceming this complaint shall be conducted pursuant to Section 120,57, Florida Statutes. In support of this complaint, Petitioner alleges the following: 1. Petitioner, Florida Board of Professional Engineers, is charged with regulating the practice of engineering pursuant to Chapter 455, Florida Statutes. This complaint is filed by the Florida Engineers Management Corporation (FEMC) on behalf of Petitioner. FEMC is charged with providing administrative, investigative, and prosecutorial services to the Florida Board of Professional Engineers pursuant to Section 471.038, Florida Statutes (1997). 2. Respondent is, and has been at all times material hereto, a licensed professional engineer in the State of Florida, having been issued license number PE 77318. Respondent’s last known address is 406 Remora, St. Helena Island, South Carolina 29920. 3. The Board has adopted Responsibility Rules of Professional Engineers (“Responsibility Rules”). These Rules are contained in Chapters 61G15-30 to 61G15-36, Fla. Admin. Code. Professional Engineers who perform services covered by the Responsibility Rules are required to comply with the Rules. 4. Section 471.033(1)(g), Florida Statutes, provides that an engineer is subject to discipline for engaging in negligence in the practice of engineering. Rule 61G15-19.001(4), Fla. Admin. Code, provides that negligence constitutes “failure by a professional engineer to utilize due care in performing in an engineering capacity or failing to have due regard for acceptable standards of engineering principles.” 5. Rule 61G15-19.001(4), Fla. Admin. Code, also provides that “[fJailure to comply with the procedures set forth in the Responsibility Rules as adopted by the Board of Professional Engineers shall be considered as non-compliance with this section unless the deviation or departures therefrom are justified by the specific circumstances of the project in question and the sound professional judgment of the professional engineer.” 6. The Florida Building Code (2010) — Building (FBC-B) Section 107.2.1 “Information on construction documents” states: “Construction documents shall be of sufficient clarity to indicate the location, nature and extent of the work proposed and show in detail that it will conform to the provisions of this code and relevant laws, ordinances, rules and regulations,...” 7. Rule 61G15-30.002(1), Fla. Admin. Code, mandates that Respondent, as the engineer of record for all engineering work delineated in the Specific Allegations, is professionally responsible for the documents prepared. As such, Respondent is responsible for producing documents that comply with the applicable portions of the Responsibility Rules. FBPE vs. Stephen Mitchell, P.E., Case No. 2016044376 8. Respondent acted as the Structural Engineer of Record for the Draves Residence (Draves Project) located at 1309 Newton Street, Key West, Fl. as that term is defined in Rules 61G15-30.002(1) and 61G15-31.002(1), Fla. Admin. Code. As such, all engineering documents prepared, signed, sealed and dated by Respondent must contain the information set out in Rule 61G15-30.003(1): When prepared for inclusion with an application for a general building permit, the Documents shall meet all Engineer’s Responsibility Rules, set forth in Chapters 61G15-31, ..., F.A.C., and be of sufficient clarity to indicate the location, nature and extent of the work proposed and show in detail that it will conform to the provisions of the Florida Building Code[FBC], adopted in Section 553.73, F.S., and applicable laws, ordinances, rules and regulations, as determined by the Agency Having Jurisdiction (AHJ). The Documents shall include: (a) Information that provides material specifications required for the safe operation of the system that is a result of engineering calculations, knowledge and experience. (b) List Federal, State, Municipal, and County standards, codes, ordinances, laws, and rules, with their effective dates, that the Engineering Documents are intended to conform to. (c) Information, as determined by the Engineer of Record, needed for the safe and efficient operation of the system. (d) List engineering design criteria; reference project specific studies, reports, and delegated Engineering Documents. (e) Identify clearly elements of the design that vary from the governing standards and depict/identify the alternate method used to ensure compliance with the stated purpose of these Responsibility Rules. FBPE vs. Stephen Mitchell, P.E., Case No. 2016044376 9. The documents must also include all of the information required by Rule 61G15- 31.002(5): (5) Structural Engineering Documents. The structural drawings, specifications and other documents setting forth the overall design and requirements for the construction, alteration, repair, removal, demolition, arrangement and/or use of the structure, prepared by and signed and sealed by the engineer of record for the structure. Structural engineering documents shall identify the project and specify design criteria both for the overall structure and for structural components and structural systems. The drawings shall identify the nature, magnitude and location of all design loads to be imposed on the structure. The structural engineering documents shall provide construction requirements to indicate the nature and character of the work and to describe, detail, label and define the structure's components, systems, materials, assemblies, and equipment. 10. Respondent’s Structural Engineering Design Documents (Sheets S-1 through S-4), which were sealed, signed and dated on August 23, 2014, for the Draves Project are materially deficient as follows: A. Drawing S1 incorrectly references multiple building codes, none of which apply to this project. The correct reference is the 2010 Florida Building Code, Existing Building (FBC-E). Rule 61G15-30.003 states in part; When prepared for inclusion with an application for a general building permit, the Documents shall meet all Engineer’s Responsibility Rules and be of sufficient clarity to indicate the location, nature and extent of the work proposed and show in detail that it will conform to the provisions of the Florida Building Code and applicable laws, ordinances, rules and regulations. This omission constitutes a violation of Rule 61G15-30.003 (1). B. The drawings do not indicate the level of alteration as required by Chapter 4 of the FBC-E. This omission constitutes a violation of Rule 61G15-30.003 (1). FBPE vs. Stephen Mitchell, P.E., Case No. 2016044376 c The drawings do not distinguish between what is existing and what is new construction. This constitutes a violation of Rule 61G15-30.003 (1) and (4). D. The wind loads shown on Sheet S1 are much lower than the actual wind pressures required by the Florida Building Code, Residential (FBCR). For example the Component and Cladding wind pressure for walls indicated on S1 is 23.63 psf. The wind pressures indicated in Table R301.2 (2) in Chapter 3 of the FBCR vary from -48.4 to -78.0 psf, depending upon area and zone. Rule 61G15-31.002 states in part; “[t}he drawings shall identify the nature, magnitude and location of all design loads to be imposed on the structure. The structural engineering documents shall provide construction requirements to indicate the nature and character of the work and to describe, detail, label and define the structure’s components, systems, materials, assemblies and equipment.” The listing of incorrect wind pressures constitutes a violation of Rule 61G15- 31.002 (5). E. The wind loads shown on sheet S1 only indicate one pressure for the Components and Cladding for the roof and walls. The roof has 3 wind zones and the walls have 2 wind zones which each have different pressures. This constitutes a violation of Rule 61G15-31.002 (5). F, The first note under the heading “Cast-in-Piace Concrete, Foundations and Floor Slab Notes” incorrectly references the “2012 International Residential Code”. This constitutes a violation of Rule 61G15-30.003 (1). G. The “Typical Framing Wall Section” on sheet S2 does not indicate the connection between the collar ties and roof rafter and it does not indicate the connections between the roof rafters and the peak beam. This constitutes a violation of Rule 61G15-30.003 (1). FBPE vs. Stephen Mitchell, P.E., Case No. 2016044376 H. There are no details for the gable end framing to indicate how the wind loads are transferred to the roof diaphragm. This constitutes a violation of Rule 61G15-30.003 (1). 11. Respondent’s structural engineering drawings for the Draves Project contain deficiencies including; but not limited to, those set forth in Paragraph Eight (8). As a result of those deficiencies, Respondent violated the provisions of Section 471.033(1)(g), Florida Statutes, and Rule 61G15-19.001(4), F. A. C., by sealing and signing structural engineering documents that were issued and filed for public record when such documents were materially deficient in that Respondent: (1) did not exercise due care in the preparation of the final engineering documents for the Draves Project and (2) the final engineering documents for the Draves Project were not issued in compliance with acceptable engineering principles. 12. Based on the foregoing, Respondent is charged with violating Section 471.033(1)(g), Florida Statutes, and Rule 61G15-19.001(4), F. A. C., by being negligent in the practice of engineering. WHEREFORE, the Petitioner respectfully requests the Board of Professional Engineers to enter an order imposing one or more of the following penalties: permanent revocation or suspension of the Respondent’s license, restriction of the Respondent’s practice, imposition of an administrative fine, issuance of a reprimand, placement of the Respondent on probation, the assessment of costs related to the investigation and prosecution of this case, other than costs associated with an attorney’s time, as provided for in Section 455.227(3), Florida Statutes, and/or any other relief that the Board deems appropriate. SIGNED this VM day or { Yoru 2017. FBPE vs. Stephen Mitchell, P.E., Case No. 2016044376 Zana Raybon Executive Director ohn J. Rimes, TI Prosecuting Attorney COUNSEL FOR FEMC: John J. Rimes, III Prosecuting Attorney Florida Engineers Management Corporation 2639 North Monroe Street, Suite B-112 Tallahassee, Florida 32303 Florida Bar No. 212008 JR/rv PCP DATE: March 14, 2017 PCP Members: FLEMING, BRACKEN & MATTHEWS CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I pereby certify that a copy of the foregoing was furnished to Stephen Mitchell, P.E.at 406 Remora, ae or Va. Island, South Carolina 29920, by certified mail and First Class U. S. Mail, on the March , 2017. “ PUarcce Valo Rebecca Valentine, Paralegal FBPE vs. Stephen Mitchell, P.E., Case No. 2016044376

Docket for Case No: 17-003332PL