Mariposa County Building Director Fred Lustenberger has resigned. County Administrative Officer Rick Benson made the announcement on Oct. 29.

“Lustenberger has resigned his position effective Nov. 6,” Benson wrote in a press release. “The board of supervisors wishes Fred well in his future endeavors.”

Lustenberger has been Mariposa County’s building director for less than a year. He took the position following the retirement of John Davis, who had served in that capacity for many years.

Benson did not offer any further detail about Lustenberger’s decision to resign. There have been closed session items evaluating his job performance on the board of supervisors’ agendas in recent weeks. There has also been some controversy surrounding Lustenberger’s tenure.

Early last month, about 50 members of the Mariposa County Contractors’ Association

MCCA) attended the board meeting and basically demanded that Lustenberger be fired.

Before that, MCCA had asked the board to “take action” on Lustenberger. A letter dated Aug. 26, cited a number of concerns. It goes on to explain that MCCA had been approached by “numerous contractors, builders, and the general public,” about the department. “Mr. Lustenberger ’s attitude is one which causes grief and fear for contractors and owner/builders.”

Later in October, the contractors returned. This time they explained that it wasn’t Lustenberger’s attempt to enforce state building codes that brought them there. “None of us are disputing the fact that we have to comply with codes,” electrician Rob Hambleton said. “We’re disputing the fact that we’re being treated as if we’re not smart enough to read them.”

By contrast, another citizen said the building director is just trying to do a tough job. At the early October meeting and in a letter to the editor, V.R. Savage said Lustenberger has an “uneviable job.”

Savage, who says he has lost thousands of dollars because of shotty contractor work and lack of proper inspection, said cooler heads should prevail. “Before storming the castle and demanding he be ‘tarred and feathered,’ it might be appropriate to consider the opininon of someone who is paying the contractor’s bill by hiring them.”

Savage continued, “From code enforcement to education, it’s undoubtedly been uncomfortable, but judging from situations like mine, it is more than necessary.”

Other contractors said Lustenberger’s approach was “not in the best interest of Mariposa residents, contractors and our way of life.”

Lustenberger will remain on the job and apparently pretty busy until his resignation becomes effective. On Tuesday, he brought two items to the board that had been pulled from the agenda twice before. One is a rubber stamp approval of the county’s codes to bring them in line with the state’s. The second is a reorganization of the department. Lustenberger said the change is necessary to “effectively accomplish the goal of public safety within the challenging economic climate in which it now operates.”

The CAO said the board will now have to decide on appointing an interim director and hiring a permanent one. Lustenberger’s decision to leave, Benson said, “is a substantial loss to Mariposa County.”