To: Honorable Mayor and Members of Town Council
From: Bill Detweiler, Director, Development Services
Joseph Montoya, Chief Building Official, Development Services
Title
Ordinance Repealing and Reenacting Chapters 15.04, 15.06, 15.08, 15.10, 15.12, 15.14, 15.16, 15.18, 15.24, 15.26 And 15.28 of the Castle Rock Municipal Code; Adopting by Reference as Primary Codes the 2018 Editions of the International Building Code, International Residential Code for One- and Two-Family Dwellings, International Mechanical Code, International Plumbing Code, International Energy Conservation Code, International Fuel Gas Code, International Fire Code , International Existing Building Code, International Swimming Pool and Spa Code, ANSI A117.1-2009, ASME A17.1-2013, ASME A18.1-2011, ASME A17.3-2005, ASCE 21 Parts 1-4, with Amendments; Adopting by Reference as a Primary Code the 2017 Edition of the National Electrical Code, with Amendments; Providing Penalties for Violations Thereof; Repealing Chapter 15.20; And Making Minor Editorial Amendments to Chapters 15.22 and 15.30 (Second Reading - Approved on First Reading on May 21, 2019 by a vote of 6-0)
Body
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Executive Summary
The First Reading Ordinance was approved by Town Council on May 21, 2019, by a vote of 6-0. Since the First Reading, there were minor clarifications and grammatical corrections made to the Ordinance.
We have been working as a team for the last year on updates to the Title 15-Buildings, Construction, and Public Improvements. This is a comprehensive revision to the Town's regulation of the Building and Fire Codes, which are adopted by reference. These codes replace and update existing Regulations. Staff is proposing amendments to the Town’s Ordinance, Title 15 which would adopt by reference the 2018 International Building Code, International Residential Code for one- and two-family dwellings, International Mechanical Code, International Plumbing Code, International Energy Conservation Code, International Fuel Gas Code, International Existing Building Code, International Swimming Pool and Spa Code, 2009 ICC A117.1 American National Standard Accessible and Useable Buildings and Facilities, 2017 NFPA 70, along with local amendments to these codes. In addition to minor administrative updates and clarifications, staff is recommending amendments pertaining to the International Residential Code fire suppression sprinkler requirements, including protection of unprotected framing members in non-sprinklered homes.
Notification and Outreach Efforts
We have engaged the development community throughout the process in order to review the proposed regulations and receive their feedback on the changes. The developer/staff team organized by the Castle Rock Chief Building Official met regularly to review updates to Title 15. We have reached out to neighboring communities in order to align our codes with surrounding jurisdictions. Stakeholder meetings where held, as well as outreach to the Castle Rock EDC, and building contractors. Dates of these meetings occurred as follows:
• 6/6/2018 - Meeting at Townhall with production builders to discuss updates to the International Residential Code (IRC),
• 6/27/2018 - Meeting at Townhall with production builders to discuss updates to the IRC, and International Building Code (IBC),
• 7/25/2018 - Meeting at Townhall with production builders to discuss updates to the IRC, IBC, International Plumbing Code (IPC), International Fuel Gas Code (IFGC), and International Mechanical Code (IMC),
• 8/29/2018 - Meeting at Townhall with production builders to discuss updates to the all previously discussed codes and review of drafts,
• 9/26/2018 - Meeting at Townhall with staff to discuss all updates to Title 15,
• 12/3/2018 - Discussed updates with Board of Building Appeals (BOBA),
• 2/20/2019 - Met with Castle Rock EDC to discuss updates to Title 15,
• 5/1/2019 - Met with HBA Director of Government Affairs, Heidi K. Williams, to discuss updates to table IRC 301.2(1) and forthcoming revision to draft version Title 15 changing table to indicate wind speed as 115 mph Vult instead of (115 mph nominal 3 second gust Exposure C).
History of Past Town Council, Boards & Commissions, or Other Discussions
At previous Board of Building Appeals and contractor luncheon meetings during 2017 and 2018, BOBA members and the production builder superintendents provided the following feedback regarding Title 15:
• Update codes to current code cycle 2018,
• Update codes to current State-adopted codes for Electrical and Plumbing,
• Require ice and water shield at all locations on a roof instead of only where ice damming occurs,
• Do not require residential fire sprinklers,
• Agree to protect unprotected framing members in non-sprinklered residential homes.
Discussion
The Town’s Building and Fire codes currently adopted are the 2012 Editions of these codes and these have been in place since January 1, 2013.
The International Code Council (ICC) was founded in 1994 as a nonprofit member-focused association with the express purpose of developing a single set of national model construction codes. Founding members came from the Building Officials and Code Administrators International, Inc. (BOCA), the International Conference of Building Officials (IBCO), and the Southern Building Code Congress International, Inc. (SBCCI). The efforts of the three organizations culminated in the International Codes, or I-Codes, starting in 2000. Codes are revised and updated on a three-year cycle. Adoption of national model codes in their entirety is not mandatory. They are designed as model codes that may be adopted with amendments by jurisdictions to address their local or regional needs and requirements. Currently, the main categories of consideration for our region are residential fire sprinklers and energy codes.
Several of our surrounding jurisdictions have adopted the 2018 Editions or are anticipated to adopt, therefore we expect a smooth transition to the updated codes.
Neighboring Jurisdictions Building Codes
|
Jurisdiction |
Current Building Codes |
Current Energy Code |
Current Position on Residential Sprinklers |
Anticipated Adoption of 2018 I-Codes |
|
Douglas County |
2012 |
2009 |
Deleted requirement for single-family and townhomes |
Anticipated 2020 |
|
Parker |
2018 |
2018 |
Deleted requirement for single-family and townhomes |
Adopted 2018 |
|
Centennial |
2015 |
2015 |
Required for townhomes. Mandatory option for single-family |
Unknown |
|
Greenwood Village |
2012 |
2012 |
Required for structures over 7700 sq. ft. |
Anticipated 2020 |
|
Lone Tree |
2018 |
2018 |
Required for townhomes. Mandatory option for single-family |
Adopted 2018 |
During the review process, we identified that many of the Town’s current amendments to the codes are now in the body of the codes as written in the 2018 versions. We also identified some deletions from the code that we wanted to keep. For example, the 2015 versions of the code deleted the average gas BTU ranges for typical gas burning appliances. We thought this table is useful and put it our amendments for use by the homeowners wanting to add appliances to their existing gas systems.
We are recommending these updated codes be “effective” August 1, 2019. However, to allow design professionals and builders time to update construction plans, the ordinance will allow them to build off previously approved residential master plans until January 1, 2020.
Budget Impact
No direct cost to the Town is anticipated other than the purchase of new code books, which has been budgeted for 2019.
Staff Recommendation
Staff recommends approval of the ordinance adopting the editions of the codes listed below including the Misc. Codes in Title 15 by reference on 2nd Reading.
• 2018 Intl. Building Code (IBC)
• 2018 Intl. Residential Code (IRC)
• 2018 Intl. Mechanical Code (IMC)
• 2018 Intl. Plumbing Code (IPC)
• 2018 Intl. Fuel Gas Code (IFGC)
• 2018 Intl. Fire Code (IFC)
• 2018 Intl. Energy Conservation Code (IECC)
• 2017 National Electrical Code (NEC)
Proposed Motion
“I move to approve the ordinance as introduced by title.”
Attachments
Attachment A: Ordinance