Memorandum

City of Lawrence

Planning & Development Services

TO:	David L. Corliss, City Manager
FROM:	Barry Walthall, Building Official James King, Fire Prevention Division Chief
C:	Scott McCullough, Planning & Development Services Director Mark Bradford, Fire Chief
Date:	December 12, 2012
RE:	Adoption of 2012 International Codes

The advisory boards, including the Building Code Board of Appeals, Fire Code Board of Appeals, Electrical Code Board of Appeals, Mechanical Code Board of Appeals, and Plumbing Code Board of Appeals, and staff have completed the technical review of the 2012 International Code Council (ICC) series of construction codes and ordinances 8793, 8794, 8795, 8796, 8797, 8798, 8799, 8800, 8801, and 8802 are provided for consideration by the Commission.  The 2012 series of codes recommended for adoption are the International Building Code, International Fire Code, International Residential Code, International Energy Conservation Code, International Existing Building Code, International Mechanical Code, International Plumbing Code, International Fuel Gas Code, and International Property Maintenance Code.  The 2011 National Electrical Code is also recommended for adoption in conjunction with the ICC codes.  The proposed effective date is March 1, 2013.

Building Codes

The City currently reviews building permit applications under the 2009 set of ICC model building codes, which became effective on January 1, 2011.  ICC updates these codes on a three-year cycle and the city strives to update the codes on the same cycle.  Timely adoption of the most current building codes has been identified by consultants in the past as an improvement of the City’s development process, and by the Insurance Services Office, Inc. (ISO) as an important factor in the evaluation of the community’s ISO Building Code Effectiveness Grading Classification (BCEG).  The City’s current BCEG classifications are 4 for one- and two-family residential construction, and 3 for all other construction.  According to the ISO website, only 16% of building departments achieve classification ratings of 3 or better, and 67% are rated between 4 and 6.  Ratings are assigned on a scale of one to ten, with one being best.

The 2012 codes include a number of changes, some of the most notable of which are discussed below.

For residential construction, the most significant code changes are energy conservation improvements in the International Residential Code, including:

• The energy conservation ratings of walls, ceilings, and attics are increased.  Exterior wall ratings would change from R13 to R19 or R13+5, the R value being the insulation rating.  The R19 value references traditional wall cavity insulation values, and the R13+5 allows for adding a continuous R5 rated material such as one-inch foam board over the exterior side of the wall in conjunction with R13 wall cavity insulation.

• The Building Code Board of Appeals (BCBA) recommendation is that increased exterior wall insulation be introduced in phases.  For 2013, exterior wall insulation would be required to meet the R19 value or R13 plus R2 rated continuous exterior wall insulating material such as ½-inch foam board.  Beginning on January 1, 2014, exterior wall insulation would be increased to R19 or R13 plus R5 rated foam board or similarly rated continuous exterior wall insulating material.

• All newly constructed one- and two-family dwellings are required to be tested for air leakage with a blower door test.

• The current standard for tested leakage is less than seven air changes per hour (ACH).  The 2012 codes require less than 3 ACH.  The Building Code Board of Appeals recommends a phased implementation to ultimately achieve 3 ACH for newly constructed one- and two-family dwellings, in 2013 the maximum air leakage would be 5 ACH, for 2014 maximum air leakage would be reduced to 4 ACH, and ultimately to 3 ACH in 2015.

• Hot water piping would be required to be insulated in many locations depending on the pipe diameter and length of run.  Some specific locations include piping from the water heater to kitchen outlets, piping located outside conditioned space, piping from the water heater to a distribution manifold, and piping located under a floor slab within 5 feet of an un-insulated slab edge.

Other notable changes to the code provide for improved health and safety of dwelling unit occupants, including:

• Carbon monoxide alarms would be required for multi-family dwelling units similar to standards adopted in the 2009 IRC for single-family dwellings.

• Radon protection requirements have been adjusted to require penetrations of concrete floor slabs be sealed, such as for tub and shower drain block outs and sump pits.  Concrete control joints, isolation joints and other joints in concrete slabs or between slabs and foundations walls would not be required to be sealed.

• The minimum room area for living rooms is established in the International Property Maintenance Code as 120 square feet.  Every bedroom occupied by more than one person shall contain a minimum of 50 square feet per occupant thereof.

Another change of note is administrative in nature.  The Building Code Board of Appeals is newly designated to hear appeals concerning property maintenance and environmental blight cases.  The Community Development Advisory Committee formerly heard these appeals cases.

Fire Code

A review of the 2012 International Fire Code (IFC) was completed by the Fire Code Board of Appeals on October 9, 2012.

The 2012 IFC represents a complete reorganization of the IFC in its entirety. The chapters were organized into key sections that are consistent with the related chapters within the International Building Code (IBC) and included the addition of chapters and sections to accommodate future changes and growth of the code.

There were five areas of changes and additions of particular interest within the IFC.

The first involves changes in definitions of care facilities and institutional occupancies. These changes bring clarification to the requirements for these facilities by providing defined terms, numbers of persons, and the self preservation abilities of persons.

The second change is the establishment of defined occupant thresholds in residential occupancies. These limits are based on an allowable number of persons, whether they are transient or non-transient in nature, and lent themselves to the application of the definition of “family” as established in City Development Code. The end effect is to simplify the determination of when a residential occupancy requires automatic sprinklers and harmonizes fire and building code with local development code.

The third change is an addition to code that addresses roof gardens and landscaped roof tops. This introduces requirements that address fire safety concerns through the limitation of size or area of gardens and landscaping in relation to the roof area.

The fourth change is a new requirement for commercial kitchen cooking oil storage. Cooking oil has been identified as a Class IIIB combustible liquid with a closed cup flash point greater than 200 degrees F. Because these oils are gaining popularity with their ability to be modified and used as alternative fuels, businesses have begun to retain and store them for resale and to reduce disposal costs. This addition establishes requirements for the type of tanks utilized by specifying that they be UL listed and that they comply with NFPA 70 The National Electrical Code.

The fifth change addresses furniture storage and display in Mercantile, Storage, and Factory occupancies. The 2009 IFC required automatic sprinklers in any Group M occupancy that sold or displayed upholstered furniture. Under the 2012 IFC a minimum threshold was established below which automatic sprinklers are not required. For Group M occupancies this was set at 5,000 square feet while Group S1 and F1 were set at 2,500 square feet. The Fire Code Board of Appeals recommended the amendment of Group M to 2,500 square feet as well. The rationale was to bring consistency between the three occupancy types while still providing relief for the local business owner with a space under 2,500 square feet.

The final recommendation of the Fire Code Board of Appeals was to adopt all Appendixes of the 2012 IFC as written and add two additional Appendixes (K and L) to accommodate existing local requirements for Downtown Mixed Occupancies and Residential Day-Care Facilities.

Requested Action:

Adopt ordinances 8793, 8794, 8795, 8796, 8797, 8798, 8799, 8800, 8801, and 8802 on first reading.