Building Code Review Board

MINUTES CITY OF DEKALB BUILDING BOARD OF APPEALS April 6, 2016 The Building Board of Appeals held a meeting on April 6, 2016 at the Municipal Building Council Chambers. Chairman Don Whitmore called the meeting to order at 10:15AM. A. Roll Call The following members of the Building Board of Appeals were present: Chairman Don Whitmore, Christine Scholl, Charles Shepard, and Lisa Sharp. Lisa Sharp left the meeting at 11:37. Members absent at roll call were Jim Ward and Steve Irving. Staff present were Community Development Director Ellen Divita, Fire Chief Eric Hicks, Deputy Fire Chief Jim Zarek, Dan Burrows of SAFEbuilt, and Community Development Administrative Assistant Natalie Nelson. Natalie Nelson acted as recording Secretary. B. Approval of Agenda Chairman Whitmore requested for a motion to approve the agenda. C. Shepard motioned to approve the Agenda, and the motion was seconded by C. Scholl. All approved by voice vote. C. Public Participation None. D. Approval of Minutes 1. March 23, 2016 Chairman Whitmore requested for a motion to approve the minutes. C. Scholl motioned to approve the minutes, and the motion was seconded by L. Sharp. All approved by voice vote. E. New Business Chairman reported that he had met with Dir. Divita and N. Nelson prior to the meeting to talk about finalizing the work of the Commission and next meetings to be held, including public information meetings, meetings of the BBA, Public Hearing, and recommendations to the City Council. F. Old Business 1. Continued review of 2015 ICC Building Codes Chairman Whitmore began the discussion with structure of Chapter 24. As an example of well-organized codes, he pointed Rockford’s Building Department website, which includes a list of adopted codes and Building Board of Appeals April 6, 2016 Page 2 of 5 links to them. The Commission members agreed it was a good way to present the information online. They also viewed Mount Prospect’s website to see how it lists adopted codes. Chairman Whitmore asked the Commission if they wanted to address Chapter 13: Housing and Property Maintenance in the City’s Municipal Code. C. Shepard recommended that Commission not address this chapter. L. Sharp recommended that the City’s Chapter 24 be used exclusively for new construction and alterations only. Dir. Divita suggested that certain sections pertaining to licensing in Chapter 24 be moved to different chapters, specifically those not directly related to building codes. It was decided that City Staff will review those sections of Chapter 24 and make recommendations for appropriate placement in other chapters. Chief Hicks recommended moving the Chapter 24, Section 24.10 Smoke Detector Requirements for Existing Dwellings, Multiple Use Dwellings, Multiple Family Dwellings, and Rooming Houses to Chapter 14: Rooming Houses and Chapter 13: Housing and Property Maintenance. A discussion followed regarding the threshold for requiring alterations to conform to the new code. For example, Chief Hicks recommended that security measures in existing buildings be grandfathered, and he suggested that all amendments be reviewed in a similar fashion. Chief Hicks also stated that during renovation, University Village will be required to install smoke detectors in apartment hallways only, but not in common hallways. All new construction should conform to the new code. L. Sharp recommended including, after the enabling ordinance and list of adopted Codes, language that states that multifamily residences have additional requirements and reference where these guidelines appear. The Commission discussed unifying the City’s four building-related Boards of Appeals, adding representatives from each trade to the BBA. Currently, the four boards are created via sections within Municipal Code Chapters 24 (Building), 25 (Electrical), 26 (Plumbing), and 29 (Mechanical). Within each chapter is a section outlining duties and composition of their respective boards. The Commission agreed that they have been functioning well as a consolidated Board of Appeals and could be re-comprised as a consolidated Board of Appeals. Dir. Divita indicated she would bring an ordinance to Council to create a consolidated Board of Appeals in a new chapter and then remove any Board of Appeals reference from Municipal Code Chapters 24 (Building), 25 (Electrical), 26 (Plumbing), and 29 (Mechanical). It was confirmed that Municipal Code Chapters 25 (Electrical), 26 (Plumbing), and 29 (Mechanical), will be rolled into Municipal Code Chapter 24 (Building). The Commission turned its attention to the City’s registration requirement for company owners or key employees who perform electrical, HVAC, and street construction work. In the past, the City’s Building Official developed and administered tests for these types of contractors, but the tests have not been given for the last 24 months. Currently, the City requires these types of contractors to provide the test results from another municipality. C. Shepard recounted that administering the tests by the City can be considered exclusionary if it is administered only on a yearly basis and biased toward local union contractors. In Illinois, electrical and mechanical contractors are not required to have a state license, but they are required to have a surety bond and proof of insurance to perform work in the City. Plumbers and roofers are required to have a state license, a surety bond, and proof of insurance to perform work in the City. It was suggested that requiring a test to perform electrical and mechanical work in the City does not guarantee quality work for the homeowners who hire them, as the company owner or key employee who takes the test may not be the actual person performing the work. The Commission stated they did not want make a Building Board of Appeals April 6, 2016 Page 3 of 5 decision on whether or not to reinstate testing or eliminate testing for electrical and mechanical contractors. Dir. Divita stated she would research what the tests look like in other municipalities and present examples at the next meeting. The Commission returned to the discussion of the Municipal Code Chapter 24 and the sections that do not apply to new construction or alterations. Several sections are better placed in other chapters of the Municipal Code, and the Commission asked City staff to relocate at their discretion. Items to be moved would be those more directly related to licensing. Note, however that some provisions should be removed. For example, 24.9 SMOKE DETECTOR language is outdated and these sections should be removed: 24.9a5, 24.9b5. 24.03 Bond. References to bonds should be placed within the section related to Contractor Registration. 24.04 Building Permit Fees – Staff will review permit fees and determine if the Chapter 24 schedules are better placed elsewhere in the Municipal Code. 24.04-1 Supplemental Permit Fees through 24.04-3 Water Permit Fees. City staff will confirm that fees within the Code are correct and have been updated per CPI as required in 24.04.c. 24.05 Change Plans – City staff will review and determine whether this section is sufficiently addressed in other section of the Building Code, and if so, delete the City’s amendment. 24.06 Street Operations – City staff will review and determine whether this section is sufficiently addressed in other section of the Building Code, and if so, delete the City’s amendment. 24.07 Rubbish – City staff will review and determine whether this section is sufficiently addressed in other section of the Building Code, and if so, delete the City’s amendment. Also consider the parallel section within Chapter 13: Housing and Property Maintenance. 24.08 Buildings Endangering Others – City staff will review and determine whether this section is sufficiently addressed in other section of the Building Code, and if so, delete the City’s amendment. Also consider the parallel section within Chapter 13: Housing and Property Maintenance.24.8 Residential Building Security Regulations – move to Chapter 13: Housing and Property Maintenance. 24.09 Residential Building Security Regulations – Move to Crime Free Housing (Chapter 10), Property Maintenance (Chapter 13) and Rooming House Licensing (Chapter 14), as appropriate. 24.10 Smoke Detector Requirements for Existing Dwellings, Multiple Use Dwellings, Multiple Family Dwellings, and Rooming Houses – as appropriate, move to Fire Prevention Regulations (Chapter 28) or Rooming Houses (Chapter 14). 24.11 Carbon Monoxide Detector Requirements for Existing Dwellings, Single Family Dwellings, Multiple Use Dwellings, Multiple Family Dwellings, and Rooming Houses – as appropriate, move to Housing and Property Maintenance (Chapter 13) or Rooming Houses (Chapter 14). 24.12 Revocation of Contractor’s Certificate and Bonds – move to sections related to Contractor Registration. Building Board of Appeals April 6, 2016 Page 4 of 5 24.12.1 Appeals From Decisions Of The City Manager – The section refers to licensing of contractors working within the public right of way and all references should be moved to a central location regarding contractor licensing. This includes Chapters 24, 6, and possibly 31. 24.13 National Fire Prevention Association Standard Amendment – move to Chapter 28: Fire Prevention Regulations. 24.14 (Reserved) – delete. 24.15 Accessibility Code Adopted – delete; adoption of the Illinois Accessibility Code will appear at the beginning of Chapter 24. 24.16 Minimum Insulation Standards – delete; adoption of the Illinois Energy Conservation Code will appear at the beginning of Chapter 24. 24.17 Demolitions – retain this section. The commission revisited the topic of sprinkler requirements in a platted residential subdivision where service lines have already been laid and whether that would affect if sprinkling would be required. It was proposed that this topic will be an agenda item for next meeting so that the commission can fully review what building practices are currently being used in townhomes without sprinklers. Natalie Nelson is preparing a draft based upon editing the existing Chapter 29 and adding the amendments from the regional building code which Steve Doonan recommended the commission adopt. C. Scholl recalled that a BBA subcommittee also met in October to review Steve Doonan’s recommendations and concurred with them. C. Scholl asked that the commission please note the following: 1. The existing Municipal Code Chapter 29 IMC section 801.19 (801.18 in 2015), IRC section 1802.4 (1801.3 in 2015) and separate Chimney and Vents section (29.06) all address Existing Chimneys and Vents. She believes this amendment is now covered in the language in the 2015 Code and can be eliminated as amendments. She recommended that the Commission ask the Code Consultant from the City to review the language in both codes to confirm this. 2. Page 2 of Municipal Code Chapter 29 has Section M-122.2.1 and M 122.2.2 as deleted. There are no such numbers in either version of the Code. R112 is Board of Appeals, but the commission is amending this in the Residential Code section, so it is probably not necessary to keep in Chapter 29. 3. The current Municipal Code Chapter 29 does have a requirement for heat in all occupiable rooms or spaces or bathrooms. It was recommended that we eliminate this requirement. The commission should be aware it is currently a requirement. Chairman Whitmore stated that he will ask Jerry Evans to review and provide comments on DeKalb’s Plumbing Code changes in Chapter 26. The comments Mr. Evans provided most recently were on the proposed Regional Code amendments, not the full Code. There was discussion among the Commissioners on whether items pertaining directly toward licensing (i.e., rooming houses, hotels, gas stations, restaurants) and not found within the ICC codes should be removed Building Board of Appeals April 6, 2016 Page 5 of 5 from Chapter 24 and placed within the Licensing chapters of the Municipal Code. If this happens, the BBA should also consider placing references to those chapters within the new Chapter 24. It was decided that City Staff will compile a new draft of Chapter 24 for review by the BBA within the next 4-8 weeks. The next meeting will be announced when the completion of a draft of Chapter 24 is ready for review. G. Announcements None. H. Adjournment Hearing and seeing no additional comment from attendees, Chairman Whitmore closed the meeting at 10:50 AM. The next Building Board of Appeals meeting will be set at a future date. __________________________________________ Natalie Nelson, Administrative Assistant Minutes approved by Building Board of Appeals on August 12, 2016.