14-Deliberate and possibly act on an Ordinance of the City Council of the City of Paris amending Sections 7-16 and 7-18 of Article II

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CITY COUNCIL AGENDA ITEM BRIEFING SHEET Submittal Date: Originating Department: Presented By: Agenda Item No.: 08/19/10 Planning & Zoning Shawn Napier, P.E., Director of Council Date: Commission Engineering, Planning and 14. 08/23/10 Develo ment RECOMMENDED MOTION: [NOT AN ACTION ITEM - FIRST READING] IF SUPERMAJORITY RULE INVOKED - Move to approve an ordinance amending Sections 7-16 and 7-18 of Article II, Building Code, Chapter 7, Buildings and Building Regulations of the Code of Ordinance of the City of Paris, Texas to adopt the 2006 International Building Code, the 2006 International Existing Building Code, 2006 International Residential Code, and the 2008 National Electrical Code, as amended herein as the Official Building, Residential, Existing Building and Electrical Codes. POLICY ISSUE(S): Public Safety BACKGROUND: Although the City has never formally adopted the 2003 International Building Code (IBC), we have been following it because it was mandated by the State of Texas. The IBC contains fire code provisions, some of which conflict with the City's adopted 1994 Standard Fire Code. This and other deficiencies and inconsistencies in our codes makes it difficult for builders to know what the City's expectations are, potentially adds unnecessary costs to projects, and can lead to buildings that are not as safe as they can be. Recognizing the need to modernize the code and improve safety, staff began researching and developing an updated fire code and ardinance in 2007. On August 24, 2009, Council appointed a Building and Fire Code Review Committee comprised of local builders, electrical contractors, Council Members, and city staff and charged them with reviewing the 2006 International Fire Code, Chapter 12 of the Code of Ordinances, and 2006 International building codes, with local amendments recommended by city staf£ The Committee completed their review on August 10, 2010, and recommends adoption of the changes as detailed in the accompanying ordinance. During the Committee's review, the Committee's scope expanded to include the 2008 National Electric Code and the 2006 International Existing Building Code. The Committee declined to review the 2006 International Residential Code (IRC), deferring to city staff to make recommendations to Council. The IRC brings uniformity to construction of one- and two- family dwellings and townhouses up to three stories high and brings together all building, plumbing, mechanical, and electrical provisions for one- and two-family residences. The accompanying handout details the major changes from the 2003 IRC to the 2006 IRBC. A deficiency with the current permitting process concerns establishing the value of the building project, utilized to determine the cost of certain permits. The current process relies upon the person applying for the permit list the project cost and requires no documentation to support the claimed value. Section 108 of the 2006 IBC states "If, in the opinion of the building official, the valuation is underestimated on the application, the permit shall be denied, unless the applicant can show detailed estimates to meet the approval of the building official." Under the authority granted by Section 108, staff will use the International Code Council (ICC) Building Valuation Data (BVD) sheet (updated every six months), which includes square foot prices based on building types and occupancy and is a national standard. After talking to local businesses and contractors, the local construction prices for commercial projects appear to be 15% lower and the residential projects are 26% lower than the BVD for Paris. Consequently, staff will determine building project values based on the BVD standard but modified to account for the local market unless the applicant can provide documentation supporting a lower project value. City of Paris Revised 2/04/08 95