Construction Standards Board of Adjustments and Appeals Meeting

Construction Standards Board Meeting Minutes The City of Bastrop Construction Standards Board met Monday, September 9, 2019 at 6:00 p.m. in the Bastrop City Council Chambers, 1311 Chestnut Street, Bastrop, Texas. 1. CALL TO ORDER Michael Osborn called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. and noted that a quorum was present. Chase McDonald, Vice Chair Present Cliff Copeland Present David McKenzie Absent Michael Osborn, Chair Present Joel Bauman Absent 2. CITIZEN COMMENTS There were no citizen comments. 3. ITEMS FOR INDIVIDUAL CONSIDERATION 3A. Consider action to approve meeting minutes from the August 19, 2019 Construction Standards Board Meeting. Chase McDonald made a motion to recommend approval of the meeting minutes of August 19, 2019. Michael Osborn seconded the motion and the motion carried unanimously. 3B. Discuss the review and adoption of the 2018 International Building codes (I-Codes), including but not limited to the International Fuel and Gas Code (IFGC) and the International Wildland-Urban Interface Code (IWUIC). David Braisch presented and held discussion regarding the International Fuel and Gas Code (IFGC) and the International Wildland-Urban Interface Code (IWUIC). The Board requested at the next meeting Staff present what areas are specifically being proposed to have the International Wildland-Urban Interface Code (IWUIC) applied to them. They recommended this code only be applied to areas that make sense, and that Staff be mindful of the historic homes and the materials used to maintain their historic character. No action was taken. 4. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 6:57 p.m.. _______________________________ Michael Osborn- Board Chair Bastrop Construction Standards Board Minutes September 9, 2019 Page 1 of 2  STAFF REPORT MEETING DATE: September 17, 2019 AGENDA ITEM: 3B TITLE: Discuss the review and adoption of the 2018 International Building codes (I-Codes), including but not limited to the International Residential Code (IRC) and the International Property Maintenance Code (IPMC). STAFF REPRESENTATIVE: Matt Jones, Director of Planning and Development BACKGROUND/HISTORY: Building Bastrop launched on August 15, 2018 to create a new set of tools that will support the community in a responsible manner for generations to come. When looking at the Policy Statement adopted by City Council on February 26, 2019, a key component is that the codes be fiscally sustainable. The Building Bastrop Codes focus on the public realm (first 15’ of a property), infrastructure, and life safety. The International Code Council (ICC) Building Codes (I-Codes) will regulate life safety. The I-Codes are standards used in the design, build, and compliance process to construct safe, sustainable, affordable, and resilient structures. It is not uncommon for cities to update their codes every few years. Bastrop last updated these codes in 2012 when the 2009 I-Codes were adopted. There have been several updates to the I- Codes since 2009 and with the release of the 2018 I-Codes, we are now two (2) code updates behind and our building codes are over ten (10) years old. The Construction Standards Board (CSB) has two main responsibilities. The first is to hear appeals of a decision made by the Building Official, and the second is to review and make recommendations to City Council regarding building codes. The CSB and Staff will review the 2018 I-Codes using the following proposed purpose statement as amended by City Council on March 26, 2019 for the basis of the code review: “Review national best practices and establish locally amended life safety expectations that protect our public and ensure the asset meets or exceeds its useful life.” The I-Code review process provides the CSB, Staff, and the community a chance to evaluate the codes for opportunities to make local amendments. Adopting localized amendments will ensure that the I-Codes as amended are fiscally sustainable, authentic Bastrop, and protect life safety. Staff is committed to improve the development and permitting process. A part of that commitment will involve resolving conflicting language in different sections of the codes as part of this review. To decrease the chance of conflicting language in the future, the I-Codes will be referenced in the Building Bastrop Codes, but will be located in the Technical Manual. The Technical Manual will be a comprehensive manual serving as a single location for all technical criteria required to develop or build in Bastrop. Having the codes located in one location will discourage the possibility of conflicting codes in different sections of the code. Staff has established a set of review criteria that will serve as a guide when evaluating the codes. The evaluation criteria are listed below: • Does it meet our purpose statement? • Remember who the customer is. • Does it make common sense? • Can we legally enforce it? • Does the code need to be inspected annually or another routine basis? POLICY EXPLANATION: Using Council’s Purpose Statement for Building Bastrop as a guide, Staff developed a Purpose Statement for the I-Code update for use by the Construction Standards Board and Staff related to all code review. The proposed statement was reviewed and revised by City Council at their March 26th meeting. FUNDING SOURCE: N/A RECOMMENDATION: Discuss the review and adoption of the 2018 International Building codes (I-Codes), including but not limited to the International Fuel and Gas Code (IFGC) and the International Wildland-Urban Interface Code (IWUIC). ATTACHMENTS: • International Residential Code (IRC) https://www.dropbox.com/s/emj3bw8o47hpifk/IRC_2018%20iCode%20Digital%20copy- %20International%20Residentail%20Code.pdf?dl=0 • International Property Maintenance Code (IPMC) https://www.dropbox.com/s/mpk705lydq8003d/IPMC_2018%20iCode%20Digital%20copy_Inter national%20Property%20Maintenance%20Code.pdf?dl=0