Building Code Review Board

MINUTES City of DeKalb Building Board of Appeals August 25, 2016 The Building Board of Appeals held a meeting on August 25, 2016 at 8:00 A.M. at the City of DeKalb Municipal Building, 200 South Fourth Street, DeKalb, Illinois, 60115, in the Council Chambers. Chair Don Whitmore called the meeting to order at 8:10 A.M. A. ROLL CALL The following members of the Building Board of Appeals were present: Chairman Don Whitmore, Christine Scholl, Charles Shepard, and Lisa Sharp. Jim Ward arrived at 8:55 AM. Members absent at roll call were Steve Irving. Staff present were Community Development Director Ellen Divita, Deputy Fire Chief Jim Zarek, Don Plass of HR Green, and Community Development Administrative Assistant Natalie Nelson. Natalie Nelson acted as recording Secretary. B. APPROVAL OF AGENDA – Additions / Deletions Chairman Whitmore requested a motion to approve the agenda. L. Sharp 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 – Additions / Deletions 1. June 29, 2016 Subcommittee Meeting – Chairman Whitmore requested a motion to approve these minutes. C. Scholl motioned to approve the minutes, and the motion was seconded by C. Shepard. All approved by voice vote. 2. August 12, 2016 Meeting – Chairman Whitmore requested a motion to approve these minutes. C. Shepard motioned to approve the minutes, and the motion was seconded by C. Scholl. All approved by voice vote. E. OLD BUSINESS The order of discussion items was changed. Building Board of Appeals August 25, 2016 Page 2 of 7 1. Contractor Registration and Licensing - A discussion of roofing contractor requirements took place. C. Shepard confirmed with City staff that the Commission previously decided that residential roofing projects will soon require contractors to register with the City and provide proof of Illinois license category B, insurance, and bond; a statement of products and installation methods to be used; and a signed document agreeing to follow City Code requirements. Dir. Divita confirmed that the Commission has not changed the requirements for new commercial roofs and commercial reroofing projects. To keep roofing repairs affordable, D. Plass explained, the Energy Code guidelines for insulation do allow for variations provided that plans are presented in writing and pending approval by the City Code Official. 2. The Commission continued its review of 2015 ICC Building Codes and Municipal Code Chapter 24 revisions, starting where the Commission left off at the last meeting. ARTICLE 2 amendments (continued) M1602.2: Return Air Openings – retain amendment as written. G2413.1.1 Welded connections required – delete this amendment. P2501.1 Scope – retain amendment as written. E3401.1 Applicability – retain amendment as written. ARTICLE 3: FIRE CODE amendments Chapters 9 and 10 of the Residential Code and Fire Code are the same. All amendments to the Fire Code will be made to the Residential Code. 101.1 Title – D. Plass stated he would confirm with legal counsel how the title each code will be referred to within the amendments. 104.1 Enforcement Officer – retain amendment as written. 105.6 – Required operational permits – retain amendment as written. 105.7 – Required construction permits – revise text to clarify that fire code official is authorized to “review and approve” construction permits. 108 – Means of appeal – add reference to specific section number in Chapter 24. Building Board of Appeals August 25, 2016 Page 3 of 7 307.1.2 Burning of leaves and garden debris – retain amendment as written, and add the following: 7. A citation may be issued by a code enforcement official for repeated violations, starting with the second offense. It was recommended that City legal counsel should draft the language for this addition and determine what fines, time periods, and number of offenses would be appropriate. [At the 9/916 meeting, the Commission agreed that any changes to the current amendment to Chapter 24, Article 3, Fire Code, Section 307.1.2 “Burning of leaves and garden debris” requires City legal counsel’s input and approval.] L. Sharp expressed her concern with allowing leaf burning especially in neighborhoods with lots less than .25 acre square, as any location on the lot on which burning occurs is likely closer than 30 feet from the property line. The Commission agreed that this is an issue for future consideration, but no decision will be made at this time. 506.1 – Key Box – Delete “Any buildings with an automatic fire suppression system or automatic fire detection system” and replace with “All new commercial buildings”. Deputy Fire Chief Zarek explained how commercial properties like strip malls use key boxes. The Knox Company sells key boxes with a unique lock and key for each municipality’s emergency staff. Knox also maintains a record of the addresses where these boxes are installed. A property owner places building keys in the key box, usually for common areas of a building, but sometimes a master key for all units. The smallest Knox boxes can hold 5-6 keys. A tamper switch inside a Knox box can be wired into the alarm system, but not all are wired. The Commission agreed that key boxes are expensive, but replacing a broken window or door to get emergency access is usually more expensive. 804.1.1 – Alternative Testing – retain amendment as written. 903.2.11.1 – Stories without openings – retain amendment. Revise to add numeral (3) at the beginning of the item, and remove “or” and replace with “of” before the word “grade” in the second sentence. Discussion of this amendment took place, including scenarios where this situation may arise. The Regional Code, which DeKalb did not adopt, originally added this item. Deputy Fire Chief Zarek stated that this amendment is an acceptable addition to DeKalb’s regulations and should be retained. 906.3 – Size and distribution – Revise items 1, 2, and 5 to allow for 75-foot travel distances instead of 50. Building Board of Appeals August 25, 2016 Page 4 of 7 Deputy Fire Chief Zarek explained that these amendments decrease the maximum travel distance. The IFC allows for 75-foot travel distance while DeKalb requires 50- foot travel distance for specific categories. He explained the different types of fires and the corresponding ratings of fire extinguishers. The table in the 2015 IFC lists the types of fires and corresponding extinguishers; whereas, the City of DeKalb Municipal Code lists types of occupancy the corresponding extinguishers. 914.8.3 – Fire Suppression for Aircraft Hangars: Exception – retain amendment as written. 914.8.7 – Sources of Ignition – retain amendment as written. 2305.5 – Fire Extinguishers – retain amendment as written. 5061.3.1 – Indoor Pyrotechnic Special Effects – retain amendment as written. It was noted that the NIU Convocation Center is exempt from this requirement, as it does not fall under the City’s jurisdiction. ARTICLE 4: MECHANICAL CODE amendments Retain the list of deleted sections at the beginning of this article. 306.5 – delete amendment. 306.5.1 – Sloped roofs – delete amendment. 603.6.1.1 Duct length – retain amendment as written. 801.2.2 Fuel burning appliances – retain amendment as written. Add the following amendment, as revised, which was inadvertently removed from the current draft Chapter 24 amendments. Add a reference to this amendment in the IRC Mechanical Code amendments: 801.1918 – Existing Chimneys and Vents. Where a fuel-fired appliance is permanently disconnected from an existing chimney or vent serving multiple fuel- fired appliances, such chimney or vent shall be resized as necessary to control flue-gas condensation in the interior of the chimney or vent and to provide the remaining appliance or appliances served with the required draft. For Category I gas-fired appliances, the resizing shall be in accordance with Section 803 for the remaining appliance or appliances. This shall apply to one and two-family dwellings also. 918.7 Furnace cement or welding – retain amendment as written. Building Board of Appeals August 25, 2016 Page 5 of 7 1507.4 Bath Fan Venting – retain amendment as written. Retain the additional IRC Mechanical Code section amendments as written for the following: M-1401.6 Furnace Repair M-15.06.4 Bath Fan Venting M-1602.2 It is no longer necessary to include the text regarding deletion of Chapter 20 “Air Pollution Control” of the Municipal Code of the City of DeKalb, Illinois. ARTICLE 5: FUEL GAS CODE amendments 404.2.1 – Corrugated Stainless Steel Tubing – retain amendment as written. 404.3.1 – Corrugated Stainless Steel Tubing – retain amendment as written. 503.5.5-4 – Size of chimney – It was determined that this item should be reconsidered. The recommendation to revise this amendment to delete “mechanical” before “draft” and replace with “natural” may not be applicable in context with the paragraphs that precede it. [At the 9/9/16 meeting, the Commission determined that the language of this amendment should not be changed. Originally, the Commission made this change without awareness of the amendment’s context.] 503.4.1 Vent piping – retain amendment as written, but reposition to appear before “503.5.5-4 Size of chimney.” ARTICLE 6: SWIMMING POOL AND SPA CODE amendments D. Plass recommended adoption of this Code as it is written, with no amendments. The Commission agreed. ARTICLE 7: EXISTING BUILDING CODE amendments The Commission discussed what extent of remodeling would trigger requiring following the 2015 code instead of the previous 2003 Code. There are three different categories of remodeling, which determine which code’s requirements must be followed. The Commission recommended inserting language into the beginning of Chapter 24 to make it clear that the adoption date and the effective date of the 2015 Codes and City of DeKalb amendments are the same. ARTICLE 8: PROPERTY MAINTENANCE amendments Building Board of Appeals August 25, 2016 Page 6 of 7 This article will be removed from Chapter 24 and remain a free-standing chapter in the City’s Municipal Code. ARTICLE 9: NATIONAL ELECTRICAL CODE amendments The Commission members agreed that it is necessary to have Board member who is an electrical representative before any more work is done on this part of the Code. M-1602.2 – retain amendment as written and place in Article 4 in the Mechanical Code, where it already appears. 3. Consolidated Building Trades Board of Appeals In preparation of Mayor Rey’s appointments to the newly consolidated Building Board of Appeals, Ellen Divita distributed to each of the current members present an “Application to Serve on the City of DeKalb Consolidated Building Board of Appeals.” The current members who were absent would receive the application via email. Dir. Divita requested that each member present complete and submit the application as soon as possible. F. NEW BUSINESS 1. Set public meeting dates The Commission set a tentative date for Public Meetings, to which the DeKalb- area builders would be invited, on Wednesday, September 28, 2016 at 8:00AM and at 5:00PM. The Commission will meet again around October 13 to discuss feedback received during the Public Meetings. The Commission set a tentative goal to hold the public hearing at the City Council meeting on November 7th or 21st. 2. Certification of FOIA and OMA Act Training Natalie Nelson asked the present Board members to check their email accounts for a message from Ruth Scott from the City Manager’s Office, which includes instructions for completing and submitting the certificates of completion of the trainings. These are due as soon as possible. G. ANNOUNCEMENTS The next Building Board of Appeals meeting will be set for Thursday, September 8, 2016 at 8:00AM. H. ADJOURNMENT Building Board of Appeals August 25, 2016 Page 7 of 7 Chairman Whitmore asked for a motion to adjourn the meeting. C. Shepard motioned to adjourn. C. Scholl seconded the motion. All approved by voice vote. Adjourned at 10:54 AM. _________________________________ Natalie Nelson, Administrative Assistant Minutes approved by the Building Board of Appeals on September 9, 2016.