Council Subcommittee

MINUTES OF THE GILBERT COUNCIL SUBCOMMITTEE ON BUILDING CODES, JANUARY 15, 2019, AT 4:30 P.M., ROOM 236, 90 EAST CIVIC CENTER DRIVE, GILBERT, ARIZONA COUNCIL PRESENT: Chair Jared Taylor and Councilmembers Scott Anderson and Aimee Yentes COUNCIL ABSENT: none STAFF PRESENT: Town Clerk Lisa Maxwell, Development Services Director Kyle Mieras, Plan Review and Inspection Manager Larry Taylor, Fire Marshal Dan DuBois, Assistant Fire Chief Bob Badgett CALL TO ORDER Chair Taylor called the meeting to order at 4:37 p.m. AGENDA ITEMS 1. Approval of the minutes of the December 18, 2018 meeting. A MOTION was made by Councilmember Anderson, seconded by Chair Taylor, to approve the minutes of the December 18, 2018 meeting. Motion carried 3-0. 2. Review and Discussion of received public comments. Chair Taylor thanked everyone who submitted comments. He thanked Plan Review and Inspection Manager Taylor for providing a copy of the comments noting there were some comments received outside the on-line form. Plan Review and Inspection Manager Taylor reported a website was created and emails were sent to everyone they thought may be interested in providing comments. The original idea was to accept comments through January 12 but the website is active. Five comments were received through the on-line form. The majority of comments all requested the idea of having a a checklist. There was one other comment on section M1307.3.1 but it was not actually a comment and instead was a redlined comment from Maricopa County. That comment was about protection for water heaters and it has been on Gilbert Code for a while and it can be marked as being addressed. Rusdon Ray, Gilbert resident, said the required code field did not make sense to people who wanted to comment because they do not know the section numbers of the Code on which they wish to comment. He also noted references to Code on the checklist without including the text of the Code does not make sense without the code because not all builders have a copy of the Building Code. He suggested removing references to Code and just creating a list of what is required. Rusdon Ray does note tables are different and references to those are fine. Plan Review and Inspection Manager Taylor should there should be comments attached to list with the Code references as this information is available in inspectors’ iPads. Chair Taylor clarified builders want the narrative from inspectors, Code reference and the text from the Code. Plan Review and Inspection Manager Taylor said inspectors have iPads with a premade checklist of the typical items. The list is not comprehensive, only what is common. If an item is not on the checklist the inspector has to add that comment in manually. Rusdon Ray asked a comprehensive list be printed and included with plans. Plan Review and Inspection Manager Taylor said he is reluctant to do that because he does not want people thinking the checklist is comprehensive. It covers the basics on most basic houses but it does not cover custom houses with uncommon items. There are many things outside the scope of the checklist. Rusdon Ray said he has a list printed on large paper and he would like to add the list from the field inspectors to his list. He could include the tables on a separate page. Gordon Ray said he sent approximately 50 emails asking people to provide comments and he did not get a response from anyone. People told him they did not know how to use the on-line form and they did not know what to put in the required box for “specific code reference.” Chair Taylor said to leave the form up another week and make the specific code reference a non-mandatory field. Jackson Moll, Home Builders Association of Central Arizona, said his group has been comparing the 2012 to the 2015 and 2018 versions. His group prefers the 2018 update. He proposed four amendments to the 2018 code: 1) this is a definition issue and it clarifies how measurements are made; 2) this is part of the Energy Code and the amendment allows for sample testing, codifying every home does not need testing; 3) this allows for a change to r-6 duct installation providing a prescriptive path to compliance; and 4) this raised the minimum Home Energy Rating System (HERS) rating needed for homes to be rated as energy efficient. The Town is already doing items two and three and they will need to stay in the updated Code. There was discussion about what happens to homes that are in the middle of the review process when the Building Code is updated. Plan Review and Inspection Manager Taylor said the Town has not updated plans from builders the last couple of times an update has occurred. Inspectors and builders know the homes are being inspected to new Code after a certain date. Many builders want to update plans for their own. Multi –family housing builders had comments about items already in the Town Building Code. Those builders have the option of using either residential or commercial Building Code. Rusdon Ray said he would like to see separate Building Codes for standard homes and for custom homes. Plan Review and Inspection Manager Taylor said he has thought about this and it does not make sense to have different standards for the different types of buildings. 3. Discussion of next steps. Chair Taylor said the Town will continue to take comments. Anyone with comments can also e-mail or call him or Councilmember Anderson. Staff feedback will be reviewed at next meeting. Development Services Director Mieras said Plan Review and Inspection Manager Taylor and Fire Department staff are making lists of the significant changes between the 2012, 2015 and 2018 Building Code updates. Councilmember Anderson asked if there was something between the one page checklist and the Building Code that could be created for Gilbert. Development Services Director Mieras said he will look into that and give feedback at the next meeting. The next meeting will be February 6, 2019 at 4:30 p.m. ADJOURN Chair Taylor adjourned the meeting at 5:17 p.m. ATTEST: ___________________________ ___________________________________ Chair Jared Taylor Lisa Maxwell, MMC, Town Clerk