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NAHB Members Reviewing ICC Code Change Proposals
Members of the NAHB Construction Codes and Standards Committee and staff experts are gathering in Washington this week to work on the next step in the series of drafts, revisions, comments and hearings in the International Code Council's (ICC) 2006-2007 Code Development Cycle.
NAHB’s Provision Oversight Groups, or POGs, are entrusted with looking over the estimated 2,400 proposed changes to the ICC and then recommending the appropriate association position on the change — against it, in favor of it or no comment.
Interest groups across the country drafted amendments, and NAHB — which submitted 65 of its own — takes the role of the potential home buyer when examining the proposed code changes and their effect on safety, the building process and housing affordability.
The International Code Council develops model codes for residential building, commercial building, electrical, mechanical, energy efficiency and other categories that states and localities either adopt in their entirety or revise based on geography, local preferences or other factors.
The ICC publishes a new edition of the codes every three years, but they are amended every 18 months, ensuring that someone, somewhere is working on a code change at any given time.
Under the process, a national trade association, code official, manufacturer or other interest group submits a proposal to change the code. The proposal can be as simple as an editorial clarification of a particular section that is difficult to interpret, or as far-reaching as a change in how homes are framed, which can have a significant impact on design and materials.
Once all the proposals are submitted, the ICC assembles them and posts them on its Web site for downloading.
"You're shoulder to shoulder in all the conference rooms with papers and code books stacked high on the table," said Jeff Inks, NAHB assistant staff vice president for codes and standards. Staff and volunteers are working together this week to prepare testimony on as many as 700 specific changes, he said.
In late September, ICC will convene in Florida for 10 days of hearings on each proposed amendment, and then in December, the ICC will send out another telephone-book-sized tome that includes stakeholder comments on the actions on proposed changes that were taken at the public hearings.
NAHB members and staff will spend another few weeks preparing comments for submission in late January 2007. The ICC will publish the final comment book in April as the NAHB staff prepares to testify at a final round of code hearings in May.
The ultimate goal, Inks says, is to make sure that the most onerous and least cost-effective changes never see the light of day in a published code book.
For more information, e-mail Calli Schmidt at NAHB, or call her at 800-368-5242 x8132.
 ‘2006 International Residential Code’ Available at BuilderBooks.com
“2006 International Residential Code,” available through BuilderBooks.com, establishes minimum regulations for three-story one- and two-family dwellings and townhouses. It brings together all building, plumbing, mechanical, fuel gas, energy and electrical provisions for one- and two-family residences.
To view or purchase this publication online, click here, or call 800-223-2665.
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