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<br />STATE BUILDING STANDARDS COMMISSION ENDORSES NFPA
<br />CODES FOR CALIFORNIA
<br />In spite of aggressive efforts by the League to
<br />support the state's adoption of the International
<br />Building Code, the State Building Standards
<br />Commission voted 8-2 last Tuesday in favor of
<br />adopting the National Fire Protection Association
<br />(NFPA) 5000 Building Code. The Commission's
<br />decision was made after hearing months of public
<br />testimony, including that of Erling Horn, Vice Mayor
<br />of Lafayette and Chair of the League's committee
<br />on Housing, Community and Economic Develop-
<br />ment, City Manager Kevin O'Rourke of Fairfield,
<br />Ruben Grijalva, Fire Chief of Palo Alto and Presi-
<br />dent of the League Fire Chiefs Department,
<br />Dennis Downs, the Fire Chief of Ventura and
<br />Immediate Past President of the League's Fire
<br />Chiefs Department, Ernie Robinson, Deputy Chief
<br />and Fire Marshall for the City of Oakland, and from
<br />League Legislative Representative Dan Carrigg.
<br />Literally dozens of others spoke out in opposition
<br />to the NFPA code, including building officials, fire
<br />chiefs, fire prevention officers, city managers,
<br />council members and League staff. The model
<br />codes will serve as the basis for the 2004 triennial
<br />California Building Standards Code.
<br />The International Building Code, produced by
<br />the International Code Council (ICC), is the suc-
<br />cessor of the Uniform Building Code, which has
<br />been in use in California since 1927. Switching to
<br />the untested NFPA 5000 code will cost cities
<br />hundreds of thousands of dollars to retrain fire and
<br />building officials, architects, engineers and others,
<br />with the costs falling heavy on taxpayers and
<br />businesses across the state. Cities already
<br />accustomed to existing and workable code struc-
<br />tures should not bear the burden of restructuring,
<br />particularly in light of current budgetary shortfalls.
<br />18 to support the International Building Codes
<br />after hearing the recommendations of its policy
<br />committees on Pubic Safety, and Housing, Com-
<br />munity and Economic Development. Those
<br />policy bodies made their recommendations
<br />following an extensive, eight -month review pro-
<br />cess and consideration of presentations made by
<br />the California Building Officials (CALBO), the
<br />International Code Council (ICC), the National Fire
<br />Protection Association (NFPA), the California Fire
<br />Chiefs Association and Metro Chiefs Association,
<br />the League's Fire Chiefs Department, and the
<br />League's City Managers Department.
<br />Next Steps
<br />Over the next year, the four state agencies
<br />who made recommendations (3 -1 in favor of ICC)
<br />to the Commission on the code adoption process,
<br />the Department of Housing and Community
<br />Development, Division of the State Architect,
<br />Office of Statewide Health Planning and Develop-
<br />ment, and Office of the State Fire Marshal, will
<br />begin development of a new California Building
<br />Code by amending the current code to meet
<br />requirements outlined in the NFPA 5000. Once
<br />the codes are amended, the Commission will hold
<br />public hearings for comment on the amendments
<br />the four state agencies mentioned above recom-
<br />mend. The Commission's next scheduled meet-
<br />ing is, Wednesday, September 17, 2003. The
<br />main items on that agenda will be establishing
<br />timeframes for the adoption, publication and
<br />enforcement dates of the codes.
<br />"This is about preserving the ability of local
<br />officials to participate in decisions that affect local
<br />safety standards," said Chris McKenzie, Executive
<br />Director of the League, who added that, in addition
<br />to saving cities much needed dollars, "the ICC
<br />development process offers better opportunities
<br />for local government participation in decision -
<br />making than other approaches."
<br />The League Board of Directors voted on July
<br />Our Mission
<br />Restore and protect local control for cities
<br />through education and advocacy to enhance
<br />the quality of I i fe for all Californians.
<br />Visit the League's Official Web Site-- www.cacities.org PRIORITY FOCUS /PAGE 3
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