Building Code Board of Appeals Minutes 06/19/2012 ADOPTED
- ADOPTED -
BUILDING CODE BOARD OF APPEALS
MINUTES – ANNUAL MEETING
JUNE 19, 2012
I. ROLL CALL
Emil Dahlquist, Chairman, called the annual meeting of the Building Code Board of Appeals to order at approximately 6:00 p.m. in Room 103 of the Simsbury Town Offices. In attendance were members Emil Dahlquist, Charles Warren, Harvey Goodfriend, Sandy Ziplow, and Steven Antonio. Bill Egan arrived at approximately 6:05 p.m. Also in attendance were Henry Miga, Town of Simsbury Building Official, Nancy Haase, liaison to the Board of Selectmen, and Colleen Fenn, Commission Clerk.
II. REVIEW AND APPROVE MINUTES of June 21, 2011
Minor amendments were made to the minutes.
Mr. Goodfriend made a motion to approve the June 21, 2011 minutes as amended. Mr. Ziplow seconded the motion. The motion was unanimously approved.
III. ELECTION OF CHAIRMAN
Mr. Warren made a motion to nominate Emil Dahlquist as Chairman of the Building Code Board of Appeals. Nominations were closed. Mr. Goodfriend seconded the motion. The motion was approved, with Mr. Dahlquist abstaining.
IV. APPOINTMENT OF DEPUTY CHAIRMAN
Mr. Antonio made a motion to nominate Charles Warren as Deputy Chairman of the Building Code Board of Appeals. Nominations were closed. Mr. Goodfriend seconded the motion. The motion was approved, with Mr. Warren abstaining.
V. OLD BUSINESS
Chairman Dahlquist stated that there is no business carried over from the last meeting. He distributed a membership list for all to update their contact information.
VI. NEW BUSINESS
A. Discussions of current Connecticut Building Codes and proposed changes with Henry Miga, Town Building Official
Mr. Miga stated that after much examination and review, the 2009 International Energy Code (IEC) has been adopted by Connecticut. The only exception would be for single family homes which are still under the 2003 code with the 2005 and 2009 amendments, unless there is more than 50% glazed area which would then be subject to the 2009 model codes. These new energy codes are more aggressive in terms of energy efficiencies. Mr. Miga went on to say that the 2009 International Residential Code (IRC) has been forwarded to the Governor’s office for review, after which it will be sent through Regulation Review and eventually adopted through the Department of Construction Services. The Codes & Standards Subcommittee has also started the review of the 2012 body of codes.
In response to Mr. Goodfriend’s inquiry on residential sprinklers, Mr. Miga indicated that specific code has not yet been adopted as part of the 2009 IRC code, but probably will be for the 2012 code. A subcommittee was formed by the Codes & Standards Committee consisting of a variety of interested parties (i.e., building officials, contractors, fire marshals, etc.) specifically for review of the sprinkler codes. Later in the meeting, Mr. Miga explained to Mr. Warren that several groups have vested interests in the swift adoption of the sprinkler codes, including the National Fire Sprinkler Association, the National Fire Protection Association and other similar firefighter organizations. However, one of the reasons the code was delayed was in order to coordinate with water company purveyors in relation to the consistency of backflow prevention, as well as refining licensing requirements for the contractors who will be doing the work.
Mr. Miga noted that as Chairman of the Codes & Standards Committee he is drafting a letter to the International Code Council (ICC) emphasizing the stress that is being placed on local officials who are faced with personnel and budget constraints as they try to administer codes that become more and more complex.
In response to Mr. Dahlquist, Mr. Miga indicated that several types of permits, including roofing and electrical service permits, are being approved online in Simsbury as well as in many other towns across the State. He noted that current activity levels in the Building office have been very busy, going back up to and even exceeded the 2006-07 levels both in numbers of permits and inspections, as well as construction dollar values.
Mr. Miga confirmed for Mr. Warren that there has been a tendency for states to adopt the national codes with fewer amendments as an attempt to stay consistent moving forward especially as a means to maintain economic viability.
In Mr. Warren’s experience in an adjoining town, although there has been an increase in alarm calls there seems to be far fewer structure fire calls. He related this to the effectiveness of the various fire prevention efforts, such as programs and stricter construction details. Mr. Miga indicated this was consistent with the information he has seen as well, noting that decreases in smoking and increases in dryer safety and electrical code regulations have all contributed to the decrease in structure fire incidents. Along the same line, he noted that increased seismic and wind regulations as well as tighter enforcement have also resulted in saving lives.
Mr. Warren expressed appreciation for Mr. Miga, noting that there are no longer calls to the Building Code Board of Appeals on a routine basis. Mr. Miga indicated that appeals have decreased on the State level as well, which he attributed to education of all parties involved in the construction process as well the State’s help in resolving issues before they get to the appeal level.
In response to a short discussion regarding the requirement of the Board to meet, Mr. Miga noted that the Board could decide to meet on an ad hoc basis if the need arose.
VII. DATE FOR 2013 ANNUAL MEETING: TUESDAY, JUNE 18, 2013
Mr. Egan made a motion to accept the date of the next meeting as June 18, 2013. Mr. Goodfriend seconded the motion, which was unanimously approved.
VIII. ADJOURNMENT
Mr. Goodfriend made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 6:30 p.m. Mr. Warren seconded the motion, which was unanimously approved.
Recorded by:
Colleen Fenn