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12-14-2020 Building and Standards Commission Agenda with Associated Documents          MEETING AGENDA Building & Standards Commission December 14, 2020                                 HAL BALDWIN MUNICIPAL COMPLEX COUNCIL CHAMBERS 1400 SCHERTZ PARKWAY BUILDING #4 SCHERTZ, TEXAS 78154 CITY OF SCHERTZ CORE VALUES Do the right thing Do the best you can Treat others the way you want to be treated Work cooperatively as a team    AGENDA MONDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2020 at 6:00 p.m.        1.CALL TO ORDER      2.SEAT ALTERNATE TO ACT IF REQUIRED      3.HEARING OF RESIDENTS This time is set aside for any person who wishes to address the Building & Standards Commission. Each person should fill out the Speaker’s register prior to the meeting. Presentations should be limited to no more than three (3) minutes. Discussion by the Commission of any item not on the agenda shall be limited to statements of specific factual information given in response to any inquiry, a recitation of existing policy in response to an inquiry, and/or a proposal to place the item on a future agenda. The presiding officer, during the Hearing of Residents portion of the agenda, will call on those persons who have signed up to speak in the order they have registered.      4.PRESENTATION:     A.Presentation: Recognition of appreciation for Commission Members - B. Dennis        5.ACTION ITEMS:     A.Consideration and action on the minutes for the October 28, 2019 Regular Meeting.     6.WORKSHOP AND DISCUSSION      Building and Standards Commission                               December 14, 2020 Page 1 of 2     A.Workshop and discussion related to the update of the Schertz Code of Ordinances, Chapter 18 Building and Building Regulations and local amendments.     B.Workshop and discussion on the 2018 Fire Code Amendments   7.ADJOURNMENT OF THE REGULAR MEETING      CERTIFICATION I, Tiffany Danhof, Administrative Assistant, of the City of Schertz, Texas, do hereby certify that the above agenda was posted on the official bulletin boards on this the 11th day of December, 2020 at 5:00 p.m., which is a place readily accessible to the public at all times and that said notice was posted in accordance with chapter 551, Texas Government Code.  Tiffany Danhof, Administrative Assistant   I certify that the attached notice and agenda of items to be considered by the Building and Standards Commission was removed from the official bulletin board on _____day of _______________, 2020. _______________title:_____________ This facility is accessible in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Handicapped parking spaces are available. If you require special assistance or have a request for sign interpretative services or other services please call 619-1030 at least 24 hours in advance of meeting. The Building & Standards Commission for the City of Schertz reserves the right to adjourn into executive session at any time during the course of this meeting to discuss any of the matters listed above, as authorized by the Texas Open Meetings Act. Executive Sessions Authorized: This agenda has been reviewed and approved by the City’s legal counsel and presence of any subject in any Executive Session portion of the agenda constitutes a written interpretation of Texas Government Code Chapter 551 by legal counsel for the governmental body and constitutes an opinion by the attorney that the items discussed therein may be legally discussed in the closed portion of the meeting considering available opinions of a court of record and opinions of the Texas Attorney General known to the attorney. This provision has been added to this agenda with the intent to meet all elements necessary to satisfy Texas Government Code Chapter 551.144(c) and the meeting is conducted by all participants in reliance on this opinion. Building and Standards Commission                               December 14, 2020 Page 2 of 2     BUILDING AND STANDARDS COMMISSION MEETING: 12/14/2020 Agenda Item 5 A TO:Building and Standards Commission PREPARED BY:Tiffany Danhof, Executive Assistant SUBJECT:Consideration and action on the minutes for the October 28, 2019 Regular Meeting. Attachments Draft Minutes for the October 28, 2019 Regular Meeting D R A F T BUILDING AND STANDARDS COMMISSION MINUTES October 28, 2019 The Schertz Building and Standards Commission convened on October 28, 2019 at 6:00 p.m. at the Municipal Complex, Council Chambers, 1400 Schertz Parkway Building #4, Schertz, Texas. Present: Daniel 'Frenchy' Bourgeois, Chairman Commissioner; Glen Outlaw, Vice Chairman Commissioner; Patricia Cullum, Commissioner; Bruce Johnson, Commissioner; Matthew Wood, Commissioner Absent: Shawn Moore, Commissioner; Melissa Villarreal, Commissioner City Staff: Lesa Wood, Director of Planning & Community Development; Brian James, Assistant City Manager; Charles Kelm, Assistant City Manager; Emily Delgado, Planner; Gil Durant, Chief Building Official; Tiffany Danhof, Executive Assistant; Ronald Dalrymple, Plan Examiner; Debbie Krause, Permit Technician; Ashley Deasy, Development Specialist; Kade Long, Fire Chief              1.CALL TO ORDER Mrs. Delgado called the meeting to order at 6:00 P.M.   2.SEAT ALTERNATE TO ACT IF REQUIRED No Alternate seated.   3.ELECTION OF BUILDING AND STANDARDS COMMISSIONER CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR There was a brief discussion.    Motioned by Vice Chairman Commissioner Glen Outlaw, seconded by Commissioner Patricia Cullum to approve Building and Standards Commissioner Chair as Daniel 'Frenchy' Bourgeois and Vice Chair as Glen Outlaw  Vote: 5 - 0 Passed   4.HEARING OF RESIDENTS 4.HEARING OF RESIDENTS This time is set aside for any person who wishes to address the Building & Standards Commission. Each person should fill out the Speaker’s register prior to the meeting. Presentations should be limited to no more than three (3) minutes. Discussion by the Commission of any item not on the agenda shall be limited to statements of specific factual information given in response to any inquiry, a recitation of existing policy in response to an inquiry, and/or a proposal to place the item on a future agenda. The presiding officer, during the Hearing of Residents portion of the agenda, will call on those persons who have signed up to speak in the order they have registered. There were no residents who spoke.   5.ACTION ITEMS:   A.Consider and make a recommendation to City Council regarding the Building and Standards Commission Bylaws. There was a brief discussion.       Motioned by Chairman Commissioner Daniel 'Frenchy' Bourgeois, seconded by Commissioner Patricia Cullum to approve the Building and Standards Commission Bylaws  Vote: 5 - 0 Passed   B.Minutes for the August 26, 2019 regular meeting. There was no discussion.       Motioned by Vice Chairman Commissioner Glen Outlaw, seconded by Commissioner Bruce Johnson to approve minutes for the August 26, 2019 regular meeting  Vote: 5 - 0 Passed   6.ADJOURNMENT OF THE REGULAR MEETING Chairman Mr. Daniel 'Frenchy' Bourgeois adjourned the regular meeting at 6:15 P.M.   ____________________________________ Chairman, Building and Standards Commission ______________________________ Recording Secretary, City of Schertz BUILDING AND STANDARDS COMMISSION MEETING: 12/14/2020 Agenda Item 6 A TO:Building and Standards Commission PREPARED BY:Gil Durant, Chief Building Official SUBJECT:Workshop and discussion related to the update of the Schertz Code of Ordinances, Chapter 18 Building and Building Regulations and local amendments. BACKGROUND The City of Schertz Planning and Community Development Department – Inspections Division has determined a need to amend the City’s adopted building codes regarding sanitation, fire, building, plumbing, mechanical, fuel/gas and electrical requirements. On December 8, 2020 staff received feedback and direction from City Council from a policy standpoint. At the consensus of City Council Inspections staff will be amending the City’s local amendments to provide less oversight and use the minimum standards set forth by the 2019 International Building Code series of books. The purpose of the building code is to establish the minimum requirements to provide a reasonable level of safety, public health and general welfare through structural strength, means of egress facilities, stability, sanitation, adequate light and ventilation, energy conservation, and safety to life and property from fire, explosion and other hazards, and to provide a reasonable level of safety to firefighters and emergency responders during emergency operations. When adopting new or amended International Building Codes cities generally adopt some local amendments. Local amendments are adopted to mitigate regional climate (i.e weathering), environmental conditions (i.e. wind, flooding, wildfire, etc.), geological, topographic and natural hazards. Some of those amendments are part of the building appendix written by the International Code Council for municipalities to adopt new construction practices or trending construction and some are local and base on industry professional recommendations. Municipalities adopt new building codes because of industry standard changes and to provide for implementation of new construction practices and improvements in safety standards for the safety and welfare of the community. The codes are also intended to ensure the proper construction of structures built and to follow compliance with the requirements of the Insurance Service Office Inc. (ISO) which regulates estimated insurance costs. The ISO program evaluates a community’s building code enforcement with the intent to encourage code compliant construction ultimately providing discounts on property insurance within municipalities with effective codes adopted and that are well-enforced. City staff holds monthly contractors’ meetings (a short hiatus during COVID) to discuss construction practices and gain input from the development/construction community. Homebuilders, Electricians, Plumbers, Mechanical Contractors, Greater San Antonio Builder Association, and other Professional Individuals have provided input on codes that they feel need to be amended through these meetings. Staff is prepared to propose those requested changes. The City of Schertz Code of Ordinances, Chapter 18 includes mandates that provide for future code adoptions which are consistent with the standards adopted by the State of Texas. The State of Texas does allow for municipalities to adopt local amendments to those mandated standards. The following codes are currently being regulated through those mandates: National Electrical Code 2020 – enforcement started November 1, 2020 as mandated by the State of Texas. 1. International Energy Conservation Code 2015 as mandated by the State of Texas.2. International Swimming Pool and Spa Code 2018 (ISPSC) as mandated by the State of Texas.3. The City currently regulates construction under the 2012 ICC Codes and will be requesting to adopt the 2018 ICC Codes with some local amendments as listed below: International Building Code (IBC) 20181. International Residential Code for One and Two Family Dwellings (IRC) 20182. International Fuel Gas Code (IFGC) 20183. International Mechanical Code (IMC) 20184. International Plumbing Code (IPC) 20185. International Existing Buildings Code (IEBC) 20186. Manual of Cross Connection Control, Tenth edition 7. Staff has been reviewing the adopted local amendments and is preparing modifications to provide less oversight in certain areas, reduce overall cost to the contractor and property owner and gain efficiency for department staff for example: Foundation documents: The City adopted additional foundation regulation several years ago which included 10 documents of which many require a register engineer to prepare. These regulations are local amendments and not required by the International Building Code. Staff would like to propose that Council consider only requiring 3 of those documents to release a residential Certificate of Occupancy. This will benefit both the contractor, homeowner, and City by reducing the cost of project as each letter could cost the contractor as much as $400 for preparation cost, save time in the contractor’s project management and reduce staff time collecting reviewing and managing the documents which will allow staff to work with residents and contractors on other construction projects. 1. Contractors registration: The City requires that contractors show proof by providing a copy of their general liability insurance in the amount of $300,000.00 for all contractors. All trades that are regulated by the State of Texas such as Electricians, Plumbers, Air Conditioning Contractors and state regulated licensed contractors are required to submit insurance to the State of Texas. The State of Texas through the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, the Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality control the amount of insurance required per trade and this amount is subject to change. Contractors not maintaining minimum insurance requirements are not allowed to work in the State of Texas and are subject to fines and penalties. Staff would like to propose to continue to license and require insurance for General Contractors (builders, etc.) only, as they are not state regulated, but not any State Licensed contractor. The State of Texas provides guidelines and timeframes for contractors to provide insurance information to anyone wanting to file a claim against a licensed company. The benefits will include a time savings for both the contractor, insurance company and the City which will result in the contractor submitting less paperwork, insurance company has one less place to submit documents which holds up permitting when staff has to wait on the certificate being submitted and staff managing and tracking the insurance certificates. 2. Staff is prepared to remove some of the local amendments because the code books have caught up to our adopted local amendments and other to follow the minimum code standards set forth in the ICC Code books for example removing three amendments related to Bathroom Branch Circuits, Minimum Ampacity and size, and Dwelling Unit receptacle outlet requirements are just a few. Additionally, Staff is preparing to add a permit exemption for Pergolas, Arbors and Trellis structures 3. Additionally, Staff is preparing to add a permit exemption for Pergolas, Arbors and Trellis structures less that 300 square foot in size. The public input meetings moving forward will include: December 2020 – Workshops with City Council and Building and Standards Commission January 2021 - Stakeholder meetings (Contractors, Builders, GSABA); Building and Standards Commission for in-depth presentation. February 2021 - Stakeholder meetings (Contractors, Builders, GSABA); Building and Standards Commission for recommendation March 2021 – City Council presentations. BUILDING AND STANDARDS COMMISSION MEETING: 12/14/2020 Agenda Item 6 B TO:Building and Standards Commission PREPARED BY:Kade Long, Fire Chief SUBJECT:Workshop and discussion on the 2018 Fire Code Amendments BACKGROUND The City of Schertz Fire Department – Prevention Division has determined a need to amend the City’s adopted fire codes regarding, fire, building, mechanical, fuel/gas and electrical requirements and would like to get feedback and direction from City Council from a policy standpoint before moving forward with recommendations to the Building and Standards Commission and eventually City Council. The purpose of the fire code is to establish the minimum requirements to provide a reasonable level of safety, public health and general welfare through structural strength, means of egress facilities, stability, sanitation, adequate light and ventilation, energy conservation, and safety to life and property from fire, explosion and other hazards, and to provide a reasonable level of safety to firefighters and emergency responders during emergency operations. When adopting new or amended International Fire Codes cities generally adopt some local amendments. Local amendments are adopted to mitigate regional climate (i.e. weathering), environmental conditions (i.e., wind, flooding, wildfire, etc.), geological, topographic, and natural hazards. Some of those amendments are part of the appendix written by the International Code Council for municipalities to adopt new construction practices or trending construction and some are local and base on industry professional recommendations. Municipalities adopt new fire codes because of industry standard changes and to provide for implementation of new construction practices and improvements in safety standards for the safety and welfare of the community. The codes are also intended to ensure the proper construction of structures built and to follow compliance with the requirements of the Insurance Service Office Inc. (ISO) which regulates estimated insurance costs. The ISO program evaluates a community’s code enforcement with the intent to encourage code compliant construction ultimately providing discounts on property insurance within municipalities with effective codes adopted and that are well-enforced. Staff has been reviewing the adopted local amendments and is preparing modifications to provide less oversight in certain areas, to reduce overall cost to the contractor and property owner and to gain efficiency for fire department.