Nc Building Codes

Towns consider move to 'smart growth' models

In an effort to guide future growth, a number of local towns are redoing their building codes, streamlining development processes and using technology to make applications more efficient. Apex has launched an electronic plan review system, which allows developers to file their applications online and track changes and updates. Morrisville and Fuquay-Varina are trying to amend development laws to make it easier to build mixed-use communities. For developers, this means a smoother path from site plan submission to construction approval, and for property owners, these code changes could mean improved appearance and changes to property uses, town planning officials said. Towns had to move quickly during the housing and commercial boom years ago. Now during the economic lull, they are taking the time to make revisions to ensure growth and redevelopment reflects their vision. Developer Terry Poythress, of Poythress Homes Inc., works on projects in Apex and Morrisville. He said the towns' efforts to improve the development process were a good thing. One of the biggest issues he faces is inconsistency with requirements. "I think it's a move in the right direction," Poythress said of the changes. "It sounds like they are beginning to listen to developers." Apex has already started its initiative to improve customer service. Nine months ago, the town informally surveyed members of the building community for feedback, according to Apex spokeswoman Stacie Galloway. Forty-one percent said the town's development review time was faster than other municipalities and 28 percent said Apex was slower, according to the online survey results. The next step is a development workshop Thursday to answer construction contractors' questions about the new electronic plan review and talk about issues facing the development community. "We thought an open house-style workshop for the development community would be a great way to give folks the opportunity to meet with us in a low-key kind of environment, not tied to any specific project," Apex Planning Director Dianne Khin wrote in a statement. Future improvements planned for the development process include a dedicated page on the town's website where all development-related documents and links can be found, according to the town. Morrisville hired Clarion Associates, which has worked with Raleigh and Cary, to review their codes and application procedures to look for improvement areas.

Inaccuracies in your story | Huntersville Herald

There are three main points of error.

1) While the Davidson IB Middle School was originally constructed in 1948, to say “any repairs made to the building would force district officials to bring it up to current code” is incorrect.  Since 2002, the North Carolina Rehab Code has been available for use by Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools. Mecklenburg County’s Rehab Code Team went out of its way to explain its benefits to CMS staff when the code was first introduced.

The Rehab Code is an innovative approach to working on existing structures; it allows the owner’s Architectural/Engineering team to effectively manage the scope of code-required changes.  Work can range from simple repairs and renovations, to more sweeping alterations or even reconstruction (gut renovation), but in most cases, the requirements are less and far more cost effective than applying the new construction code to existing structures.

2) Accessibility issues at Davidson IB are no different than at any other comparable school that CMS has chosen not to renovate since the inception of North Carolina’s Accessibility Code in 1973, or the Americas with Disabilities Act in 1991.  If the school system had chosen to renovate the Davidson IB, the NC Accessibility Code requires allocating 20 percent of the cost of construction to upgrade the accessible path of travel, in a strategy proposed by the Architectural/Engineering team, typically based on a set of priorities outlined in the original ADA law.

3) To say “A loophole in state law allowed the building to pass its inspection” is incorrect.  In North Carolina, buildings constructed under one generation of the code are not required to automatically upgrade facilities to comply with a new generation of the code.  In other words, except for a limited set of requirements imposed specifically in the NC General Statutes, we generally do not have retroactive building codes in North Carolina.  So what you characterize as a “loophole” is no different than the law that exempts the residence you live in from complying with the 2009 NC Residential Code, even though it was likely constructed under a previous code.

– James N.