Larimer County officials announced on Sept. 22 that Chris Allison, a former Longmont building official and current plans examiner in the county department, will serve as interim building official beginning next week while the county recruits a permanent replacement. Rebecca Everett, Community Development Director, introduced Allison and said the hire will help "bridge some of that till the dust settles" during the transition.

County commissioners also discussed the adoption of the statewide 2024 building codes, which appear on the county's land-use hearing agenda. Staff reported unanimous support from the Planning Commission and the Board of Appeals and recommended moving the item from discussion to consent. Commissioners agreed to place the code adoption on the consent agenda to conserve meeting time.

Details of the transition and codes

- Interim appointment: Chris Allison will assume interim responsibilities next week; staff characterized him as having decades of building and plans-review experience and experience as the former City of Longmont building official. Allison told commissioners he has worked in plan review and building departments for roughly 20 years and offered to help keep operations steady during the recruitment process.

- 2024 building codes: Staff described little organized public opposition to the package. The primary points of internal discussion have been the wildfire-resiliency rules and the state-mandated energy provisions. Staff said the state's mandatory electric-readiness requirement had drawn concerns about cost but is not discretionary; Planning Commission and Board of Appeals recommended adoption. One staff member noted that home-builder research suggests the 2024 energy code will save money in this district because of different insulation and compliance flexibilities.

Next steps: With commissioners'consensus to move the code adoption to consent, staff will proceed to place the 2024 building-code package on the consent agenda at the next hearing. The county will continue internal work on wildfire-rule implementation and an administrative process for property-level exceptions or demonstrations where appropriate.