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City staff proposes adoption of 2024 International Code cycle for building, plumbing, mechanical and residential codes
Summary
Building services staff recommended adopting the 2024 International Code cycle (with NEC 2023) to keep the city within the 7-year cycle required by the State Fire Marshal; staff proposed a January 1, 2026 effective date and contractor training sessions for significant changes.
The city’s Building Services staff presented a package of 10 code-update ordinances to adopt the 2024 International Code Council cycle, including the International Building Code, Residential Code for one- and two-family dwellings, International Plumbing, Mechanical, Fuel Gas, Energy Conservation, Property Maintenance, Swimming Pool & Spa, Existing Building Code, and adoption of the 2023 National Electrical Code (NEC 70). Rodney Prince, assistant director of Building Services, and Randy Tosh, building official, described the statutory requirement to stay within seven years of the latest code publication and recommended an effective date of Jan. 1, 2026.
Prince reviewed the two-step process used nationally to produce the codes and noted that codes are updated to reflect new technology and safety research. He said the city is currently on the 2018 cycle and moving to the 2024 code with NEC 2023 will satisfy the State Fire Marshal requirement. "We are required by Tennessee code annotated to stay within 7 years of the most recent published adoption of the code," Prince said.
Staff described outreach and training planned for contractors and developers, including a three‑week series of classes (three consecutive Tuesday mornings) covering the significant changes and impacts for building, residential and electrical code components. The building department noted that they had completed an internal comparison of the most significant changes between the 2018 and 2024 cycles.
Board members raised affordability questions and the general trade-offs between improved safety/updated standards and higher construction costs. Staff said the international codes represent baseline minimums and some municipalities elect to be more restrictive, but the state sets the minimum requirements through the fire marshal. Staff also noted the city had undergone a recent state audit and that maintaining minimum standards is important for safety and compliance.
