Escanaba City Council on Aug. 7 adopted Ordinance 1312 to adopt by reference the 2024 International Property Maintenance Code, replacing the older BOCA regional code the city had been following. Staff said the BOCA code used by the city dated to a 1996 regional standard and was increasingly difficult to apply because construction methods and building systems have changed.

Administration and public-safety staff told the council the IPMC is widely used, coordinates with other current codes, and is easier to maintain through updates than the older regional code. Staff answered no substantive questions at the public hearing and the ordinance passed on second reading.

Adoption of the IPMC is intended to provide clearer, modernized maintenance and habitability standards for rental properties and commercial buildings and should reduce the need for ad hoc code revisions going forward.