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Seguin adopts 2021 building codes, moves to 2023 NEC to protect insurance rating and public safety
Summary
The council approved adopting the 2021 International Code Council model codes and the 2023 National Electrical Code to keep the city’s inspection and insurance ratings current and to align local building standards with industry practice.
The Seguin City Council voted to adopt the 2021 International Code Council building codes and the 2023 National Electrical Code on Tuesday to keep the city’s permitting and inspection regime current and to preserve favorable ratings from the Insurance Services Office (ISO).
City staff said adopting current model codes helps maintain insurance scoring that affects residents’ and businesses’ premiums. A building official identified the energy-code updates as a prominent recent change that will require third-party compliance checks for some energy-code elements.
Oscar (building official) told the council that cities must keep codes reasonably up to date to preserve ISO ratings and that staffing and inspector credentials are also elements ISO evaluates. The staff presentation explained that smaller cities such as Seguin typically use third-party specialists for energy-code verification because the city does not maintain an inspector corps large enough to perform those specialized checks.
Council took a motion, then voted in favor. Staff said contractors and the building community had been engaged during the review and that the proposed adoption would also help standardize expectations for architects, builders and engineers.
The action directs staff to prepare the ordinance language and submit it for codification into the city’s Code of Ordinances.
