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Council hears study session on adopting 2024 International Building Codes; staff to convene stakeholders
Summary
Staff proposed moving from the 2018 codes to the 2024 International Code Council cycle with local amendments; the town will hold stakeholder outreach in October and review cost and community impacts before returning with ordinance language.
Town staff presented a study-session overview on Sept. 8 about adopting the 2024 International Building Codes and related local amendments. The town currently uses the 2018 codes; staff said jurisdictions commonly adopt on an every-other-cycle schedule because implementation costs can be significant.
The proposed adoption package would include the 2024 editions of the International Building Code, Residential Code, Plumbing, Mechanical, Fuel Gas, Fire Code, swimming pool code and the International Property Maintenance Code; the National Electrical Code (2023) was noted separately. Staff said they plan to continue the 2018 energy code for now to match neighboring jurisdictions (Pima County, Oro Valley) and to allow more time to study cost impacts for builders and buyers.
Staff outlined a public process: internal staff review of code changes, an October stakeholder meeting with local builders (SABA), an alternate virtual meeting, review by the building code board of appeals, a deeper council study session and then ordinance drafting and legal review. Staff emphasized that the town intends to leverage Pima County and City of Tucson amendments as a starting point to avoid redoing work those jurisdictions have already completed.
Council members asked about the property‑maintenance code and potential cost impacts on housing. Staff said code amendments can be localized and that not every ICC adoption must be accepted verbatim; amendments are intended to reflect local conditions. Staff also committed to ask builders and stakeholders for cost estimates tied to specific code changes to quantify the financial impact before adoption.
Staff’s next steps are stakeholder outreach on Oct. 1 (in-person) and a follow-up virtual session; the board of appeals will review proposed amendments before the council receives ordinance language for consideration, staff said.
