Saline County amends interlocal agreement to explicitly adopt international fire and energy codes; commissioners approve related zoning/code update

Saline County commissioners on Tuesday approved two related measures to bring county commercial permitting into closer alignment with city building-code practice and to document that alignment in county rules and the interlocal agreement with the City of Salina.

The board unanimously approved an amendment to county code language to reference the International Fire Code (IFC) and the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) for commercial and industrial permit review and separately approved an amendment to the interlocal agreement with the City of Salina that adds the same codes to the set of standards the city will review on behalf of the county.

Why it matters: County staff and city officials said the changes largely formalize how the city has been performing plan review and inspections for commercial projects in unincorporated Saline County. Commissioners were told the change does not add new review requirements for applicants and has no county budget impact; review fees remain the city27s to assess under its fee schedule.

County building official Tim Hamilton described the update as an administrative clarification. "This amendment would also include wording which would allow for enforcement of any other supplemental codes, cited in either the adopted building codes or referenced in the zoning regulations," Hamilton said during the discussion. He told the commission the proposal followed a zoning regulation update and staff coordination with city counterparts.

Sean Holman, Salina27s building official, said the city and county had effectively been reviewing adopted city building codes, including the fire and energy codes, for some time and that the amendment simply makes the practice explicit. "We engaged Mister Hamilton . . . to make explicit in that interlocal agreement what we've already been doing for a very, very long time," Holman said, adding that the International Building Code (IBC) and International Fire Code share language and cross-reference technical chapters such as sprinkling requirements.

The discussion included questions about newer technologies, notably battery-energy-storage systems. Holman and the city fire marshal said the currently adopted code cycle does not explicitly cover some battery-storage occupancies but that newer IBC/IFC editions (2021 and later) do address them more directly. Holman recommended considering a local amendment tied to the next code cycle so the county and city can adopt more explicit local requirements and training in advance of any such projects.

Holman said training would follow any formal code adoption or local amendment. "In any time there are any new items in code, that's why we review those with every code adoption, every local amendment adoption, and we prep internally and also seek training externally," he said, noting local and statewide training resources such as the Fire Marshals Association of Kansas.

Board action and background: Commissioners approved the zoning/code amendment (listed on the agenda as RFA 2025-31, adopting Amendment 4 to Resolution 883) and later approved the interlocal agreement amendment (RFA 2025-30). County staff told the commission the existing interlocal agreement dated to 1988 and was last reviewed in 2002; the city commission had already approved the corresponding language on the city side.

What27s next: Staff said there is no immediate budgetary impact to the county; costs for commercial plan review and inspection remain part of the city27s fee schedule and are payable by applicants. County staff said they plan to monitor the forthcoming 2018/2021/2024 code cycles and consider a local amendment if needed for battery storage occupancies.

Votes at a glance: The board gave unanimous approval to both items during Tuesday27s meeting.