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Odessa building official urges adoption of 2024 ICC codes and 2023 NEC to stay current with safety and grants
Summary
The city’s building official recommended adopting the 2024 International Code Council codes and updating the National Electric Code to the 2023 edition, citing life‑safety benefits, insurance (ISO) ratings and alignment with sister cities; council signaled support and asked to automate future code updates.
City building official Gary recommended that the City of Odessa adopt the 2024 International Code Council (ICC) suite and update the National Electric Code to the 2023 edition during the Dec. 9 workshop.
Gary told council that codes set minimum life‑safety standards, can reduce long‑term construction costs by allowing newer technologies, and help maintain desirable ISO insurance ratings and eligibility for certain federal grant programs. He proposed a six‑month grace period for builders to adjust to the new standards and suggested the council consider a policy to follow the state’s three‑year code adoption cycle automatically to avoid repetitive council actions.
Council members asked whether local amendments would remain in place; Gary said Odessa’s local amendments are aligned with nearby Midland and do not undermine state law. The fire marshal already had adopted a more recent edition of the fire code, Gary said, and training and certification for staff would continue annually.
Council signaled support for moving forward with the update and for written options that would allow automatic future updates, but the transcript records this as a presentation and discussion at a work session rather than a final ordinance vote.
What’s next: staff to prepare formal adoption language and options for automatic future updates, and to outline outreach to contractors and a transition timeline.
