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Staff outlines plan to adopt 2024 I‑Code series; committee hears implementation timeline and impacts
Summary
Staff presented an informational review of proposed adoption of the 2024 International Code Council series and related reference standards, explaining the rationale (maintain ISO rating, update from 2015 codes), timeline (red lines posted; Committee of the Whole expected in late summer; target consolidated effective date 2026‑01‑01) and operational impacts such as inspection staffing, thresholds for sprinklers, and public engagement; no action taken.
City development staff presented an informational briefing on June 25 about a proposed ordinance to amend Chapter 12 of the Aurora Code of Ordinances to adopt the 2024 International Code Council (I‑Code) series and related reference standards.
Josh Ream, director of development services, and John Curley, chief development services officer, said the proposal would move the city from the 2015 code series to the 2024 series (including the 2023 Electrical Code and other referenced standards) to reflect modern building technologies and practices, to reduce developer friction across jurisdictions, and to preserve the city’s ISO insurance rating (staff reported Aurora’s ISO rating as a 2). Staff described a deliberate review process comparing changes in the 2018, 2021 and 2024 cycles and said red‑line drafts showing additions and deletions have been posted for Committee of the Whole review.
Staff emphasized that some codes are set at the state level (for example plumbing and the recently released 2024 Illinois energy code) and therefore are not locally modifiable. Because energy code changes have broader long‑term cost and sustainability implications, staff proposed separating the energy‑code decisions (including a potential ‘stretch’ option) from life‑safety code adoption so the council can consider the two issues on different schedules.
Staff described operational impacts and clarifications: the department reported roughly 13 inspectors on staff, a high level of ICC certifications among staff, and an average inspector workload reported around 12–14 inspections per day (citywide daily inspections noted as roughly 100–115). Staff also highlighted the International Existing Building Code (IEBC) performance‑method tools that allow trade‑off solutions for rehabilitating older buildings (for example, additional separation or mandatory alarms in lieu of full sprinklering where appropriate), and noted a change being proposed in the new construction sprinkler threshold from about 12,000 square feet to 5,000 square feet in some code sections (staff said this aligns with the standard threshold and explained case‑by‑case application to restaurants and other uses).
Committee members raised questions about how the new codes would apply to projects already in review, and staff clarified that the point‑in‑time application standard will lock a project to the code in effect at the time of application review (applicants in review will not be required to change mid‑review). Staff said the goal is to present consolidated adoption in Committee of the Whole in late summer (August or September) with an implementation target of January 1, 2026 for the consolidated code, pending Committee of the Whole and city council action. Because this session was informational, no committee vote was taken.
