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Lancaster County adopts 2021 building codes and updates mechanical, electrical fees
Summary
After a public hearing, the Lancaster County Board of Commissioners unanimously adopted the 2021 model building codes and an updated electrical and mechanical fee schedule, formalizing codes the county says it has already been applying under an interlocal agreement with the City of Lincoln.
The Lancaster County Board of Commissioners on June 16 unanimously adopted a package of updated building codes and an associated update to mechanical and electrical permit fees.
David Carey, director of the county Planning and Development Services Department, told commissioners the action formalizes an existing practice under an interlocal agreement with the City of Lincoln: "These codes...have been adopted by the city. So, just to be clear about that," Carey said, "we on the county side...have adopted these codes." Carey said field inspections and permitting have already been using the 2021 codes and the county is recording the adoption to make it "very clear" in county records.
The package includes the 2021 International Residential Code, 2021 International Building Code, 2021 International Existing Building Code, 2021 International Mechanical Code, 2021 International Fuel Gas Code, the Uniform Plumbing Code, the 2023 National Electrical Code, and the 2018 International Energy Code. Carey also presented a separate resolution adopting updated mechanical and electrical fee schedules; he said the changes were delayed while the county migrated its Accela permitting system and in some cases the fees were reduced to better match inspection and plan-review workloads.
Commissioners asked whether contractors or permit applicants would see changes; Carey replied that "they will not see anything different" because those codes have already been applied in practice. Commissioner Matt Schultz said the county's role is to protect public safety while allowing reasonable growth and praised the task‑force review process that included local trade professionals.
The board voted by roll call to adopt the codes and then to approve the updated fee schedules. Both motions passed unanimously.
The action places the codes and the clarified fee schedule into county policy; Carey said the fee updates and code adoptions are intended to better align fees with the actual inspection and plan-review work done by county staff.
