Building official: codes, not a single height cap, govern tall or large structures

At the April 14 meeting, Natrona County Building Official Brad Morrison explained how the county applies model building codes to determine height and safety requirements for dwellings and other structures.

Morrison said the International Residential Code (IRC) covers typical one- and two-family dwellings up to three levels and that structures exceeding those limits fall under the International Building Code (IBC), which centers on life-safety standards rather than a simple numeric height cap. "The international building code technically doesn't have any restrictions," Morrison said. "There's strict rules to follow once you get so many stories on...but, essentially, the IBC allows whatever you wanna do as long as you're meeting those requirements."

He noted that sprinkler requirements and access to water make tall or multistory commercial buildings difficult to build in unincorporated areas where water infrastructure and fire protection are limited, which in practice limits large warehousing outside incorporated towns. Commissioners used that explanation to frame a distinction between allowing personal outbuildings on rural lots and permitting commercial warehousing that would trigger different code and infrastructure demands.