Local builders urge council to reject mandatory stretch code during first reading

Item I-11 — a first reading of an ordinance adopting the 2024 International Code Council codes with proposed local amendments — drew multiple builders and contractor testimonies during public comment. Cort Earhart, president of Earhart Construction, told the council he and other local builders conducted energy-rater analyses and cited an example with an estimated incremental cost of $21,612.86 under a prescriptive stretch-code approach. "The cost for these changes... I was $21,612.86," Earhart said, arguing that the annual energy-dollar savings would not justify the upfront increase.

Chad Meese, vice president of the Northern Illinois Home Builders Association, echoed the concern that mandatory adoption would raise construction costs, add paperwork and inspection burdens, and reduce feasibility for marginal developments. Builders urged staff and council to continue stakeholder consultation and to treat the stretch code as an option rather than a mandatory requirement. The item was heard as a first reading; council members indicated the ordinance will be returned for further consideration at the Feb. 17 meeting.