Thursday, February 09, 2012
 
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State backdoor plan gives builders and buyers in Logan County building code options

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[February 09, 2012]  In December 2009, local builder Keith Hasprey and real estate agent Sonnie Alexander ran into a problem trying to sell a new home. They had a buyer. However, new rules in a government loan program required a certificate of occupancy on the new construction.

HardwareAt the time Alexander said there were a couple of loan programs that had added the requirement and the trend was expected to continue.

To provide a certificate of occupancy would have required inspections during the building process, and the inspections would have been conducted by professionals, measuring against various adopted codes.

That hadn't happened, and couldn't with an already completed home. A one-time temporary solution was devised for the certificate, and the sale went through.

Since the certificate of occupancy need, and even before that time, the planning and zoning committee has continued to look at building code options for the county.

At present, Logan County has no building codes.

The process requires more than adopting a set codes for construction specs, such as for plumbing, heating and cooling, electrical, and in some cases, energy-efficiency measures such as insulation. It would require an ordinance that would include permitting processes, multiple professionals to do various and timed inspections, a fee structure, as well as enforcement measures.

When Logan County's planning and zoning committee met this month, zoning officer Will D'Andrea presented a document that might be good news.

The Illinois Capital Development Board's Division of Building Codes and Regulations developed a statute, the Residential Building Code Act (815 ILCS 670), which came out in 2005.

D'Andrea told the committee, "They passed language that essentially creates a de facto Illinois Residential Building Code."

He explained how a home could be built to code without the county adopting building codes: "A builder building in an unincorporated area that does not have a building code enters into an agreement with the person buying the house, that they will construct to a building code, and they are to define according to the agreement what that building code is."

D'Andrea referred to this statute as a "state back door," for unincorporated areas that don't have building codes.

The statute begins with a few definitions, and then it explains when, where and how it can be used by agreement between the builder and buyer.

Briefly it says:

  • New residential construction means any original construction. The committee and D'Andrea interpreted that this likely meant a new home, not an addition to a home.

  • This statute applies to single- or two-family residential structures.

  • The contractor is an individual, corporation or partnership that expects to earn a profit.

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It also explains that it applies to any Illinois location, incorporated or unincorporated, that does not have a building code.

It further allows that the builder and contractor can agree to any municipal or county building code in effect at the start of construction that is within 100 miles of the location of the new home.

In the absence of a residential building code, by default:

  • Plumbing would be performed to code under the Illinois Department of Public Health, Section 35.

  • Electrical work would conform to the National Electric Code, and construction would be performed under the International Residential Code.

D'Andrea further explained that under this statute, this would be a private agreement that the county would not get involved in. The county would not enforce the building code.

It would be a contractual agreement that would somehow fall to the state to enforce, but he did not know how the state would carry that out.

Jan Schumacher questioned: "So, it's really incumbent on the buyer or the builder to know about this?"

D'Andrea said, "Right, it seems so."

Currently, to build in Logan County, a permit is required. That involves the zoning officer reviewing the property zoning; checking to make sure the proposed use is either a permitted, accessory or conditional use; checking for setback and height compliance; confirming that the property is not in a flood plain; coordinating with the health department on septic permitting for a new house; reviewing floor plan of a new house; issuing driveway permit for new driveways; and managing the zoning board of appeals process for properties needing variance, conditional use or special use.

The state statute presented may be the solution the committee has been trying to find for a couple of years.

Planning and zoning chairman David Hepler appreciated D'Andrea's research. "At least it's something, in case we have a situation like we had a year or two ago," Hepler said.

___

See a copy below of the statute as it is written:

[By JAN YOUNGQUIST]

Past related article


BUSINESS TRANSACTIONS
(815 ILCS 670/) Illinois Residential Building Code Act.

(8151LCS 670/1)

Sec. 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Illinois Residential Building Code Act. (Source: P.A. 93-778, eff. 1-1-05.)

(815 ILCS 670/5)

Sec. 5. Purpose. The purpose of this Act is to provide minimum requirements for safety and to safeguard property and the public welfare by regulating and controlling the design, construction, installation, and quality of materials of new residential construction as regulated by this Act.
(Source: P.A. 93-778, eff. 1-1-05.)

(815 ILCS 670/10)

Sec. 10. Definitions. In this Act:

"International Residential Code" means the International Residential Code for One and Two Family Dwellings published by the International Code Council, as now or hereafter amended by the Council.

"New residential construction" means any original construction of a single-family home or a dwelling containing 2 or fewer apartments, condominiums, or town houses.

"Residential building code" means an ordinance, resolution, law, housing or building code, or zoning ordinance that establishes, for residential building contractors, construction-related activities applicable to single-family or 2-family residential structures.

"Residential building contractor" means any individual, corporation, or partnership that constructs a fixed building or structure for sale or use by another as a residence or that, for a price, commission, fee, wage, or other compensation, undertakes or offers to undertake the construction of any building or structure to be used by another as a residence, if the individual, corporation, or partnership reasonably expects to earn a financial profit from that activity.
(Source: P.A. 93-778, eff. 1-1-05.)

(815 ILCS 670/15)

Sec. 15. Adoption of building code. A contract to build a home (1) in any municipality in this State that does not have a residential building code in effect or (2) in any portion of a county that is not located within a municipality and does not have a residential building code in effect must adopt as part of the construction contract the applicability of a residential building code that is agreed to by the home builder and the home purchaser as provided in this Section. The home builder and the home purchaser may agree to adopt any municipal residential building code or county residential building code that is in effect on the first day of construction in any county or municipality that is within 100 miles of the location of the new home. If the home builder and the home purchaser fail to agree to a residential building code or if no residential building code is stated in the contract, the plumbing code promulgated by the Illinois Department of Public Health under Section 35 of the Illinois Plumbing License Law, the National Electric Code as adopted by the American National Standards Institute, and the International Residential Code shall, by law, be adopted as part of the construction contract.
(Source: P.A. 93-778, eff. 1-1-05.)

(815 ILCS 670/20)

Sec. 20. Homes constructed for resale. If a builder constructs a home for resale, the builder must certify to the buyer that the builder has constructed the home in compliance with a code authorized under Section 15 and must identify that code.
(Source: P.A. 93-778, eff. 1-1-05.)

(815 ILCS 670/99)

Sec. 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect January 1, 2005.
(Source: P.A. 93-778, eff. 1-1-05.)

[Copy from statute]

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