 At 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.
[to top of second column]
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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] |
