House Bill 409 which amends Pennsylvania’s Uniform Construction Code Act, was signed into law by the Governor at the end of October. The amendments will allow the state to adopt all or portions of the 2015 International Codes next year as determined by the Review and Advisory Council (RAC). The RAC reviews and votes on each of the triennial building code updates in order to insure a uniform statewide code. This process is what allows state to maintain a uniform set of codes by requiring representatives from across the commonwealth to agree on a uniform set of regulations. The City of Philadelphia pushed for an amendment to allow Philadelphia to adopt the 2018 IBC for commercial construction. Commercial construction also includes multifamily development.
One of the most important parts of the adoption process is the period for input from stakeholders. The city needs our industry to review these codes and provide feedback about challenges, or support for the new regulations. They have set up a website to solicit feedback. Please take the time to review this document, and compare it to the current codes that you are working with.
You can view the codes on the ICC’s website. They also allow you to purchase your own copies.
Please feel free to reach out to us as you work through reviewing, and submitting comments to the city. It is very important that you complete your review by the end of the year. GBCA will also begin working with the City to coordinate workshops and informational sessions on these changes early next year. However, your initial feedback is needed to help steer the conversations that will take place before then. It will also help to alert the City to any problematic areas that need to be addressed.
If you have any questions or comments, please contact GBCA Director of Industry Relations, Lance Claiborne at lclaiborne@64.207.152.120.
