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10/16/2005: "BOCC Requested To Adopt New Bld Code"

Nina Pellar Le Baron addresses BOCC during Citizen Access Time

Two citizens have used the BOCC Citizens Access Time to lodge a complaint, and a request, that the County adopt the building code that is being used by the county CD&PD (Community Development & Planning Department) to conduct building plan reviews and construction inspections. Nina Pellar Le Baron, a local architect, and Steve Belluomini, a home owner who wishes to build a barn, appeared before the BOCC to plead their separate and unrelated projects that are being impacted by the failure of the BOCC to act in adopting the code.

The code in question is the IBC (International Building Code), which is the new replacement for the old stand-by UBC (Uniform Building Code) that has for years been the adopted code of choice in the country for most of the western states. The new IBC was introduced and ready for adoption in July of 2004, and while it is was adopted by the State of Washington, and by the Town of Friday Harbor, the County has never got around to adopting it, or the appendices that would allow the County to address the sort of issues raised by Le Baron and Belluomini. But there are other issues as well. The County has a number of policies and permit exemptions that are now in conflict with the IBC if the appendices are not adopted.

According to Le Baron, a local architect, the failure of the BOCC to adopt the code is causing a "hardship for those of us that live in the County, to not have the current IBC (International Building Code) adopted by the County Commissioners. Le Baron gave the BOCC an example of the problem: " under the current code (UBC), if one wanted to build a 2 story barn on a vacant lot, it has to be totally sheet-rocked inside ( this is to provide a one hour fire rating). Now if any body has any good sense when it comes to barns, sheet-rocking the interior is a huge expense and it tends to mold and mildew in ‘Un-heated spaces'". Le Baron explained to The Guardian that "All this has been rectified in the New ICB Code, but the Head of the Permit Center, Matt Zybas, does not think that is an important enough concern to push for the adoption of this most up to date code."

Mr. Zybas inherited the problem when he took over as the interim director of the department, and told The Guardian that his department is understaffed and simply does not have time to schedule a public hearing the BOCC is required to hold to adopt the new code.

In the past the BOCC has scheduled public hearings to adopt each new edition of the old UBC as soon as it was adopted by the state. The hearings were simple administrative "house cleaning" and lasted only a few minutes, or longer, if a member of the public presented testimony in support or against the adoption.

Le Baron said that she had "met one lady at the BOCC Hearing in which I presented my case and she said that she is suing the County to adopt this new code, because otherwise she is being forced out of business with the cost to comply with the current code". Because Le Baron and Belluomini presented their comments during citizen's access time, the BOCC did not take action under their standing rules on access time. It is not known if there will be a follow up by the BOCC on the request for the adoption of the IBC.