HomeMy WebLinkAbout04/21/2008 - Adoption Of International Building Code With Amendments - Air Quality Advisory Board
Natural Resources Department
200 W. Mountain
PO Box 580
Fort Collins, CO 80522-0580
970.221.6600
FAX 970.224.6177
fcgov.com
M E M O R A N D U M
Date: 21 April 2008
To: Mayor Hutchinson and City Council members
From: Air Quality Advisory Board
Subject: Building Code revision
Members of the Air Quality Advisory Board have considered the proposed adoption of the
International Building Code with local amendments, and we recommend unanimously that the
City Council adopt the proposed ordinance on first reading.
The Board focused its review on two issues: energy conservation standards for commercial
buildings, and radon requirements for multi-family buildings. Buildings placed into service
today will last for many decades. Although the proposed energy conservation standards are a
step in the right direction, Board members feel that more needs to be done to improve the energy
performance of new buildings, considering the importance of building energy use in overall
energy use and greenhouse gas emissions, as shown in the graph below. Therefore we urge the
Council to consider, during the next code update following this one, the adoption of stronger
energy standards such as those contained in the Leadership for Energy and Environmental
Design (LEED) criteria.
The new radon requirements are a natural extension of the current requirements on single-family
homes, which the Board has long supported. We feel it is appropriate and important that multi-
family residents have the same health risk protections as single-family.
If you have any questions or comments about this Air Quality Advisory Board Recommendation,
please contact me.
Eric Levine, Chair