Florida homeowners glad they paid for retrofits. Reports from Florida show that impact resistant windows and doors and hurricane resistant roofs were investments that paid off during Hurricane Wilma. However, older homes and buildings in Broward County took a big hit from Wilma, with more than 2,300 buildings deemed unsafe after the storm. In addition, there were several reports that high-rise windows in Miami-Dade County and Fort Lauderdale did not live up to safety expectations. Read the entire story by clicking here.

Key West, Florida, residents push a boat back into the water following Hurricane Wilma. (Jocelyn Augustino/FEMA)

Florida CFO wants tougher building codes. The state needs a stronger building code to help minimize hurricane damage and should use sales taxes collections from reconstruction to help homeowners with storm recovery, CFO Tom Gallagher said. The ideas were among several state and federal initiatives Gallagher proposed as Florida faces skyrocketing homeowners' insurance increases and the prospect that insurers will abandon the state after eight hurricanes have struck over the last 15 months.

New Hampshire rejects contractor certification. A New Hampshire legislative committee last month decided that the state did not need to license contractors, instead opting to require signed agreements for home repairs. The state also will standardize its building code and post on its Web site the names of contractors and construction firms convicted of overcharging or taking advantage of consumers.

Lack of building codes concern residents in Texas county. The lack of regulated building codes in unincorporated communities across Matagorda County sparked debate during a recent Commissioners Court meeting. Not enforcing codes endangers residents during storms and natural disasters, and is a serious issue that needs to be addressed, one resident said. The commissioners were asked to set a precedence in the county and create regulations that would ensure buildings were regulated and maintained even in unincorporated areas.

October construction remains steady. The value of new construction starts in October, at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $668.5 billion, was essentially unchanged from September's revised amount. According to McGraw-Hill Construction, October showed gains for nonresidential building and nonbuilding construction (public works and electric utilities) that offset a moderate decline for the housing sector. Through the first ten months of 2005, total construction on an unadjusted basis was reported at $550.5 billion, a 9 percent increase relative to the previous year.

Home Builders Guide to Coastal Construction Fact Sheets (FEMA 499)
#1376S$15.00$12.00

FEMA produced this series of 31 fact sheets to provide technical guidance and recommendations concerning the construction of coastal residential buildings. The fact sheets present information aimed at improving the performance of buildings subject to flood and wind forces in coastal environments. Photographs and drawings illustrate National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) regulatory requirements, the proper siting of coastal buildings, and recommended design and construction practices for building components, including structural connections, the building envelope, and utilities. Many of the fact sheets also include lists of FEMA and other resources that provide more information about the topics discussed. The fact sheets are a required reference for the Coastal Construction and Flood Plain Inspector Exam.

The following are upcoming events at which ICC staff will attend and/or host an exhibition booth:

Dec. 7-9, National League of Cities,
Charlotte, NC
Jan. 11, 50th Annual Institute for
Building Officials, St. Paul, MN
Jan. 11-14, International Builders
Show, Orlando, FL
Jan. 11-14, Inspection World,
Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Jan. 13-14, Mass. Municipal
Association, Boston, MA
Jan. 25-29, Fire Rescue East,
Jacksonville, FL

ICC ePARTNERS
Volume I, Issue 9
December, 2005

ICC Vision and Mission Statements

Vision
Protecting the health, safety, and welfare of people by creating better buildings and safer communities.

Mission
Providing the highest quality codes, standards, products, and services for all concerned with the safety and performance of the built environment.

CEO James Lee Witt and COO Rick Weiland appreciate your feedback on this enewsletter. Please send your comments to Dominic Sims, Deputy Chief Operating Officer, 1-888-ICC-SAFE (422-7233), ext. 5267.
For more information on ICC’s Strategic Partners, Supporting Organizations and Participating Organizations, click here.
To subscribe to ePartners, click here.

Blanco signs Louisiana building code bill

	Governor Kathleen Blanco speaks at a press conference during the 2005 Special Session of the Louisiana Legislature. (Office of the Governor)

Governor Kathleen Blanco signed the bill last week, which calls for the state to adopt the International Building Code®, International Existing Building Code®, International Residential Code®, International Mechanical Code®, and International Fuel Gas Code®.
The bill applies to buildings rebuilt in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and to all buildings built or rebuilt statewide starting in 2007. Under the legislation, the 11 parishes hit hardest by the hurricanes must put the new code into effect in 30 days if those parishes already have inspectors. If they do not, they have 90 days to begin enforcement. The bill also establishes a 19-member council to oversee enforcement of the codes by local governments.
ICC plans to give free codes to Louisiana parishes declared federal disaster areas because of the hurricanes.

Green speaks at New Orleans conference
ICC Board President Henry Green was among the speakers at the Louisiana Recovery and Rebuilding Conference held in

Green

New Orleans that examined long-range hurricane recovery and rebuilding efforts in the state. During the Building Communities segment of the conference, which addressed planning and designing healthy neighborhoods, downtowns, suburbs and rural lands, Green discussed the role building safety and fire prevention codes play in creating hurricane resistant homes, schools and buildings.
The program was the beginning of the process that will bring local and national design and planning professionals together with Louisiana public officials, civic and community groups and business organizations to develop a body of principles that will guide the state's long-range recovery and rebuilding efforts. The conference was presented by the American Institute of Architects in collaboration with the American Planning Association and cosponsored by the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the American Society of Civil Engineers.

Parish considering I-Codes
A recent newspaper article said the Terrebonne Parish in Louisiana will propose adoption of the International Building Code®. The article quoted Larry Franks, ICC Senior Staff Engineer and Secretariat for the Hurricane Resistant Residential Construction Standard, who explained that if communities build to the wind and other requirements of the IBC, the structures should withstand hurricane force winds.
To read the entire article, click here.

GR assists in Louisiana recovery efforts
Vice President of State Government Relations Vaughn Wicker and Regional Managers Jack Burleson and Phil McMahan are rotating spending three days a week in the state. Currently, staff has been attending meetings and hearings while commuting from Lafayette to Baton Rouge while the Governor's office seeks office space.

	The town water tower lies on top of a house in Buras, Louisiana. The water tower was destroyed during Hurricane Katrina. (Patsy Lynch/FEMA)

The Lamar County Board of Supervisors approved the creation of a committee to review and adopt building codes. The Greater Hattiesburg Homebuilders Association helped to draft an ordinance to adopt the 2003 IBC, IRC, IFC, IPC and Electrical Code. If approved, the ICodes could go into effect as early as January.

Witt participates in 'After the Storms' conversation
The Critical Conversations on Infrastructure Protection program (CIP) is a joint effort between the George Mason University School of Law and James Madison University that integrates the disciplines of law, policy and technology for enhancing the security of cyber-networks, physical systems and economic processes supporting the nation's critical infrastructures. ICC CEO James Lee Witt participated in a conversation on "After the Storms: Repairing the Damage," and a panel discussion followed that included experts on homeland security and the private sector. The event was held recently at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.

Witt column appears in

	Witt

numerous publications
An op/ed article written by ICC CEO James Lee Witt, which addresses the important role building codes play in hurricane reconstruction efforts, has been published in several newspapers across the country. To read the article, click here.




Technical committees to review WTC report
The Code Technology Council (CTC) and Ad-Hoc Committee on Terrorism Resistant Buildings (TRB) will hold a joint meeting this month to review the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) World Trade Center Report. The TRB has already reviewed the NIST report and agreed to make several recommendations. This will also be the first face-to-face meeting of the TRB. The CTC held a public hearing and completed its first area of study on carbon monoxide alarms and will send its report to the Board.
On a related note, the chairs of the CTC and TRB, along with ICC Board Director Tim Ryan, participated in the first National Institute of Building Sciences Multihazard Mitigation Council (NIBS/MMC) meeting to translate the NIST recommendations into the codes. The NIBC/MMC is co-chaired by Gerry Jones of Kansas City and Herman Brice of Palm Beach County, Florida.

Staff provides thousands of code opinions each month. Over the past seven months, Technical Services has averaged 3,000 code opinion telephone calls per month and 175 on-line code opinions. These averages do not include the number of calls or e-mails that go directly to a specific technical staff member or code opinions issued in the form of a letter. This could add an additional 1,500 code opinions per month, bringing the average monthly total for code opinions issued to 4,675.

Fewer requests for Committee Interpretations. The first request for a Committee Interpretation was received on August 29, 2002. Since that time, ICC has received 175 such requests. Of those, 79 were not processed because of failure to comply with CP-11, another 58 have completed the process and are on the ICC Web site and 38 are in various stages of the interpretation process.

ICC outlines code development. Vice President of Architectural and Engineering Services John Battles developed a presentation for the American Society of Military Engineers. The program addresses the history of codes, the history of ICC, the code development process and the advantages of adoption a modern model code.

Talks continue on residential code for Mexico. Foundation President Paul Myers and Alberto Herrera, International Services Representative, met recently with the World Bank and Mexico's CONAFOVI to discuss the financing of the project to develop a Mexican residential code. The meeting was successful in that the World Bank now has a clear understanding of what the project is about and the benefits to Mexico if it were to move forward. This meeting was followed by another meeting with CONAFOVI and NAHB to discuss the opportunities to work together on joint projects related to these efforts.

First Project H.E.R.O. veteran and home selected. Experts recently visited the home of a Cincinnati Vietnam era veteran who will participate in the pilot program of Project H.E.R.O. The next step is to assess the veteran's needs and limitations and develop a plan to improve his current living conditions.

To make sure you continue to receive ICC ePartners in your inbox (not sent to bulk or junk folders), please add jwitt-rweiland@iccsafe.org to your address book.

ICC and its affiliates and subsidiaries respect your right to privacy. If you no longer wish to receive e-mail from us,
please click here.

©2005 International Code Council, Headquarters; 5203 Leesburg Pike, Suite 600; Falls Church, VA 22041 USA