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CITY COMMISSION AGENDA ITEM |
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Department: |
Planning & Development Services |
Commission Meeting Date: 4-4-2017 |
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Staff Contact: |
Barry Walthall, Kurt Schroeder |
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Recommendations/Options/Action Requested: |
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Consider amendments to the Lawrence Building Code to modify requirements for structural support of headers in exterior walls of one- and two-family dwellings.
Adopt on first reading Ordinance No. 9342, which amends the Building Code (Chapter V, Article 3) to reduce the number of full wall height “king” studs required to support headers above exterior wall openings in one- and two-family dwellings, in conformance with approved upcoming requirements for header support in the 2018 edition of the International Residential Code, if appropriate. |
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Executive Summary: |
In early 2016, the City adopted the 2015 edition of the International Residential Code (IRC) as the Building Code for one- and two-family residential dwelling construction and remodeling, with an effective date of July 1, 2016. The 2015 edition of the IRC was changed from the 2012 edition of the IRC (the previously adopted one- and two-family Building Code for Lawrence) to require additional structural support for headers in exterior walls in accordance IRC Section R602.7.5 and IRC Table R602.7.5, the result of which required a significant number of additional king studs on each end of an exterior wall opening header to resist lateral loads (depending on the width of the opening).
As new one- and two-family dwellings were being erected per the new exterior wall opening framing requirements of the 2015 IRC, it appeared to both City Building Inspection Staff and home builders that the additional number of required full wall height king studs for typical and common wall framing methods in Lawrence was overly conservative (i.e., the number of king studs required at each end of a wall opening header was over-estimated). After further research, review and discussion of the new king stud requirements by and among Staff and the Lawrence Home Builders Association (LHBA), it was discovered that the International Code Council (ICC), which produces and publishes the IRC on a three-year cycle, had recently voted to incorporate revised and reduced king stud requirements for wall opening headers into the upcoming 2018 edition of the IRC. The proposed 2018 IRC requirements are more consistent with typical exterior wall framing standards for one- and two family dwellings in Lawrence.
Subsequently, per letter dated March 6, 2017, the LHBA requested the Lawrence Building Code Board of Appeals (BCBA) to consider an amendment to the Building Code that would incorporate the proposed 2018 IRC requirements for full wall height king studs at each end of headers above exterior wall openings.
On March 23, 2017, Staff and the LHBA presented the proposed, above-outlined residential Building Code amendments to the BCBA for review. The BCBA voted unanimously to recommend that the City Commission immediately adopt the proposed amendments, which are set forth in attached Ordinance No. 9342. |
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Strategic Plan Critical Success Factor |
Collaborative Solutions
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Fiscal Impact (Amount/Source): |
The fiscal impact to the City is $0. |
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Attachments: |
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Reviewed By: (for CMO use only) |
☐TM ☒DS ☐CT ☐BM |