6A - State Building Code Discussion

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HISTORY OF THE STATE BUILDING CODE �.. In the U.S., regulation of building construction is essentially a natural consequence arising from the experience of many years of tragedy brought about by fire, collapse,panic and the inadequacy of materials and construction methods. Historically, building codes have generally been based on accepted good standards of construction and contain provisions that are reasonable,practical and necessary to provide for a minimum degree of health and safety. With this in mind,Minnesota created the Construction Codes and Licensing Division(CCLD) and charged them with the task of developing and administrating a State Building Code (SBC). The charge also included a prerequisite for adopting a nationally recognized model building code that would provide for consistent and uniform application of construction standards for use throughout the state. The chronology of the history is as follows: • In 1971, Minnesota passed into law requirements that established the Minnesota State Building Code. The same law also stated that the State Building Code was to supercede all existing local building and construction codes and it mandated that no other building, fire or construction code be more restrictive than the Minnesota State Building Code. The idea behind this law was to provide for a single statewide code that afforded uniformity and consistency in building construction from one municipality to another. The law did not mandate adoption of the SBC; it only mandated its adoption in those municipalities that were already enforcing some kind of local building code. [effective July 1, 1972 Chapter 561, Section 2 (16.83-16.87)] • In 1977, Minnesota law established that the Minnesota State Building Code be expanded to apply statewide. The law required that all municipalities adopt the SBC within a time period of one year (by January 1, 1978). Agricultural buildings were exempt from this mandate. [effective January 1, 1977 Chapter 381, Section 2 (16.83-16.867)] • In 1979, Minnesota passed a law allowing revisions to the mandatory application of the statewide building code. Essentially, the new law allowed for an extension of time for local governments to formally adopt the SBC (to January 1, 1979). The law also gave non-metropolitan counties the option to hold a referenda to rescind the Minnesota State Building Code (except for provisions of the Minnesota Accessibility Code). The rescinding ability however, was only allowed for counties, not municipalities located within the county that had already adopted the code. The Minnesota State Building Code remained as the mandatory building code in the seven-county metropolitan area of the state. [effective May 31, 1979 Chapter 287, Section 2 (16.868)] • In 1981, Minnesota passed another building code related law allowing those municipalities with populations of less than 2500 to decide whether or not they wanted to keep or exempt themselves from mandatory application of the Minnesota State Building Code (except for provisions of the Minnesota Accessibility Code) if they were located in a non-metropolitan county. This allowed smaller municipalities to opt out of the building code. [effective May 29, 1981 Chapter 306, Section 1 (16.869)] • In 2008, Minnesota passed a building code related law that impacts all construction throughout the state. This new law made the Minnesota State Building Code (SBC)the statewide construction standard for the purposes of design and construction for all construction projects within the state. Although not enforceable by those communities that have not specifically adopted the code, the intent of the law was to create a more level playing field for all those involved in the industry. [effective May 15, 2008 Chapter 322, Section 3, Subdivision ]a (1662)] 7