New Codes

The Montgomery County Department of Permitting Services (DPS) Podcast episode, “New Codes,” focuses on the new 2021 codes and amendments and how significant these changes are for DPS commercial building customers. The new codes (Executive Regulation 13-24 and Executive Regulation 14-24), with local amendments, become mandatory at DPS on Monday, March 31 and they replace the 2018 International Code Council (ICC) codes and National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) codes and standards. DPS Customer Support and Outreach Division Chief Gail Lucas, who hosts the podcast, is joined by DPS Commercial Plan Review Manager Crystal Maddox and DPS Sustainability, Energy and Mechanical Manager Bryan Bomer for a conversation about the background of the code cycle, how to learn more about the new codes including upcoming DPS virtual training sessions, and why the new codes are important for safety and sustainability of new and existing buildings and spaces in Montgomery County. Got an idea or question for a future podcast episode? Email your ideas and questions to dps.podcast@montgomerycountymd.gov.

Transcript

Gail Lucas 0:10

Welcome to the Montgomery County Department of Permitting Services podcast. I'm Gail Lucas, your host. I'm also the division chief for the Customer Support and Outreach Division here at DPS. Joining us on the podcast today, we have two guests. We're talking about 2021 codes. So joining us are Crystal Maddox, and I want to make sure I get your titles correct. The DPS Commercial Building Plan Review Manager, Crystal Maddox, and Sustainability Energy and Mechanical Manager, Brian Bomer. That's a mouthful. Welcome. Thank you for being here today. Let's begin with the 2021 code adoption. We recently adopted or the council approved our 2021 codes in December 10th on December 10th of last year. Tell me what that means. Tell our audience what that means.

Crystal Maddox 1:09

Absolutely. So what that means is we are now under a newer code set. So previously we were under the 2018 ICC code set, 2018 IBC, IEBC, IMC. There are several codes under the ICC code suite that we've adopted. And with the 2021 adoption, we are now under the 2021 edition of those codes with our local amendments.

Gail Lucas 1:33

Okay, can you give us a little bit of information about the acronyms? IMC, IEC.

Crystal Maddox 1:40

Absolutely. International Building Code.

Gail Lucas 1:43

Okay.

Crystal Maddox 1:44

International existing building code, International Mechanical Code, International Energy Conservation Code, International Uh Green Construction Code, those are Brian's.

Gail Lucas 2:12

Okay. So as I said, the council approved these on December 10th of last year. So does that mean that they are in effect now? How does DPS effectuate those? How do we put those into effect and how do we tell folks about it?

Crystal Maddox 2:26

Right. So as of December 10th, they are in effect. They are adopted. However, the department has issued a grace period, meaning that uh applicants don't have the option of complying with our previous codes or complying with our newly adopted codes up until March 30th. So March 31st and forward, folks will need to comply with our 2021 code adoptions.

Gail Lucas 2:50

So if someone has a plan in process or a project in process, they don't have to worry about going back and revising what they already have, or if they're about to submit, then they can continue to submit up until March 30th.

Crystal Maddox 3:03

Right. They can continue to submit applications that are submitted prior to that March 31st date will be permitted to maintain their design under the previous, previously adopted codes.

Gail Lucas 3:17

I understand that there are significant changes in the code. How do people learn about the changes to the code and how they're going to affect their projects? Yeah. Would you like to speak to that?

Bryan Bomer 3:27

Yeah, absolutely. So uh first and foremost, all of the proposed language that we brought to council that was approved is available online through our executive regulation document, which is found on our website. I believe there's even a banner currently at the head of the at the top of the website directing people towards that document. Additionally, um, so for instance, for the energy and green codes, we actually provided supplementary documentation to guide people because we experienced probably the most significant changes out of the building code process in 2021. So we developed um what we call the code commentary document. So that identifies each measure that's changed or been added, but then also provides some narrative around those changes to try to help uh direct folks and educate them on the intent and the purpose of those changes. And that's also found on our website.

Gail Lucas 4:26

Okay. And the codes are posted to our website or links to your commentary document are posted to our website. How do folks get these codes? How do they get copies of these codes?

Bryan Bomer 4:38

So the ICC codes are actually available in read-only format on the ICC, it's the International Code, uh, International Code Conference. Code Council. Code Council website. So you can go and just type in 2021 International Green Construction Code, and you'll be directed to a read-only version of the published code on the ICC website. So folks have to understand that that's the original code that was published back in 2021. They need to cross-reference our amendments on each of those codes so that they have the updated Montgomery County version of that code.

Gail Lucas 5:15

And are our amendments available on our website? That's correct.

Bryan Bomer 5:18

So they're in the executive regulation, which is the document that goes through council for approval. Okay. And then again, for the energy and green code amendments, we provided that supplementary document with the commentary.

Gail Lucas 5:31

I'm gonna ask kind of a I won't, I won't call it a dumb question, but it's kind of a dumb question. It's not dumb. This is 2025. We're adopting 2021 codes. Why the lag? How does that work?

Bryan Bomer 5:46

Yeah, so this is um a cyclical process. So every three years, the ICC and other uh organizations that create these standards publish these documents approximately every three years. Okay. So if you think about the 2021 codes, there's actually a 2024 version that was published last calendar year, and we're developing the 2027 versions actually right now.

Gail Lucas 6:13

Okay.

Bryan Bomer 6:13

So the way that this works at the national, state, and local levels is that the ICC or other standards publish. The state takes approximately 18 months to adopt those codes at the state level.

Gail Lucas 6:30

Okay.

Bryan Bomer 6:31

And then that establishes a timeline for the local jurisdictions, such as Montgomery County and other counties and some cities, to amend and adopt those 12 months later. So if you look at it from the publication date, there's about a two and a half minimum gap for when this the ICC or the other standards are published to when a local jurisdiction adopts it.

Gail Lucas 6:56

Two and a half year.

Bryan Bomer 6:57

Two and a half years minimum. So this can take a little bit longer sometimes, depending on how complicated the process is or if there's any delays. And so again, this will be happening every three years. So the state is in the 24 process this calendar year. We could expect to see the state adopt the 24 codes sometime later this summer or into early fall, and that would start our clock for 12 months at that point. And so we'll be going through this process all over again for eternity.

Gail Lucas 7:29

Tell me why it's important for us to change our code. Why do we adopt the new codes? What's important for customers to know?

Crystal Maddox 7:39

Right. As um industries develop new products, materials change, um, testing discovers, um, new ways of um implementing uh different systems, our codes reflect that as well as any safety concerns that have occurred and um are addressed with the code edition. So the codes reflect, you know, all those types of things to make sure we are putting the welfare and the safety of the public at the forefront with these codes and standards. And so we want to make sure that we're staying up to date so that we have the safest buildings and structures possible.

Gail Lucas 8:13

So it's about safety, but it's also about new technology. New kinds of materials come onto the market, right? New kinds of building or new ways of building come onto the market. And we want to make sure that people can take advantage of those. How can folks learn about the new codes, the changes to the new codes? I understand that we are scheduling some open houses or some meetings to talk about. Can you talk a little bit about how those are going to happen and when those are gonna happen?

Crystal Maddox 8:41

Sure. We we will be holding um virtual open houses or um work sessions with our customers. They will be scheduled in March of this year. Um, so if you if if folks would like to see what our changes are locally for their varying codes, they can sign up for a session and you know, sit with us online and go through our local changes. And as far as model codes, um typically if you were to go to those model code sites, ICC's website, NFPA's website, whatever the code is that you're looking to see what the changes are, they typically have a publication that will walk you through those changes.

Gail Lucas 9:22

Okay, and again, I'm gonna ask you to explain the acronyms. ICC NFPA. Yep. What's that?

Crystal Maddox 9:28

ICC International Code Council.

Gail Lucas 9:30

Okay.

Crystal Maddox 9:30

And NFPA National Fire Protection Association. And we adopt codes from both of those organizations.

Gail Lucas 9:36

Okay. So folks will have the opportunity to know what our local amendments are, what changes they must incorporate in their process. And obviously, they don't have an opportunity to ask questions, but the time has passed for them to, or has the time passed, for them to object or to say, oh, I don't think I can do this.

Bryan Bomer 9:55

So the time has passed for the 2021 codes. Okay. Council, as you mentioned earlier, approved them on December 10th. So these are essentially locked in for this code cycle.

Gail Lucas 10:05

Okay.

Bryan Bomer 10:05

Now, when the 2024 code process begins, which we would allow, we we want the state to initiate that. So we again would expect to see that happening sometime later this year. Uh, we have a formal process here, Department of Programming Services, where we'll be posting our proposed amendments, and the uh the industry and the public have an opportunity to comment on that. And so that's all part of our process and available that information is available online. Uh, because the energy code and the green code are a little more rapidly changing than some of the other codes, we tend to start our outreach and our feedback loop a little earlier than the rest of the building codes. Uh, and we've involved, we've been involved with uh local engineering firms, um, some local nonprofit organizations and some federal agencies to get the best information that we have or we can get uh to pass on to our folks. And additionally, um we'll we'll have informal public comment periods where we'll put out early drafts of amendments for feedback. So we have a pretty involved process that we start early.

Gail Lucas 11:13

Okay. Are there one or two big changes that you wanna you wanna highlight that you want to talk about that people need to especially pay attention to?

Crystal Maddox 11:24

Um, there are a couple in commercial that we could highlight. Um, one being that public parking garages will all need to be sprinklered moving forward, um, as well as restaurants. So any new restaurants will need to be um sprinklered moving forward as well.

Gail Lucas 11:39

What about two big energy changes?

Bryan Bomer 11:41

Uh, just two. Just two. Trying to pick the two biggest. So, first and foremost, um, most of all of our amendments are designed to address climate action plan items that have been identified over the last several years. Okay. So the Montgomery County published a climate action plan several years ago and identified the building sector as one of the major contributors to energy use in the region. So uh Department of Perming Services have been tasked with um some pretty big responsibilities through that climate action plan. So, one of the biggest um changes that we made to the energy code is that we are no longer using the International Energy Conservation Code as our base code. We are actually um transitioning over to Ashray. And I apologize, I don't know that off the top of my head. I'd have to guess uh it's just a long one. But it is another energy standard. So 90.1, Ashray 90.1 is the standard that we adopted for the code, and um that allows us to better um hit our targets that are established in the climate action plan. So I think the biggest item within the Ashray 90.1 is the energy modeling requirement. So building new buildings have an option to comply with the energy code performance or prescriptive path. And really the difference from a performance prescriptive, prescriptive is a list of items they have to meet. You have no choice. Okay, where performance says, tell us how you want this, what you're going to design, and the performance of the building is modeled through computer software and a value is determined. And if you hit the value or better than what we set, then you pass the energy code.

Gail Lucas 13:31

Okay.

Bryan Bomer 13:31

And so we've adjusted the energy modeling requirements quite aggressively to include on top of a fairly low target uh on-site renewable requirement. So projects will have to meet 33% of their energy needs through renewables. Now we're still um establishing how much of that has to be on-site versus off-site.

Gail Lucas 13:54

Okay.

Bryan Bomer 13:55

On-site meaning on the property, on the building, off-site could be somewhere in Montgomery County or in the larger region.

Gail Lucas 14:02

Okay, I'm gonna pause you right there. Explain what you mean by renewable.

Bryan Bomer 14:05

Absolutely. So we use the term renewable a little more generally. So most people consider solar to be the primary renewable.

Gail Lucas 14:13

That's what I think of.

Bryan Bomer 14:14

But we there are other forms of renewable energy, so we didn't want to limit what people can comply with in the code. Um, and so you have wind, you have uh hydro, you have geothermal is considered a renewable, and then of course solar, which is probably the most popular in this region.

Gail Lucas 14:32

Okay. So 33% of my energy is gonna have to be from a renewable source.

Bryan Bomer 14:37

Met by a renewable source for new construction over 5,000 square feet, essentially. So um that's the big, that's one of the big changes. The other significant change is actually found in the International Green Conservation Code, the IGCC. We amended the IGCC to require all new construction to be electrification ready.

Gail Lucas 14:59

Okay.

Bryan Bomer 14:59

And the best way to explain that is if you choose to install a gas appliance, which you're absolutely allowed to do, next to that gas appliance has to be the infrastructure and the capability of the project to switch over to an electric appliance in the future. This does a few things. It helps align us with the climate action plan. Okay. And it additionally provides infrastructure for projects that have to meet what's called the building energy performance standard. So our sister agency, the Department of Environmental Protection, is in charge of what we define as the BEPS program, the building energy performance standard. And a major component of the BEPS is transitioning projects, existing projects from gas over to electric. So we're providing the infrastructure so that six or seven years from now, they're not stuck with a large cost of trying to integrate that infrastructure, it's already there for them.

Gail Lucas 15:54

Thank you very much. Is there anything else that we haven't talked about that you want to make sure that our listeners know about? Is there anything we haven't touched on?

Crystal Maddox 16:04

Yes. Um, a couple of things that I do have, Gail. One is just to remind folks, we do have preliminary design consultations that we offer. So if there are any questions or concerns about your project, or maybe you're unsure about the new code changes and how it may impact your design or an interpretation of a change that may not be clear. Um, we're happy to meet with folks. We can um sit down with DPS staff online. Um we have virtual sessions Monday through Thursday. There's a one-hour time slot at 9 a.m. that folks can sign up for. Um, but another thing is just to uh be clear, we have two different code adoptions. One is under executive regulation 1324, which addresses our building code, and the other is under executive regulation 1424, which is for our fire safety code. So it's important that that projects um will meet both of our local amendments um addressing the 2021 ICC codes as well as our updated fire safety code, which adopts our um NFP 81 fire code, the 2021 edition, the NFP 8101 Um Life Safety Code 2020 2021 edition, and those reference standards within those codes. So that's important to um remind folks that that both of those regulations will need to be met when um pursuing a design.

Gail Lucas 17:26

Okay. And I do want to point out that our pre-design consultations are absolutely free. Folks can sign up online to participate in those. Yes?

Crystal Maddox 17:36

Yep, they absolutely are free, and we're happy to uh meet with whomever wishes to sign up.

Gail Lucas 17:42

Okay. Any final words, Brian?

Bryan Bomer 17:45

Just one other thing I wanted to um I identify. Occasionally we have some um miscommunication or misunderstanding during the code cycles. If you have a project that was approved under the 2018 codes and you have to change something in your design, we call that a revision. It's a formal process here at Department of Permiting Services. Any revision that you submit to an existing project that's already been permitted still follows that original code cycle. So if you were permitted under 2018 and you have a revision, you're still under the 2018. Occasionally folks think that the new codes apply during the revisions. They don't just want to make sure everybody's aware of that.

Gail Lucas 18:23

That's a very good piece of information, a very helpful piece of information. Thank you.

Bryan Bomer 18:27

The only thing else that I would add is that uh both Crystal and I are in the commercial section of the Department of Permit Services. So the residential uh group also went through code changes. They also have new code amendments. And so it's important to understand that what we're talking about today is primarily focused on commercial, but there's a whole slew of residential amendments that also went through.

Gail Lucas 18:49

Good point. Very good point. Thank you for bringing that up. All of this will be discussed in the open houses. The commercial and the residential changes will be discussed um in various open houses in March. So folks should take advantage of those.

Bryan Bomer 19:03

There are going to be two residential open houses available to be posted, I believe. Um I know that the energy and green code open house will be held on Tuesday, March 18th. We're looking at a morning session right now. Um, but at any point, if anybody has any questions, they're always more than welcome to reach out to me or anybody on my staff for clarification.

Gail Lucas 19:25

So it's good. They're going to be the sessions are going to be broken up by type or by discipline. Right. Um, so that you're not getting overwhelmed with all of it. You can decide what you're most interested in, yes? Right. Yeah.

Bryan Bomer 19:37

We've staggered them approximately one week apart so that you have plenty of time to absorb all the amazing information.

Gail Lucas 19:43

So you can go to all of them if you want to go to all of them. Okay. Yes. Thank you very much, Crystal and Brian, for being here today. This is very useful information. Thank you for listening to our podcast. Remember, we're here to help you, our customer, succeed. It's important to know when to get a permit and why you need a permit. If you have any questions about the permitting process, you can reach out to our customer support team by calling 311 if you're in Montgomery County or 240-777-0311. Got to remember that number, or stop by our offices at 2425 Reedy Drive. We're on the seventh floor. We're open Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 4 o'clock p.m. You don't need an appointment, and there is always someone here that can assist you in person. Again, thank you, Crystal Maddox. Thank you, Brian Bowmer, for joining us on the podcast. And thank you, our listeners, for tuning in. Do you have an idea or a question that you'd like to see answered on our podcast? We want to hear from you. Email your ideas and questions to dps.podcast at MontgomeryCountymd.gov. And if you found this podcast helpful, please share it with others and subscribe so you can always get our latest episode. I'm Gail Lucas, your host. Until next time, remember DPS is your project partner.

Announcer 21:24

This podcast is brought to you by County Cable Montgomery, your source for news and information from the Montgomery County government. Connect with us via cable, Facebook, Instagram, or YouTube by searching for County Cable Moco.