Title
An ordinance amending Chapter 5 of the City Code thereby adopting the 2015 Edition of the International Building Code, effective May 15, 2017.
Body
The Mesquite Building Standards Board met on March 21, 2017, and voted to recommend that the City Council adopt the International Code Council (ICC) 2015 Edition of the International Building Code (IBC), with amendments.
The substantive amendments were reviewed and recommended for adoption by an advisory committee of the North Central Texas Council of Governments and conform to building practice within the region. Many of the local amendments are carried over from the City's adopted building code, which is based on the ICC 2009 Edition.
The IBC includes important new provisions that require educational facilities to construct storm protection for students and staff. This has cost implications for all public, private and charter schools. The code does not mandate constructing a stand-alone shelter. The requirement may be satisfied by armoring hallways and other spaces to create "safe rooms." According to studies conducted by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, building a safe room increases the cost of construction by 5 percent-32 percent for each square foot of shelter space provided, depending upon the strength of roof systems, the extent of impact protection, new-build versus retrofit, and other factors.
As a result of a request by the Mesquite Independent School District for a modification to the IBC storm shelter occupancy calculation approach, staff proposes two amendments to ensure the storm shelter requirement is applied in a fair and practical manner. Section 423.4.1 states that shelters will be sized according to the greater of the occupant load for all classrooms or an all-school assembly space, but not both. Also, in the case of existing schools, the space necessary to protect the entire school may be constructed over time through successive additions. Section 423.4 authorizes the Bu...
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