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2006 Building Code Updates

In May of 2001, the Village adopted the 2000 International Code Series (ICS), a series of nationally recognized Building Codes, including; Building, Residential, Fire Prevention, Mechanical, Energy, Fuel Gas, and Property Maintenance, along with the Illinois Accessibility, the Illinois State Plumbing, and the National Fire Protection Association Electrical and Life-Safety supplemental codes.

This year the Village performed a thorough review and analysis of the 2006 International Code Series, reaffirming that the ICS continues to be in the best interests of the community. Nationally, the ICS continues to bring consistency to the building regulatory system. These Codes address all aspects of building design and construction, offering a multitude of benefits to professionals, contractors, builders, engineers, and architects. Locally, application of these Codes protects our residents and assures the most up-to-date standards are utilized. This also greatly aids the Village staff ’s ability to cooperate effectively with architects, developers, and designers, which ultimately affects Village residents and businesses.

An additional benefit to adopting the most updated code editions is the Village’s ability to achieve high ratings with the Insurance Service Office (ISO). ISO provides its classification ratings information to insurance firms, which can result in discounted premiums for new residential and commercial construction in a given community. The Building Code Effectiveness Grading Schedule (BCEGS) classification, which ISO utilizes in their ratings, is determined in part by the use of current model building codes. Subsequently the overall ISO rating is greatly affected by the code editions used by a municipality. In fact, communities that have not adopted most current building code sets, within the allowable two-year grace period, will not be able to score higher than a classification 6 (approximately 40% on a 100% grading scale) on the BCEGS.

In 2001, following the adoption of the 2000 International Codes, the Village achieved a Building Grade of 3 approximately 70% on a 100% grading scale), which put our community in the top 14% of the nation (top 1,300 of approximately 9,000 jurisdictions graded). The Village is pleased to announce that our continued efforts in upgrading codes and practices allowed us to maintain our enviable overall Classification of 3, in this year’s review. Additional information indicates that only six communities in the state achieved a Classifications of 2, and no communities received a Classifications of 1. We are very proud of this accomplishment, but will continue to strive to improve these scores, which ultimately benefit the Village residents.

ICS codes reflect the most up-to-date technologies and construction techniques being reviewed, and reflect the major issues of the day in construction and inspection industries. The Village is confident that the adoption of the 2006 International Building Codes will help protect the health, safety and welfare of our residents for years to come.