The Building Square

Adoption of new Building Codes

The Village of Lincolnshire adopts by reference Building Codes published by the International Code Council (ICC). The ICC publishes new Codes every three years and the Village, like many communities, usually adopts every other publication for a new Code every six years. By adopting recent Code series’, the Village is able to accomplish several goals:

• Maintain a favorable score with the FEMA “Community Rating System” (CRS) program. This FEMA program provides flood insurance rate reductions for policy holders within communities which exceed minimum standards for reducing the risk of damage to properties in and near the floodplain.

• Address advances in products and technologies. New building products and technologies are evolving at rapid pace, and the Codes are continually revised and updated to reflect these changes.

• Perform a comprehensive review of the Code. This allows Staff to make periodic changes or amendments to suit the specific needs of the Village.

• Incorporate the latest standards of safety. An example would be changes to the requirements for smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors. Over the past 30 years, “fire science” has dictated the need for more detectors in specific locations and the importance of interconnection to alert all occupants of a building.

Perhaps the most notable change to the upcoming International Residential Code (IRC) is the requirement for automatic fire sprinkler systems in all single family residences. Per the IRC, any new home built after the new Codes are adopted will be required to have an automatic sprinkler system.

Some of the 2012 ICC series of Codes are being released as of this writing. The Village Building Inspector has begun his review of the International Building Code, and expects to receive the International Residential Code, International Fire Code, and International Property Maintenance Code in the coming months. Once the Codes have been reviewed and any amendments have been recommended, they will be sent to the Mayor and Board of Trustees for review and formal adoption.

For additional information, contact Building Inspector, Mike Jesse, at 847.913.2318.

The Building Square is a quarterly feature, in which the Building Division of the Community Development Department will present information intended to provide useful advice to our residents about building related topics. Our goal is to provide you with information that can assist you with building projects you may undertake in the future, to help understand why problems may have occurred in the past, and to relay some of the experiences and responsibilities our division faces throughout the year. Should you have any questions or comments regarding building related topics, please send them to us and we may use your query in one of our quarterly features.