4.13 Codes & Standards Committee - March 2025 Committee Activity Report
The chair participated in the final 2027 Group A model code modification proposal review meeting of the ICC Building Code Advisory Committee (BCAC) in March and will work with BCAC during the first two weeks of April to go over the proposed Group B modifications. I will try to get the BCAC's support of our proposed modifications during these meetings. Group B committee hearings will occur in Orlando April 27-May 6; I plan to attend all meetings where our nine proposed modifications will be considered.
In other news, the Broward County (FL) Board of Rules & Appeals (BORA) refused to hear my petition challenging their local code amendments until my lawsuit was officially closed out, so I voluntarily dismissed my lawsuit against them. The dismissal was already essentially done by the November 2024 court ruling that said I need to exhaust administrative remedies before continuing in court. After initially saying the petition would be heard at their April 10 meeting, BORA recently delayed it until the May 8 meeting. I have included the challenge (form plus separate supplemental document) to this meeting's BaseCamp folder in case you are interested to review it. Their attorney is supposed to prepare a response defending the adoption process, which is the source of my challenge.
This challenge hearing will require BORA to judge whether it met legal requirements to adopt local building code amendments. Although the law says the burden of proof is on the agency to show that it followed the law, which they obviously did not, I do not expect the BORA board to favorably view my petition. They will likely conclude that they are exempt from the process due to a 1971 special act; I argue that this act was repealed by the legislature in 2001.
The next step for me will be an appeal to the Florida Building Commission (FBC), which much be done within 14 days of the BORA meeting. The FBC is required by rule to request a hearing by the Division of Administrative Hearings within 15 days. Such a hearing, expected for June or July due to a 30-day fast-track requirement in statute, will be the first time I get an independent body to adjudicate the issue on the merits. If we ever have a chance at a favorable outcome, the hearing officer's review will be it.
In other news, the Broward County (FL) Board of Rules & Appeals (BORA) refused to hear my petition challenging their local code amendments until my lawsuit was officially closed out, so I voluntarily dismissed my lawsuit against them. The dismissal was already essentially done by the November 2024 court ruling that said I need to exhaust administrative remedies before continuing in court. After initially saying the petition would be heard at their April 10 meeting, BORA recently delayed it until the May 8 meeting. I have included the challenge (form plus separate supplemental document) to this meeting's BaseCamp folder in case you are interested to review it. Their attorney is supposed to prepare a response defending the adoption process, which is the source of my challenge.
This challenge hearing will require BORA to judge whether it met legal requirements to adopt local building code amendments. Although the law says the burden of proof is on the agency to show that it followed the law, which they obviously did not, I do not expect the BORA board to favorably view my petition. They will likely conclude that they are exempt from the process due to a 1971 special act; I argue that this act was repealed by the legislature in 2001.
The next step for me will be an appeal to the Florida Building Commission (FBC), which much be done within 14 days of the BORA meeting. The FBC is required by rule to request a hearing by the Division of Administrative Hearings within 15 days. Such a hearing, expected for June or July due to a 30-day fast-track requirement in statute, will be the first time I get an independent body to adjudicate the issue on the merits. If we ever have a chance at a favorable outcome, the hearing officer's review will be it.