County commissioners clarify building codes

In order to clarify any possible confusion regarding Kootenai County’s position on building codes, the Board of County Commissioners wishes to say that at the current time, building codes have not been abolished.

Last month, the board voted to refuse to adopt the 2015 update of the IBC (International Building Code - commercial), and the 2015 update of the commercial provisions of the IECC (International Energy Conservation Code), as adopted by the State of Idaho. The State of Idaho did not adopt the 2015 International Residential Code (IRC), electing to leave the 2012 IRC and the 2012 residential provisions of the IECC in place. The County had previously adopted the 2012 IRC.

In order for the County to abolish the mandatory provision for residential building codes, there must be a public hearing, followed by deliberations and a formal vote by the BOCC. At this time there is no way to predict the outcome, as there are two possible scenarios to be discussed:

1. An ordinance where a property owner can choose the option of bypassing the formal permitting process (e.g. Boise County) or;

2. An ordinance where an owner of property that is at least five acres in size can choose to bypass the formal permitting process.

In either case, a property owner could choose to adhere to (or exceed the requirements of) the latest code.

Should neither of these options be adopted, the BOCC may consider adopting the codes adopted by the State of Idaho in 2017.

The BOCC will provide the minimum 28-day notice of the public hearing. This will likely occur in February.

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Source: Kootenai County Board of Commissioners - Marc Eberlein, Chris Filios and Bob Bingham.