California Backpedals on NFPA Building Code

California Building Standards Commission Withdraws 2003 Code Recommendations (International Code Council [ICC] press release, March 16, 2005) reports that the California Building Standards Commission has voted to rescind its previous endorsement of the NFPA building code as the model on which to base future editions of the state's building code. This vote follows the Commission's Coordinating Council recommendation [pdf] on March 8 in support of the ICC model codes. The Coordinating Council's recommendation identified significant monetary costs and technical hurdles in proceeding with adoption of the NFPA model code. These decisions essentially clear the way for the State's eventual adoption of the ICC codes.

In this author's opinion, this is good news for the design and construction industry. A single set of coordinated model codes used as the basis for building regulations throughout the US is a benefit to the design and construction industry and as well as to the public.