Month Day, Year

WELCOME

Chairman Rodriguez welcomed the Commission, staff and the public to Daytona Beach and the October 2011 plenary session of the Florida Building Commission. He explained that the primary focus of the October meeting was to decide on regular procedural issues including product and entity approvals, applications for accreditor and course approvals, petitions for declaratory statements, accessibility waivers, and recommendations from the various committees.

Chairman Rodriguez stated if anyone wished to address the Commission on any of the issues brought before the Commission, they should sign-in on the appropriate sheet(s). He then stated the Commission, as always, would provide an opportunity for public comment on each of the Commission’s substantive discussion topics. He further stated if anyone wishes to comment on a specific substantive Commission agenda item, they should come to the speaker’s table at the appropriate time so the Commission knows they wish to speak. He concluded by stating public input was welcome, and should be offered before there was a formal motion on the floor.

Chairman Rodriguez then conducted a roll-call of the Commission members.

REVIEW AND APPROVE AGENDA

Mr. Blair conducted a review of the meeting agenda as presented in each Commissioner’s files.

Mr. Blair sated there would not be an Energy TAC report as the Energy TAC did not meet as planned.

Commissioner Nicholson moved approval of the meeting agenda as amended. Commissioner Carson entered a second to the motion. Vote to approve the motion as amended was unanimous. Motion carried.

REVIEW AND APPROVE AUGUST 9, 2011 COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES AND FACILITATOR’S REPORT

Chairman Rodriguez called for approval of the minutes and Facilitator’s Report from the August 9, 2011 Commission meeting.

Commissioner Nicholson moved approval of the minutes and Facilitator’s Report from the August 9, 2011 Commission meeting. Commissioner Carson entered a second to the motion. Vote to approve the motion was unanimous. Motion carried.

CHAIR’S DISCUSSION ISSUES AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Appointments to TACs and Workgroups

Building Code System Assessment Ad Hoc Committee

Chairman Rodriguez stated Hamid Bahadori and John Scherer were appointed to the Building Code and Assessment Ad Hoc Committee to replace Jim Goodloe and Randy Vann.

Committees and TAC

Chairman Rodriguez stated Jim Goodloe had rolled-off of the Fire TAC (chair) and Special Occupancy TAC, and Randy Vann had rolled-off of the Plumbing TAC (chair), Code Administration and Accessibility TACs as a result of resigning from the Commission. He appointed Hamid Bahadori as chair of the Fire TAC to replace Jim Goodloe, and Mark Turner was appointed to replace Randy Vann as chair on the Code Administration TAC.

Chairmen Rodriguez stated once the Commission receives a new Plumbing Contractor appointee they will be appointed to the Plumbing and Accessibility TACs, and the new State Insurance Representative (Department of Financial Services) would be appointed to the Fire and Special Occupancy TACs.

ICC Major Jurisdiction Committee

Chairman Rodriguez stated the International Code Council has offered the Commission a position on its committee that deals with issues of major jurisdictions. He further stated if the Commission decided to increase direct participation in the ICC, Dick Browdy (if he accepts the appointment) would be designated to represent the Commission on the ICC Major Jurisdiction Committee. He stated ICC participation would be a component of the analysis done by the 2013 Florida Building Code Update Process Ad Hoc committee.

Threshold Building Renovations Workgroup

Chairman Rodriguez stated at the August meeting Commissioner Schock reported the Board of Professional Engineers was seeking Commission input regarding threshold building requirements for renovations and he was recommending the Commission appoint a workgroup to address the issue. He then stated in response to the FBPE request a Threshold Building Renovations Workgroup was being appointed. Following are the appointments to date:

David Charland, PE FBPE (Structural Board member),

Jim Schock, PE Commission Structural TAC Chair

Nick Nicholson, PE Commission Structural TAC

Dan Lavrich, PE Commission Structural TAC

Craig Parrino, PE Commission Structural TAC

Do Kim, PE Commission Structural TAC

Jaime Gascon, PE Commission Structural TAC

2013 Florida Building Code Update Process

Chairman Rodriguez stated the 2012 International Codes are now available and there have been changes to Florida law governing how the Commission goes about the FBC update process. He then stated the Florida Building Code System Assessment Project had also provided significant feedback on the process regarding what worked well and what people thought needed improvement. He further stated the plan was to convene an ad hoc committee of commissioners to review the changes and inputs working with staff to map out the process for the 2013 FBC update. He stated the committee would meet at an upcoming meeting to develop a plan so participants in the Florida Building Code could be notified in early 2012 and the proceedings would start later in the year.

He then stated the following commissioners were appointed to the 2013 Florida Building Code Update Process Ad Hoc:

Raul Rodriguez (Chair), Dick Browdy, Jon Hamrick, Herminio Gonzalez, Dale Greiner, Mark Turner, Rafael Palacios, Jim Schock, Hamid Bahadori, Chris Schulte, Jeff Gross, Tim Tolbert, and John Scherer.

Appreciation for Jim Richmond

Chairman Rodriguez stated Jim Richmond had decided to take a position with the new Department of Economic Opportunity and would no longer serve as the Commission’s attorney. He then stated Mr. Richmond had served professionally and with excellence and had been a critical member of the Commission team and would be missed. He further stated Mr. Richmond had been with the Commission since its very early days and leaves a major imprint on its policies and procedures, especially on its legislative activism. He continued by stating Mr. Richmond had served the Commission well as the Commission’s lobbyist and representative with Legislators.

Chairman Rodriguez, on behalf of the Commission, wished Mr. Richmond good luck in his new role and trusts he would serve the new Agency as well as he served the Commission. He presented a plaque to Mr. Richmond as a token of the Commission’s appreciation.

Mr. Richmond stated it had been an outstanding 11-12 years. He then stated if he took the time to thank all of the commissioners, staff members, and constituents who have faithfully served for their contribution to Florida and the significant work accomplished through all of their efforts, he could easily triple the time the meeting should take. He thanked the Commission and stated it had been an outstanding way to spend a significant portion of his legal career i.e. doing important work which will have lasting impact on the state. He stated there were personal as well as professional, successes for him with the formation of his family. He concluded by stating the experience had been a big part of his life and thanked everyone for the opportunity.

Chairman Rodriguez welcomed Leslie Anderson-Adams as the Commission’s new attorney.

Certification of Florida Building Code Rule

Chairman Rodriguez stated in order to comply with an October 1, 2011 deadline he certified to JAPC the Commission should be exempt from a newly created Legislative review of the Rule similar to that required by the Governor and based on its cooperation with the Governor’s Office of Fiscal Accountability and Regulatory Reform in its review of the Rule. He further stated the certification would allow the Commission to avoid the additional review and to maintain the code implementation date as March 15, 2012, as planned.

Letter to Citizens Insurance

Chairman Rodriguez stated the Commission voted at the August meeting to send another letter to Citizens Insurance inquiring about the status of its establishment of a policy regarding aluminum branch wiring in older homes. He further stated conformance with the Commission’s decision the Chair sent a letter, which Commissioners were copied, but to date the Commission has received no reply from Citizens.

UPDATE OF THE COMMISSION WORKPLAN

Mr. Dixon conducted a review of the updated Commission work plan. (See Updated Commission Work plan October 1, 2011).

Report to the Legislature

Mr. Dixon stated the Legislature would be meeting two months early this year, therefore the schedule for development of the Report to the Legislature had been moved forward. He stated discussion and recommendations would be heard at the October meeting; the report would be finalized for the December meeting and hopefully be submitted to the Legislature by the end of December, however, with holidays it would be more likely January.

Triennial Assessment

Mr. Dixon stated the report to the Legislature would include significant recommendations from the Triennial Assessment. He then stated staff’s recommendation to the Commission was to not pursue legislative changes for those recommendations during the 2012 legislative session but to defer any legislative changes until the 2013 Legislative session.

Mr. Dixon stated the Commission was moving into DBPR and it would be operating under a different paradigm of how the its issues would be lobbied at Legislature. He then stated the processes would be developed and put in place over the next year. He continued by stating because of the Legislature’s major task of reapportionment, staff did not believe it was a good time to pursue a lot of Building Code legislation.

Wind Standards for Asphalt Shingles

Mr. Dixon stated the Commission had participated in a federal research project over the past two years and the report from that project was coming in the fall. He then stated before the implementation of the 2013 Code the workgroup will review the results of the research and determine whether or not any potential changes were warranted to the requirements of the Code for asphalt shingles. He further stated if there was any merit for changes in what was in the code currently, determine what those might be and will recommend them to the Commission.

Threshold Building Inspection Law

Mr. Dixon stated at the last Commission meeting Commissioner Schock had requested a committee be appointed to investigate the application of the Threshold Building Inspection Law in existing buildings and how the law should be implemented, if at all, in structural repairs or alterations to threshold buildings. He then stated the committee was appointed at the October meeting and would begin its work at the December Commission meeting. He further stated it would be a joint effort between the Board of Professional Engineers and potentially other representatives form that community to be appointed to the committee as the process moves forward.

Hinged Entry Doors

Mr. Dixon stated that for the last 6-9 months representatives of the door industry asked the Commission to convene a group to review hurricane protection standards for their products, hinge entry doors. He then stated the Commission had reviewed the issue a number of years ago. He further stated there had been some evolution in that industry with a national association for those door manufacturers want to have the Commission review the standards in the code for their products to determine whether those should updated or not for hurricane protection. He stated a group would be appointed in the future and its work will be started in 2012.

2013 Florida Building Code Development

Mr. Dixon stated the major task on the workplan was the development of the 2013 Building Code. He then stated there was not a specific schedule with target dates or milestones, but a plan for how the process will go. He further stated the committee appointed at the October meeting would review a schedule proposed by Mr. Madani then determine and set dates for getting the information to the public, as well as advise the public on the changes in the process. He continued by stating there were two primary changes in the law that will alter the approach taken to update the code: 1) The 6-month delay time between the printing and availability of the base codes, (2012 I Codes), before the Commission could select those the I Codes was eliminated from law. He then stated the Commission could theoretically select those codes at this point because ICC has those available to the public. 2) All Florida specific amendments that have not been addressed by some change between the 2009 and 2012 I Codes that would have automatically rolled forward into the 2013 Code will sunset unless someone proposes them and they are readopted into the 2013 Code. He stated the significance of that change was some of the Florida specific amendments will go away. He then stated what it does for the process was rather than staff having to go through the new edition of an I Code to determine where the Florida specific amendments already adopted were and fitting them into those locations, i.e. basically rewriting the document so the public would then have a single document to make their proposals to; the staff will only have to look at what the Legislature directed be put into the Florida Building Code and how do the Commission’s initiatives, Hurricane Protection Initiatives, for instance, and research that have resulted in code changes of Florida specific requirements would have to be evaluated by staff for integration into the 2012 codes. He further stated it would greatly reduce the work effort on the front end and puts the workload back on those parties and industries that have Florida amendments that may want to re-propose them for future editions. He continued by stating it also allowed the Commission to be more efficient in its process to get the 2013 Code out.

Commissioner Greiner asked if the March 14^th date worked with the Fire Code for availability at the same time. He stated he thought the Fire Code deadline was in January.

Mr. Dixon stated by having the building code completed one year sooner than in the past the Fire Code deadline would be met.

Commissioner Greiner asked if there would be a way for the TACs to distinguish between a normal code change proposal and one which incorporates a past Florida specific item.

Mr. Dixon responded the Ad Hoc committee would determine if a proposer would be required identify if it was a repeat of a prior proposal that could be done.

Mr. Blair stated the Ad Hoc would consider the issue during its process and make that determination.

Commissioner Hamrick asked if there was an exception in the Florida specific amendments for state agency rules from being sunsetted.

Mr. Dixon responded stating he believed the Commission would determine if there would be an exception. He then stated those items should be called out and treated a little differently. He further stated being Florida specific amendments they would have to be proposed. He then stated staff could end up working with the agencies to ensure they are proposed to the right place. He continued by stating the items written into law, directed by the Legislature, CO detectors or pool entrapment, for example, would have to be managed by the Commission staff to make sure they are included into the 2013 Code. He stated the issues the Commission had initiatives for would have to be re-proposed to go back into the Code and would be the responsibility of the Commission and staff, not members of the public. He further stated the state agency rules which needed to be included in the Code could be worked in conjunction with staff if the Commission preferred.

Commissioner Carson moved approval of the updated workplan. Commissioner Nicholson entered a second to the motion.

Commissioner Stone asked for clarification of the motion.

Mr. Blair stated the motion was for the approval of the workplan. He then stated the schedule would be determined by the Ad Hoc and brought back to the Commission for approval.

Chairman Rodriguez stated the motion was to approve the updated workplan. He then stated the meeting schedule had not been set yet.

Vote to approve the motion was unanimous. Motion carried.

Mr. Dixon stated the meeting dates had been set for some time. He then stated there were now meeting locations to accompany those dates in 2012. He further stated there would be two meetings in Gainesville, two meetings in Daytona, and two meetings on the west coast in the Tampa bay area. He continued by stating the first meeting of 2012 would be at the Tradewinds Hotel in St Pete Beach, then back to the normal venues the Embassy Suites in Tampa, the Hilton Hotel in Gainesville, and the Hilton Hotel for the Daytona Beach meetings. He asked for any negative feedback on the Hilton Hotel in Daytona Beach before contracts were signed. He further stated the fee structure was good for the Commission, there was adequate meeting space and appeared to be recently refurnished. He stated contracts would be signed at the close of the October meeting if there were no negative comments.

CONSIDER ACCESSIBILITY WAIVER APPLICATIONS

Chairman Rodriguez directed the Commission to Leslie Anderson-Adams for consideration of the Accessibility Waiver Applications.

Recommended for Deferral:

# 1 Sherbrooke Apartments, Inc.

Ms. Adams explained the petitioner’s request for waiver as it was described in each Commissioner’s files. She stated the council recommended deferral to allow for further research.

Commissioner Greiner moved approval of the Council’s recommendation for deferral. Commissioner Carson entered a second to the motion. Vote to approve the motion was unanimous. Motion carried.

#3 Boys and Girls Club of Palm Beach

Ms. Adams explained the petitioner’s request for waiver as it was described in each Commissioner’s files. She stated the council unanimously recommended for deferral to allow the applicant to provide more detailed information.

Commissioner Nicholson moved approval of the Council’s recommendation for deferral. Commissioner Gregory entered a second to the motion. Vote to approve the motion was unanimous. Motion carried.

Recommendation for Approval:

#2 Ocean Breeze Hotel

Ms. Adams explained the petitioner’s request for waiver as it was described in each Commissioner’s files. She stated the council unanimously recommended approval for economic hardship due to disproportionate cost.

Commissioner Nicholson moved approval of the Council’s recommendation. Commissioner Carson entered a second to the motion. Vote to approve the motion was unanimous. Motion carried.

#4 Vita Restaurant

Ms. Adams explained the petitioner’s request for waiver as it was described in each Commissioner’s files. She stated the council unanimously recommended approval due to disproportionate cost.

Commissioner Nicholson moved approval of the Council’s recommendation. Commissioner Gregory entered a second to the motion. Vote to approve the motion was unanimous. Motion carried.

#5 Frank Entertainment Delray Marketplace

Ms. Adams explained the petitioner’s request for waiver as it was described in each Commissioner’s files. She stated the council unanimously recommended approval due to technical infeasibility. She then stated she believed the Council’s intention was it was based on unreasonable hardship because the applicant had provided a number of accessible seating options from different viewing angles.

Commissioner Carson moved approval of the Council’s recommendation. Commissioner Greiner entered a second to the motion. Vote to approve the motion was unanimous. Motion carried.

#6 iPic Entertainment

Ms. Adams explained the petitioner’s request for waiver as it was described in each Commissioner’s files. She stated the council unanimously recommended approval based on unreasonable hardship due to technical infeasibility.

Commissioner Nicholson moved approval of the Council’s recommendation. Commissioner Carson entered a second to the motion. Vote to approve the motion was unanimous. Motion carried.

CONSIDER APPLICATIONS FOR PRODUCT AND ENTITY APPROVAL

Chairman Rodriguez directed the Commission to Commissioner Carson for presentation of entity approvals.

Commissioner Carson stated the following 15 entities were recommended for approval by the POC:

CER3471 - PFS Corporation

QUA1963 - Timber Products Inspection, Inc.

QUA3214 - CEL Consulting

QUA3726 – Pyramid 1, Inc.

QUA6128 – Ramtech Laboratories, Inc.

TST1657 - Fenestration Testing Lab

TST2542 - Terrapin Testing

TST2613 - Stork- Twin City Testing Wisconsin

TST3619 - Applied Research Laboratories

TST3782 - American Test Lab of South Florida Inc.

TST4310 – Architectural Testing, Inc. - Washington

TST8039 - Quast Consulting and Testing Inc.

VAL1665 - PSI/Pittsburgh Testing Laboratory

VAL4121 - PFS Corporation