Business & Labor
Louisiana Passes New Statewide Building Code
(archrecord.construction.com - 12/07/2005)
By Angelle
Bergeron in New Orleans with Tom Sawyer,
Engineering News-Record
On November 29 Louisiana Governor Kathleen
Blanco signed legislation for the state to adopt the International
Building Code, a uniform code put out by the Virginia-based
International Code Council, that will replace a patchwork
of municipal controls that range from strict to none. The
legislation, which was passed by the state Senate on November
22, not only requires that new construction adhere to the
code, but that the it be applied to home repairs if costs
are more than 50% of pre-storm valuation.
Once the bill is signed the 11 parishes hardest hit by this
season’s storms will have 30 days to start applying the
code. Those that don’t have enforcement officials will
have 90 days. The code will take effect statewide on Jan.
1, 2007.
While many applaud the adoption of a statewide standard for
new construction, the issues raised for home repairs are raising
concerns. Industry experts say the adoption of the IBC will
increase the spread between insurance pay-outs and repair
costs so much that it may become too expensive for many homeowners
to rebuild. In the New Orleans suburb of Kenner alone, the
Federal Emergency Management Agency says in excess of 500
houses meet the 50% test. Phil Hoffman, president of Hoffman
Custom Built Homes, LaPlace, La., says for the cost to bring
those homes up to code, "they might just as well bring
in the bulldozers and knock it all down."
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Louisiana Parishes without existing codes will see the sharpest
cost increase, says Ronnie Kyle, president of Louisiana Homebuilders
Association. "In Baton Rouge, we’re probably looking
at only a 2 to 3% increase in cost, but places like Cameron,
that had no code, will have a 17 to 20% increase," he says.
"Most of Orleans [Parish] was under at least a 1995 code
and some the 2000 code, so they’re probably looking at
an 8 to 12% increase."
To make things even more difficult for homeowners, Hoffman
says the code is "basically a wind code" addressing
roofs, wind anchors, bracing, siding and glazing, while most
of the damage is from storm surge or flood. "Having to
bring some of these damaged homes up to code will be a real
task and insurance companies aren’t going to pay for
that," he says. "They will only pay for the [flood]
damaged areas of the house."
However, the insurance industry, building associations and
contractors say code uniformity for new construction is needed
to woo back insurers and secure federal funding. "It
will motivate our insurance companies to come back,"
says John Marlow, assistant vice president for the Southwest
Region of the American Insurance Association, a trade group.
"This is not really about rates going down as much as
it is about coverage being available. [Insurance] companies
have been taking a really hard look about whether they want
to do business in Louisiana anymore."
The code’s appeal is uniformity and insulation from
ever-changing political influences, says Derrell Cohoon, executive
director of Louisiana Associated General Contractors. "It
will bring investors back and send a huge message that it’s
not business as usual in Louisiana," Cohoon says.
Although increased costs will surely be a by-product of the
new standards, "if you can’t buy insurance, it doesn’t
do you any good to rebuild," says Kyle. "At some
point, you’ve got to say the cost is what the cost is."
He also says a provision for third-party inspectors may help
speed permitting and construction.
Under the law, the governor will name a 19-member code council
to review the code every three years. Legislators have already
planned the first review for March, which should give time
for kinks to surface, Hoffman says.
Elsewhere in the region, Texas’s June adoption of the
IBC for municipalities goes into effect Jan 1. Mississippi
building groups are lobbying a statewide adoption of the IBC,
but the legislature is not in session until Jan. 3. In Alabama,
AGC Executive Vice President Henry Hagood says there is "no
concerted effort" to adopt a uniform statewide code now,
but if Mississippi and Florida do, "Alabama would probably
be looking at it too."
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