Chapter 553 of the Florida Statutes authorizes the creation of the Florida Building Commission (Commission) and the Florida Building Code (FBC). The Florida Building Code is a statewide Code that governs the design, construction, erection, alteration, modification, repair, and demolition of public and private buildings, structures, and facilities and the enforcement of such laws and rules. The Commission develops and adopts a new edition of the Code triennially. The Code is deemed adopted for use statewide without the need for adoption by local government.
The proposed FBC 7th Edition (2020) is based upon the 2018 International Building Code. The FBC 7th Edition (2020) has been adopted with an effective date of December 31, 2020. Florida Statute 553.73(4)(a) authorizes local governments to adopt amendments to the administrative provisions of the FBC in order to meet local administrative needs, procedures, and operational standards.
The City of Riviera Beach adopted amendments to the 2001 FBC and 2004 FBC by incorporating all of the amendments within the body of the City’s Municipal Code of Ordinances in section 22-32. Subsequent adoptions of the FBC, in 2007, 2010, 2013, and 2017, by the State of Florida made the City’s amendments null and void. This Ordinance will remove this void language from section 22-32 of the City Code and adopt the administrative provisions of the FBC via a standalone manual (Attachment 2). Adopting these provisions via a separate document will allow the future updates to the Code to be adopted without the need for changes to the City’s Ordinance.
Staff has relied on extensive research to create the City’s stand-alone document for the administrative provisions of the 2020 FBC. Chapter One of the FBC 7th Edition (2020) has been reviewed and adjusted by the Building Officials Association of Florida (BOAF) and subsequently by the Building Code Advisory Board of Palm Beach County (BCAB). Chapter One governs the administration of all eight of the volumes of the Code including: Building, Plumbing, Mechanical, Electrical, Gas, Accessibility, Energy and Residential. The BCAB then voted unanimously to recommend the adoption of the amended Model Chapter One by each local jurisdiction.
The BCAB recommendations have been reviewed and further revised by Building Division staff to conform to the City’s operational standards. Adoption of the Amendments to Chapter One will be in the best interest of the public by providing for the administration of the entire family of codes, and by strengthening the Code for the health, safety and general welfare of the residents in the City of Riviera Beach. The adoption of the Amendments will allow City regulations to be comparable and compatible with the regulations in unincorporated Palm Beach County and most of the other jurisdictions within Palm Beach County. Furthermore, adoption of this Ordinance will simplify the process for future triennial updates to the Florida Building Code.