Gilbert Town Council to discuss 2012 International Codes: July 30

Gilbert Watch recently posted an article titled The 2012 ICC’s New Regulations: Will Gilbert Adopt them?  If you would like to gain some insight into the pro and con discussion at the Town Council level about the wisdom of adopting several hundred pages of new regulations in Gilbert, please attend the Tuesday, July 30 Study Session.  This is a discussion only; no votes will be taken.

The meeting will be held in the Council Chambers of the Gilbert Municipal Center, 50 E. Civic Center Drive, beginning at 4:00 pm. 

If you cannot attend, you can watch the meeting on Gilbert Live Channel 11.   Gilbert keeps an archive of past meetings, so, if you cannot watch it live, you can watch it later at your convenience.  
Click here for the link to the Agenda.
Click here for the link to Gilbert Live Channel 11.
 
Here is the item as it is stated on the Agenda:
2. Presentation and discussion on the adoption of the following technical codes:
2012 International Building Code
2012 International Residential Code
2012 International Mechanical Code
2012 International Plumbing Code
2012 International Fuel Gas Code
2012 International Energy Conservation Code
2012 International Fire Code
2012 International Green Construction Code
2011 National Electric Code
2013 Code for the Enforced Removal or Abatement of Prohibited Conditions, and Arizonans with Disabilities Act and possible amendments thereto as set forth in the Town of Gilbert Building and Construction Regulations 2013 edition.
The following chart depicts the proliferation of just one family of codes:  International Residential Code:

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The 2012 ICC’s New Regulations: Will Gilbert Adopt Them?

There is a meeting of the Town Council on July 30 in which the issue of the 2012 International Code Council (ICC) building code adoption will be discussed.  This is a public meeting.  You are strongly encouraged to attend.  It will be held in the Council Chambers of the Gilbert Municipal Center, 50 E. Civic Center Drive, beginning at 4:00 pm.  The agenda should be published in the next few days.  
The Gilbert Town Council will soon be making a decision about what, if any, International Codes they will adopt.  The last time they adopted a set of codes from the ICC was in 2006.  Normally, the ICC issues a new set of code updates every 3 years.  However, because of the recession of 2009, the builders in Arizona lobbied the state legislature to pass a law (A.R.S. 9-805) that did not allow municipalities to adopt any newer building code. 
Without that law, Gilbert likely would have passed it, forcing many builders, contractors, and future home buyers out of Gilbert.
That didn’t stop the ICC from dreaming up about 940 code “updates,” which appear in a stack of several code books in their 2012 version.
The question is not: “Are these codes sound”?  The question is:  “Should they be made law”? 
Codes, when “adopted” by a town or city council become law. They aren’t optional.  They affect everyone who must abide by them.  This includes the builders, architects, draftsmen, plumbers, electricians….all kinds of tradesmen.  They also affect the end consumer.  Code updates increase the cost of a new home or building.  
The myriad of codes that have been imposed on Gilbert citizens affect and create work for every Town employee who is involved with interpreting and enforcing every code, from initial plan design and approval, building inspections, compliance, fire safety.  The adoption of new codes will add hundreds of new regulations.   Many builders will profit by the additional work and pass the cost on to citizens.  The citizens will eventually bear the cost of all the expensive fees, inspections, and hours it takes to design, review, and inspect.  This will cost families millions of additional dollars very quickly. 
The Hidden Cost to All Gilbert Homeowners in your Homeowners Insurance policy
 

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ICC 2012 International Residential Code – Law in Gilbert?

Rusdon Ray, a local Gilbert draftsman/Home Designer, has written the following report on a meeting that took place on  April 4 with the Gilbert Planning Department regarding the ICC’s (International Code Council) 2012 International Building Codes.  It is expected that on June 1, 2013, Gilbert Town Management will propose to the Council that these codes are made into “law.”  Rusdon and many citizens want to see them in their useful place in the free market as suggestions and recommendations.  See previous articles written by Rusdon: Out of Control EPA and Arizona Code Enforcers and Quest for Excellence:  Best Done through Mandates or Personal Choice?
Have these thousands of pages of codes been made law in your  town or city, without being read or understood?   Here is Rusdon’s report on one of 9 code books: 2012 International Residential Code. 

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Out of Control EPA and Arizona Code Enforcers

Rusdon Ray, a local draftsman/Home Designer, along with some builders and home owners, met with Maricopa County District 2 Supervisor Steve Chucri in early March 2013.  They wanted to let him know that the EPA, as well as the ICC’s International Building Codes adopted by the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors (MCBOS), are forcing the construction industry to conform to illogical, tyrannical, untenable regulations and codes.  Imagine a police officer entering your home and ordering you to install a certain type of swimming pool motor, air conditioner, shower head, toilet, etc.  Would this happen in a free country?  Yet, our local government, through Code Enforcement, has the power to keep you from taking possession of your home if you haven’t installed these items.  If you as the home owner take possession anyway, your local government can prevent you from getting your power turned on.  See an article titled “Quest for Excellence best done through Mandates or Personal Choice?” written by Rusdon Ray.
 Here is the letter that Rusdon wrote to Steve Chucri: 

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Quest for Excellence – Best Done Through Mandates or Personal Choice?

by Rusdon Ray
Defenders of Liberty International
President
What does it mean to be an American? An American is a free citizen who has God given rights guaranteed & protected in the Declaration of Independence, U.S. Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. Some of these rights are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness, or in other words, Property. One other clear distinction of a U.S. Citizen is the American dream, which is the constitutionally protected right to own a home or business and the freedom to progress and achieve success as one sees fit without unnecessary and undue restrictions and burdensome regulations.

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Public Hearing in Gilbert May 1: ICC 2012 International Building Codes

Please attend this meeting in support of locally-written health and safety codes.  If possible, please speak out.  If you cannot attend, the following email will reach Mayor Lewis and all Gilbert Council Members: councilmembers@gilbertaz.gov. 
Here is the announcement from Rusdon Ray, Draftsman/Home Designer.  He has also personally invited the Mayor and Town Council members to attend. 

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ICC 2012 International Building Codes 5/1/2013 Meeting Review

Rusdon Ray, a local Gilbert draftsman and home designer, has been providing information to Gilbert Watch for several weeks relating to the controversial ICC 2012 International Building Codes and the possibility that the Gilbert Town Council will adopt them as law.  (Please see Public Hearing in Gilbert May 1:  ICC 2012 Building Codes  and Email Gilbert Council:  NO to making ICC 2012 International Codes LAW.)
Several concerned Builders, Tradesmen, and Citizens have set up a new website.  Please see No New Codes.  They have also created a flier to distribute in your neighborhood.  Here’s the link:  NoNewCodes!
Everywhere we turn, we are seeing Top Down Government Control.  We as freedom loving individuals have less and less control over our own lives, our children’s lives, our borders, and even our choice of a lightbulb in our own home.  Very few of our elected "representatives" are willing to stand up for us.  Most side with Big Government Progressives and Big Corporations, that "know best" what’s good for us.
Here is Rusdon Ray’s Review of the Town of Gilbert Public Meeting 5-1-13: ICC 2012 International Building Codes.

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Maricopa County is Considering Passing the 2012 International Codes – Don’t Call Me “honey”

I have a pet peeve.  I don’t like it when total strangers–less than 70 years of age–call me “honey.”  What does that have to do with Maricopa County considering passage of the 2012 International Codes?  You’ll see.
Have you been following this issue of town and city governments passing into Law thousands of pages of codes all across Arizona without even reading them?  To bring you up to date, please see the email below from Rusdon Ray, a local draftsman and home designer, who has been fighting this nonsense.  Please attend the Maricopa County meeting May 21 if you can.   Or send the MCBOS (Maricopa County Board of Supervisors) an email.  For background, please go to www.nonewcodes.com.   Here is a flier to print out and distribute in your neighborhood.  Rusdon and his team have also drafted a Proposal to the Gilbert Town Council.

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