13 Codes and Standards

Eric Bohn

CONTENTS

Introduction

Executive Summary

Key Concepts

Historical Background

Zoning Codes

Building Codes

Other Standards

Code Interpretation

Role of the Design Professional

Role of the Specialty Code Consultant

Role of the Model Code Organizations

Role of the Code Official

Project Management Issues

Trends and Future Developments

Special Discussion: Hazardous Materials

Further Discussion

About the Author

Further Reading

INTRODUCTION

This chapter provides an overview of the building and zoning codes plus associated standards and regulations that impact the design and construction of pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities. Local municipal and state governments are the primary authorities promulgating these codes. In addition, there are agencies at the federal level developing regulations and standards that impact facility design and construction. Examples of these include the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), and many specialty concerns, such as the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for control and use of radioactive materials and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) for controlled substances.

Codes represent the minimum requirements required by local, state, and federal governments to legally construct a facility. A design for a new facility, as well as renovation of an existing facility, must be based on the codes that apply for that particular set of circumstances. As will be demonstrated, compliance with codes represents an extraordinary amount of information that must be incorporated into a design. Fortunately, on any given project, the responsibility for code compliance is divided between the numerous specialty designers engaged, such as the architect and the civil, mechanical, electrical, pumping, fire protection, and environmental engineers.

Besides building and zoning codes, there are numerous additional guidelines and standards that impact the design and construction of buildings. These generally fall into two groups. First, there are technical standards that are specifically referenced by the building codes and thereby supplement and extend the technical precision of the code. These include standards by organizations such as the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), American National Standards Institute (ANSI), American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM), FM Global (FM), and National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). The second class of standards are specific federal ordinances that apply to special and specific aspects of a building, especially manufacturing facilities. These include regulations from the ADA and the following government agencies: OSHA, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), DEA, and NRC.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

KEY CONCEPTS

Codes represent the legal minimum for the design and construction of any facility. Codes cannot be avoided. They must be embraced, understood, and integrated into every facility design. There is a legal obligation to follow the code minimums; however, exceeding the codes is sometimes appropriate and may be in the owner’s best interest.

The sheer number of codes that relate to facility design is daunting. In order to proceed in an effective manner, it is necessary to be familiar with all the codes and know when and where each is applicable. In this way, one can narrow the pursuit and make compliance a manageable endeavor.

There are many codes and even more standards. Continual updates and new editions of the codes are common. It is crucial to follow the codes that are adopted and enforced in the jurisdiction where a building is being built. Be careful—this is not necessarily the most recent code. Sometimes it is assumed that the new codes are better and therefore more appropriate. However, it is only the legally adopted code that has legal standing and is the legal basis for enforcement. Not following the adopted code can easily result in noncompliance even if it is more recent.

The written presentation of codes is not linear in manner. This is particularly true when you consider the many different codes that must be researched and addressed. However, it is also true within the individual codes themselves. A thorough code review is an interactive process, requiring one to work back and forth between the various parts of the code and testing the various options available before settling on an approach appropriate for the circumstances at hand and beneficial to the owner.

The language of codes tries to be precise. However, when applied to real-world situations, the code does not always provide a clear answer. At such times it is necessary to seek an interpretation of the code. The local code official is typically charged with the legal authority to make final interpretations of the code. However, the design professional makes code interpretations as a matter of course while developing a design and has a legal responsibility to provide a design that is code compliant.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

In the United States, all levels of government have a constitutional mandate to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the public. All codes are an outgrowth of this mandate. During the early years of the twentieth century, the public’s health, safety, and welfare was increasingly interpreted as including minimum requirements for the construction of buildings and structures. This interpretation has largely been the result of large disastrous events. One of the earliest events was the Chicago Fire of 1871. After this disaster, where it has been estimated that 300 people died and 100,000 were left homeless, the city required all construction to be masonry. In the latter part of the twentieth century, regulations to protect the public health, safety, and welfare relative to construction spread until they have become an almost universal requirement in communities all across the nation. Interestingly, many of the events that encouraged code development were fires where large numbers of individuals were killed. The public outrage that followed such events led to an understanding that government has a role to play in guaranteeing minimal, consistent levels of safety in building construction. A current example of this historical process is the tragedy of September 11, 2001. The World Trade Center terrorist attack has been aggressively researched by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in its World Trade Center Disaster Study. As a result, new code requirements have been adopted, particularly in regard to high-rise buildings. In an August 2011 report by Scientific America, structural engineer Shyam Sunder, lead investigator for the NIST report, was quoted as saying that there have been “23 changes to the 2009 editions of the International Codes and another 17 changes to the 2012 editions” as a result of the NIST recommendations.

The first building codes were simple and direct, such as the Chicago Building Code of 1875 that was in response to the fire of 1871 mentioned above; the code mandated the use of masonry construction in an attempt to prevent more devastating fires. An example of the intent of a modern building code is the following excerpt from the International Building Code:

In 1916, New York City adopted the first zoning ordinance. This was a revolutionary set of land use laws that were a response to the intense development occurring in lower Manhattan after the turn of the century. The zoning code initially established height and setback controls to ensure that neighboring properties had access to light and air. Also, the code separated what were considered to be functionally incompatible uses; thus, factories were excluded from residential neighborhoods.

While building codes ensure public health, safety, and welfare within individual properties, which is to say the buildings themselves, the intent of zoning codes is to ensure the health, safety, and welfare of entire communities. The concern here is how multiple properties interact with each other and what impact they have on the overall community. Zoning concerns include

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  Encouraging appropriate land uses for the community

  
  
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  Safety from fire, flood, panic, and other natural or man-made disasters

  
  
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  Establishing appropriate population densities, thus preventing overcrowding of land

  
  
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  Providing all properties with access to adequate light, air, and open space

  
  
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  Convenience and coordination of transportation routes

  
  
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  Encouraging efficient expenditure of public funds by coordination of infrastructure and public development

  
  
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  The conservation of property values

ZONING CODES

Local codes addressing building construction are split between the issues of overall land use and that of the building itself. These are, respectively, zoning codes and building codes. Zoning codes regulate general land use and development issues for individual properties. They provide specific restrictions on the use of individual properties from the perspective of the “greater good” of the community. Zoning and land development is a transparent, public process. Depending on the specifics of a project, public hearings are often necessary. When changes or variances are being sought for a specific property, the public hearing process is usually measured in months. Large projects covering many acres can take a year or more before approval is granted, and very large projects, involving perhaps hundreds of acres, may take several years. In many jurisdictions, especially for commercial and industrial development, it is prudent to have legal representation. Occasionally, in order to establish the limits of the individual property owner’s rights versus the governing authority, cases are adjudicated in the courts.

The fundamental component of land use regulations is the zoning district. Every acre of land within a community is categorized as to uses that are acceptable. In general, these districts are categorized as residential, commercial, retail, and industrial. Often these categories are further subdivided into levels or densities of use, such as industrial and light industrial. Also, special mixed-use districts can be created that combine several of the traditional uses. The zoning code details the uses that are allowed for each particular district and establishes specific design standards and regulations. Besides the main or primary uses that are allowed, each district usually includes certain other special uses. These are typically called conditional uses and are considered compatible with the main use or are allowed under certain specific circumstances.

The regulations pertaining to each zoning district are described within the text of that municipality’s zoning code. Historically, there have been no nationally recognized model zoning codes that are ready-made for adoption by local communities. However, today the International Code Council publishes such a model code. Most existing zoning codes, however, have been developed by the individual jurisdiction and are specific to that locale. Local zoning codes have typically evolved over time and been modified many times in response to the changing needs, concerns, and circumstances of the community. Because of the preponderance of these existing codes, the International Zoning Code is not widely used. As a consequence, codes from different municipalities vary greatly, and it is necessary to consult the specific code of the jurisdiction where a project is located.

BUILDING CODES

Since the early part of the twentieth century, three regional organizations developed model codes that have dominated the building industry throughout the United States. These were the Building Officials and Code Administrators International (BOCA), International Conference of Building Officials (ICBO), and Southern Building Code Congress (SBCCI). While regional code development has been effective and responsive to the needs of the country, in time it became apparent that a single set of codes, applied across the country, would be beneficial. It was believed that uniform codes would allow consistent and efficient code enforcement, encourage greater commerce across state lines, and result in consistent and higher construction quality. In 1994, the three model code organizations came together and created the International Code Council (ICC) and developed the International Building Codes (IBCs). Since their issuance in 2000, these codes have become the standard throughout the country.

A second model building code also exists. The NFPA 5000: Building Construction and Safety Code^™ has been developed by the National Fire Protection Association. However, it is not widely used. In this chapter, we focus on the IBCs, believing that these codes represent a more general set of standards at this time. The IBC is not just a single building code, but a complete set of coordinated codes designed to accommodate the complete code needs of every municipality and jurisdiction across the country. These model codes are listed in Table 13.1.

There also exist several other specialty model codes. These are often adopted in conjunction with the previously mentioned codes. Prime examples of these are the National Electrical Code, which is a popular electric code developed by the NFPA, and the National Standard Plumbing Code, developed by the National Association of Plumbing–Heating–Cooling Contractors. Both these model codes can be used, and frequently are, in place of the corresponding ICC codes listed above. Very often, the total package of model codes adopted by a jurisdiction is a mix from these and other organizations. As an example, see Table 13.2, which lists codes adopted statewide by New Jersey as of 2015. Note in the table that there are model codes from different years or “code cycles,” as well as from different organizations. Also, there are two specialty codes written by the jurisdiction itself.

Model codes are designed to be adopted as is. However, in all cases, every jurisdiction adopts those codes they deem appropriate. Very often there are administrative modifications and additions. In some cases, for example, New York State, the jurisdiction modifies many details of the technical content and effectively publishes its own code, even though the majority of the model code remains. Therefore, it is important to verify the codes that are enforced for each given location. Also, the model codes change over time. The ICC is on a 3-year cycle with yearly supplements. Therefore, it is important to determine if a jurisdiction has recently changed or is planning to change their adopted codes to a more recent edition.

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