TITLE 14
BUILDING AND DEVELOPMENT

CHAPTER 1
BUILDING CODES

ARTICLE A. BUILDING CODE AND REGULATIONS

SECTION:

14-1A-1: International Building Code Adopted

14-1A-2: International Building Code Amendments

14-1A-3: Permit Issuance Prohibited During Contemplation Or Consideration Of Zoning Reclassification Or Zoning Or Subdivision Text Amendments

14-1A-4: Demolition Permits In Conservation Districts

14-1A-5: Exterior Security And Appearance Of Buildings

14-1A-6: Building Code Advisory And Appeal Board

14-1A-1: INTERNATIONAL BUILDING CODE ADOPTED:

Except as hereinafter added to, deleted, modified, or amended, there is hereby adopted by reference as the building code of the City that certain building code known as the International Building Code, 2021 edition, and as published by the International Code Council, and the provisions of such building code shall be controlling in the construction of buildings and other structures and in all matters covered by such building code within the corporate limits of the City and shall be known as the “Dubuque Building Code”. A copy of the International Building Code, 2021 edition, as adopted, shall be on file in the Office of the City Clerk for public inspection. (Ord. 40-19, 9-3-2019; amd. Ord. 21-23, 5-15-2023)

14-1A-2: INTERNATIONAL BUILDING CODE AMENDMENTS:

The following additions, deletions, modifications, or amendments of the International Building Code, 2021 edition, adopted in section 14-1A-1 of this article to read as follows:

Section 101.1. Title. Amended to read:

   These regulations shall be known as the Dubuque Building Code, hereinafter referred to as “this code”.

Section 103.1. Creation of enforcement agency. Amended to read:

   103.1 Creation of enforcement agency.

   The Inspection & Construction Services Division is hereby created and the official in charge thereof shall be known as the Building Official. The function of this agency shall be the implementation, administration, and enforcement of the provisions of this code.

Section 105.5. Expiration. Amended to read:

   105.5 Expiration. Every permit issued shall become invalid unless the work on the site authorized by such permit is completed within one year after its issuance. The Building Official is authorized to grant, in writing, one or more extensions of time, for periods of not more than one hundred eighty (180) days each. Each extension shall be requested in writing and justifiable case demonstrated.

Sections 113.1 through 113.3 replaced with City of Dubuque Code of Ordinances section 14-1A-6.

Section 114. Violations. Amended to read:

   114.1 Unlawful Acts. It shall be unlawful for any person, firm or corporation to erect, construct, enlarge, alter, repair, move, improve, remove, convert or demolish, equip, use, occupy or maintain any building or structure or cause or permit the same to be done in violation of this code.

   The doing of any act, or the omission of any act, declared to be unlawful by this code, or any code or ordinance herein adopted by reference, shall be deemed a separate offense for each day or portion thereof during which any such unlawful act is committed, continued, or permitted and upon conviction, shall be punishable as provided in title 1 of the City Code of Ordinances. The penalty herein provided shall be cumulative with and in addition to the revocation, cancellation, or forfeiture of any license or permit elsewhere in this code provided for violation thereof.

   A notice of violation is not required in every situation and City staff may issue a municipal infraction without previously issuing a notice of violation.

Section 116. Unsafe Structures And Equipment. Amended to read:

   116 Unsafe Structures And Equipment. All buildings or structures regulated by this code which are structurally unsafe or not provided with adequate egress, or which constitute a fire hazard, or are otherwise dangerous to human life are, for the purpose of this Section, unsafe. Any use of buildings or structures constituting a hazard to safety, health, or public welfare by reason of inadequate maintenance, dilapidation, obsolescence, fire hazard, disaster, damage, or abandonment is, for the purposes of this Section, an unsafe use. Any parapet wall, cornice, spire, tower, tank, statuary, or other appendage or structural member which is supported by, attached to, or a part of a building and which is in deteriorated condition or otherwise unable to sustain the design loads which are specified in this code is, for the purposes of this Section, hereby designated as an unsafe building appendage.

   All such unsafe buildings, structures, or appendages are hereby declared to be public nuisances and shall be abated by repair, rehabilitation, demolition, or removal in accordance with the procedures set forth in title 14, chapter 3 of the Code of Ordinances.

Section 202. Definitions. Amendment to “building official” and inclusion of “code official”:

   Building Official. See “Code Official”.

   Code Official. The officer or other designated authority charged with the administration and enforcement of this code or a duly authorized representative thereof. Any reference to “Building Official” in this code shall have the same meaning as “Code Official”.

Section 903.3.1.1.1. Exempt Locations. Amended to read:

   903.3.1.1.1 Exempt Locations. Automatic sprinklers shall not be required in the following rooms or areas where such rooms or areas are protected with an approved automatic fire detection system, in accordance with Section 907.2 of this code, that will respond to visible or invisible particles of combustion. Sprinklers shall not be omitted from a room or area merely because the room or area is damp, of fire-resistance-rated construction, or contains electrical equipment.

   1.   A room or area where the application of water, or flame and water, constitutes a serious life or fire hazard.

   2.   A room or area where sprinklers are considered undesirable because of the nature of the contents, where approved by the fire code official.

   3.   Generator and transformer rooms separated from the remainder of the building by walls and floor/ceiling or roof/ceiling assemblies having a fire-resistance rating of not less than 2 hours.

   4.   Rooms or areas that are of noncombustible construction with wholly noncombustible contents.

   5.   Fire service access elevator machine rooms and machinery spaces.

   6.   Machine rooms, machinery spaces, control rooms and control spaces associated with occupant evacuation elevators designed in accordance with Section 3008.

Section 1031.3.2 Minimum dimensions. Amended to read:

   1031.3.2 Minimum dimensions. The minimum net clear opening height dimension shall be 24 inches (610 mm). The minimum net clear opening width dimension shall be 20 inches (508 mm). The net clear opening dimensions shall be the result of normal operation of the opening.

   Exception: Replacement windows shall be exempt from the minimum size requirements of this section, provided that the replacement window meets the following conditions:

   1.   The replacement window is the manufacturer’s largest standard size window that will fit within the existing frame or existing rough opening, provided that the replacement window shall be of a style that provides for the greatest net clear window opening area in the existing frame or existing rough opening and shall have a minimum net clear opening width of 20 inches (508 mm), a minimum net clear opening height of 22 inches (559 mm), and a minimum net clear opening of 4.0 square feet (0.372 square meters).

   2.   The replacement window is not part of a change of occupancy or use.

Section 1031.3.3. Maximum height from floor. Amended to read:

   1031.3.3 Maximum height from floor.

   Emergency escape and rescue openings shall have the bottom of the clear opening not greater than 44 inches (1118 mm) as measured from the floor.

   Exception:   The bottom of the clear opening may exceed 44 inches (1118 mm) above the floor if the following conditions are met:

      a.   A platform capable of supporting a live load of 300 pounds shall be permanently affixed at the interior of the structure. This platform shall be no lower than 20 inches (508 mm) above the floor and no higher than 36 inches (914 mm) above the floor. The distance from the platform to the bottom of the clear opening shall not exceed 36 inches (914 mm). The platform shall extend outward from the wall a minimum of 18 inches (457 mm) and shall be a minimum of 36 inches (914 mm) wide or as wide as the clear openable width of the window, whichever is greater, or another approved method/platform.

      b.   The emergency escape or rescue window shall comply with section 1031.3.2. (Ord. 33-20, 9-21-2020; amd. Ord. 21-23, 5-15-2023)

14-1A-3: PERMIT ISSUANCE PROHIBITED DURING CONTEMPLATION OR CONSIDERATION OF ZONING RECLASSIFICATION OR ZONING OR SUBDIVISION TEXT AMENDMENTS:

The building official of the City is hereby prohibited from issuing a building permit for real property for which action is contemplated or has been initiated for a change in the zoning classification of the property or a text amendment of the Zoning or Subdivision Ordinances. The prohibition shall be from the date of the filing of the application with the Planning Services Department until the date of final action of the City Council upon such zoning reclassification or text amendment, including publication as provided by law where the reclassification or amendment is adopted by the City Council. The City Council may, by one or more resolutions, waive this prohibition in whole or in part. (Ord. 21-16, 6-6-2016, eff. 7-1-2016)