DOS-47-11-00004-P Carbon Monoxide Alarms in Bed and Breakfast Dwellings; Minimum Width of Concrete Footings; and Energy Efficiency Requirements in Connection with Additions to and Alterations of Existing One- and Two-Family Dwellings and Townhouses

11/23/11 N.Y. St. Reg. DOS-47-11-00004-P

NEW YORK STATE REGISTER

VOLUME XXXIII, ISSUE 47

November 23, 2011

RULE MAKING ACTIVITIES

DEPARTMENT OF STATE

PROPOSED RULE MAKING

HEARING(S) SCHEDULED

 

I.D No. DOS-47-11-00004-P

Carbon Monoxide Alarms in Bed and Breakfast Dwellings; Minimum Width of Concrete Footings; and Energy Efficiency Requirements in Connection with Additions to and Alterations of Existing One- and Two-Family Dwellings and Townhouses

PURSUANT TO THE PROVISIONS OF THE State Administrative Procedure Act, NOTICE is hereby given of the following proposed rule:

Proposed Action:

This is a consensus rule making to amend section 1220.1(c) of Title 19 NYCRR.

Statutory authority:

Executive Law, section 377

Subject:

Carbon monoxide alarms in bed and breakfast dwellings; minimum width of concrete footings; and energy efficiency requirements in connection with additions to and alterations of existing one- and two-family dwellings and townhouses.

Purpose:

To make corrections to the 2010 Residential Code of New York State.

Public hearing(s) will be held at:

11:00 a.m., January 11, 2012 at Department of State, 99 Washington Ave., Conference Rm. 1135, Albany, NY.

Interpreter Service:

Interpreter services will be made available to hearing impaired persons, at no charge, upon written request submitted within reasonable time prior to the scheduled public hearing. The written request must be addressed to the agency representative designated in the paragraph below.

Accessibility:

All public hearings have been scheduled at places reasonably accessible to persons with a mobility impairment.

Text of proposed rule:

Subdivision (c) of section 1220.1 of 19 NYCRR is amended by adding new paragraphs (8), (9), (10), and (11) to read as follows:

(8) 2010 RCNYS Section R313.4.3 Exception 2. Exception 2 in Section R313.4.3 of the 2010 RCNYS, as amended and restated in paragraph (2) of this subdivision, is further amended and restated in its entirety to read as follows:

"2. In buildings other than bed and breakfast dwellings that undergo repair, alteration, change of occupancy, addition or relocation in accordance with Appendix J, carbon monoxide alarms may be battery operated, cord-type or direct plug."

(9) 2010 RCNYS Table R403.1. The heading of the final column in Table R403.1 on the 2010 RCNYS shall be deemed to be amended to read as follows: "4,000 or more."

(10) 2010 RCNYS Appendix J, Section J104. Section J104 in Appendix J of the 2010 RCNYS, which currently consists of Section J104.1 only, shall be deemed to be amended and restated in its entirety as a new Section J104, to include Section J104.1 and Section J104.2, to read as follows:

"SECTION J104

"ENERGY EFFICIENCY

"J104.1. Additions and Alterations. Additions and alterations shall comply with Sections N1101.3.1, N1101.3.2 and N1101.3.3.

"J104.2. Change of occupancy. Change of building occupancy shall comply with Section N1101.3.2."

(11) 2010 RCNYS Appendix J, Section J501.2. Section J501.2 in Appendix J of the 2010 RCNYS shall be deemed to be amended and restated in its entirety to read as follows:

"J501.2 Conformance. An existing building or portion thereof shall not be altered such that the building becomes less safe than its existing condition.

"Exception. Where the current level of safety or sanitation is proposed to be reduced, the portion altered shall conform to the requirements of this code."

Text of proposed rule and any required statements and analyses may be obtained from:

Raymond Andrews, Department of State, 99 Washington Ave., Albany, NY 12231-0001, [phone], email: [e-mail]

Data, views or arguments may be submitted to:

Same as above.

Public comment will be received until:

Five days after the last scheduled public hearing.

Consensus Rule Making Determination

Subdivision 11 of State Administrative Procedure Act § 102 provides that "consensus rule means a rule proposed by an agency for adoption on an expedited basis pursuant to the expectation that no person is likely to object to its adoption because it merely. . . makes technical changes or is otherwise non-controversial." The Department of State has concluded that no person is likely to object to the adoption of this rule because this rule merely makes technical, non-controversial changes to the State uniform fire prevention and building code (the "Uniform Code").

The Uniform Code is a fire prevention and building code adopted pursuant to Article 18 of the Executive Law. The provisions of the Uniform Code are contained in publications that are incorporated by reference in Parts 1220 to 1227, inclusive, of Title 19 of the NYCRR. Those publications include the 2010 edition of the Residential Code of New York State (the "2010 RCNYS"), which is incorporated by reference in Part 1220 of Title 19 NYCRR.

The 2010 RCNYS was incorporated by reference in Part 1220 by a rule making that became effective on December 28, 2010. Since the 2010 RCNYS took effect, a number of technical issues in that publication have come to the attention of the Department of State. This proposed rule would address several of those issues by amending the following four items in the 2010 RCNYS: (1) Section 313.4.2, Exception 2; (2) Table 403.1; (3) Section J104 in Appendix J; and (4) Section J501.2 in Appendix J. The proposed changes are discussed in order:

Section 313.4.2. Currently, Section 313.4.2, Exception 2, of the 2010 RCNYS allows the use of battery operated carbon monoxide alarms in bed and breakfast dwellings. This contradicts another section in the 2010 RCNYS, viz., Section J703.2, which requires hard-wiring of carbon monoxide alarms in bed and breakfast dwellings. Historically, hard-wiring of carbon monoxide alarms has been required in bed and breakfast dwellings; therefore, this rule will resolve the conflict between Sections 313.4.2 and J702.3 of the 2010 RCNYS by amending Section 313.4.2 to require hard-wiring of carbon monoxide alarms in bed and breakfast dwellings.

Table 403.1. Table 403.1 in the 2010 RCNYS specifies the minimum width of concrete or masonry footings, based on the load bearing capacity of soil. The heading of the final column in Table 403.1 currently includes the mathematical symbol for "less than or equal to;" therefore, that column heading currently reads "less than or equal to 4,000," indicating that the minimum footing widths specified in that final column apply when the load bearing capacity of soil is less than or equal 4,000 pounds per square foot. This is a typographical error. The final column in Table 403.1 should apply when the load bearing capacity of soil is equal to or greater than 4,000 pounds per square foot. This rule will correct this typographical error by changing the heading of the final column in Table 403.1 to "4,000 or more."

Section J104. Section J104 in Appendix J of the 2010 RCNYS addresses energy efficiency requirements in connection with additions to and alterations of existing one- and two-family dwellings and townhouses.

Energy-related requirements for all buildings are set forth in the State Energy Conservation Construction Code (the "State Energy Code") adopted pursuant to Article 11 of the Energy Law. Currently, the State Energy Code is set forth in the 2010 edition of the Energy Conservation Construction Code of New York State (the 2010 ECCCNYS), a publication that is incorporated by reference in 19 NYCRR Part 1240. Section 101.4.3 of the 2010 ECCCNYS specifies that the 2010 ECCCNYS is intended to apply to additions, alterations, and renovations to existing residential buildings in all cases where the 2009 International Energy Conservation Code (the 2009 IECC) would apply. Section 101.4.6 of the 2010 ECCCNYS specifies that the applicability of the 2010 ECCCNYS to the alteration of a building would be subject such limitations as may be set forth in Chapter 11 of the State Energy Law, as in effect at the time of such alteration. At the time the 2010 ECCCNYS was adopted as the State Energy Code, Section 11-103(b) of the State Energy Law provided that in the case of a renovation of an existing building, the State Energy Code would apply only if the renovation was "substantial." However, section 11-103(b) of the State Energy Law was amended shortly after the 2010 ECCCNYS was adopted as the State Energy Code. By reason of the amendment of the State Energy Law, which took effect on January 1, 2011, the application of the State Energy Code to building renovations is no longer limited to "substantial" renovations. Therefore, effective January 1, 2011, the 2010 ECCCNYS applies to all renovations of existing residential buildings, and not just to "substantial" renovations of such buildings.

It was intended that the 2010 ECCCNYS provisions applicable to one- and two-family dwellings and townhouses would be repeated in the 2010 RCNYS as a convenience to builders, design professionals, and other regulated parties. The intent was to produce a single publication (the 2010 RCNYS) that would include all provisions applicable to one- and two-family dwellings and townhouses, i.e., both the Uniform Code provisions applicable to such structures and the State Energy Code provisions applicable to such structures. However, the concept reflected in Section 101.4.6 of the 2010 ECCCNYS (i.e., that statutory limitations on applicability would be as provided in Article 11 of the State Energy Law, as amended from time to time) was not expressly repeated in the 2010 RCNYS.

Section J104 in Appendix J of the 2010 RCNYS reflects the statutory limitation on applicability set forth in section 11-103(b) of the Energy Law, as that statute was in effect prior to January 1, 2011. Specifically, Section J104 in Appendix J of the 2010 RCNYS addresses only energy efficiency requirements for additions and "substantial" (Level 2) alterations. However, as a result of the amendment of the State Energy Law, the application of the State Energy Code is no longer limited "substantial" renovations of existing buildings. This rule would amend Section J104 of the 2010 RCNYS to reflect the impact the amendment of the State Energy Law had on the 2010 ECCCNYS, as contemplated by Section 101.4.6 of the 2010 ECCCNYS. Specifically, this rule would amend Section J104.1 of the 2010 RCNYS to provide that all renovations (and not only "substantial" renovations) of one- and two-family dwellings and townhouses must comply with the energy efficiency requirements set forth in Sections N1101.3.1 through N1101.3.3 of the 2010 RCNYS.

This rule will also amend Section J104.2 in Appendix J of the 2010 RCNYS to provide that an existing building that undergoes a change of occupancy to a one- or two-family dwelling or townhouse must comply with the energy efficiency requirements set forth in Chapter 11 of the 2010 RCNYS. This change to Section J104.2 is required to make this section consistent with the corresponding provisions in the 2010 ECCCNYS (see Section 101.4.4 of the 2010 ECCCNYS).

Section J601.2. Finally, this rule will amend Section J501.2 in Appendix J of the 2010 RCNYS. Currently, this Section J501.2 simply repeats Section J501.1. It was intended that Section J501.2 in Appendix J of the 2010 RCNYS would be the same as Section J501.2 in Appendix J of the 2007 edition of the Residential Code of New York State (the "2007 RCNYS"), the publication that was incorporated by reference in Part 1220 of Title 19 NYCRR prior to the adoption of the 2010 RCNYS. This rule would amend Section J501.2 in Appendix J of the 2010 RCNYS to make that Section the same as Section J501.2 in the 2007 RCNYS.

The Department of State believes that the changes to be made by this rule are technical and non-controversial, and that it is unlikely that builders, architects, engineers, building owners, code enforcement officials, or other interested parties will object to the adoption of this rule. Therefore, the Department of State has concluded that it is appropriate to characterize this rule as a consensus rule.

Job Impact Statement

The Department of State has determined that it is apparent from the nature and purpose of the proposed rule making that it will not have a substantial adverse impact on jobs and employment opportunities.

This rule making would make three minor corrections to the text of the 2010 Residential Code of New York State (the 2010 RCNYS), a publication which is incorporated by reference in 19 NYCRR Part 1220 and which constitutes a portion of the State Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code (the Uniform Code). The 2010 RCNYS specifies construction standards for one- and two-family dwellings and townhouses.

Specifically, this rule would:

(1) resolve a conflict between Section 313.4.2, Exception 2, of the 2010 RCNYS and Section J703.2 of the 2010 RCNYS by amending Section 313.4.2 to require hard-wiring of carbon monoxide alarms in bed and breakfast dwellings;

(2) correct a typographical error in the heading of the final column of Table 403.1 in the 2010 RCNYS by changing "less than or equal to 4,000" to "4,000 or more"; and

(3) amend the energy efficiency requirements in connection with additions to and alterations of existing one- and two-family dwellings and townhouses to reflect that the recent amendment of the State Energy Law had on the 2010 Energy Conservation Construction Code of New York State (the 2010 ECCCNYS).

The Department of State concludes that these relatively minor corrections to the 2010 RCNYS will have a negligible impact on the construction and renovation of one- and two-family dwellings and townhouses and, therefore, that this rule making will not have a substantial adverse impact on jobs and employment opportunities within New York.