10/08/2008
BUILDING/FLOOD BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT AND APPEALS MEETING MINUTES
CITY OF CLEARWATER
October 8, 2008
Present: John H. Logan, Jr. Chair
Pankaj Shah Board Member
Gary Richter Board Member
Absent: Edward H. Walker, Jr. Board Member
Arthur Shand Board Member
Also Present: Leslie Dougall-Sides Assistant City Attorney
Kevin Garriott Building Official
James Wagner Development Review Supervisor
Patricia O. Sullivan Board Reporter
The Chair called the meeting to order at 2:00 p.m. at the Municipal Services Building.
To provide continuity for research, items are in agenda order although not
necessarily discussed in that order.
2 - Approval of Minutes
Member Richter moved to approve the minutes of the regular Building/Flood Board of
Adjustment and Appeals meeting of September 10, 2008, as submitted in written summation to
each board member. The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously.
3 – Continued Requests: - None.
4 – New Request:
4.1. Case: MIS 2008-08008 - City seeks approval of Building Official’s interpretation re R806.4
of 2004 Florida Building Code, Residential. No fixed address.
The City, as applicant, seeks approval of the Building Official’s interpretation of R806.4
of the 2004 FBC (Florida Building Code), Residential. The scope of the interpretation is to
disregard this section’s reference to “conditioned attic” in the section’s first sentence that states,
“Unvented conditioned attic assemblies (spaces between the ceiling joist of the top story and
the roof rafters) are permitted under the following conditions.” The request is to use R806.4 as
presented in the new 2007 Florida Building Code, Residential. This revised code section does
not require the attic assembly to be conditioned.
It has come to the attention of the AHJ (Authority Having Jurisdiction) for the City of
Clearwater, that the intent of this section was not to require the supply of conditioned air to the
attic space. The basis for this opinion is the new code’s (FBC 2007 Residential) revised text.
The new code is scheduled for adoption in March 1, 2009, and the word “conditioned” has been
removed from the text.
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Currently, since the code does not specify the amount of conditioning required in an
attic, contractors have been meeting the requirement by providing a nominal supply to the attic
such as a single four-inch duct. Unlike other jurisdictions, the AHJ of Clearwater has not
allowed duct leakage to satisfy the "conditioned attic" clause. Considering the cost associated
with providing conditioned air to the attic, and the 2007 code removal of this requirement, many
contractors and owners will, during the interim, pursue a course of installation of the duct for
inspection followed by prompt removal of the duct afterwards. The AHJ of Clearwater does not
believe that this unproductive process is in the public's best interest.
Senior Planning Examiner Jeffrey Walker reviewed the request. He indicated that the
cities of Tampa and St. Petersburg did not heed the "conditioned' requirement. The issue
mostly affected existing homes. Discussion ensued regarding the flame-resistant Icynene
material used to prevent the migration of air into a home's thermal envelope. Assistant City
Attorney Leslie Dougall-Sides opined that the board has the authority to approve the Building
Official's interpretation of the code.
Member Richter moved that the Building/Flood Board of Adjustment and Appeals grants
the City's appeal based on the new code text, determines that all spaces within the envelope of
thermal insulation are to be considered "conditioned," and approves the Building Official's
interpretation of R806.4 of the 2004 FBC. The motion was duly seconded and carried
unanimously.
5 - Other Business: - None.
6 - Adiourn
~+.~-
The meeting adjourned at 2:20 p.m.
Attest:
Chair
Board of Adjustment & Appeal
of Building/Flood Control
Building - Flood Control 2008-10-08
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