REGULAR CALLED MEETING BUILDING AND FIRE BOARD OF APPEALS Wednesday August 26, 2026 @ 1:30 PM- In Person/Web Ex PERMITTING DEVELOPMENT CENTER/ 1st FLOOR, CONF RM 1401-1402 6310 WILHELMINA DELCO DR AUSTIN, TEXAS Public comment will be allowed in-person or remotely by telephone. Speakers may only register to speak on an item once either in-person or remotely and will be allowed up to three minutes to provide their comments. Registration no later than noon the day before the meeting is required for remote participation. To register, contact rick.arzola@austintexas.gov. CURRENT BOARD MEMBERS: Oren Mitnzer- Chair; Ben Abzug- Vice Chair; Brasfield, Aubrey; Buys, Ron; Gannon, Chris; McKay, Blair; Juarez, Cecilia Paredes; Rumbo, Jim; Satt, Alison; Schumann, Alan; Wood, William CALL TO ORDER PUBLIC COMUNICATION: GENERAL The first 10 speakers signed up prior to the meeting being called to order will each be allowed a three-minute allotment to address their concerns regarding items not posted on the agenda. APPROVAL OF MINUTES- 1. Approve the minutes of the Building and Fire Board of Appeals Regular Called Meeting of October 22, 2025 DISCUSSION 2. Discussion on a proposed House-plex code amendment. Adopting local amendments to expand the scope of the IRC to regulate construction of house-plex’s of up to and including 4 attached dwelling units. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS ADJOURNMENT The City of Austin is committed to compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Reasonable modifications and equal access to communications will be provided upon request. For assistance, please contact the Liaison or TTY users’ route through 711. A person may request language access accommodation no later than 48 hours before the scheduled meeting. Please call or email Rick Arola at Austin Development Services Department, at 512-974-2417 or rick.arzola@austintexas.gov, to request service or for additional information. For more information on the Building and Fire Board of Appeals, please contact Rick Arzola at 512-974-2417 and rick.arzola@austintexas.gov
RESOLUTION NO. 20260723-086 WHEREAS , on April 10 , 2025 , Council amended City Code Title 25 ( Land Development Code) by adopting the 2024 International Residential Code (IRC) and local amendments and the 2024 International Building Code (IBC) and local amendments; and WHEREAS , the IRC was specifically developed to ensure that safety , constructability, and affordability remain in balance for everyone; and WHEREAS , the IRC regulates construction of single - family houses , duplexes, and buildings consisting oftownhouse units up to three stories; and WHEREAS , the IBC applies to all occupancies , including residential projects that are outside the scope of the IRC. and includes regulatory requirements designed for industrial hazards, commercial buildings, and large multifamily buildings that add cost and complexity when applied to smaller residential projects; and WHEREAS , the assignment of small - scale multi - unit buildings to the IBC has contributed to the high cost of small-scale multi-unit housing development, limited the production of historic American housing types, and has acted as a barrier to the production of affordable middle housing in Austin and throughout the United States; and WHEREAS , small multi - unit buildings (- Houseplexes ") can be safely constructed using residential construction means and methods, and a residential workforce without the need for additional engineering. permitting, and specialty subcontracting standards typically associated with IBC projects; and Page I o f 6 WHEREAS , the IRC contains robust life - safety provisions . including fire - resistance-rated assemblies, sprinkler systems, penetration protections, and draft- stopping; and WHEREAS , comparisons between residential - scale NFPA - 13D sprinkler systems and the NFPA-13R sprinkler systems typically found in large multifamily construction indicate similar life-safety performance at a fraction ofthe cost; and WHEREAS , other local jurisdictions , states , and code - writing authorities have already adopted or are actively considering code revisions to allow construction of small multifamily buildings under the IRC's regulatory scope- including adopted codes in Shelby County, Tennessee (up to six units) and Dallas, Texas (up to eight units) demonstrating feasibility; and WHEREAS , Shelby County , Tennessee adopted a local amendment , Appendix M (Middle-Scale Housing IBC Amendment), to their IBC to provide an alternative compliance path for small-scale, low rise multifamily buildings of up to 24 dwelling units; and WHEREAS , Austin Development Services issued Policy Memo PM2024 - 0002, Modification Criteria for Review …
