Started this meeting is uh for the um neighborhood preservation, uh homeless and housing, and uh we will be discussing the new uh fire codes uh that will be possibly adopted um based on the New York state amendments.

Um with me I have Counselor Hogan, Counselor Nave, myself, Councillor Jones Rouser, and Deputy Commissioner Deputy Commissioner Jake Dishaw um and others so um if you could just fill us in on the new um, you know, what's changing throughout the state, um inclusive of what we just learned last week with the uh sprinkler systems in the row houses or attached housing.

Um I wasn't prepared to speak to that uh at the moment, so the legislation we submitted was to make amendments to our local law that reflect language under New York State Code rules and regulations, part twelve oh three, which is how local municipalities provide for administering and enforcing the New York State uniform code.

I have not had time to go through the new changes of the New York State Code.

We've had zero training on it.

I I'm not able to speak to 99% of it at this time.

It's they just made an announcement a few weeks ago that a rulemaking decision is final, it goes into effect January 1st.

I'm happy to do that later on with other expert individuals from fire prevention and from code enforcement, but I'm I don't have that information in front of me.

I mean I'll try to answer any questions you have.

Okay.

Um I was also out Friday while this was scheduled, so I wasn't as prepared as I normally am for these meetings.

So nope, that's it's fine.

Um but what I what I am prepared to do, what I do have in front of me that I was able to get get together, is to go through what updates we're making to our local law.

Um a lot of it is just language, um new language to be added um for the purpose of again, amending our local code um so that it meets the requirements of the state changes to Title 19.

Um some of it's as little as adding five words that says we can accept electronic construction documents.

Um I go through all that.

I I apologize if if um you weren't sure what that legislation was uh exactly, but changes to the local law don't necessarily reflect like the changes to the state code, for example.

It basically empowers towns, villages, and cities to administer the state law at the local level.

Um the codes change in the code book cycles, um, which have the details to the different provisions on you know, code requirements.

Um so think of the local law as kind of the guidelines on how to administer it, but then like the details in the recipe are really in the code books that change from time to time.

So like we're going from a 2020 version to a 2025 version.

Um I don't even have a copy of it yet.

Uh we have a digital view only copy.

Um, so what do you have for us then?

Um maybe before we get in there, Jake.

So explain to me the procedural issue here.

I mean, the state the state adopts codes are different than what they've had it since 2020, correct?

Well, New York State has what's known as the uniform code and energy code.

Um under section 381 of a of executive law, the Secretary of State, you know, promulgates the rules and regulations for that.

But for those to be enforced at the local level by a town, a village, a city like Syracuse, we have to adopt a model local law to administer those those laws at the local level.

So we've always had a law.

I believe the last time it was updated was 2011-ish.

There's been some stuff that's maybe added in between, but that was like a major rewrite.

So we have to opt into every provision, or we have a choice of not opting in.

How's that work?

No, we we can't we have to meet the minimum standards and minimum codes.

We can become more restrictive.

Um we can't become less restrictive, obviously.

That's correct.

So we have a local law called local law number five, 2011 of the city of Syracuse, a local law providing for the administration and enforcement of the New York State uniform fire prevention and building and building code, and it just has a bunch of different sections as definitions, uh you know, different inspection requirements.

Um and I and I can go through what we're adding.

Um it's okay with you, counselor counselor Jordan Rousser.

I mean yeah, I'll just give a summary.

Um but uh we're adding language about construction documents being able to be received by electronic media.

We've always we we we accept that in practice, but uh we're missing some verbiage on um the plans having electronic marking seal and stamp from a design professional, which we require, we we do check for that, but we need to put those few words into our local law.

Um the next one is just some more details and clarifications for the requirements uh on construction documents that are submitted.

Um we are compliant in many areas with what the state wants, but there are some little things uh that need to be added uh from sorry, I'm just looking at kind of a checklist uh written statement indicating compliance with the energy code.

Like again, these are things that our reviewers and uh and staff look for and and get, but they're not reflected in black and white words in our local law.

So we're just adding it because New York State says we have to add it, it has to be there.

Um so a lot of this is just kind of clarifying, cleaning up, adding, making sure that we're staying up to date with what Title 19 and uh what 1203 part 1203, which is what uh local municipalities have to follow.

It's a section on uh how local uh municipalities enforce and administer the state code.

So and when you keep saying the state code, are you talking about the future state code that's gonna go into effect soon?

Um talking about current state code.

Yeah, if you were to take out the new code that's coming out uh in January, we would still have to add this language.

So they're kind of two different things, although they're very much related because that's the code that we'll be enforcing is the 2025 version, which is just an updated version of what we're already on.

Um so there are some changes in and that will be included, obviously, but a lot of it, a lot of it will remain the same as what we're enforcing today.

But everything that we're adding to our local law is really outside of what's happening in the 2025 code books, it's more administrative on the local level, like checklists of what we need to make sure are included on a construction document when submitted, like for instance what I just said a written statement indicating compliance with the energy code.

We do that, we do look for that, we make sure it's there, but again, we're we're adding this language that's I guess missing is a is a good way to put it.

Um I keep looking at uh law department because they're they're drafting this in conjunction with us.

So uh Danielle's confirming, so making sure I'm saying all this correctly.