Across the United States, buildings that range from one-family homes to towering skyscrapers are constructed with strict compliance to a number of codes, covering everything from structural integrity to fire safety to plumbing and energy efficiency. It’s easy to take these codes for granted but behind the most-used suite of codes in the United States, there is a rigorous development process, which your jurisdiction more than likely already participates in. That development process just got a lot more user-friendly, especially for governmental entities.

To give a bit of background, the International Code Council (ICC), an ICMA Strategic Partner, is a U.S.-based, nonprofit association governed by representatives from state and local governments. ICC supports federal, state, and local governments by developing model codes and standards that are then reviewed, adapted, and adopted as the basis for building regulations at all levels of government. The I-Codes, including the International Building Code (IBC) and International Residential Code (IRC), support public safety and the need for one set of codes without regional limitations.

Now, ICC has introduced cdpACCESS, a collaborative online platform revolutionizing the way the model building and safety codes are developed.  As a result, governmental entities are provided with an additional opportunity to participate at all stages of development and benefit from code uniformity that encourages local, affordable construction growth.

For decades, state and local jurisdictions have been participating in ICC’s open and transparent code development process. It is an inclusive process that allows input from all individuals and groups, including elected officials and other representatives of government. They create code change proposals and monitor the proposal’s progress, submit comments, and weigh in on the impact that current regulations or proposed language would have on the built environment.

This all used to be a paper-based, mail-in process but with cdpACCESS, that process has moved online, where users can create proposals, collaborate easily with anyone around the world, and submit them for a public vote to be included in the next cycle of codes—at no cost to the user.

And that’s not all. With cdpACCESS, ICC voting members (designated representatives from all levels of government) can now securely vote on those code changes online, where before they would have had to attend the ICC code hearings in person, which, while free to attend, often required travel and lodging expenses that many smaller jurisdictions couldn’t (or wouldn’t) afford, meaning larger states with bigger budgets got more say.

Those who may not be able to attend the annual meeting  and hearings will not miss out on the interactions and testimony as all testimony and commentary made on the floor will be available to be viewed on the cdpACCESS page, allowing those voting remotely to be as informed as possible. “The ultimate goal is to provide a superior way to develop codes and increase participation in code development,” said ICC CEO Dominic Sims, CBO. “We are confident that code development participants and public safety will benefit from cdpACCESS.”

Here are the cdpACCESS features:

• Online collaboration with one or many colleagues.
• View, download and print the Code Change Agenda.
• Online review of hearing testimony and voting on assembly floor motions following the Committee Action Hearing.
• View, download and print the Report of the Committee Action Hearing.
• Online creation, collaboration, and submittal of public comments to the Committee Action Hearing results.
• View, download and print the public comment agenda.
• Online review of public comment hearing testimony and voting on proposed code changes/public comments following the public comment hearing.

All ICC members are eligible to vote online on assembly floor motions. Only governmental member voting representatives (agencies, departments, and units engaged in administration, formulation or enforcement of laws, regulations or ordinances relating to public health, safety and welfare) and honorary members can vote on proposed code changes/public comments. cdpACCESS allows you to participate in code development from a computer or tablet, when you cannot attend in person. There’s nothing special to install, so it’s accessible from any Internet connection.

ICC has extensively tested cdpACCESS on a wide variety of Windows and Apple computers, and the iPad. cdpACCESS is designed for use on Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari and Chrome. Internet Explorer version 7 and earlier versions are not supported. Analysis of ICC website traffic has shown this will affect only a small percentage of users. 

Support for cdpACCESS includes help by phone and e-mail to answer questions, receive comments and suggestions, and report any system errors. The toll-free cdpACCESS hotline is 855-ICC-CDP-1 (422-2371) Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. central time; e-mail can be sent to cdpACCESS@iccsafe.org. A schedule of free cdpACCESS webinars can be viewed at www.iccsafe.org/cdpACCESS. 

The concept of online participation in ICC’s Code Development Process dates back to 2001 when off-site voting on code changes was used by the three model code organizations that later consolidated to become the Code Council. ICC Board President Stephen Jones, CBO, couldn’t be happier with the program: “We look forward to working with jurisdictions to implement cdpACCESS, which will broaden participation in the code development process, lending a truly democratic character to what we consider the premier set of building codes in the world.”