SUBJECT:
Title
PUBLIC HEARING: An Ordinance of the Town Council of the Town of Erie Repealing and Reenacting Section 9-1-3 of the Erie Municipal Code to Adopt the 2026 Edition of the National Electric Code, with Amendments, Repealing and Reenacting Section 9-1-4 of the Erie Municipal Code to Adopt the 2024 Edition of the International Energy Conservation Code, with Amendments, and Repealing and Reenacting Section 9-1-9 of the Erie Municipal Code to Adopt the 2024 Edition of the International Fire Code, with Amendments, and Setting Forth Penalties for Violations Thereof
Department
DEPARTMENT: Planning & Development
Presenter
PRESENTER(S): Joel Champagne, Chief Building Official
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Time
TIME ESTIMATE: 20 minutes
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For time estimate: please put 0 for Consent items.
Fiscal
FISCAL SUMMARY:
N/A
Policy
POLICY ISSUES:
The Town of Erie’s Sustainability Plan and Comprehensive Plan encourage adoption of the latest energy codes to minimize energy consumption and environmental impacts to the community. Updating the Town’s Energy Code to the 2024 International Energy and Conservation Code (IECC) with amendments, 2026 National Electric Code (NEC), and 2024 International Fire Code (IFC) meets the Plans’ goals in balance with efficient implementation new codes.
Recommendation
STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommend adopting the updates to the Town’s energy, electric, and fire codes as presented.
Body
SUMMARY/KEY POINTS
• Staff propose adopting updated energy codes along with targeted strengthening amendments already included in the 2021 IECC. The proposed update to the Town’s Energy Code would include the 2024 IECC, 2026 NEC, and 2024 IFC.
• Per State legislation, any code adopted on or after July 1, 2026, will require the adoption of the State’s Model Low Energy Carbon Code (MLECC) as the base.
• Town staff recommend adopting the 2024 IECC with amendments prior to July 1, 2026, to ensure continuity with the building community and allow for additional time to plan for implementation of the more complex MLECC or the Metro Cohort Model Code (MCMC).
• Council reviewed this item at its March 31 Study Session.
BACKGROUND OF SUBJECT MATTER:
The Town or Erie utilizes the suite of building and energy codes published by the International Code Council (ICC) to regulate the built environment. These codes are updated on a regular basis by the ICC. Municipalities generally update their codes either on a three- or six-year cadence, following updates to the ICC. The Town of Erie aims to update codes similarly, as shown in the chart below.
|
Year Adopted or Planned for Adoption |
2019 |
2023 |
2026 |
2029 |
|
Code Edition |
2015 ICC Building & Energy Codes |
2021 ICC Building & Energy Codes 2023 NEC |
2024 ICC Energy Code & 2026 NEC |
2027 ICC Building & State MLECC |
As shown above, Erie currently utilizes the 2021 International Building Code (IBC), International Energy Conservation Code (IECC), and the 2023 National Electric Code (NEC). Colorado State law requires any municipality or county that updates any building code on or after July 1, 2026, to adopt and enforce an energy code that achieves equivalent or better energy and carbon emissions performance than the State’s MLECC. As shown above, Town staff plan to update the Energy and Electrical codes in 2026 to ensure progress towards the Town’s sustainability goals. In order to maintain predictability for builders and administrative efficiency, staff prepared the attached update of the Town’s Energy code to the 2024 IECC in advance of July 1, 2026. Following this update, Town staff will work towards an implementation plan for future adoption of the MLECC or the MCMC.
Summary of Code Update
Staff propose an update to the Town’s energy code to the 2024 IECC with strengthening amendments, the electrical code to the 2026 NEC, and fire code to the 2024 International Fire Code (IFC) as recently adopted by the Mountain View Fire Rescue (MVFR). The proposed update retains the Town’s previously-adopted State Electric-Ready and Solar-Ready provisions along with a limited package of local and strengthening amendments that address continued electric-preference, enforceability, and local conditions.
The 2024 IECC, with amendments, represents incremental efficiency improvements over the 2021 edition and emphasizes envelope performance, mechanical efficiency, and lighting improvements without fundamentally restructuring the compliance framework. By comparison, the MLECC and MCMC energy code models described below introduce additional complexity, require new compliance methodologies, and alter enforcement processes. The Town Study Session held on March 31, 2026, reviewed these codes and included feedback from Council to move forward with the proposed code update.
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attachments
ATTACHMENT(S):
1. Ordinance 12-2026
2. Presentation