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Dorothy “Dottie” Mazzarella, the vice president of government relations for the International Code Council,
The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s recent “Building Codes Save” study found that two-thirds of the jurisdictions in the United States do not have modern building codes when it comes to safety and hazard mitigation.
Half of all buildings constructed since 2000 adhered to modern codes, preventing $1.6 billion in hurricane, flood and earthquake losses annually, the study found. But if the other half had been built to modern codes, the savings would have been double. And that’s not to mention the avoidable loss of life.
Last week’s collapse of a condo building in the Miami Beach area, with more than 160 people either confirmed dead or still unaccounted for, brought into national focus the importance of building safety. It came to light in the days following the disaster that a 2018 inspection had noted the high-rise’s structural issues.
Dorothy “Dottie” Mazzarella, the vice president of government relations for the International Code Council, spoke to the Express New Group in May, which was Building Safety Month, about the history, purpose and benefits of building codes. Since the Florida condo collapse, her words sound prescient.
She said that residents often take it as a negative when code enforcement officials tell them they can’t do something — but the reason behind that restriction is their safety.
“If the code enforcement official does their job properly, nothing happens,” she said. “And can you imagine if that was your job: that you know your accolades come when a building doesn’t collapse, when a fire doesn’t occur. You know, they really have a thankless job when at the end of the day they’re really providing a huge level of life safety.”
On the East End, the town and village building departments must follow New York State building codes, at a minimum, to ensure that homes, commercial buildings and public spaces are safe and resilient.
New York State does have modern codes, but there was a time when it was behind other states, Ms. Mazzarella explained.
Prior to joining the International Code Council in 2005, she worked for New York State in various capacities, including as director of legislative affairs for Governor George Pataki and as deputy secretary of state for local government and community services. It was when she worked for the State Insurance Department that she had her first introduction to building codes. She recalled it was just after Hurricane Andrew. The 1992 storm was a category five hurricane at its greatest strength and the sixth most destructive hurricane in U.S. history.
“I actually watched insurance carriers start pulling out of the Long Island market,” she said, explaining that the companies cited deficient wind-load provisions in the building code.
She admitted that, at the time, she didn’t know what that meant. When she started digging deeper, she learned that New York was one of only two states that used its own building code rather than relying on a model code. New York had its “green book,” and the other state without a model code was Wisconsin.
Rather than routinely adopting the best practices outlined in a model code, New York updated its own code. “It was a very cumbersome process, a very difficult administrative process,” Ms. Mazzarella said.
The International Code Council grew out of a merger of three predecessor organizations that offered model codes, and it published the first International Building Code in 2000. New York State adopted it in 2002.
At that time, Ms. Mazzarella was the New York secretary of state’s designee to the State Fire Prevention and Building Code Council. “I was lucky enough to chair the council and witness the historic adoption of New York moving from its own homegrown code to the international code,” she recalled.
The International Building Code and the International Residential Code are updated every three years. Ms. Mazzarella said there was a time when New York did not quite keep current, but the state is on track now and is using the 2018 update. The Department of State is reviewing the 2021 update now, she added.
During the three-year update process, hearings are held with participants from all over the world, she explained. “New York is actually quite active,” she said. “We do have several people from the State of New York from various jurisdictions. Local code enforcement officials, fire marshals all come together and propose code changes.”
States that use the International Code Council’s codes do not need to copy them verbatim.
“New York does modify the code somewhat — actually not as many modifications as you would think, due to the fact that they are so actively participating on the national level,” Ms. Mazzarella said. “So when they learn something in New York that needs to be fixed, they will propose it. And they’re quite successful, I have to say.”
Each iteration of the code includes lessons learned, she said, noting that FEMA also participates in the process and the national flood insurance regulations that FEMA has improved or increased are coordinated with the rest of the codes.
Concerning flooding, she pointed to the importance of flood vents. The vents are simply openings that allow floodwater to enter a crawl space or basement from one side and leave through another without damaging the foundation.
“That’s probably one of the single biggest provisions that has been added to the code that has helped residents of Long Island, and I can tell you we saw that firsthand following Superstorm Sandy,” Ms. Mazzarella said.
Houses with flood vents were virtually undamaged by Sandy while neighboring homes without vents were a total loss, she noted.
Other code requirements for hurricane resilience include window glazing, hurricane straps and anchor bracing.
“It’s exciting to me because I’ve seen the differences of how the codes have actually worked,” Ms. Mazzarella said.
When the codes come out, they are technically three years old, she pointed out.
“We do call them minimum standards, and that’s why some states do maybe become even more aggressive,” she said. “Now New York does modify the codes — I wouldn’t say too much — but they do modify chapter one, because they need to account for their own enforcement and administration of the codes that are in their regulations.”
Where New York is at a disadvantage is when state legislators attempt to modify the code statutorily, she said. She explained that legislation that was passed in response to a disaster or tragedy can quickly become outdated, and it can be difficult to repeal.
What may sound today like a wonderful idea might be considered less restrictive than the International Building Code three years later, she said, and it could also be more expensive than a new cost-effective yet safe way to build.
The State Fire Prevention and Building Code Council created in 1986, with some appointees from the governor and other appointees approved by the State Senate, is charged with adopting the state’s building codes rather than the State Legislature, Ms. Mazzarella explained. But the State Legislature’s laws still apply.
“New York, unfortunately, has to go through and still incorporate those state laws that may have passed and put those into the code,” she said.
She noted that while there are some states that try to be less restrictive than the International Building Code, New York is not one of them. The only exception she could think of in New York is residential fire sprinklers. While New York requires residential sprinklers in three-story wood-frame homes, the state is not as strict as the International Code Council has prescribed since its 2009 update. However, Ms. Mazzarella said, some municipalities with volunteer fire departments go above and beyond the state code to require residential fire sprinklers.
Counties, towns and villages may make local codes that are stricter than the New York State building codes if they can give the State Fire Prevention and Building Code Council a compelling reason.
“The goal is to have a more uniform code so that you don’t have differences jurisdictions to jurisdictions because that’s how it did exist in New York prior to the statewide code,” Ms. Mazzarella said. “However, there are many jurisdictions, though, that do have more restrictive local standards.”
New York State also adopts the International Code Council’s International Energy Conservation Code and makes it easy for municipalities to adopt even more restrictive standards on energy efficiency.
The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority recommends a “stretch code” that Suffolk County wants to adopt, according to Ms. Mazzarella.
