The regional code review committee, consisting of Building Officials and staff from Larimer County, the City of Fort Collins, Wellington, Safebuilt, county Board of Appeals members, NoCo Homebuilders Association reps, architects, engineers, and Fire Departments, recently wrapped up its work after meeting weekly from March through July.
As a region, local building departments are trying to reduce and align our code amendments, and have all our 2024 codes plus the mandatory state Electric-Ready and Solar-Ready Code go into effect at the same time, on January 1, 2026. I am proposing to adopt the Colorado Wildfire Resiliency Code at the same time as the other county codes. The wildfire code is an increase from our existing wildfire hazard code, but not an entirely new code as it is for the other jurisdictions. They plan to take more time to develop local mapping and set up their implementation procedures. State law requires the wildfire code be adopted no later than April 1, 2026, and in effect no later than July 1, 2026.
At this time, I am proposing we adopt the 2024 International Energy Conservation Code with some amendments as the next step forward in energy efficiency, but not the Colorado Low Energy and Carbon Code, or the Fort Collins Net Zero Stretch Code, because I think that’s a bridge too far at the moment. When we adopt any codes on or after July 1, 2026, adoption of the state’s Low Energy Code will be mandatory. That may happen during the 2027 code cycle, or earlier if we adopt some or all of a new code.
The next steps are:
- Board of Appeals review August 13
- Joint work session Planning Commission/Board of County Commissioners August 13.
- Planning Commission Hearing August 20
- Board of County Commissioners Hearing September 22
You can access a read-only version of all the 2024 codes at the International Code Council’s website. You can also order publications listing significant changes to the various codes. Please see this list of key changes.
If you have any questions or comments about these new codes, please email me at 2024buildingcodes@larimer.org and be as specific as possible: which code(s) are you referencing, which section(s), and what are your concerns or suggestions?
Thank you for your interest in helping us adopt the best codes to protect public safety in the built environment in Larimer County.
