They are also proposing that joint building, electrical and mechanical/plumbing code committees be consolidated into a single joint building-code committee/Board of Appeals.

The joint city-county Outdoor Lighting Code would remain intact  to fulfill the city’s and county’s joint mission of protecting dark skies as a cultural and economic resource, said Yves Khawam, Pima County’s chief building official in the Pima County Department of  Development Services.

Khawam said a consolidated building code model has been working well around the country and is recommended by the International Code Council, http://www.iccsafe.org. The organization publishes updates to the model codes on a three-year cycle as the building industry changes and codes must be redrawn.

The proposed committees are:

Building Code Committee/Board of Appeals: This panel would propose updates to the building-related codes as well as hear appeals on code interpretation.

Outdoor Lighting Code Committee: This panel would continue to update the Pima County and City of Tucson outdoor lighting code.

Each committee, as proposed, would have seven voting members. Members would be jointly appointed by the Pima County Board of Supervisors and the Tucson City Council.

Names of appointees would be solicited from professional organizations, including the Arizona Builders Alliance, International Dark-Sky Association, American Institute of Architects and American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers.

A resolution that would affirm these changes will be considered by the Board of Supervisors and the Tucson City Council sometime in the next eight weeks.

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