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Shopping Centers Today -> January 2001
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Building code raises concerns
By Dave Bodamer
The International Building Code (IBC) quietly went into effect last year, and cities and municipalities are slowly going about the business of adopting the guidelines. But trouble could be looming for property owners.
A task force led by ICSC and the International Mass Retail Association (IMRA) thus far has worked to get the original code revised and is developing proposals for the planned 2003 revision.
The most alarming part of the situation, according to some members of the task force, is the seeming lack of concern among developers about effects the rules may have on shopping center projects. Up to this point, retailers on the task force have been leading the fight with only minimal backing from developers.
"It's kind of a mixed bag right now," said Dale Scott, vice president of Keene Construction, Maitland, Fla., and chairman of the task force. "The retailers are very concerned and have largely funded the task force so far, but they're now waiting for some sign that developers are concerned."
Taubman Centers, Bloomfield Hills, Mich., earlier this year commissioned a study exploring how the new code would affect the cost of building a hypothetical regional mall. Using a generic plan, Bill Hiotaky, a former Taubman designer and member of the ICSC/IMRA task force, applied the regulations from both the new code and the old code and found that the new rules would cause about a $3 million to $4 million increase in the project cost.
Some of the items of concern include stipulations regarding standpipes, retaining walls and minimum aisle widths.
The new code includes provisions requiring an automatic wet standpipe system through an entire mall property rather than in just certain portions. The task force has argued that regional malls have excellent fire safety records and that in some cases automatic sprinklers are sufficient.
Another item in the new code calls for firewalls between anchor stores and the rest of the mall, which is not a requirement under the old code. The new stricter regulations require larger aisle widths than the existing code does, necessitating that building areas be increased 10% to 30% to service the same number of occupants and carry the same amount of merchandise as under the old code.
Meanwhile, in a related matter, developers also face the prospects of a security code for shopping centers. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) has formed a committee exploring that possibility even though a similar review in 1995 convinced the group not to pursue such a code. Additionally, in recent years ICSC has successfully lobbied other standard-setting organizations against creating security standards.
In a letter to NFPA, ICSC General Counsel Edward Sack wrote, "Basically, it is not possible to develop security standards applicable to all premises. The law in this area is that the amount of security required for any particular property is dependent on the use of this property, the physical characteristics of the property and the level of crime in the surrounding community."
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