Building Code Board of Appeals Agenda and Packet 2000

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/ST UDOR° < IINCED I nVENTive TECHNOLOGY' REc 4 August 25, 2000 AUG 2 8 LUULd Louisville City Council �UIe ��v 749 Main Street Louisville, Colorado 80027 RE IPC versus UPC Dear Council Member, It has been brought to my attention that the Colorado Pipe Trades, along with the Colorado State Plumbing Board, have filed a lawsuit against the City of Louisville for adopting the International Plumbmg Code (IPC) Studor,Inc. is the distributor of the Studor Air Admittance Valve(AAV) m the USA, Canada and Mexico The valve is a plumbing product used for venting drainage, waste and vent(DWV) systems. Dave Grannell and Associates is our sales representation agency in Colorado, and many wholesalers in Colorado stock our product. AAVs are an approved product in the IPC but not in the Uniform Plumbing Code(UPC) The purpose of my letter is to relay to you my main concern with the UPC and the difficulties we have encountered with the Colorado State Plumbing Board m our quest to obtain approval for AAVs. Basically,there are no major differences between the IPC and the UPC with regard to the art of plumbing, with the exception that the IPC approves the use of innovative, cost-effective products and methods such as AAVs, CSST, One-Step cement and honzontal wet venting while the UPC model code does not. I realize that the State of Colorado has amended the 1997 edition of the UPC to allow these products (with the exception of AAVs,which are now approved based on the Court decision) In addition,the UPC is a prescriptive code. In other words, it prescribes exactly how plumbing must be installed and leaves no room for innovation. The IPC is a performance code that states what must be achieved by the mstallation and provides guidelines,but it leaves room for innovation to achieve the final result. The UPC was first published in 1946 and since then has been developed primarily by special interest groups that support labor As a result, innovative products and methods of construction that are cost-effective by saving labor have been excluded from the code. This not only increases the cost of construction but also reduces the amount of construction due to the high costs involved. Ironically,this in turn reduces the need for labor,which is in contradiction to what labor leaders are trymg to achieve In addition, property owners, contractors,builders, architects and engineers are unable to benefit from the use of innovative products. 2030 Main Street, Dunedin, Florida 34698.1-800-447-4721 •(727)734-7750•FAX 1-800-998-0259•(727)734-7753