* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. . MY [00:00:01] NAME'S DAVID ROBINSON. I'M CITY COUNCIL MEMBER HERE IN THE [Transportation, Technology, and Infrastructure Committee on June 17, 2022. ] CITY OF HOUSTON, AND ALSO CHAIR OF THE TTI COMMITTEE. THAT'S TRANSPORTATION, TECHNOLOGY AND INFRASTRUCTURE. IT IS FRIDAY, JUNE THE 17TH, 2022, AND I'M CALLING THIS MEETING TO ORDER, UH, HERE IN MID-JUNE IN HOUSTON, TEXAS. I'D LIKE TO WELCOME ALL CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS AND STAFF WHO ARE IN ATTENDANCE, AND IF I COULD RECOGNIZE THEM. CURRENTLY, OUR VICE CHAIR, SALLY ALCORN, IS ABOUT TO GET ONLINE, BUT WITH US VIRTUALLY IS, UH, WELL, HERE IN PERSON IS HER, UH, CHIEF OF STAFF, UM, AND WE HAVE HER NOW ONLINE. UM, VIRTUALLY. WE ALSO HAVE FROM COUNCIL DISTRICT A AMY PECK STAFF. WE HAVE STAFF FROM COUNCIL MEMBER ABBY CAYMAN AND DISTRICT C. WE HAVE STAFF FROM THE MAYOR PRO TEMS OFFICE IN PERSON HERE IN THE CHAMBER. WE HAVE STAFF IN PERSON FROM COUNCIL MEMBER MARY ANNE HUFFMAN IN DISTRICT G. WE HAVE, UH, VIRTUALLY WITH US STAFF FROM COUNCIL MEMBER CARLOS CIRO'S OFFICE IN DISTRICT H. WE HAVE VIRTUALLY WITH US, UH, STAFF FROM COUNCIL MEMBER ROBERT GALLEGOS OFFICE IN DISTRICT I, AND WE HAVE MY STAFF HERE FROM THE AT LARGE POSITION TWO. WE HAVE, UH, VIRTUALLY STAFF HERE FROM COUNCIL MEMBER LETITIA PLUMMER IN THE AT LARGE POSITION FOUR. AND I SEE NOW THAT WE'VE BEEN JOINED ONLINE BY COUNCIL MEMBER MICHAEL KOSH IN THE AT LARGE POSITION THREE. SO WITH THAT, I BELIEVE WE HAVE ACKNOWLEDGED ALL COUNCIL MEMBERS WHO ARE WITH US IN ATTENDANCE. I DO SEE THE VICE CHAIR WITH US. WELCOME COUNCIL MEMBER ALCORN. AND I'D LIKE TO SAY THAT THIS, UH, MEETING IS BEING HELD IN HYBRID MODE DUE TO THE DISCONTINUATION OF THE TEXAS OPEN MEETINGS ACT. THAT'S CHAPTER 5 51 PROVISIONS THAT ALLOWED PUBLIC MEETINGS TO BE HELD SOLELY, VIRTUALLY DURING THE PANDEMIC. THE MEETING WILL BE AND IS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC AS CHAIR. I'M THE PRESIDING OFFICER OF THE COMMITTEE, AND I AM PHYSICALLY PRESENT IN THE CITY HALL CHAMBER HERE AT HOUSTON CITY HALL IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE PROVISIONS OF SECTION 5 51 0.127 OF THE TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE THAT'S APPLICABLE TO A GOVERNMENTAL BODY THAT EXTENDS INTO THREE OR MORE COUNTIES. ALL OTHER COMMITTEE MEMBERS HAVE THE OPTION TO PARTICIPATE IN PERSON OR VIRTUALLY VIA MICROSOFT TEAMS. WE HAVE NINE MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC SIGNED UP, UH, TO SPEAK TODAY, AND VIRTUALLY IN PERSON. THE DEADLINE TO SPEAK WAS 5:00 PM YESTERDAY ON THE EVE OF THE MEETING. HOWEVER, AS ALWAYS, ANY QUESTIONS MAY BE SENT TO THE AT LARGE2@HOUSTONTX.GOV EMAIL ADDRESS, AND WE WILL SHARE THEM WITH THE DEPARTMENTS FOLLOWING THE MEETING AND DISTRIBUTE THE RESPONSES ACCORDINGLY. WE HAVE TWO ITEMS, UH, ON OUR AGENDA TODAY. UH, BOTH WILL BE ADDRESSED BY OUR HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS TEAM THAT'S THERE, UH, DAY IN AND DAY OUT AT THE HOUSTON PERMITTING CENTER. THE FIRST WILL BE ON THE NATIONAL ELECTRICAL CODE, UH, LOW VOLTAGE STAKEHOLDER UPDATE PRESENTED TODAY BY OUR DIRECTOR OF THE HOUSTON PERMITTING CENTER, MR. CHRIS BUTLER, ALONG WITH HOUSTON PERMITTING CENTER, DEPUTY DIRECTOR MICHAEL HOWARD. THE NEXT ITEM ON OUR AGENDA TODAY ALSO, UH, PRESENTED BY MR. BUTLER AND MR. HOWARD IS THE JENSEN HUGHES CODE MODERNIZATION TOPIC. UH, AND MEMBERS OF JENSEN WHO HUGHES WILL BE JOINING THE MEETING VIRTUALLY. UH, AND THAT WILL BE MR. JASON JOHNSON AND MR. TODD OLIVER. UH, I WOULD LIKE TO NOTE THAT WE HAVE JUST BEEN JOINED BY STAFF FROM OUR VICE MAYOR PRO TEM, UH, MARTHA CASTEX TATUM'S OFFICE. SO AGAIN, WELCOME TO ALL COUNCIL MEMBERS AND STAFF, AND I'D LIKE TO REMIND COUNCIL MEMBERS TO REMAIN ON MUTE AND HOLD THEIR QUESTIONS TO THE END OF EACH PRESENTATION. AND NOTE THAT TO QUEUE IN, THEY SHOULD SEND A MESSAGE TO THE CHAT SAYING, REQUEST TO SPEAK. WE WILL MONITOR THAT FROM THE DAIS HERE AND, UH, AND PRE, UH, PROCEED ACCORDINGLY. ALL PUBLIC COMMENT TODAY WILL BE HELD OFF UNTIL BOTH PRESENTATIONS ARE COMPLETED. THIS HAS BEEN SHARED WITH THE PUBLIC SPEAKERS. PUBLIC COMMENT WAS ORGANIZED BY TOPICS AND PRIORITIZED BY THE ORDER. PUBLIC SPEAKERS HAVE REGISTERED COUNCIL MEMBERS WILL BE ALLOWED TO ANSWER QUESTIONS AFTER THE FIRST PRESENTATION TO ADDRESS ANY ITEMS, UH, ON THE FIRST ITEM BEFORE PROCEEDING TO THE SECOND. WE WILL HAVE A FEW OF THE VIRTUAL PUBLIC SPEAKERS APPEAR ON VIDEO TODAY TO ALLOW FOR MORE, UH, DYNAMIC INTERACTION HERE AT OUR COUNCIL MEETING. SO WITH THAT, I'D ASK THAT EACH OF THE PRESENTERS, [00:05:01] UH, RECOGNIZE THEMSELVES AND, UH, MENTION ANYONE THAT'S HERE WITH US IN THE CHAMBER. AND WITH THAT, I, I BELIEVE THAT WE ARE READY TO PROCEED. MR. BUTLER, THE FLOOR IS YOURS. GOOD MORNING. THERE YOU GO. GOOD MORNING. MY NAME IS CHRIS BUTLER. I AM THE DIRECTOR OF THE HOUSTON PERMITTING CENTER. I'M JOINED TODAY WITH OUR DEPUTY BUILDING OFFICIAL, MR. MICHAEL HOWARD OVER OUR CUSTOMER ADVOCACY CUSTOMER DEVELOPMENT SECTION, AND I'M ALSO JOINED WITH MR. BYRON KING, WHO IS THE BUILDING OFFICIAL FOR THE CITY OF HOUSTON. I WOULD LIKE TO FIRST THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR, FOR INDULGING US WITH ESPECIALLY CALLED TTI MEETING. I KNOW WE'RE OUT OF SCHEDULE, BUT I APPRECIATE YOUR EFFORT TO ACCOMMODATE US THIS MORNING. OUR PLEASURE. WE WILL BE PRESENTING TWO ITEMS AS PREVIOUSLY DISCUSSED. THE FIRST ITEM IS THE NEC LOW VOLTAGE AND STAKEHOLDER UPDATE. NEXT SLIDE. IN HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS, WE START ALL OF OUR PRESENTATIONS WITH OUR PURPOSE AND OUR FIVE TO THRIVE VALUES. IN HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS. TOGETHER, WE CREATE A STRONG FOUNDATION FOR HOUSTON TO THRIVE. THE HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS BUILDING CODE ENFORCEMENT TEAM THRIVES TO BE WORLD CLASS LEADERS IN PERMITTING AND INSPECTIONS. HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS FIVE TO THRIVE. VALUES ARE INTEGRITY, TEAMWORK, OWNERSHIP, COMMUNICATION, AND RESPECT. NEXT SLIDE. THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS PRESENTATION IS TO REPORT CURRENT STATUS AND GOALS OF HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS FOR THE PROPOSED 2021 CODE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS, WHICH WILL ALSO INCLUDE UPDATING THE HOUSTON ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS TO THE HOUSTON ELECTRICAL CODE LOW VOLTAGE PERMIT REQUIREMENTS. BUILDING CODE ENFORCEMENT'S GOAL IS TO ENSURE STAKEHOLDER PARTICIPATION THROUGHOUT THE CODE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS, AND ANYONE WHO IS VESTED IN HOUSTON'S CODE DEVELOPMENT WILL HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK AND PROPOSE CHANGES. THE 2021 CODE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS WILL BE UNLIKE ANY PREVIOUS CODE DEVELOPMENT CYCLE, AS HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS WILL ENTER INTO A CONTRACT WITH A THIRD PARTY AGENCY TO ASSIST IN MODERN, MODERN IZING AND STREAMLINING HOUSTON'S CODE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS. MR. HOWARD, THANK YOU, DIRECTOR BUTLER AND COUNCILMAN ROBINSON AND THE REST OF THE TTI COMMITTEE. I APPRECIATE SLIDE OPPORTUNITY. UM, THE PREVIOUSLY PROPOSED CHANGES TO THE HOUSTON LOW VOLTAGE PERMIT REQUIREMENTS OF THE ELECTRICAL CODE WAS PUT ON HOLD DURING THE 2015 CODE CYCLE AND THE 2020 ELECTRICAL CODE ADOPTION PROCESS. ALTHOUGH THE INITIAL HOLD REQUIRED A RESOLUTION TO THE PROPOSED CHANGE WITHIN SIX MONTHS BECAUSE OF THE INTENT TO UPDATE THE HOUSTON CONSTRUCTION CODE TO THE 2021 ADDITIONS OF THE MODEL INTERNATIONAL CODES AND THE LATEST EDITION OF THE NATIONAL ELECTRICAL CODE. AND BECAUSE THE CODE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS IS BEING UPDATED THROUGH THE CURRENT CODE MODERNIZATION EFFORT TO IMPROVE THE HOUSTON'S CODE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS, HOUSTON PUBLIC WORK BELIEVES IT WOULD BE BEST SERVED. IT WOULD BEST SERVE ALL INTERESTED STAKEHOLDERS TO INCORPORATE THE LOW VOLTAGE DISCUSSIONS WITHIN THE 2021 CO-DEVELOPMENT PROCESS DURING THE REVIEW OF THE LATEST EDITION OF THE NATIONAL ELECTRICAL CODE. NEXT SLIDE. THIRD PARTY CONSULTANTS ARE NOW ON BOARD TO ASSIST THE CO-DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE WITH THE REVIEW OF THE HOUSTON CODE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS. THEY WILL PROVIDE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR STREAMLINING THAT PROCESS FOR BETTER EFFICIENCY TO REDUCE CODE DEVELOPMENT AND ADOPTION TIMELINES. JENSON HUGHES ARE COMMITTED TO ANALYZING THE CURRENT PROPOSED STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT PROCESS TO MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR EXPANDING THAT PROCESS TO INCLUDE ADDITIONAL STAKEHOLDER GROUPS AND INDIVIDUALS WHO MAY HAVE NOT BEEN PREVIOUSLY TARGETED. FINALLY, JENSON HUGHES WILL CREATE A STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE THAT CAN BE USED IN FUTURE CODE DEVELOPMENT PROCESSES. NEXT SLIDE. AND THAT'S THE END OF THIS PARTICULAR SLIDE. THANK YOU EVERYONE. THANK YOU MR. HOWARD. AND THANK YOU MR. BUTLER. UH, AND NOW COLLEAGUES AND STAFF. YOU CAN SEE WHY WE MIGHT WANT TO TAKE A MOMENT TO GET TO THE END OF THE SECOND PRESENTATION. THAT WAS SUCH A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF THE LOW VOLTAGE ITEM. UH, I DON'T SEE THAT THERE ARE ANY QUESTIONS IN THE QUEUE FOR YOU GENTLEMEN, UH, FROM EITHER COUNCIL MEMBERS OR STAFF. SO I'M GONNA ASK ONE MORE TIME IF ANYONE HAS ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THAT LOW VOLTAGE ITEM. COUNCIL MEMBER ROBINSON. SORRY, I'M HAVING A HARD TIME WITH THE CHECK. CAN YOU HEAR ME? VERY GOOD. YES. VICE CHAIR SALLY ALCORN. YES, THANK YOU. IN THE QUEUE. THANK YOU. I JUST WANTED TO THANK YOU MR. HOWARD AND MR. BUTLER. I [00:10:01] MEAN, THAT WAS MY, UM, AMENDMENT THAT ONE OF THE, THAT LOW VOLTAGE SITUATION LOOKED AT IT WITHIN SIX MONTHS. I UNDERSTAND THAT, UH, THAT YOU'RE, YOU KNOW, COMBINING WITH THE OTHER THINGS, WHICH I BELIEVE IS FINE. BUT, UM, THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION AND THANK YOU FOR DOING A WHOLE PRESENTATION ON THAT BECAUSE AS YOU KNOW, WE'VE BEEN GETTING, UH, A LOT OF QUESTIONS ABOUT THAT SINCE, SINCE THAT HAPPENED. SO I APPRECIATE THE UPDATE. THANK YOU. YES. UH, COUNCIL MEMBER, I, GOOD POINT. AND YOU AND I HAVE BOTH BEEN GETTING A NUMBER OF SUGGESTIONS AND IDEAS ABOUT THIS. SO, GENTLEMEN, AS WE MOVE FORWARD WITH THE SECOND, UH, ITEM THAT'LL REALLY TALK ABOUT THE OVERALL, UH, CODE PROCESS AHEAD, UH, I KNOW THAT SOME OF THOSE ITEMS RELATED TO THE LOW VOLTAGE ITEM WILL BE INTEGRATED WITH THAT DISCUSSION. SO I THINK WITH THAT, AND WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, NO COUNCIL MEMBERS OR STAFF IN THE QUEUE. UH, MR. BUTLER, I'LL GIVE YOU BACK TO YOU. THANK YOU, CHAIRMAN ROBINSON. THE NEXT AGENDA ITEM IS THE JENSEN HUGHES CODE MODERNIZATION CONTRACT. NEXT SLIDE. SO, APPROXIMATELY TWO WEEKS AGO, CITY COUNCIL PASSED AN ORDINANCE AWARDING A CONTRACT TO THE HIGHLY RESPECTED ENGINEERING FIRM OF JENSEN HUGHES INCORPORATED. THIS CONTRACT IS AN AGREEMENT FOR PROFESSIONAL PLANNING SERVICES TO FURTHER UPDATE THE HOUSTON CONSTRUCTION CODE FROM THE CURRENT 2015 CODE EDITIONS TO THE 2021 CODE EDITIONS, AND TO MODERNIZE THE HOUSTON CODE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS. JENSEN HUGHES INCORPORATED IS A GLOBAL LEADER IN SAFETY, SECURITY, AND RISK-BASED ENGINEERING AND CONSULTING WITH 1400 PROFESSIONALS AND 2,250 LICENSED FIRE PROTECTION ENGINEERS. COMPANYWIDE, ALTHOUGH THEY DO HAVE OFFICES IN SEVERAL LOCATIONS THROUGHOUT THE US, THEIR TEAM FOR THIS PROJECT IS BASED HERE IN HOUSTON AS A LOCAL FIRM, THEY HAVE EXTENSIVE EXPERIENCE WORKING ON MAJOR PROJECTS IN AND AROUND HOUSTON USING CURRENT AND PREVIOUS ITERATIONS OF HOUSTON CODES, PROCESSES AND PROCEDURES. IN ADDITION, THEIR ENGINEERS HAVE BEEN AN INTEGRAL PART OF THE NATIONAL ICC CODE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM SINCE THE ICC WAS FOUNDED IN 1994, WRITING AND REVIEWING. MANY OF THE CODES WE'RE WORKING TO ADOPT. THEY HAVE IDENTIFIED POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS AND CHANGES FOR HOUSTON IN THE PAST, AND ARE EXCITED AS WE ARE TO HAVE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO PARTNER ON THIS PROGRAM TO STREAMLINE THE CODE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS, MAKING IT EFFICIENT AND HOUSTON A SAFER CITY. SO THE OBJECTIVES OF THE CONTRACT THIS TIME IN PRESENTATION IS OFFERED TO AS AN UPDATE TO THE RAPIDLY APPROACHING CODE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS, AND TO REVIEW THE SCOPE OF SERVICES IDENTIFIED IN THE CODE MONETIZATION CONTRACT RECENTLY AWARDED TO JENSEN HUGHES AND TO REVIEW AND MODERNIZE HOUSTON CODE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS AND TO DISCUSS HOUSTON MODERNIZATION CODE DEVELOPMENT, PROCESS, TIMELINE AND STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT. NEXT SLIDE. AS REPRESENTATIVES AS REPRESENTED IN THIS PHOTO, BUILDING CODES ARE EXTREMELY IMPORTANT. STRUCTURES ARE BUILT, STRUCTURES BUILT TO NEWER CODE ADDITIONS OF CONSTRUCTION CODES CLEARLY PROVIDE MORE RESILIENT CONSTRUCTION. YOU CAN SEE, UM, HOW A BUILDING BUILT IN 2000 DIDN'T STAND UP TO HURRICANE, UH, THAT CAME THROUGH THIS PARTICULAR, UH, CITY IN TEXAS, AND HOW A BUILDING BUILT TO THE 2017 EDITION OF THE CODES DID MUCH BETTER. THE NONPROFIT FEDERAL ALLIANCE OF SAFE HOMES HAS WORKED WITH CONSUMERS BEFORE AND AFTER DISASTERS FOR MORE THAN 20 YEARS. THEY REPORT THAT CONSUMERS ARE NOT WORRIED ABOUT CODES BECAUSE THEY ASSUME LEADERS WOULD NOT ALLOW ANYONE TO BUILD A HOME WITHOUT USING A PLAYBOOK OF MINIMUM SAFETY STANDARDS. THEY TRUST THAT AS WITH AUTOMOBILES, THE GOVERNMENT WOULD NEVER ABANDON CONSUMER PROTECTIONS WHEN FAMILY SAFETY AND FINANCIAL SECURITY IS ON THE LINE. ADOPTING UP-TO-DATE CODES ALLOWS HOUSTON TO CONTINUE TO THRIVE WITH SAFER AND MORE RESILIENT CONSTRUCTION. NEXT SLIDE, JEN AND HUGHES DIRECTIVE IS TO REVIEW CURRENT CODE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS, REDEVELOP STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT, AND PROVIDE A STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE. COORDINATE 2021 CODE DEVELOPMENT, CREATE STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES FOR FUTURE CODE DEVELOPMENT PROCESSES, AND PROVIDE A DETAILED ANALYSIS OF THE MECHANICAL AND PLUMBING CODES FOR BOTH THE UNIFORM AND INTERNATIONAL CODE FAMILIES WITH REGARDS TO FURTHER RESILIENT HOUSTON AND THE CITY'S CLIMATE ACTION PLAN, AND PROVIDE HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS WITH A FINAL RECOMMENDATION. NEXT SLIDE. THE EMPLOYEES OF THE HOUSTON [00:15:01] PERMITTING CENTER HAD AN INITIAL MEETING WITH JENSEN HUGHES ON MONDAY, JUNE 13TH, 2022. THIS MEETING PROVIDED REPRESENTATIVES OF THE DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE AND JENSEN HUGHES THE OPPORTUNITY FOR INTRODUCTIONS AND TO DISCUSS AND IDENTIFY INITIAL ITEMS OF IMPORTANCE RELATED TO THE UPCOMING CODE MODERNIZATION PROJECT AND THE 2021 CODE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS. NEXT SLIDE. AS MR. HOWARD MENTIONED, INITIAL KICKOFF MEETING BETWEEN CACD AND JUSTIN HUGHES WAS, HAD, HAD, UH, AN INTRODUCTION MEETING, I'M SORRY, WAS THIS PAST WEEK COMING? WILL HAVE A KICKOFF MEETING THAT WILL INITIATE DISCUSSIONS TO DETAIL A PROJECT MANAGEMENT PLAN, A STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT PLAN, POINTS OF CONTACT SCHEDULES AND PROCESSES ASSOCIATED WITH THE CODE MODERNIZATION PROJECT, WHICH INTENDED TO UPDATE THE CURRENT ADOPT ADOPTED CODES TO THE 2021 EDITION OF THE MODEL CODES. CURRENTLY, THE KICKOFF MEETING IS SCHEDULED FOR THIS COMING TUESDAY, JUNE 21ST, 2022. A TIMELINE WILL BE IDENTIFIED AND PUBLISHED TO PROVIDE THE DATES AND TIME OF CODE DEVELOPMENT MEETINGS. THE MEETING SCHEDULED WILL BE MADE AVAILABLE ON THE EIGHT HOUSTON PERMITTING CENTER WEBSITE, WHICH NOTICES INCLUDE TO THE HBCE NEWSLETTER. AND IN ADDITION TO THIS, NOTICE WILL BE EMAILED TO ALL STAKEHOLDERS, INCLUDING IN THE CO-DEVELOPMENT STAKEHOLDER CONTACT LIST. CODE REVIEW AND DEVELOPMENT MEETINGS WILL RUN FROM JULY OF 2022 THROUGH JULY OF 2023. AND CHAIRMAN ROBINSON, AS WE'VE MENTIONED EARLIER, IF THERE'S ANY WAY WE CAN SHORTEN THIS TIMELINE, WE WILL DEFINITELY DO SO. NEXT SLIDE. CO-DEVELOPMENT MEETINGS WILL BE HELD VIRTUALLY OR IN HYBRID FORMAT TO ACCOMMODATE ALL POTENTIAL PARTICIPANTS. THE THIRD PARTY DELIVERABLES WILL PROVIDE A PLAN FOR THE STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT PROCESS THAT WILL EXPAND OUR PAST ENGAGEMENT PROCESS, AND WE'LL FIND AVENUES FOR STAKEHOLDER INPUT. ALL CODE CHANGE PROPOSALS WILL BE DISCUSSED DURING THE CODE DEVELOPMENT MEETINGS WITH STAKEHOLDERS. SCHEDULES WILL BE DEVELOPED FOR VARIOUS CODES AND CODE SECTIONS, SO PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO EACH SECTION CAN BE CONSIDERED COMPREHENSIVELY. NEXT SLIDE. STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT WILL INVOLVE BEAT WILL EVOLVE THROUGHOUT THE PROCESS, BUT WILL INITIALLY INCLUDE EMAIL NOTICES TO STAKEHOLDER PARTICIPANTS INCLUDED ON THE CO-DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE STAKEHOLDER CONTACT LIST MADE UP OF PARTICIPANTS FROM PREVIOUS CO-DEVELOPMENT CYCLES. OUR CURRENT CONTACT LIST IS COMPILED OF STAKEHOLDER CONTACTS GATHERED FROM HOUSTON COUNCIL MEMBERS, VARIOUS STAKEHOLDER GROUPS SUCH AS THE SUPER NEIGHBORHOOD ALLIANCE, CIC, CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY COUNCIL, AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF ARCHITECTS, TRIAD, AND, UH, GREATER HOUSTON BUILDERS ASSOCIATION, AS WELL AS NUMEROUS OTHER STAKEHOLDERS WHO CONTACT HOUSTON PERMITTING CENTER WITH REQUEST TO PARTICIPATE IN THE 2021 CO-DEVELOPMENT PROCESS. STAKEHOLDERS ARE ENORMOUSLY VALUABLE AND PROVIDE A WIDE VARIETY OF EXPERTISE AND EXPERIENCE FROM ALL ASPECTS OF CONSTRUCTION AND RELATED TRADES, AND WE'RE EAGER TO WORK WITH THEM. AS PREVIOUSLY STATED, CO-DEVELOPMENT ANNOUNCEMENTS ASSOCIATED WITH SCHEDULED MEETINGS WILL BE POSTED THROUGHOUT THE HOUSTON PERMITTING CENTER AND INCLUDED ON SOCIAL MEDIA SITES AND THE HOUSTON PERMITTING CENTER WEBSITE IN OUR E-NEWSLETTERS AND IN EMAIL BLAST TO STAKEHOLDERS WITH A CO-DEVELOPMENT, UH, BUTTON ADDED TO MANY OTHER CITY HOUSTON WEBSITES THAT WILL LINK THOSE WEBSITES TO THE CO-DEVELOPMENT, UH, WEBSITE AT THE HOUSTON PERMANENT CENTERS. NEXT SLIDE. THE GOVERNMENTAL CONSISTS PROCESS USED TO DEVELOP CODES BY THE INTERNATIONAL CODE COUNCIL, HAS PROVIDED THE HIGHEST LEVEL OF SAFETY IN THE WORLD FOR THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT FOR MORE THAN 90 YEARS. MIRRORING ICCS GOVERNMENTAL CONSIST PROCESS WILL LEAVE THE FINAL RECOMMENDATION OF CODE PROVISIONS IN THE HANDS OF CURRENT MUNICIPAL CITY OF HOUSTON PUBLIC SAFETY SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS WHO HAVE NO VESTED FINANCIAL INTEREST AND WHO ROUTINELY REPRESENT THE PUBLIC INTEREST DAILY AS CAN BE SEEN IN THE SLIDE. THE HOUSTON CODE, HOUSTON CODE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS MIRRORS THE INTERNATIONAL CODE COUNCIL'S GOVERNMENTAL CONSENSUS PROCESS AND INCLUDES THE FOLLOWING PRINCIPLES, OPENNESS, TRANSPARENCY, BALANCE OF INTEREST, DUE PROCESS AND APPEALS PROCESS, AND CONSENSUS. ANYONE WILL BE ABLE TO PARTICIPATE IN THE CO-DEVELOPMENT PROCESS WITH THE FINAL RECOMMENDATION FALLING TO THE ACTIVE PUBLIC SAFETY SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS, WHICH WILL [00:20:01] RECOMMENDATION WILL BE, WILL BE MADE FROM THE CODE DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL TO THE DIRECTOR OF THE HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS THAT WILL BE FORWARDED TO THE ADMINISTRATION. NEXT SLIDE. THANK YOU. THAT CONCLUDES OUR PRESENTATION. THANK YOU VERY MUCH, MR. BUTLER AND MR. HOWARD FOR THAT VERY SUCCINCT AND, UH, CLEAR PRESENTATION. I THINK THOSE OF US WHO'VE BEEN WORKING ON THIS PROCESS, UH, FOR THE LAST FEW MONTHS, REALLY APPRECIATE HOW YOU'VE BROUGHT THAT TO A POINT OF, UH, REFINEMENT AND CLARITY. AND WITH THAT, WE WILL TURN TO QUESTIONS FROM THE COUNCIL, BUT BEFORE DOING SO, I WOULD LIKE TO RECOGNIZE THAT WE HAVE BEEN JOINED BY MY COLLEAGUE, COUNCIL MEMBER CAROLYN EVANS CHAVEZ, THAT'S THE DOCTOR FROM THE DISTRICT OF DESTINATION, DISTRICT D, AS WELL AS STAFF FROM, UH, DISTRICT B, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER, UH, TARSHA JACKSON'S OFFICE. SO WITH THAT, FIRST IN THE QUEUE IS THE VICE CHAIR, UM, SALLY ALCORN, THANK YOU CHAIR, AND THANK YOU DIRECTOR BUTLER. UH, IT BY THE, BY THIS PRESENTATION, IT'S OBVIOUS THAT WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A MUCH MORE ROBUST PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT, UH, SITUATION THAN WE DID THE LAST TIME WE HAD THE CODES. I WANTED TO ASK YOU ABOUT THE BACK AND FORTH LAST TIME WHEN THE, WHEN THE CODE RECOMMENDATIONS WERE PUT FORTH AND PEOPLE HAD COMMENTS, THEY HAD NUMEROUS COMMENTS, AND THEN I GOT A LOT OF COMPLAINTS THAT THE COMMENTS WERE NEVER ADDRESSED, THAT THEY WEREN'T, UM, THERE WAS NOT ADEQUATE DISCUSSION ABOUT THE COMMENTS. CAN YOU TALK TO ME OR CAN, HOW IS JENSEN HUGHES GOING TO HELP WITH THAT SITUATION, WITH THE BACK AND FORTH BETWEEN THE STAKEHOLDERS AND THE, THE ACTUAL RECOMMENDATIONS FROM STAFF THAT GO, HOW, HOW WILL THAT THAT PLAY OUT DIFFERENTLY THAN LAST TIME? I MEAN, WE'RE ALL LOOKING TO SEE AN IMPROVED PROCESS FROM LAST TIME, SO IF YOU CAN SPEAK DIRECTLY TO HOW THAT, THAT THE COMMENTS FROM THE, FROM THE STAKEHOLDERS WILL BE ADDRESSED. YES. SO THANK YOU. COUNCILMAN QUINN, JENSEN, AND HUGHES WILL HELP FACILITATE THE DISCUSSIONS. AND SO THEY WILL HELP, UH, AS THE GO-BETWEEN, BETWEEN THE CO-DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE AT THE HOUSTON PERMANENT CENTER AND THE GENERAL PUBLIC. SO THEY WILL ASSIST US IN THE, UH, THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WE'RE GONNA PRESENT MOVING FORWARD. UH, JENSEN AND HUGHES IS THIRD PARTY OUTSIDE CONSULTANT. SO THEY REALLY DON'T HAVE A VESTED INTEREST. WHAT THEY'RE ARE BEING TASKED TO DO IS TO PROVIDE THE HIGHEST LEVEL OF SAFETY FOR THE CITIZENS IN HOUSTON. SO THEY WILL TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION THOSE PROPOSED AMENDMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC SECTOR, AND WE WILL EVALUATE THOSE AND PROVIDE A RECOMMENDATION. OKAY. I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THE COMMUNICATION WITH THE STAKEHOLDERS IS, IS GOOD. LIKE, LAST TIME I REMEMBER IT WAS A TIMING THING. IT SEEMED LIKE THEY GOT THE WHOLE RECOMMENDED CODE AND THEN, YOU KNOW, HAD TO KIND OF, YOU KNOW, WORK, WORK BACKWARDS. AND I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT BY THE TIME THAT CODE COMES FORWARD, THAT ALL COMMENTS HAVE BEEN ADDRESSED AND EVERYTHING'S BEEN VETTED THROUGH BEFORE CITY COUNCIL GETS IT, AND THEN HAS TO MAKE THESE KIND OF TECHNICAL DECISIONS AT THE, AT THE COUNCIL TABLE. I UNDERSTAND EVERYBODY'S NOT GONNA BE IN AGREEMENT A HUNDRED PERCENT ON EVERYTHING, BUT I DO THINK IT'S ON THE, ON THE CITY TO, UH, FULLY VET AND ADDRESS IN WRITING AND VERBALLY AND HOWEVER WE CAN DO IT. UM, EVERY COMMENTS THAT MADE ON WHAT WE'RE ON WHAT WE'RE PROPOSING, YES, MA'AM. WE WILL DO THAT. YEAH. AND COUNCIL MEMBER, I THINK THAT'S, YOU KNOW, RIGHT ON, ON TOPIC HERE. IT IS WHAT WE ARE, UM, VESTED IN DOING HERE. I THINK WITH OUR CONSULTANT ON BOARD, ONE THING THAT I, I'M SURE YOU'RE AWARE, WE HAVE ENGAGED WITH, UH, THE NOTION THAT THE STAKEHOLDER PROCESS IN MANY WAYS WILL DRIVE THE DISCUSSION HERE. SO PART OF OUR CONSULTANTS' IMPORTANT JOB IS FACILITATING THAT, LEAVING MUCH UP TO THEM AS THE CONSULTANT, UH, TO KEEP THOSE MEETINGS ORDERLY ON TIME AND MOVING FORWARD. UM, I DO KNOW FOR INSTANCE, WHEN IT COMES TO A, A GROUP NEAR AND DEAR TO MY HEART, THE SUPER NEIGHBORHOOD ALLIANCE, UM, IT'S PROBABLY, UH, APPROPRIATE THAT THERE WOULD BE A REPRESENTATIVE FROM THAT ORGANIZATION THAT WOULD BE IDENTIFIED THAT WOULD THEN, UH, BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE MEETINGS. BUT AGAIN, WANTING TO LEAVE, WANTING TO LEAVE THAT UP TO THE COMMITTEE AND WAYS IN WHICH WE CAN, UM, UH, MOVE FORWARD WITH THE ROBUST STAKEHOLDER GROUP. I THINK WE WILL SEE HOW THAT WORKS OUT. UM, COUNCIL MEMBER ALCORN, I DO NOT SEE ANY OTHER COUNCIL MEMBERS IN THE QUEUE. DID YOU HAVE A FOLLOW UP QUESTION OR ARE YOU OKAY? NO, I'M GOOD. OKAY, GREAT. AND WITHOUT SEEING ANY OTHER STAFF OR, UH, COUNCIL MEMBERS IN THE QUEUE, UH, WE DO HAVE NINE SPEAKERS ON THE PUBLIC BEFORE GOING TO THEM. I WOULD LIKE TO RECOGNIZE WE'VE BEEN JOINED IN THE CHAMBER BY COUNCIL MEMBER AMY PECK FROM DISTRICT A WELCOME COUNCIL MEMBER, PECK. AND, UH, WITH THAT, I THINK WE HAVE OUR FIRST, UM, SPEAKER WHO I BELIEVE IS IN THE CHAMBER WITH US. THAT'S MR. WILL, BRO. UH, [00:25:01] MR. BRO, IF YOU WOULD, AND DIRECTOR. AND, AND MR. HOWARD, IF YOU WOULD STEP ASIDE FROM THE PODIUM. I THINK WE'RE GONNA TURN IT OVER TO OUR PUBLIC SPEAKERS. THANK YOU, GENTLEMEN, FOR YOUR PRESENTATION, AND OF COURSE, FOR ANY MEMBER OF THE PUBLIC. AND WHAT WE HAVE COVERED WILL BE POSTED ON OUR WEBSITE SHORTLY. UH, BUT MR. BRO, AS YOU APPROACH THE PODIUM, UH, I BELIEVE WE WILL TURN THAT MICROPHONE OVER TO YOU, AND WE ARE READY FOR YOUR COMMENT. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. UM, MY NAME IS WILL, BRO. I RUN A COMPANY HERE IN HOUSTON CALLED ICONIC SYSTEMS. UH, WE'RE ESSENTIALLY A LOW VOLTAGE CONTRACTOR AND INTEGRATOR IS THE TERM THAT WE GO BY. UH, WE DO, UH, ALMOST EXCLUSIVELY LOW VOLTAGE WORK. SO WE WOULD, UM, YOU KNOW, BE CONSIDERED ONE OF YOUR KIND OF, UH, TARGET DEMOGRAPHIC FOR HOW THIS, UH, CODE CHANGES COULD POTENTIALLY AFFECT OUR BUSINESS AND, YOU KNOW, OTHER BUSINESSES LIKE US. UM, I AM A MEMBER OF CDA, WHICH IS OUR, UH, SOMEWHAT GOVERNING ORGANIZATION OR BODY, UM, AND VOLUNTEER FOR THAT ASSOCIATION. I ALSO DO LIGHTING DESIGN. OUR COMPANY DOES LIGHTING DESIGN AND LIGHTING SPECIFICATION, UH, WHICH FALLS OUTSIDE IN SOME CASES, LOW VOLTAGE CONTRACTOR WORK, WHERE WE USE, UH, LICENSED ELECTRICIANS TO, TO DO THAT KIND OF WORK. SO, UH, I HAVE ATTENDED, UH, PREVIOUS CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS, UM, ON THIS TOPIC. AND, UM, I APPRECIATE, UM, COUNCIL MEMBER ALCORN'S STATEMENTS ABOUT, UM, YOU KNOW, THE TRANSPARENCY AND, AND THINGS MOVING FORWARD. WE WERE, UM, SOMEWHAT BLINDSIDED BY THE, THE FALL MEETINGS WHERE WE HAD TO KIND OF SHUFFLE AND GET HERE TO SEE WHAT WAS, WHAT WAS POTENTIALLY GONNA GONNA HAPPEN WITH, UH, SOME OF THESE DECISIONS. UM, I, I DID SPEAK IN SOME OF THOSE, AND I'VE HAD SOME MEETINGS WITH SOME COUNCIL PEOPLE, UM, YOU KNOW, SEPARATELY ABOUT SOME OF THESE KINDS OF THINGS. SO I, I DO WANT TO SAY WE VERY MUCH APPRECIATE BEING INVOLVED IN THIS PROCESS AND HOW, YOU KNOW, THE PLAN IS TO MOVE FORWARD. UM, I AND SOME OF MY COLLEAGUES WERE SOME OF THE ONES THAT HAVE RECOMMENDED AMENDMENTS TO THE CODE, UM, INCLUDING THE EXEMPTIONS THAT ARE CURRENTLY IN PLACE, WHICH WE UNDERSTAND HAVE BEEN LEFT TEMPORARILY, UM, UNTIL WE CAN DETERMINE, YOU KNOW, THE BEST COURSE OF ACTION MOVING FORWARD. UM, WE, WE DON'T THINK THE 50 VOLT, 50 WATT EXEMPTION IS AS EFFECTIVE. IF YOU COULD WRAP UP YOUR COMMENT. OKAY. WE DON'T THINK IT'S AS EFFECTIVE AS IT AS IT COULD BE. AND WE ARE RECOMMENDING, YOU KNOW, THE NEC AND UL UH, CLASSIFICATIONS OF CLASS ONE, TWO, AND THREE TO BE THE DEFINING FACTORS FOR CODE MOVING FORWARD. THANK YOU, MR. BRO, BEFORE YOU LEAVE THE PODIUM, UH, YOU SAID C-D-C-D-I-A IS? CDF, IT'S CUSTOM ELECTRONICS DESIGN AND INSTALLATION ASSOCIATION. OKAY. THAT'S EXCELLENT. UH, DIDN'T KNOW THAT ACRONYM. SO GLAD TO KNOW IT. AND THAT IS LIKELY SOMETHING THAT, UH, WITH THE EXPERTISE OF THE ORGANIZATION, MAY WANT TO, UM, BE ADDED TO OUR STAKEHOLDER LIST. SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR COMMENTS. I DON'T SEE ANY COUNCIL MEMBERS OR STAFF IN QUEUE. SO WANNA THANK YOU AND WE WILL MOVE ON TO THE NEXT SPEAKER. THANK YOU. UH, AND OUR NEXT SPEAKER, I BELIEVE IS WITH US ONLINE, UH, VIRTUALLY, UH, MR. DARREN REMAN, ARE YOU THERE? AND IF SO, UH, TO UNMUTE, IF YOU'RE READY TO GO, HIT STAR SIX. I THINK YOU, YOU CAN GO AHEAD AND START TALKING. MR. REMAN. HI. GOOD, GOOD MORNING. UH, THIS IS DARREN REMAN. I SERVE AS DIRECTOR OF GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS FOR THE CUSTOM ELECTRONIC DESIGN AND INSTALLATION ASSOCIATION, OR CDA. THANK YOU, CHAIRMAN ROBINSON, VICE CHAIR ELKHORN, AND MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE. APPRECIATE YOUR TIME TODAY ON BEHALF OF CDA AND OUR 23 MEMBER COMPANIES THAT DO THIS, UH, LOW VOLTAGE INTEGRATION WORK THROUGHOUT THE CITY OF HOUSTON, WE APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY. WE LOOK FORWARD TO THE WORK AHEAD, UM, FOR, FOR THE CITY OF HOUSTON, RELATED TO THE CODE AND BEING A STAKEHOLDER TO THIS IMPORTANT, IMPORTANT WORK. UM, C DM MEMBERS, UM, DESIGN AND INSTALL AND INTEGRATE TECHNOLOGY THROUGHOUT THE HOME, PROVIDING SUCH SYSTEMS AS, AS HOME AUTOMATION, HOME COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS, MEDIA ROOMS, AND HOME THEATERS. AS TECHNOLOGY HAS EVOLVED, MORE SYSTEMS ARE RELIANT ON POWER LIMITED CIRCUITS, UM, FOR SOLUTIONS FOR RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL PROJECTS. IT IS VITAL FOR THE CITY OF HOUSTON TO HAVE FORWARD LOOKING CODE LANGUAGE TO SUPPORT CURRENT AND FUTURE TECHNOLOGY INNOVATIONS AND ADOPTION THROUGHOUT THE CITY. AND AS WILL HAS SAID PREVIOUSLY, INTEGRATORS ARE A STAKEHOLDER TO THIS PROCESS. WE LOOK FORWARD TO BEING A PART OF THE PROCESS AND BEING A RESOURCE TO THIS IMPORTANT WORK. UM, SO THANK YOU FOR HOLDING THIS SPECIAL COMMITTEE MEETING, [00:30:01] AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME AND ATTENTION TO THIS IMPORTANT MATTER AND, AND, AND CONTINUING TO WORK ON THIS IMPORTANT ISSUE. AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. THANK YOU VERY MUCH, MR. REMAN. UH, APPRECIATE THAT. AND AGAIN, FOR THE REPRESENTATION FROM CDA AND, UH, VERY HELPFUL COMMENTS THAT YOU'VE MADE. AGAIN, DO NOT SEE ANY COUNCIL MEMBERS OR STAFF IN THE QUEUE, BUT WE REALLY APPRECIATE, UH, YOUR BEING HERE WITH US TODAY. I THINK OUR, OUR NEXT VIRTUAL ATTENDEE IS MR. NICHOLAS JIMENEZ, IF HE IS WITH US, LIKE TO SEE YOU. THERE YOU ARE, NICK. UH, IF YOU CAN UNMUTE OR JUST GO AHEAD AND START TALKING. I THINK WE'RE WITH YOU. GOOD MORNING. MY NAME IS NICHOLAS HUMANEZ. I JOINED YOU TODAY AS A REPRESENTATIVE FOR COMCAST. GOOD MORNING. THROUGH COMCAST, UH, BRANDS ARE XFINITY AND COMCAST BUSINESS BRANDS. WE PROUDLY PROVIDE BROADBAND INTERNET, CABLE, TV, HOME AND MOBILE PHONE, HOME AND OFFICE SECURITY SMART OFFICE SOLUTIONS AS WELL FOR OUR CUSTOMERS. THANK YOU, CHAIRMAN ROBINSON, VICE CHAIR ALCORN, UH, AND ALL OF THE TTI COMMITTEE MEMBERS AND CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS THAT ARE IN ATTENDANCE, UH, JUST FOR BEING HERE TO, TO BE HERE FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO PARTICIPATE IN THESE STAKEHOLDER CONVERSATIONS AROUND THE NATIONAL ELECTRICAL CODE, UH, LOW VOLTAGE PERMITTING REQUIREMENTS. COMCAST DEFINITELY LOOKS FORWARD TO WORKING WITH YOU ON THIS IN MORE DETAIL. SO I'LL KEEP MY COMMENTS THIS MORNING. BRIEF. UH, WE REGULARLY PARTNER WITH THE CITY OF HOUSTON ON A NUMBER OF PERMITS. UH, VERY PROUD TO DO THINGS THE RIGHT WAY. IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON, OUR WORK IS REGULATED, UH, BY STATE AND NATIONAL CODE. OUR TECHNICIANS ARE LICENSED AND REGULATED BY THE TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY, SPECIFICALLY TO PERFORM LOW VOLTAGE AND POWER OVER ETHERNET. UH, AND SO OUR RECOMMENDATION TODAY FOR THIS COMMITTEE'S CONSIDERATION IS REGARDING LOW VOLTAGE PERMITTING, SIMILAR TO WHAT MR. BRO SAID FOR THE CITY, UH, TO ADOPT THE NATIONAL ELECTRICAL CODE 2020 EDITION, AND TO INCLUDE A PERMITTING EXCEPTION, WHICH I BELIEVE HAD BEEN PREVIOUSLY PROPOSED BY VICE CHAIR ALCORN THAT ALIGNS WITH TEXAS STATUTE AND WITH THE NATIONAL ELECTRICAL CODE. THIS WOULD READ AS AN EXCEPTION TO, AND I QUOTE CLASS ONE, CLASS TWO OR CLASS THREE, REMOTE CONTROL SIGNALING OR POWER LIMITED CIRCUITS, OPTICAL FIBER CABLES OR COMMUNICATION CIRCUITS, INCLUDING RACEWAYS AS DEFINED BY THE NATIONAL ELECTRICAL CODE, UNQUOTE. SO, THANK YOU AGAIN, UH, FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO JOIN YOU THIS MORNING, AND FOR COMCAST TO ENGAGE ON THIS TOPIC. APPRECIATE YOUR COMMITMENT TO STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT. THANK YOU VERY MUCH, MR. NICHOLAS JIMENEZ, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR BEING HERE WITH COMCAST. WE DO HAVE A QUESTION FOR YOU FROM OUR VICE CHAIR, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER SALLY ALCORN. THANK YOU, MR. JIMENEZ. AND I WON'T SPEAK AFTER ALL THE SPEAKERS ON LOW VOLTAGE, BUT I THANK YOU ALL FOR COMING AND FOR STAYING REALLY ENGAGED ON THIS ISSUE. YOU KNOW, IT'S A LITTLE FRUSTRATING WHEN WE THOUGHT THIS WOULD BE TALKED, YOU KNOW, WORKED OUT WITHIN SIX MONTHS AND EVERYBODY UNANIMOUSLY APPROVED THAT. SO A LITTLE DISAPPOINTED IN THE TIMING OF THIS, BUT YOU'RE MAKING YOUR CASE AGAIN, AND REALLY HOPE THAT WE HAVE, UM, PEOPLE LISTENING. I LEARNED A LOT ABOUT THIS ISSUE WHEN IT CAME FORWARD BEFORE. AND, UM, HOPE THAT EVERYBODY'S TAKING NOTE OF YOUR, UH, CONTINUED ADVOCACY FOR, FOR THIS LOGO VOLTAGE ISSUE. SO THANKS TO ALL THE SPEAKERS THAT ARE COMING ON THIS. THANK YOU COUNCIL MEMBER, APPRECIATE THAT. AND, UH, NICK, UH, AGAIN, I SHARE, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER ALCORN'S GRATEFULNESS FOR YOU BEING HERE. THANKS FOR YOUR COMMENTS, AND WE WILL CERTAINLY BE IN TOUCH, UH, AS THE PROCESS MOVES FORWARD. SO WITH THAT, THERE ARE NO OTHER QUESTIONS FOR YOU IN THE QUEUE, AND, UH, WE WILL MOVE ON TO OUR NEXT SPEAKER. THE NEXT SEVERAL SPEAKERS WILL BE JOINING US VIRTUALLY, BUT WITHOUT VIDEO. SO THEREFORE, I MOVE TO RECOGNIZE PAUL BEN, MR. BEN, IF YOU'RE WITH US ONLINE, IF YOU COULD UNMUTE BY HITTING STAR SIX OR OTHERWISE, LET US KNOW THAT YOU'RE WITH US. CAN YOU HEAR ME? THERE YOU ARE. PAUL. IS THAT YOU? IT IS. THANK YOU. UH, THANK YOU CHAIR. I APPRECIATE THE, ALL THE EFFORT THAT'S GONE INTO THIS TO TRY TO REALIGN THINGS, UH, A LOT. I'D BE ECHOING COMMENTS THAT, UH, HAVE ALREADY BEEN SAID. SO I'LL KEEP IT SHORT ON BOTH TOPICS. BASICALLY, UH, IT'S CODE DEVELOPMENT. I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO, UM, TO FOCUS ON A PROBLEM SOLVING APPROACH. AND WITH THAT, UH, THERE'S BEEN COMMENTS ABOUT TRANSPARENCY. I THINK IF THERE'S AN ISSUE, THOSE RECORDS, UM, SHOULD BE DONE IN REAL TIME AND EXPOSED REAL TIME INSTEAD OF JUST AT CODE REVIEW TIME. UH, AND THEN THOSE PROBLEMS KIND OF APPROACHED, UH, IF THEY NEED CODE, UH, DEVELOPMENT TO SOLVE THOSE, THEN THAT DATA'S THERE AS WELL AS THE EXPLANATION AS TO WHY IT'S BEING DONE. LIKE ANY CODE BODY, THEY ENCOMPASS LARGE GEOGRAPHIC AREAS, LARGE SITUATIONS, MUCH BIGGER THAN OUR OWN, EVEN [00:35:01] CITY HOUSTON. AND, UM, AS A CONSEQUENCE, THEY DON'T ALWAYS APPLY. UH, AS FAR AS THE LOW VOLTAGE, I SPEAK FROM, UM, AN EXPERT IN THE FIELD OF VERY LARGE NETWORKS, UM, SUPER, SUPER LARGE. UM, AND THIS, THIS TOPIC OF LOW VOLTAGES, UH, HAS BEEN THOUGHT ABOUT BY MANY, MANY, MANY, MANY PEOPLE, UH, BEYOND EVEN THE NEC. AND, UH, AND IT'S BEEN IN PROCESS FOR OVER A HUNDRED YEARS AT THIS POINT. SO I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO YIELD TO SOME OF THAT KNOWLEDGE BASE. WITH THAT, I APPRECIATE THE TIME TO SPEAK WITH Y'ALL. THANK YOU, MR. BEN. APPRECIATE VERY MUCH YOUR COMMENT AND YOUR BEING WITH US HERE TODAY. UM, IT WILL BE PUT INTO THE RECORD, AND WE'RE GRATEFUL FOR YOUR BEING HERE WITH US. UH, WITH THAT, THE NEXT SPEAKER IS MR. CHAD JONES, ALSO WITH US VIRTUALLY. UH, MR. JONES, IF YOU'RE HERE, PLEASE, UH, SPEAK UP OR HIT STAR SIX IF YOU'D LIKE TO UNMUTE CHAD JONES. WE THINK WE SEE YOU ONLINE, CHAD, SO LET US KNOW YOU'RE THERE. ONE MORE TIME FOR MR. CHAD JONES. IF YOU'RE WITH US, HIT STAR SIX TO UNMUTE, SPEAK UP, OR OTHERWISE, LET US KNOW YOU'RE THERE AND WE CAN COME BACK TO YOU. OKAY. THERE IS THAT YOU, I THINK WE GOT YOU. YOU CAN HEAR ME NOW, I SUPPOSE. IS THAT YOU MR. JONES? YES, IT IS. AND THIS IS GOING THEMATIC. I'M GONNA GIVE MY TIME AS EVERYTHING THAT NEEDS TO BE SAID HAS BEEN SAID ALREADY. UH, I'M NOT GONNA REPEAT ANYTHING, SO THANK YOU. OKAY. THANK YOU MR. JONES. APPRECIATE YOUR BREVITY. AND, UH, I BELIEVE YOUR COLLEAGUE ALSO FROM CISCO, MR. JASON TU, UM, ARE YOU WITH US, JASON? YEP. OKAY. THERE YOU ARE. ANYTHING TO ADD? GOOD MORNING, AND THANK YOU. YES, SIR. MY, MY NAME IS JASON POTTER. I'M EMPLOYED BY CISCO SYSTEMS. UH, LIKE CHAD SAID, I'LL BE BRIEF AS THE CON. I CONCUR WITH THE COMMENTS YOU'VE ALREADY HEARD, BUT I'LL SAY THAT, I'LL ADD THAT. I'M GLAD TO HEAR THAT THE ADMINISTRATIVE CODE PROVISIONS FOR THE NATIONAL ELECTRICAL CODE WILL BE IN SCOPE AS LOW VOLTAGE INDUSTRY, ACTUALLY FULLY SUPPORTS ADOPTION OF THE LATEST NATIONAL ELECTRICAL CODE, AND REALLY ONLY CONCERNED WITH THE ADMINISTRATIVE CODE STIPULATIONS. UH, JENSEN YOUTHS HAS A STELLAR REPUTATION WITH MY FELLOW VOLUNTEERS AT THE NFPA, WHICH DEVELOPS THE NEC. AND SO WE'RE EXCITED TO WORK WITH THEM AS A STAKEHOLDER. SO THANK YOU ALL. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR, FOR YOUR COMMENT AND, UH, FOR SUPPORTING THE PROCESS. UM, NEXT WE'LL HEAR FROM MR. TROY ALLEN. HE'S THE DIRECTOR OF GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS WITH THE GREATER HOUSTON BUILDERS ASSOCIATION. TROY, ARE YOU WITH US ONLINE? I THINK I HEAR YOU. HOLD ON. CAN WE HEAR YOU, TROY? HELLO? CAN YOU HEAR ME? YES, WE GOT YOU. GO AHEAD. WE CAN HEAR YOUR COMMENT. I THOUGHT WE COULD FOR A MOMENT THERE. DID YOU RE-MUTE YOURSELF? TRY STAR SIX AND GO AHEAD WITH YOUR COMMENT, MR. ALLEN. OKAY, PERFECT. I APOLOGIZE. HELLO, UH, MY NAME'S TROY ALLEN RE, HOUSTON BROTHERS ASSOCIATION, UM, DIRECTOR OF GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS. UM, I JUST WANTED TO FIRST OFF COMMEND YOU ALL ON HAVING THIS PUBLIC MEETING AND ALLOWING US TO BE ABLE TO ENGAGE IN THIS PROCESS EARLY. UM, WE REALLY WANT TO BE ABLE TO ENGAGE WITH, UM, CITY COUNCIL AND ALSO, UM, THE CODE COMMITTEE AND ALSO THE ENTIRE PROCESS SO THAT WE CAN, UM, REALLY LOOK TO SEE WHAT IMPACTS NEW CODES AND CHANGING MENU CODES HAVE TO THE END USER, WHICH IS A HOME BUYER, AND THE HOME PURCHASER, AND HOW MUCH ADDED COSTS WE'RE ADDING TO HOME PRICES IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON. WE WANT TO FOCUS ON JUST CODE ARE ABLE TO ALLOW PEOPLE TO BE ABLE TO AFFORD HOUSES AND TO KEEP PEACE IN A MOVEABLE PLACE. UM, AND OTHER THAN THAT, JUST SO THAT WE CAN, UH, MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE ENGAGING WITH YOU GUYS AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE. SO JUST WANT TO COMMEND YOU ALL FOR ONCE AGAIN, HAVE THIS PUBLIC MEETING. AND THANK YOU GUYS FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK. THANK YOU, MR. ALLEN, IF YOU'LL HOLD ON ONE SECOND. I THINK WE HAVE A QUESTION FOR YOU FROM COUNCIL MEMBER MICHAEL KOSH, COUNCIL MEMBER KOSH, THANK YOU VERY MUCH. UM, I APPRECIATE YOU COMING FORWARD, UH, WHENEVER YOU START SEEING THE ORDINANCE, UH, UH, DEVELOPING. IF YOU HAVE, IF YOU HAVE SOME, SOME AMENDMENTS THAT YOU'D LIKE TO SEE MADE, YOU NEED TO LET US KNOW IN ADVANCE. AND, UH, THE SOONER WE CAN GET AHEAD OF THAT, THE BETTER. AND THAT'S FOR ALL OF THE SPEAKERS. IF THERE'S SOMETHING THAT, THAT, THAT'S MOVING DOWN THE PIKE THAT WE'RE NOT AWARE OF, BECAUSE OBVIOUSLY, UH, I'M NOT AN ELECTRICIAN AND, AND, UH, AND I DON'T, UH, ALWAYS UNDERSTAND ALL THE IMPACTS OF IT, BUT I NEED YOUR HELP, UH, AND YOUR INPUT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER. APPRECIATE THAT VERY MUCH. AND, UH, WITH THAT, I BELIEVE WE'RE READY TO MOVE ON TO OUR TWO FINAL SPEAKERS [00:40:01] WHO ARE BOTH WITH US IN CITY HALL CHAMBER, AND IF, UH, MIKE DISH BERGER COULD COME HERE, UH, MIKE, AND AS YOU APPROACH THE PODIUM, LET ME WELCOME YOU TO CITY HALL. YOU'RE CITY HALL, SIR, AND, UH, GRATEFUL THAT YOU'RE WITH US. THANKS FOR HAVING ME HERE. NICE TO HAVE, SEE EVERYBODY AGAIN. UM, I'LL BE BRIEF TOO. UM, WE LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH THE BUILDING DEPARTMENT DURING THE 2021 CODE CYCLE. CODES. CODES ARE GOOD. BUILDERS LIKE CODES TELLS US WHAT TO DO. WE LIKE TO KNOW WHAT WE HAVE TO DO. BUT I WANT, I WANNA BRING UP, KIND OF TIE ON WITH TROY CITY OFFICIALS COUNCIL. PEOPLE ARE ALWAYS ASKING, MAYOR, WHY CAN'T WE BUILD MORE AFFORDABLE HOUSES IN HOUSTON? AND WHEN PUSH COMES TO SHOVE, UNFORTUNATELY EVERYTHING SEEMS AFFORDABILITY. WE ALL TALK ABOUT IT. AT THE END OF THE DAY, IT'S THE LAST THING. NOBODY CARES. THEY SAY THEY DO. BUT, OH, THIS IS MORE IMPORTANT. THIS IS MORE IMPORTANT. THIS IS MORE IMPORTANT. WE, WE DON'T HAVE TO REHASH HISTORY, BUT I'M JUST ASKING THAT, UH, THIS, YOU KNOW, NEW CODES ALWAYS BRING MORE COSTS, AND THE 2021 CODE'S GONNA COST MORE. WE CAN, WE CAN PROBABLY DEAL WITH THAT. RIGHT NOW, LESS THAN 50% OF HOUSTON STONE'S GONNA AFFORD PURCHASE. THE AVERAGE PRICED TO THAT'S FROM HAR LAST MONTH WITH A 3.8% MORTGAGE RATE TODAY, IT'S 5.9. OKAY? SO OUR AFFORDABILITY IN HOUSTON'S DROPPING THE SURROUNDING COUNTIES ARE DOING WAY, WAY, MUCH BETTER THAN US. UM, I WOULD ASK THE CONS, THE CITY CONSIDER THE EFFECTS OF THOSE COSTS WHEN MAKING DEC DECISIONS ON THE AMENDMENTS TO THE 2021 CODE IS IMPERATIVE. I THINK IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT IF THEY'RE GONNA SAY, WE'RE GONNA DO THIS AMENDMENT OR ADD AN APPENDIX, AN OPTIONAL APPENDIX, THAT THEY TELL YOU GUYS WHAT THE COST IS, HERE'S WHAT THE COST IS, LET THEM WORK IT OUT. WE CAN DISCUSS WHAT THAT NUMBER IS, BUT THAT NEVER GETS BROUGHT UP AGAIN. SO THE APPENDICES, THE AMENDMENTS, UM, AND AS YOU, AS YOU PROBABLY KNOW, A LOT OF THESE CODES WERE ALREADY IMPACTED BY MANUFACTURERS WHO, THEY PUSHED THE CODES, THEY OUT, THEY OUT VOTE BUILDERS, AND EVERYONE ELSE THEY, YEARS AGO, WAS A WATER SPRINKLER GUYS. THEY CAME IN THERE AND, YOU KNOW, LOADED THE VOTE DOWN AND SAID, WE'RE GONNA MAN MANDATE SPRINKLERS. LUCKILY, THE STATE TOOK CARE OF THAT. I WOULD ALSO ASK THAT THE CONSIDER AMENDMENTS OR, UH, CONSIDER AMENDMENTS IN NOT USING OPTIONAL APP PENANCES THAT WILL SAVE COSTS ON CO ITEMS. THAT, THAT MAY, WE DECIDE MAY AND MAY NOT BE NECESSARY FOR HOUSTON. AND SO LAST TIME WE ASKED THE QUESTION, WHAT, IN THIS ENTIRE CODE AMENDMENTS EVERYTHING, WHICH ONE OF THOSE SAVED ANY MONEY? THE ANSWER WAS NONE OF THEM. JUST, LET'S LOOK, LET'S LOOK AT THAT. WE'RE TRYING TO HAVE AFFORDABLE HOMES. I DON'T WANT PEOPLE TO MOVE OUT INTO THE COUNTIES. UM, ANYWAY, THAT'S END OF MY COMMENTS AND WELL, THANK YOU VERY MUCH, MR. DISH BERGER. YOUR EXPERTISE IS ALWAYS WELCOME. AND, UH, JUST AS A MATTER FOR THE RECORD, I, I KNOW YOU VOLUNTEER, UH, FOR SO MANY THINGS. ARE YOU SPEAKING AS MIKE BERGER TODAY, OR REPRESENTING? I'M SPEAKING FOR THE GHBI TODAY. SORRY. OKAY. OKAY. VERY GOOD. JUST WANTED TO GET THAT ON THE RECORD. I DO BELIEVE WE HAVE A QUESTION FOR YOU FROM COUNCIL MEMBER MICHAEL KOSH. IS THAT RIGHT? COUNCIL MEMBER? YES. COUNCIL MEMBER. UH, MIKE, IT'S ALWAYS GOOD TO HAVE YOU HERE. UH, YOU'RE JUST A VOICE OF REASON, AND I APPRECIATE YOU TALKING ABOUT THE FINANCIAL IMPACT BECAUSE THE WHOLE PURPOSE OF, UH, OF THESE CODES AND PERMITTING IS FOR PUBLIC SAFETY. AND SO THE HOMEOWNER OR THE BUSINESS CAN, CAN, UH, CAN BE SAFE. AND SO I, I CERTAINLY APPRECIATE YOUR REMARKS AND, UH, I THINK WE NEED TO FOCUS, UH, LASER FOCUS ON WHAT THE COSTS ARE ON THIS AND HOW IT'S GONNA KEEP PEOPLE FROM GETTING INTO HOMES. THANK YOU VERY MUCH, MIKE. THANK YOU, SIR. THANK YOU, MR. DISH BERGER FOR BEING HERE, AND AGAIN, FOR YOUR EXPERTISE AND, AND VOLUNTEERING. UH, I BELIEVE, HOLD ON, MR. BERGER, WE HAVE A QUESTION FOR YOU FROM OUR VICE CHAIR, UH, SALLY ALCORN. I THINK WE GOT YOU. HI, MR. THERE YOU ARE, MR. AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR, OKAY. OKAY, HERE I AM. I'M KIND OF DARK. SORRY. UM, THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMMENTS. AND, AND HOW, HOW DO YOU SEE THAT THE COST ESTIMATES PLAYING OUT? I KNOW WE GET, THE CITY INDUSTRY USUALLY PROVIDES COST ESTIMATES OF HOW THE, THE NEW CODES WILL IMPACT THEM. BUT ARE, ARE YOU SUGGESTING THAT THE CITY SHOULD ALSO COME UP WITH THE, WITH COST ESTIMATES OR SHOULD DO SOME KIND OF INDEPENDENT, UH, YOU KNOW, SURVEY OF WHAT, UH, THE COST, THE, THE COST IMPACT WILL BE? I MEAN, I WANT JENSEN AND HUGHES TO HEAR WHAT'S KIND OF, WHAT, WHAT STAKEHOLDERS WILL EXPECT AS FAR AS THE CITY'S ROLE IN, UM, IN ADDRESSING THE COST IMPACT. I, I WOULD THINK, UH, AS WE SAY, THE CITY, THE, THE CODE GUYS, THEY'RE CODE EXPERTS. UM, BUT THEY'RE NOT, PROBABLY NOT COST EXPERTS. THEY DON'T BUILD, BUILD THINGS. IT WOULD BE GUYS TO HAVE THESE, THESE CONSULTANTS ACTUALLY DO SOME OUTSIDE LOOKING. AND I'M, I'M REALLY JUST TALKING, I'M GONNA KEEP IT LASER FOCUSED. THE AMENDMENTS, WHICH THERE'S QUITE A FEW AMENDMENTS AND THE OPTIONAL APPENDICES. AND IF YOU, AND IF YOU GUYS SAY, HEY, THE SOLAR READINESS APPENDIX IS WORTH X THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS, YOU GUYS GET TO VOTE ON IT, BUT YOU NEED TO KNOW WHAT THAT NUMBER IS A LOT OF TIMES SAYING, WHAT DOESN'T COST MUCH? WELL, WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? AND IN, AND IN THIS, AND IN OUR CITY, THERE'S A LOT OF PEOPLE THAT CAN'T AFFORD A HOME. AND EVEN THE RENTALS, IF YOU'RE BUILDING A RENTAL, THE RENTAL COSTS GO UP WITH THE BUILDING CODES TOO. SO IT AFFECTS EVERYONE IN HOUSTON FOR HOUSING. AND I, I WOULD LIKE IT, [00:45:01] I WOULD LIKE IT TO BE INDEPENDENT. I WOULD EXPECT THIS CONSULTANT TO DO SOME OF THAT RESEARCH. AGAIN, NOT ON THE BASE CODE, BUT ON THE, THE, UH, AMENDMENTS INDEPENDENCE. SO IS THAT PART OF THE PLAN? MAY I ASK PUBLIC WORKS OR WHATEVER, IF THAT'S PART OF THE SCOPE OF JENSEN HUGHES THAT THEY WILL BE LOOKING AT COST IMPACT. COUNCIL MEMBER AT THE APPENDIX AND COUNCIL MEMBER ALCORN, WE HAVE, UH, DIRECTOR HADDOCK FROM PUBLIC WORKS ONLINE. OKAY. AND I THINK SHE'S PREPARING TO ADDRESS YOUR QUESTION. SO, UM, DIRECTOR HADDOCK. UM, CAN YOU HEAR ME? YES, MA'AM. GO AHEAD. EXCELLENT. UM, SO, SO REALLY THE, THE FIRST THING I WANT TO JUMP ON IN HERE IS WE CERTAINLY CONSIDER COSTS WHEN WE LOOK AT THESE THINGS, BUT I ALSO WANT PEOPLE TO THINK ABOUT THAT IT'S NOT JUST THE INITIAL COST OF BUYING A HOME THAT IS IMPORTANT IN AFFORDABILITY. IT IS THE LONG-TERM OWNERSHIP OF THE HOME. THAT IS A SIGNIFICANT PART OF AFFORDABILITY AS WELL. ARE MY ELECTRIC BILLS GOING TO BE RELIABLE? 'CAUSE I HAVE GOOD INSULATION THAT I HAVE, UM, ENERGY EFFICIENT WINDOWS, THAT I HAVE THOSE THINGS IN PLACE. IS MY WATER BILL GONNA BE RELIABLE BECAUSE I HAVE THE RIGHT, UH, FIXTURES AND APPLIANCES AND THINGS THAT ARE IN PLACE ARE THE, ARE ALL THE THINGS THAT GO INTO AFFORDABILITY, NOT JUST THE MORTGAGE IS EVERYTHING THAT GOES INTO AFFORDABILITY, UH, INCLUDED IN THAT. AND THE MODERN BUILDING CODES ARE VERY MUCH MOVING TOWARDS SUSTAINABILITY, MOVING TOWARDS RESILIENCE, MOVING TOWARDS THINGS THAT SHIFT A LITTLE BIT OF THE COST UPFRONT, BUT REDUCE THE LONG-TERM COSTS OF OWNERSHIP. AND, AND I THINK THAT'S A REALLY IMPORTANT FACTOR FOR EVERYBODY TO BE AWARE OF. AND MR. DISH BERGER, I RECOGNIZE THAT YOU ARE, ARE REPRESENTING THE BUILDING COMMUNITY AND THAT YOU SEE ONE PIECE OF THAT PUZZLE, BUT THERE ARE MANY, MANY, MANY PIECES OF THAT PUZZLE THAT GO INTO MAKING HOME OWNERSHIP AFFORDABLE, LONG-TERM FOR PEOPLE. UH, MORTGAGE RATES, ALL OF INSURANCE COSTS. UM, THESE THINGS ACTUALLY INFLUENCE EVERY OTHER BILL THAT YOU'RE GOING TO PAY THROUGHOUT THE LIFE CYCLE OF OWNING THAT HOUSE. AND, UM, UM, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER ALCORN I WILL GET WITH, UM, WE WILL HAVE OUR TEAM GET WITH JENSEN HUGHES. UH, WE WILL, WE WILL LAY OUT EXACTLY WHAT'S, UH, IN THAT I'M NOT SURE THAT WE WERE PLANNING TO DO A, A FULL, UM, COST ANALYSIS OF EVERY SINGLE PROVISION. BUT I WILL SAY THAT WE WERE, UH, THAT I KNOW THAT COSTS WILL DEFINITELY BE PART OF WHAT IS LOOKED AT IN IT. AND, UM, UM, YOU KNOW, I DON'T SEE WHY, UH, WE, WE, WE WOULD NOT SHY AWAY FROM THAT. WE WOULD NOT SHY AWAY FROM THAT DISCUSSION AT ALL. UM, THE OTHER THING THAT I WILL SAY, UH, WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE OTHER PLANS THAT THE CITY OF HOUSTON HAS IN PLACE, RESILIENT HOUSTON, THE CLIMATE ACTION PLAN, YOU KNOW, ALL OF THE ACTIVITIES THAT WE'RE TAKING TO REDUCE OUR FOOTPRINT, UM, OUR GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS, UH, TO, TO MAKE HOMES MORE RESILIENT FOR, FOR WEATHER EVENTS, TO DO ALL OF THOSE THINGS, THAT THE 2021 BASE MODEL CODES ARE WHERE PUBLIC WORKS AND INTEND TO START OUR RECOMMENDATION FOR WHERE WE START. AND WE WANT EVERYBODY TO RECOGNIZE THAT IN THIS CODE UPDATE. AND THE REASON WE'RE EMPHASIZING THAT THIS IS GONNA BE A DIFFERENT APPROACH IS IN THIS CODE UPDATE CYCLE, WE'RE GOING TO START WITH THE 2021 MODEL CODES, AND WE'RE GOING TO ASK FOR INPUT AGAINST THE 2021 MODEL CODES WITH THE CONCEPT OF WHERE WOULD WE NEED TO BE TECH MORE STRINGENT IN THE HOUSTON AREA, TECHNICALLY JUSTIFIED IT NEEDS TO BE JUSTIFIED ON TECHNICAL GROUNDS FOR WHERE WE WOULD BE MORE STRINGENT IN THE HOUSTON AREA, WHERE WE WOULD EXCEED THE BASE MODEL CODES. THANK YOU, DIRECTOR, UM, AND COUNCIL MEMBER ABCO, I CAN PUT YOU BACK IN THE QUEUE IF YOU'D LIKE TO FOLLOW UP. I, I WOULD LIKE TO HAVE, I'M SORRY I USED ALL YOUR TIME. YES, PLEASE HOLD ON. BUT IF WE COULD LET THAT'S OKAY. LEMME BACK IN. LET'S LET MR. BERGER RESPOND IF HE'D LIKE TO FROM THE PODIUM. I, I'VE, I'VE NO PROBLEM WITH, UH, THE PAYBACK. SO IF WE'RE DOING SOMETHING LIKE ADDITIONAL INSULATION, I KNOW THIS IN MY BUSINESS, IF SOMEONE WANTS TO HIRE SEER AIR CONDITIONING UNIT, WE CAN SAY, HEY, FOR THIS COST, IT'S A 10 YEAR PAYBACK. BUT IF THE PAYBACK IS 50 YEARS, THAT CITY COUNCIL MAY DECIDE THAT'S NOT A GOOD PAYBACK NUMBER. SO I, I AGREE. THE PAYBACK IS IMPORTANT, AND WHEN YOU DO SOME OF THE THINGS YOU'RE DISCUSSING, I'M TALKING ABOUT MOSTLY THE AMENDMENTS BECAUSE THE BASE CODE WE DON'T USUALLY TOUCH. IT'S THE OTHER THINGS, BUT PAYBACK PERIOD IS ABSOLUTELY A GOOD IDEA. THANK YOU, MR. DISHER. AND, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER AL ALCORN, YOU WOULD BE NEXT IN THE QUEUE IF YOU'D LIKE TO FOLLOW UP. OKAY. YES, DIRECTOR, THANK YOU FOR THAT. AND I APPRECIATE YOUR, UH, YOUR KIND OF FRA REFRAMING. UM, YOU KNOW, THAT AFFORDABILITY IS NOT THAT ONE TIME CAUSE THAT GOES ON, BUT I DO THINK THAT THAT TO THE EXTENT JENSEN HUGHES CAN, UM, [00:50:01] CAN LOOK AT BOTH THE UPFRONT COSTS AND THE, THE LONG-TERM SAVINGS. I MEAN, I THINK THAT'S IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR COUNCIL MEMBERS TO HAVE. YEAH, THANK YOU. UH, COUNCIL MEMBER AND, UH, DIRECTOR. I, I BELIEVE THAT THAT, UH, IS BUILT INTO THE PROCESS WITH, UH, JENSEN HUGHES, UM, LET ME SAY, AND IN, IN THEIR JOB AS THE CONSULTANT TO ORGANIZE THE PROCESS AND WITH ALL OF THE STAKEHOLDERS, YOU KNOW, I'M THINKING ABOUT, UH, THE PROFESSION THAT I BELONG TO, THE A I A THAT WAS MENTIONED AS, AS ONE OF THE PARTICIPANTS IN OUR, UH, LICENSE IS ESSENTIALLY THERE LIKE THE HIPPOCRATIC OATH FOR DOCTORS TO, IN OUR CASE, PROTECT FOR HEALTH, SAFETY AND WELFARE. UM, THAT BEING OUR HIGH BAR THAT WE CROSS, I KNOW IS SOMETHING THAT I'M ALSO GRATEFUL WE'LL BE THERE, UH, FOR ALL TO CONSIDER. SO I, I SEE WITHOUT ANY OTHER, UH, COUNCIL MEMBERS OR STAFF IN THE QUEUE FOR YOU AS THE CURRENT SPEAKER, WE WILL MOVE ON TO OUR FINAL SPEAKER. THANK YOU. THANK YOU MR. BERGER, FOR BEING HERE. AND, UH, MR. JOHN MATA WILL BE HERE NEXT, UH, TO SPEAK FROM THE PODIUM LIVE IN THE CHAMBER. HE IS THE REGIONAL MANAGER FOR SOUTHWESTERN, UM, GROUP OF THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF PLUMBING AND MECHANICAL CONTRACTORS. MR. MATTA, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR BEING HERE. AS YOU COME TO THE PODIUM, IF YOU COULD, UH, STATE YOUR NAME AND, UH, FOR THE RECORD AND, UH, THE FLOOR IS YOURS. THANK YOU. GOOD MORNING, CHAIRMAN ROBINSON, VICE CHAIR ALCORN, MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE AND COUNCIL MEMBERS IN ATTENDANCE. I AM JOHN MATA, A LICENSED JOURNEYMAN PLUMBER AND DIRECTOR OF FIELD SERVICES FOR THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF PLUMBING AND MECHANICAL OFFICIALS, COMMONLY REFERRED TO AS I AMO AS COMMITTEE BEGINS ITS DISCUSSIONS ON THE ADOPTION OF UPDATED PLUMBING AND MECHANICAL CODES. I, A PMO WELCOMES THE OPPORTUNITY TO COLLABORATE AND PROVIDE TECHNICAL RESOURCES. WE ARE ALSO AVAILABLE TO COLLABORATE WITH JENSEN HUGHES AS THEY PROVIDE A DETAILED ANALYSIS OF THE MECHANICAL AND PLUMBING CODES. WE SUPPORT THE CITY'S EFFORTS TO UPDATE THESE CODES, GIVEN THE ADVANCEMENTS TO IMPROVE EFFICIENCY AND RESILIENCY AND ENSURE THE CITY CONTINUES ON A PATH OF INNOVATION. THE UNIFORM PLUMBING CODE AND UNIFORM MECHANICAL CODE HAVE BEEN THE PREFERRED CODES FOR THE CITY OF HOUSTON FOR DECADES AND ARE THE ONLY NATIONAL MODEL PLUMBING AND MECHANICAL CODES TO BE DESIGNATED AS AMERICAN NATIONAL STANDARDS. AND IN ORDER TO OBTAIN THIS, UH, THIS DESIGNATION, YOU HAVE TO FOLLOW THE OPEN CONSENSUS PROCESS, WHICH MEANS EVERYONE IN THE INDUSTRY HAS A SAY SO AND, AND A VOICE AND A VOTE IN OUR DEVELOPMENT OF CODES. THE UPDATED 20 20 21 ADDITIONS OF THE UNIFORM, PLUMBING AND UNIFORM MECHANICAL CODE CONTAIN BETTER EFFICIENCY PROVISIONS, TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATIONS, AND UP-TO-DATE METHODS THAT WILL PROVIDE GREATER BENEFITS TO THE CITY. IN CLOSING, I WANT TO AGAIN, EMPHASIZE THAT I, ATMOS STANDS READY TO PROVIDE THIS COMMITTEE AND JUST HUGHES WITH TECHNICAL RESOURCES TO SUPPORT EFFORTS TO UPDATE THE PLUMBING AND MECHANICAL CODES. THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO PROVIDE COMMENT. I'M AVAILABLE TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE. THANK YOU VERY MUCH MR. MATA, FOR, FOR BEING HERE FOR YOUR PARTICIPATION AND FOR YOUR GROUP AS A STAKEHOLDER IN THIS PROCESS. IT'S, IT'S CRITICAL FOR YOU TO BE HERE. AND, UM, I'M GOING TO AD-LIB JUST A LITTLE BIT FROM THE CHAIR HERE. YES, SIR. BECAUSE I KNOW YESTERDAY WAS A REALLY BIG DAY FOR THE CITY OF HOUSTON RECEIVING THE GREAT NEWS THAT WE WILL HOST ONE OF THE WORLD CUP. UH, YES SIR. CITIES. AND I ALSO UNDERSTAND THAT YOU MAY HAVE BECOME A GRANDFATHER YESTERDAY. OH, . YES SIR. I SURE DID. IS THAT TRUE LITTLE BOY? YES, SIR. SIR, CONGRATULATIONS MR. MARTHA'S. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. APPRECIATE THAT. IT'S WONDERFUL. WE CELEBRATE THAT WITH YOU HERE TODAY. SO THANK YOU AND HAPPY FATHER'S DAY TO ALL THE FATHERS. INDEED TO YOU TOO, SIR. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THERE ARE NO COUNCIL MEMBERS IN THE QUEUE FOR YOU. UH, SO THANKS FOR YOUR PART. I THINK YOU WERE THE FINAL PUBLIC SPEAKER FOR TODAY. SO TO, UH, CONCLUDE THE PART OF OUR, UH, CURRENT PRESENTATION ON THIS AGENDA, WE HAVE ONE NOTE OF, UH, CLEANUP OR PERHAPS CLARIFICATION FROM, UH, DEPUTY DIRECTOR BUTLER WHO'S HERE AND TAKING THE PODIUM AGAIN. I THINK THE MIC IS YOURS FOR, UH, CLARIFICATION. ONCE AGAIN, THANK YOU, UH, MR. CHAIR FOR ALLOWING NO THIS OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK TODAY. UM, AS MR. BERGER SPOKE AND A FEW OTHER SPEAKERS ABOUT THE LOCAL AMENDMENTS, UH, MR. BERG ALSO SERVES ON OUR HOUSTON PERMITTING CENTER ADVISORY COMMITTEE. JUST WANNA CLARIFY A FEW THINGS AS WE MOVE TO ADOPT THE 2021 CODE. WE INTEND TO STAY AS CLOSE AS POSSIBLE TO THE MODEL CODE WITH MINIMAL LOCAL AMENDMENTS THAT EXCEED THE MODEL CODE AND ARE TECHNICALLY JUSTIFIED. ANY AMENDMENTS TO THE CODE NEED TO BE FORMULATED AND SUBMITTED WITH THAT INTENTION BASE. MODEL CODE IS THE BASE SAFETY FACTOR THAT HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS INTENDS TO RECOMMEND AS A STARTING POINT WITH ALL OF OUR DISCUSSIONS. SO I JUST WANTED TO CLARIFY THAT PERFECT CLARIFICATION. THANK YOU MR. BUTLER FOR THAT. I THINK THAT WILL SERVE AS OUR FINAL WORD AND WITH NO COUNCIL MEMBERS [00:55:01] OR STAFF IN THE QUEUE, UH, BEFORE ADJOURNING. I WILL NOTE THAT ALL PRESENTATIONS TODAY, UH, WILL BE AVAILABLE ON THE TTI WEBSITE. THAT'S WWW.HOUSTONTX.GOV/COUNCIL/COMMITTEES, UH, SLASH TTI HTML. UH, OUR NEXT TTI COMMITTEE MEETING WILL BE THURSDAY, JULY 7TH AT 10:00 AM UM, AND UNTIL THAT TAKES PLACE, I'D LIKE TO WISH EVERYONE A HAPPY FATHER'S DAY, A HAPPY JUNETEENTH. AND WITH THAT, WE ARE ADJOURNED. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.