PHOTO: New homes are under construction Aug. 6 on Silver Spur in the Terra Vista subdivision.
The City of Victoria will maintain its International Organization for Standardization rating, which is used by insurance companies to set rates within city limits, after adopting the International Code Council’s 2021 building codes at the Aug. 3 City Council meeting.
The City adopts the most current set of ICC codes once every six years. Normally this process takes place in December, but City officials decided to adopt the new codes sooner after an ISO audit determined that the City needed to update its code to preserve its rating.
The ISO rates building codes on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being the best possible score. The City of Victoria has a rating of 2 for its commercial building codes and 3 for residential codes.
As part of the code adoption process, City of Victoria Development Services staff reviewed the ICC code and recommended amendments to align the international code with state building standards and Texas’ hot, humid climate.
The City’s Board of Adjustments and Appeals hosted a series of workshops to discuss the new code with local contractors and educate them about forthcoming changes.
The City is preparing to comprehensively update its development ordinances for the first time since 1992. The City will hire a consultant this fall to update the existing subdivision development ordinance and create a new unified development ordinance. This project will take approximately two years to complete.
To view the City of Victoria’s ordinances and code amendments, visit www.victoriatx.gov/citycode. For more information about Development Services, visit www.victoriatx.gov/development-services.