The Tusculum Planning Commission voted Tuesday to recommend that the municipality adopt the 2006 version of the International Building Code for residences, commercial structures and plumbing.

The vote came after a presentation by Jim Riley, who performs building inspections for Tusculum and Mosheim, and is employed full time as a building inspector for Hamblen County.

To be final, the recommendation must be acted on by the Tusculum City Commission.

If adopted, the 2006 code would replace the 1997 Standard Building Code, now in force in Tusculum.

Planning Commission Chairman Robert K. Bird said Tusculum has had a building code for many years, and adopted a code long before beginning inspections in 1996.

Riley said the 2006 code is now used in Greeneville, Greene County and Mosheim, and the commercial part has been adopted statewide.

He said inspectors have been told that if counties and municipalities do not adopt the plumbing portion of the code "by next summer," the state may implement a plumbing inspection program similar to electrical inspections done now by the state.

Riley said "the biggest complaint" he hears about the 2006 code is its requirement for drive-in basements to be finished with five-eighths inch sheetrock, to slow the spread of fire from a vehicle to the house.

Most builders are aware of the requirement, he said. Another requirement that some builders complain about, he said, is grounding electrical systems to a length of rebar in the foundation.

Another difference, Riley said, is that the 1997 code requires that vertical supports for handrails be six inches apart, while the 2006 code calls for four-inch spacing.

The biggest change between the current code and the 2006 code deals with windows, Riley said, with minimum distances required between the bottom of the window and the floor to keep children from falling out, if the outside distance to the ground is more than six feet.

The 2006 code requires that each bedroom has to have an "egress" window, big enough for a grown man wearing a firefighter's "air pack" to enter through.

Bird asked Riley if he could think of a good reason why Tusculum should not adopt the 2006 building code.

Riley said he could not think of one. He noted that he was "grandfathered" as a licensed plumbing inspector before the current rules were adopted, and has to take the test eventually to remain licensed.

Tusculum Mayor John Foster asked if adoping the codes would require more than the current three trips to make inspections.

Riley said it would not, since he normally makes the plumbing inspection at the same time that he inspects foundations.

Foster asked if a separate permit is required for the plumbing inspection. Riley said most localities do that, and require that the plumbing permit fee be paid at the same time that the building permit is obtained.

He said that the fee for the plumbing permit is typically based on the number of fixtures (water heater, toilet, sink, disposal, outdoor faucet, etc.), and the "average" permit winds up costing about $90.

Bird suggested that Riley furnish City Recorder Eva Bird with the information needed to adopt and implement the code, and a sample of a plumbing permit. State planner Troy Ebbert was also asked to research the adoption process, to make sure the law is followed.

The board voted unanimously to recommend adoption, on a motion by member Teresa McCrary.

Baord members also discussed the law regarding subdivision lots that were approved under regulations that are no longer in place, and that may not offer as many protections to consumers as current rules.

Bird said some building lots were approved under earlier rules, and in the meantime "our rules have changed" a great deal.

Planner Ebbert said that when a subdivision was approved prior to adoption of zoning and subdivision rules, it is considered a "lot of record," and is "grandfathered" as a pre-existing situation, even if it does not meet all current requirements.

Once the plot plan creating the lot is recorded in the register of deeds office, "It's set in stone," Ebbert said.

He said that someone wishing to build on a lot created under that scenario would still need to get a building permit and a permit to install a septic system.

However, someone buying a lot approved many years ago but not built on would not be assured that the lot will actually support a septic system, a protection that current rules provide.

Member Mark Easterly, a banker, said a buyer would need to have the lot tested before purchasing it.

Mayor Foster said most buyers probably would not know to do that. Bird said that financial institutions would probably require such a test. Easterly said, however, that most lenders would only want to see a building permit.

Foster summed up, "It's buyer beware, when buying a lot that's been sitting there a long time."