The Aurora City Council is set to vote Tuesday on a proposal to update the city’s building codes, which are several years out of date.
Currently, Aurora’s building codes are based on the 2015 International Codes, but the proposal going before the City Council would update those codes to be in line with the 2024 version. If approved, the updated regulations would go into effect on Jan. 1, 2026.
The proposal is likely to pass since it was placed on the City Council meeting’s consent agenda, which is typically reserved for routine or non-controversial items that are all approved with a single vote.
Changes to the city’s building codes have been in the works since 2023 and were presented to committees of the Aurora City Council across several meetings this year. The purpose of the changes is to maintain safe buildings within the city, Aurora Director of Development Services Josh Ream said during a presentation introducing the proposal at an April 15 meeting of the City Council Rules, Administration and Procedures Committee.
A lot has changed since the 2015 version of the codes, such as new construction technology and equipment, and the city needs to start accounting for those changes, according to Ream. Another purpose of the code adoption is to reduce construction costs, again by accounting for new materials and building methods, he said at the time.
Illinois is now requiring local governments to stay up-to-date on building codes, another reason for the update, Ream’s presentation showed. Plus, he said that Aurora has a best-in-state building code effectiveness score, which impacts insurance rates on new construction, and updating building codes will allow the city to keep that score.
The proposal now going before the Aurora City Council has required a full review of all the International Codes, and not just the most recent versions but all of the updates that have been made since 2015, as well as related city ordinances, Ream said at the April 15 meeting. Once staff figured out the major changes and what needed to be adjusted in the city’s ordinances, he said, that work was presented to committees made up of outside architects, engineers and contractors for approval.
Near the start of the year, Aurora received a nearly $40,000 federal grant from the Department of Homeland Security’s Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program to help make these code changes. The grant and matching city funds were set to go toward the purchase of new code books for city staff and the public, books comparing the old codes to the new codes and training for city staff.
Specifically, Aurora is now looking to adopt the 2024 versions of the International Building Code, the International Existing Building Code, the International Fire Code, the International Fuel Gas Code, the International Mechanical Code, the International Plumbing Code, the International Swimming Pool and Spa Code and the International Residential Code, plus the 2023 National Electric Code, according to a presentation included online with Tuesday’s City Council meeting agenda. No changes are being made to state mandated codes.
Final approval on the changes has been held since June, as city staff have been trying to get the 2024 International Property Maintenance Code included within the proposal, Ream told the Committee of the Whole last week. Those changes are still being worked on, but the building codes need to be passed to meet state requirements, so property maintenance codes are not being included in this proposal, he said.
Also not included in the proposal is the local adoption of the Illinois Stretch Energy Code, which Aurora recently received a $200,000 state grant to explore. If city staff do propose the adoption of these stricter energy codes at some point in the future, they would still need to be approved by the Aurora City Council before going into effect.
rsmith@chicagotribune.com
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/08/aurora-city-council-to-vote-on-new-building-codes/
