BOMA International is ever monitoring and responding to legislative, regulatory, and codes and standards initiatives as part of its mission to advocate the interests of building owners and managers in the various model code and standards setting organizations. BOMA is the only commercial real estate association representing the industry in these organizations.
BOMA asks you to help review final drafts, identify critical issues, and advance real estate's positions, so that the various codes and standards documents are acceptable for commercial buildings.
Within these pages you will find resources to guide you through the often difficult process of understanding the issues and finding the proper assistance.
Codes and Standards Update
BOMA INTERNATIONAL APPROVES ENERGY AND GREEN BUILDING CODES POLICY
During the recent 2010 Winter Business Meeting and National Issues Conference in Washington, D.C., the BOMA Board of Governors adopted a new policy on energy and green building codes.
The policy restates BOMA’s long-standing support for adoption and implementation of national model energy codes developed by the International Code Council (ICC) and the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE).
As outlined in the new policy, BOMA now also supports adoption and implementation of the first ever green building codes for both commercial and residential construction recently completed and available for use by local, state and federal code authorities - ASHRAE Standard 189.1 for green commercial buildings and ICC/NAHB Standard 700 covering green residential construction. BOMA was heavily involved in the development of these green building codes as a voting member of both the ICC and ASHRAE development committees and will continue to play a major role as updates are drafted for these documents. BOMA policy supports the use of these green building codes “to apply only to those buildings or construction projects designated as ‘green’ by adopting authorities, those participating in voluntary green building programs, or those where the building owners and/or management have determined that compliance with these green/sustainable building codes is advantageous.
For more information, contact Ron Burton, rburton@boma.org. The new BOMA policy is available at www.boma.org.
NEW BOMA FLOOR MEASUREMENT STANDARDS AVAILABLE
BOMA has completed work on a major update to its standard for office buildings. It will also publish two new floor measurement standards for retail and multi-residential buildings later this year. BOMA’s measurement standards for office, industrial and gross area are available for purchase from the BOMA Bookstore at www.boma.org.
The revised office building standard has been re-titled - Office Buildings: Methods of Measurement and Calculating Rentable Area. Major changes from the previous (1996) version include a complete re-organization of the sections for greater clarity, a more user-friendly section outlining the various methods of measurement and an entirely new section of electronic graphic illustrations which follow a standard color format for specific space types.
Retail Buildings: Standard of Measurement and Calculation of Leasable Area and Multi-Unit Residential Buildings: Standard Methods of Measurement meet an industry need for methods for measuring specific spaces and to respond to the proliferation of mixed-use buildings. BOMA joined with industry partners to develop these standards, which are part of BOMA’s goal to provide industry measurement benchmarks for all types of facilities. These standards will serve as the third-party, common basis of understanding between landlord and tenant in these spaces just as the BOMA office measurement standard has done for many decades. Measurement concepts for the facilities included in these standards will also be incorporated into a floor measurement standard for mixed-use facilities planned for development in 2010. For more information, contact Dave Tyree (dtyree@boma.org).
DOJ RESUMES EFFORT TO ISSUE ADA FINAL RULE
The U. S. Department of Justice is proceeding with the necessary steps to publish updated regulations under the ADA. The revised ADA Accessibility Guidelines (ADAAG) have been in development by the U. S. Access Board for many years and were released to DOJ for final rulemaking early in 2009. DOJ was on track to issue the revised regulations last winter but delayed publication in order to give incoming officials of the Obama administration the opportunity to review the rule. A timeline for release of the regulations has not been established but the new rules are widely expected in 2010.
For more information, contact Ron Burton (rburton@boma.org).
ASHRAE IAQ GUIDE AND ADVANCED ENERGY DESIGN GUIDE
ASHRAE recently released new guidelines to assist building owners and managers, designers, and the construction industry to incorporate advanced indoor air quality techniques in all buildings and energy efficiency measures in existing buildings. BOMA was a partner in both projects and served on the steering committees.
The Indoor Air Quality Guide: Best Practices for Design, Construction and Commissioning is a collaboration between ASHRAE, BOMA, AIA, the Sheet Metal and Air Conditioning Contractors of North America, U.S. Green Building Council and EPA. It includes 40 strategies for achieving critical IAQ objectives on moisture management, ventilation, filtration and source control. A summary of this publication is available as a free downloaded at www.ashrae.org.
The Energy Efficiency Guide for Existing Commercial Buildings: The Business Case for Building Owners and Managers presents the business case for energy efficiency to building owners and managers. It includes color photographs, charts and graphs to provide the economic rationale for improving and sustaining energy efficiency in existing buildings. It was developed through a collaboration including ASHRAE, BOMA, the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America, GSA, and the USGBC.
- ICC Code Hearing, October-November 2009: Updates from Ron Burton
You can also follow Ron Burton at the Code Hearings on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ronburtonBOMA.