Why did the board reduce the square footage requirements for exempted projects on some structures, but not others?
Exemption requirements (defining buildings that can be planned and designed by persons who are not licensed architects or professional engineers) remain the same. However, the size limit is now based on square footage and described in a matrix in E & A Act, Rule Section 10.3. During negotiated rulemaking, each building type square footage was calculated for the maximum 20-person occupancy and that number was set in the matrix. For example, a church is an Assembly occupancy by definition in the state building code. Assembly occupancies require 50 square feet per occupant; multiply that by 20 occupants and you get a building size of 1,000 square feet. The statutory exemption level or Assembly is now defined as Less than 1,000 square feet. The previous 20-person occupancy rule has been removed for clarification.
