ORDINANCE NO. 767

AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 156 BUILDING CODES TO UPDATE REFERENCES, PERMIT REQUIREMENTS FOR RETAINING WALLS, AND ADOPTION OF CURRENT EDITION OF ELECTRICAL CODE

  BE IT ENACTED by the City Council of the City of Sergeant Bluff, Iowa:

SECTION 1.    SUBSECTION MODIFIED.  Subsection 156.02(4) of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Sergeant Bluff, Iowa, is repealed and replaced as follows:  

4. Sections R105.2(2), (3), (4) and (5) shall be deleted.

SECTION 2.    SUBSECTION MODIFIED.  Subsection 156.02(9) of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Sergeant Bluff, Iowa, is repealed and replaced as follows:  

9. Section R310.1 Emergency Escape and Rescue Required - is amended as follows: basements and every sleeping room shall have at least one operable emergency and rescue opening. Such opening shall open directly into a public street, public alley, yard or court. Where basements contain one or more sleeping rooms, emergency egress and rescue openings shall be required in each sleeping room but shall not be required in adjoining areas of the basement. Where emergency escape and rescue openings are provided, they shall have a sill height of not more than 44 inches (1118 mm) above an adjacent permanent interior standing surface. The adjacent permanent interior standing surface shall be no less than 36 inches wide and 18 inches deep and no more than 24 inches high. Where a door is provided as the required emergency escape and rescue opening, it shall be a side-hinged door or a slider. Where the opening is below the adjacent grade, it shall be provided with an area well in accordance with Section R310.4. The net clear opening dimensions required by this section shall be obtained by the normal operation of the emergency escape and rescue opening from the inside. Emergency escape and rescue openings with a finished sill height below the adjacent ground elevation shall be provided with a window well in accordance with section R310.2. Emergency escape and rescue openings shall open directly into a public way, or to a yard or court that opens to a public way. 

EXCEPTION: Basements used only to house mechanical equipment and not exceeding total floor area of 200 square feet (18.58 m2).

SECTION 3.   NEW SUBSECTION.  The Building Code of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Sergeant Bluff, Iowa, is amended by adding a new subsection (15) to Section 156.02 as follows:  

15. Section R404.4 shall be deleted and replaced with: 

A retaining wall is any structure designed and constructed to resist the lateral pressure of soil, earth, or other materials. Retaining walls are typically built to hold back or support earth, prevent erosion, and maintain the stability of the ground. A retaining wall is considered any wall that either retains more than 12 inches of unbalanced fill or is constructed to provide structural support for a slope, embankment, or grade. Retaining walls that are not laterally supported at the top and that retain in excess of 48 inches of unbalanced fill or retaining walls exceeding 24 inches in height that resist lateral loads in addition to soil, shall be designed in accordance with accepted engineering practice to ensure stability against overturning, sliding, excessive foundation pressure and water uplift.  Retaining walls shall be designed for a safety factor of 1.5 against lateral sliding and overturning.  This section shall not apply to foundation walls supporting buildings.

SECTION 4.    SUBSECTION MODIFIED.  Subsection 156.03(2)(B) of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Sergeant Bluff, Iowa, is repealed and replaced as follows:

B.   The types of permits requiring fees shall be the following:

(1)   New One- and Two-Family Dwellings

(2)   Single-Family Manufactured/Modular/Tiny Homes

(3)   New Accessory Structure/Building with Utilities

(4)   New Accessory Structure/Building without Utilities

(5)   Major Repairs to Structures (i.e. roof replacement including ice and water barrier or full sheathing replacement, structural framing repairs or alterations, replacement of exterior walls or siding when it includes moisture barrier or sheathing, foundation repairs, fire damage repair, basement structure wall reinforcement, reframing windows or doors in load bearing walls.)

(6)   Residential Addition/Remodel

(7)   Fence or other barrier (New or Replacement)

(8)   Retaining Wall of any height (New or Replacement)

(9)   Sidewalk/Driveway in City Right-of-Way (New or Replacement)

(10)   Signs

(11)   Demolition of Primary Structure

(12)   Demolition of Accessory Structure (i.e. detached garage, shed, deck (150 sq. ft. or above), swimming pool)

(13)   New Multi-Family (3 units and above)

(14)  New Commercial Buildings

(15)  New Commercial Building Additions

SECTION 5.    SECTION MODIFIED.  Section 156.06 of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Sergeant Bluff, Iowa, shall be repealed and replaced as follows:  

156.06   ADOPTION OF ELECTRICAL CODE.

The 2023 Edition of the National Electric Code (NEC) published by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) is hereby adopted by reference, except for such portions as are hereby modified herein. Where, in any specific case, this code requires different materials or methods of construction than any other code or ordinance in effect, the most restrictive code requirements will govern. A copy of the NEC is available for public reference in the office of the City Inspector.

SECTION 6.  REPEALER.  All ordinances or parts of ordinances in conflict with the provisions of this ordinance are hereby repealed.  In all other respects, The Code of Ordinances of the City of Sergeant Bluff shall remain in effect.  

SECTION 7.   SEVERABILITY.  If any section, provision or part of this ordinance shall be adjudged invalid or unconstitutional, such adjudication shall not affect the validity of the ordinance as a whole or any section, provision or part thereof not adjudged invalid or unconstitutional.  

SECTION 8.   EFFECTIVE DATE.  This ordinance shall be in effect from and after its final passage, approval, and publication as provided by law.  

Passed by the City Council of the City of Sergeant Bluff on the 8th day of July, 2025, and approved this 8th day of July, 2025.

MAYOR/MAYOR PRO TEM

Attest:

CITY CLERK 

First Reading:6/10/2025

Vote for passage: 5-0

Second Reading: 6/24/2025Vote for passage: 3-0

Third Reading: 7/8/2025

Vote for passage: 4-0

Passed, Approved, and Adopted 8th day of July, 2025.

I, Danny Christoffers, City Clerk, certify that the foregoing was published as Ordinance No. 767 on the 17th day of July, 2025.

CITY CLERK