N.Y. Executive Law § 378: Standards for New York state uniform fire prevention and building code

§ 378. Standards for New York state uniform fire prevention and

building code. The uniform code shall address the following subjects:

1. Standards for the construction of all buildings or classes of

buildings, or the installation of equipment therein, including standards

for materials to be used in connection therewith, and standards for

safety and sanitary conditions. Notwithstanding the above, sleeping

quarters in a children's overnight camp as defined in subdivision one of

section thirteen hundred ninety-two of the public health law shall be

governed by subdivision one of section thirteen hundred ninety-four of

such law.

1-a. a. Standards for the construction of all new buildings and for

the construction or renovation of existing buildings that undergo a

substantial improvement, as defined by the council, located wholly or

partially in an area designated on the applicable Federal Emergency

Management Agency ("FEMA") flood insurance rate map, as amended from

time to time, as a Special Flood Hazard Area or Moderate Risk Flood

Hazard Area, for the purposes of safeguarding life and property therein

and thereabout from the hazards of sea level rise, flooding, saltwater

corrosion, coastal or riparian erosion, storms, and other degradation

that may arise out of characteristics of the coastal environment.

b. The standards in paragraph a of this subdivision shall (i) be

developed to address future physical climate risk due to sea level rise,

and/or storm surges and/or flooding, based on available data from

nationally recognized sources or data produced by state agencies based

on nationally recognized procedures, analysis, and studies predicting

the likelihood of extreme weather events, including hazard risk analysis

data if applicable, and after consultation with the department of

environmental conservation, and (ii) if appropriate, provide for regular

inspection, and repair, as necessary, of the interior structural

elements of buildings.

2. Standards for the condition, occupancy, maintenance, conservation,

rehabilitation and renewal of certain existing buildings, structures and

premises and for the safeguarding of life and property therein and

thereabout from the hazards of fire, explosion or release of toxic gases

arising from the storage, handling or use of combustible or hazardous

substances, materials or devices.

3. Standards for passenger elevators to promote uniformity and ease of

use for individuals with disabilities including, but not limited to:

a. placement and identification of operating controls,

b. door jamb markings,

c. operation and leveling features,

d. operation, width, and safety features for doors,

e. hall buttons, and

f. hall lanterns.

3-a. a. Standards for emergency planning and preparedness for

high-rise buildings that address the needs of individuals with

disabilities which shall be developed in consultation with organizations

that advocate on behalf of individuals with disabilities to be

identified by the department of state in consultation with the office of

the chief disability officer.

b. The standards to be developed shall consider but not be limited to:

(i) procedures for evacuating individuals with disabilities;

(ii) if it is necessary for the fire safety and emergency evacuation

plan that the owner or the owner's agent shall establish and maintain to

include a list of names and room numbers for individuals with

disabilities who have affirmatively notified the owner or the owner's

agent that they are disabled, would require assistance in the event of

an emergency and have requested that their names and room numbers be

included in such list;

(iii) if it is necessary for the fire safety and emergency evacuation

plan that the owner or the owner's agent shall establish and maintain to

include a notification mechanism to the occupants that a list of

individuals with disabilities who would need assistance in case of an

emergency may exist and is maintained by the owner or the owner's agent,

that such list would include only those individuals who have requested

inclusion, that such list would be made available to building staff and

management as well as local law enforcement and fire safety personnel,

and the method by which occupants can affirmatively place their name on

such list;

(iv) if it is necessary for the fire safety and emergency evacuation

plan that the owner or the owner's agent shall establish and maintain to

include information on the location and type of evacuation assistance

devices or assistive technologies that are available within the

building; and

(v) if it is necessary for the fire safety and emergency evacuation

plan that the owner or the owner's agent shall establish and maintain to

contain floor plans identifying the locations of accessible egress

routes, including areas of refuge and exterior areas for assisted care.

c. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, standards

developed pursuant to this subdivision shall specify that:

(i) it shall be the duty of every owner of a high-rise building, or of

the owner's agent, to establish and maintain a fire safety and emergency

evacuation plan as provided for in this subdivision;

(ii) the owner or owner's agent shall make the fire safety and

emergency evacuation plan available in the building for reference and

review by building management and staff, subject to paragraph h of this

subdivision, and by building occupants, provided that if any such plan

is required to include a list of individuals with disabilities who have

affirmatively notified the owner or the owner's agent that they are

disabled, would need assistance in the case of an emergency, and have

requested that their names and room numbers be included in such list,

building occupants shall not be given access to any such list of

individuals with disabilities and their room numbers;

(iii) copies of the fire safety and emergency evacuation plan shall be

provided to local law enforcement and fire safety personnel upon

request; and

(iv) the fire safety and emergency evacuation plan shall be made

available in a large-print document (18-point font size or larger);

Braille (Grade II); and/or any other alternative formats upon request,

subject to the limitations on dissemination to building occupants of any

list of individuals with disabilities and their room numbers contained

in subparagraph (ii) of this paragraph.

d. A copy of the fire safety and emergency evacuation plan shall be

maintained at all times in a place easily accessible by law enforcement

and/or fire safety personnel. Such a place may include but is not

limited to the management office, the security desk, in the vicinity of

the firefighter's elevator recall key, the life safety panel, or the

fire pump room.

e. On an annual basis, every high-rise building owner or the agent of

such owner shall update the fire safety and emergency evacuation plan

and provide occupants with a notice detailing the provisions of the fire

safety and emergency evacuation plan.

f. As used in this subdivision, "high-rise building" means a building

with an occupied floor located more than seventy-five feet above the

lowest level of fire department vehicle access.

g. Notwithstanding any other provision of this subdivision, (i) this

subdivision shall not apply to hospitals as defined in subdivision one

of section twenty-eight hundred one of the public health law, assisted

living residences licensed under article forty-six-B of the public

health law, and adult care facilities licensed under article seven of

the social services law; and (ii) residential high-rise buildings whose

units are limited to households containing residents fifty years of age

and older and that have implemented specialized evacuation plans in

consultation with local first responders may use those plans to satisfy

the requirements of this subdivision.

h. Any building management, building staff, local law enforcement and

fire safety personnel who receive, as part of or in connection with a

fire safety and emergency evacuation plan developed pursuant to this

subdivision, a list of individuals with disabilities who require

assistance in the event of an emergency shall maintain the

confidentiality of the information in such list and shall use and

disclose it only for purposes permitted pursuant to this subdivision or

any standards developed pursuant to this subdivision.

4. Standards for areas of public assembly requiring:

a. approved fire protection equipment and systems shall be installed;

b. interior finishes shall be of appropriate grade to materially

retard the spread of smoke and flame, taking into consideration the fire

protection equipment and systems in place, and shall be maintained in

that condition;

c. no combustible material shall be placed in such amounts and

locations as would cause existing fire protection equipment and systems

to be substantially overburdened, nor shall any material be placed in

such manner as would cause safe exit to be significantly impeded; and

d. incorporation of the retroactivity provisions of article

eighteen-AA of this chapter.

e. for buildings included in group C5 of paragraph (f) of section

900.2 of title nine of the official compilation of codes, rules and

regulations of the state of New York, that water closets and urinals

provided for occupants, based upon capacity, shall be deemed sanitary

fixtures and shall be distributed on a basis such that the number of

such sanitary fixtures provided in rest facilities for men shall be

equal to the number of water closets provided in rest facilities

provided for women in buildings with an occupancy of four hundred or

less. For buildings consisting of more than four hundred occupants, an

additional water closet shall be added to a rest facility provided for

women for each sanitary fixture added to a similarly situated rest

facility provided for men.

The standards shall include provisions for the type, number, spacing

and location of fire protection equipment and systems, the

classification and maintenance of interior finishes, and the

accumulation of materials.

5. Standards for hotels, motels and lodging houses, requiring that a

notice be posted in a prominent place in each guest room, including but

not limited to the following information:

a. location of nearest exits and fire alarms;

b. procedures to be followed when the fire or smoke detector gives

warning; and

c. procedures to be followed in the event of fire or smoke

development.

5-a. Standards for installation of carbon monoxide detectors requiring

that every one or two-family dwelling, or any dwelling accommodation

located in a building owned as a condominium or cooperative in the state

or any multiple dwellings shall have installed an operable carbon

monoxide detector of such manufacture, design and installation standards

as are established by the council. Carbon monoxide detectors required by

this section are required only where the dwelling unit has appliances,

devices or systems that may emit carbon monoxide or has an attached

garage. For purposes of this subdivision, multiple dwelling means a

dwelling which is either rented, leased, let or hired out, to be

occupied, or is occupied as the temporary or permanent residence or home

of three or more families living independently of each other, including

but not limited to the following: a tenement, flat house, maisonette

apartment, apartment house, apartment hotel, tourist house, bachelor

apartment, studio apartment, duplex apartment, kitchenette apartment,

hotel, lodging house, rooming house, boarding house, boarding and

nursery school, furnished room house, club, sorority house, fraternity

house, college and school dormitory, convalescent, old age or nursing

homes or residences. It shall also include a dwelling, two or more

stories in height, and with five or more boarders, roomers or lodgers

residing with any one family. New construction shall mean a new facility

or a separate building added to an existing facility.

5-b. Standards for installation of smoke detecting alarm devices

requiring that:

a. every one or two-family dwelling or any dwelling accommodation

located in a building owned as a condominium or cooperative in the state

used as a residence shall have installed an operable single station

smoke detecting alarm device or devices,

b. such device or devices shall be installed in an area so that it is

clearly audible in each bedroom or other room used for sleeping

purposes, with intervening doors closed, in accordance with rules to be

promulgated by the council,

c. every residential building with a common space or common spaces

shared between three or more dwelling units shall have installed an

operable smoke detecting alarm device, devices, system or systems such

that an alarm notification is clearly audible in each common space, with

rules to be promulgated by the council in accordance with nationally

recognized standards. The council shall define common spaces for the

purposes of the standards promulgated pursuant to this paragraph,

provided that such definition shall include any spaces accessible by all

residents, including, but not limited to, lobbies, hallways, and

stairwells,

d. such device or devices shall be in compliance with the uniform

code, provided, however, that for purposes of this subdivision, battery

operated devices shall be permitted,

e. upon conveyance of any real property containing a one or two-family

dwelling or a condominium unit used as a residence and the transferor of

the shares allocated to an apartment located in a building owned by a

cooperative housing corporation where such apartment is used as a

residence, the grantor shall deliver to the grantee at the time of

conveyance an affidavit indicating that the grantor is in compliance

with this subdivision. The grantee shall have ten days from the date of

conveyance within which to notify the grantor if the alarm or alarms are

not operable. Upon notification, the transferor shall bear any cost of

compliance with the provisions of this subdivision,

f. notwithstanding any other provision of law, a failure to comply

with the provisions of this subdivision shall not be a breach of any

warranty in a conveyance of real property, nor shall it be a defense to

any claim made under a policy of insurance issued to insure the property

against fire or other casualty loss.

5-c. Standards for inspections of solid fuel burning heating

appliances, chimneys and flues requiring:

a. prior to the installation of any solid fuel burning heating

appliance, chimney or flue in any dwelling used as a residence, the

owner thereof, or his agent, shall first secure a building permit from

the appropriate local government official;

b. an appropriate and qualified inspector, as determined by the local

government, shall cause an inspection to be made of the solid fuel

burning heating appliance, chimney or flue at a time when such

inspection will best determine conformity of such installation with the

uniform code, provided, however, that the local government official may

waive such inspection for good cause shown;

c. upon approval of such installation, the appropriate local

government official shall issue a certificate evidencing compliance with

the appropriate provisions of the uniform code;

d. no owner of any dwelling used as a residence shall operate, or

cause to be operated, any solid fuel burning heating appliance until

such installation, including chimney and flue, has been approved and a

certificate indicating such approval obtained from the appropriate local

government official;

e. in the event of an accidental fire, requiring the services of a

fire department, in a solid fuel burning heating appliance, chimney or

flue, the chief of the fire department so responding may issue a

temporary thirty day certificate indicating substantial conformity with

the uniform code, until such time as an official inspector, as

determined by local law, or in the case of a locality that relies on

state inspection, a state inspector, shall cause an inspection to be

made and a certificate to be issued indicating conformity of such solid

fuel burning heating appliance, chimney or flue with the uniform code;

f. the issuance of such certificate of compliance shall not be deemed

to give rise to any claim or cause of action for damages against the

local government or local official for damages resulting from operation

or use of such solid fuel burning heating appliance, chimney or flue;

g. the local government in which such property is located may

establish and collect a reasonable fee for such inspection from the

owner of such property or his agent;

h. any violation of this subdivision shall be deemed a violation and

be punishable by a fine not to exceed two hundred fifty dollars;

i. notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this subdivision, in

the event of an emergency, where a delay occasioned by the requirement

of securing a building permit could reasonably be expected to cause

irrepairable damage to the property or serious personal injury to the

occupants or other person, the owner or his agent may commence such

installation without first obtaining such building permit provided

application therefore is filed within three business days after such

work is commenced.

5-d. Standards for installation of carbon monoxide detecting devices

requiring that the owner of every building that contains one or more

restaurants and the owner of every commercial building in the state

shall have installed in such building and shall maintain operable carbon

monoxide detecting device or devices of such manufacture, design and

installation standards as are established by the council. Carbon

monoxide detecting devices shall only be required if the restaurant or

commercial building has appliances, devices or systems that may emit

carbon monoxide or has an attached garage.

6. Standards for the use of lead in water supply systems constructed

or portions added on or after January first, nineteen hundred

eighty-six, including limiting the amount of lead in solder which may be

utilized in piping to convey potable water to not more than two-tenths

of one percent.

7. Standards for the construction of water supply systems which shall

prohibit the use of asbestos cement pipe to convey potable water for any

new or modified construction on or after January first, nineteen hundred

ninety-two.

8. Standards for hotels, motels and lodging houses requiring (in

addition to any other requirement) portable smoke-detecting alarm

devices for the deaf and hard of hearing of audible and visual design,

available for three percent of all units available for occupancy, with a

minimum of one unit. If any other law or regulation requires a central,

closed circuit interior alarm system, such device shall be incorporated

into or connected to the system so as to be capable of being activated

by the system. Incorporation into the existing system shall be in lieu

of the portable alarms. Standards shall require operators of any such

establishment to post conspicuously at the main desk or other similar

station a notice in letters at least three inches in height stating that

smoke-detector alarm devices for the deaf and hard of hearing are

available. The council shall mandate by rule and regulation the specific

design of the smoke-detector alarm devices.

9. Standards for buildings (designated as "Group B3-senior citizens"

in regulations promulgated pursuant to the New York state uniform fire

prevention and building code act) housing senior citizens, intended

primarily for persons sixty-two years old or more, who are in good

physical condition and do not require physical assistance, requiring

that a notice be posted in a prominent place in each residential unit,

including but not limited to the following information:

a. location of nearest exits and fire alarms;

b. procedures to be followed when the fire or smoke detector gives

warning; and

c. procedures to be followed in the event of fire or smoke

development.

10. Standards for assistive listening systems for new construction

commenced after January first, nineteen hundred ninety-one requiring the

installation of assistive listening systems at all places of public

assembly so designated by the appropriate building and fire code for use

by persons who are deaf or hard of hearing who require use of such a

system to improve their reception of sound.

a. For purposes of this subdivision, the term (i) "assistive listening

system" shall mean situational-personal acoustic communication equipment

designed to improve the transmission and auditory reception of sound;

and

(ii) "place of public assembly" shall mean a facility which is open to

the public as a theater, meeting hall, hearing room, amphitheater,

auditorium, or in any other similar capacity.

b. Standards for such systems shall be developed by the state fire

prevention and building code council upon receiving recommendations from

the advisory board on assistive listening systems in places of public

assembly.

c. The appropriate building code or ordinance shall designate such

places of public assembly which shall be required to install such

assistive listening systems.

11. Standards for buildings shall authorize the installation of

potable water heaters for all domestic uses, including space heating.

* 12. a. Standards for bed and breakfast dwellings shall be

promulgated for fire safety. Notwithstanding any other provision of this

article, for the purposes of this subdivision a "bed and breakfast

dwelling" shall include an owner-occupied residence providing at least

three but not more than five rooms for temporary transient lodgers with

sleeping accommodations and a meal in the forenoon of the day. Such

standards shall distinguish bed and breakfast dwellings from one and two

family dwellings, provide specific options for hard-wired single-station

smoke detectors and provide a notice to each guest that contains:

(i) the location of nearest exits and fire alarms;

(ii) procedures to be followed when fire or smoke detectors give

warning; and

(iii) procedures to be followed in the event of fire or smoke

development.

b. Such standards shall also include egress design options to preserve

the aesthetic charm and historical significance of such dwellings that

shall be limited to one of the following:

(i) an automatic sprinkler head in the stairwell area of any means of

egress;

(ii) an external second floor egress; or

(iii) a portable escape device for each guest room.

c. The standards required by this subdivision shall be promulgated and

implemented not later than one hundred twenty days after the effective

date of this paragraph.

* NB There are 2 sub 12's

* 12. Standards for hospice residences, as defined in section four

thousand two of the public health law, which shall be deemed to be

either a single family dwelling or a two family dwelling for the

purposes of local laws and ordinances relating to fire safety and

building construction standards.

* NB There are 2 sub 12's

13. Standards for the abandonment or removal of heating oil storage

tanks and related piping in connection with the conversion of liquid

fuel burning appliance to alternative fuel requiring:

a. The entire contents of the heating oil storage tank and related

piping shall be emptied, cleaned and purged of all vapor. The contents

of the storage tank and related piping shall be removed from the

premises or property and disposed of in accordance with applicable

local, state or federal rules and regulations;

b. If the heating oil storage tank is to be abandoned in place, the

vent line shall remain open and intact, unless the tank is filled with

an inert material. The oil fill pipe and other related piping shall

either be removed, or the oil fill pipe shall be filled with concrete;

c. If the heating oil storage tank is to be removed, the vent line,

oil fill pipe and related piping shall also be removed, or the oil fill

pipe shall be filled with concrete;

d. An appropriate and qualified inspector, as determined by the local

government, shall cause an inspection to be made of the abandonment or

removal in connection with the conversion to determine conformity with

the uniform code; provide, however, that the local government official

may waive such inspection for good cause shown; and

e. No approval of such abandonment or removal shall be granted unless

written proof of the heating oil storage tank's oil fill pipe having

been removed or filled with concrete in accordance with appropriate

provisions of the uniform code has been provided by the property owner

to the local inspector or, in the event that an inspection has been

waived for good cause shown, to the local government official.

f. For the purposes of this subdivision, "heating oil storage tank"

shall mean a tank used for storing heating oil for consumptive use on

the premises where stored.

g. In cities with a population of over one million, such cities' local

code provisions shall be at least as stringent as the provisions of this

subdivision.

h. The property owner shall provide written notice to his or her home

heating oil supplier or suppliers to inform them of such conversion to

an alternate fuel prior to the commencement of the new home heating

service.

14. Provide that any:

a. gates required to be provided in a swimming pool enclosure shall be

self-closing and self-latching, and shall be securely locked with a key,

combination or other child proof lock sufficient to prevent access to

such swimming pool through such gate when such swimming pool is not in

use or supervised. Release mechanism standards shall be developed by the

state fire prevention and building code council based on internationally

recognized standards;

b. residential or commercial swimming pool constructed or

substantially modified after the effective date of this paragraph shall

be equipped with an acceptable pool alarm capable of detecting a child

entering the water and of giving an audible alarm; and

c. hot tub or spa with a safety cover which complies with American

Society of Testing and Materials International standard F1346 (2003) or

any similar standard which may be approved by the council shall be

exempt from the provisions of this subdivision and any swimming pool,

other than a hot tub or spa, with an automatic power safety cover which

complies with American Society of Testing and Materials International

standard F1346 (2003) or any similar standard which may be approved by

the council shall be exempt from the provisions of paragraph b of this

subdivision.

d. temporary swimming pool enclosure shall be required to be replaced

by a permanent enclosure which is in compliance with New York state

codes, regulations or local laws within ninety days from the issuance of

a local building permit or the commencement of the installation of an

in-ground swimming pool, whichever is later. A local building department

may issue a waiver to allow an extension of such ninety day time period

for good cause including but not limited to adverse weather conditions

delaying construction.

15. Standards for temporary swimming pool enclosures used during the

installation or construction of swimming pools requiring that any such

enclosure shall sufficiently prevent any access to such swimming pool by

any person not engaged in the installation or construction of such

swimming pool and shall sufficiently provide for the safety of any such

person.

16. Standards requiring the installation and maintenance of at least

one safe, sanitary, and convenient diaper changing station, deck, table,

or similar amenity which shall be available for use by both male and

female occupants and which shall comply with section 603.5 (Diaper

Changing Tables) of the two thousand nine edition of the publication

entitled ICC A117.1, Accessible and Usable Buildings and Facilities,

published by the International Code Council, Inc., on each floor level

containing a public toilet room in all newly constructed buildings in

the state that have one or more areas classified as assembly group A

occupancies or mercantile group M occupancies and in all existing

buildings in the state that have one or more areas classified as

assembly group A occupancies or mercantile group M occupancies and

undergo a substantial renovation. The council shall prescribe the type

of renovation to be deemed to be a substantial renovation for the

purposes of this subdivision. The council may exempt historic buildings

from the requirements of this subdivision.

17. Standards requiring that, in each building that has one or more

areas classified as assembly group A occupancies or mercantile group M

occupancies and in which at least one diaper changing station, deck,

table, or similar amenity is installed, a sign shall be posted in a

conspicuous place in each public toilet room indicating the location of

the nearest diaper changing station, deck, table, or similar amenity

that is available for use by the gender using such public toilet room.

The requirements of this subdivision shall apply without regard to

whether the diaper changing station, deck, table, or similar amenity was

installed voluntarily or pursuant to subdivision sixteen of this section

or any other applicable law, statute, rule, or regulation. No such sign

shall be required in a public toilet room in which any diaper changing

station, deck, table, or similar amenity is located.

18. Standards requiring that grease traps or interceptors located in a

place that may be accessible by the public, or located inside any food

service establishment, or located in any other building that is open to

the public, shall be designed and maintained to withstand expected loads

and to prevent unauthorized access. Such standards shall also include

requiring the installation of a warning sign or symbol, as determined by

the council, on or in the vicinity of such grease traps or interceptors.

Such standards shall apply to new and existing grease traps and

interceptors. For the purposes of this subdivision, "food service

establishment" shall have the same meaning as in part fourteen of title

ten of the New York code of rules and regulations.

19. a. To support the goal of zero on-site greenhouse gas emissions

and help achieve the state's clean energy and climate agenda, including

but not limited to greenhouse gas reduction requirements set forth

within chapter one hundred six of the laws of two thousand nineteen,

also known as the New York state climate leadership and community

protection act, the uniform code shall prohibit the installation of

fossil-fuel equipment and building systems, in any new building not more

than seven stories in height, except for a new commercial or industrial

building greater than one hundred thousand square feet in conditioned

floor area, on or after December thirty-first, two thousand twenty-five,

and the uniform code shall prohibit the installation of fossil-fuel

equipment and building systems, in all new buildings on or after

December thirty-first, two thousand twenty-eight.

b. The provisions set forth in paragraph a of this subdivision shall

not be construed as applying to buildings existing prior to the

effective date of the applicable prohibition, including to:

(i) the repair, alteration, addition, relocation, or change of

occupancy or use of such buildings; and

(ii) the installation or continued use and maintenance of fossil-fuel

equipment and building systems, including as related to cooking

equipment, in any such buildings.

c. In addition, in effectuating the provisions set forth in paragraph

a of this subdivision the code shall include exemptions for the purposes

of allowing the installation and use of fossil-fuel equipment and

building systems where such systems are installed and used:

(i) for generation of emergency back-up power and standby power

systems;

(ii) in a manufactured home as defined in subdivision seven of section

six hundred one of the executive law; or

(iii) in a building or part of a building that is used as a

manufacturing facility, commercial food establishment, laboratory, car

wash, laundromat, hospital, other medical facility, critical

infrastructure, including but not limited to emergency management

facilities, wastewater treatment facilities, and water treatment and

pumping facilities, agricultural building, fuel cell system, or

crematorium, as such terms are defined by the code council.

d. Where the uniform code includes an allowed exemption pursuant to

subparagraph (i) or (iii) of paragraph c of this subdivision, other than

agricultural buildings as defined by the council, such exemption shall

include provisions that, to the fullest extent feasible, limit the use

of fossil-fuel equipment and building systems to the system and area of

the building for which a prohibition on fossil-fuel equipment and

building systems is infeasible; except with respect to servicing

manufacturing or industrial processes, require the area or service

within a new building where fossil-fuel equipment and building systems

are installed be electrification ready; and minimize emissions from the

fossil-fuel equipment and building systems that are allowed to be used,

provided that such provisions do not adversely affect health, safety,

security, or fire protection. Financial considerations shall not be

sufficient basis to determine physical or technical infeasibility.

e. Exemptions included in the uniform code pursuant to this

subdivision shall be periodically reviewed by the code council to assure

that they continue to effectuate the purposes of paragraph a of this

subdivision and subparagraph three of paragraph b of subdivision two of

section three hundred seventy-one of this article to the fullest extent

feasible.

f. The code shall allow for exemption of a new building construction

project that requires an application for new or expanded electric

service, pursuant to subdivision one of section thirty-one of the public

service law and/or section twelve of the transportation corporations

law, when electric service cannot be reasonably provided by the grid as

operated by the local electric corporation or municipality pursuant to

subdivision one of section sixty-five of the public service law;

provided, however, that the public service commission shall determine

reasonableness for purposes of this exemption. For the purposes of this

paragraph, "grid" shall have the same meaning as electric plant, as

defined in subdivision twelve of section two of the public service law.

g. For the purposes of this subdivision:

(i) "Fossil-fuel equipment and building systems" shall mean (A)

equipment, as such term is defined in section 11-102 of the energy law,

that uses fossil-fuel for combustion; or (B) systems, other than items

supporting an industrial or commercial process as referred to in the

definition of equipment in section 11-102 of the energy law, associated

with a building that will be used for or to support the supply,

distribution, or delivery of fossil-fuel for any purpose, other than for

use by motor vehicles.

(ii) "Electrification ready" means the new building or portion thereof

where fossil-fuel equipment and building systems are allowed to be used

which contains electrical systems and designs that provide sufficient

capacity for a future replacement of such fossil-fuel equipment and

building systems with electric-powered equipment, including but not

limited to sufficient space, drainage, electrical conductors or

raceways, bus bar capacity, and overcurrent protective devices for such

electric-powered equipment.

20. a. Except as otherwise provided by statute, no change to the

building code shall become effective until at least ninety days after

the date on which notice of such change has been published in the state

register, unless the council finds that:

(i) an earlier effective date is necessary to protect health, safety

and security; or

(ii) the change to the code will not impose any additional compliance

requirements on any person.

b. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph a of this subdivision,

the council may provide that, in the period during which changes to the

code have been adopted but are not yet effective pursuant to paragraph a

of this subdivision, a person shall have the option of complying with

either the provisions of the code as changed or with the code provisions

as they were set forth immediately prior to the change.