VSAIA

The seeming interminable review of the latest building code is nearing completion, which means the public hearing portion of the 12- to 18-month process is nigh.

The review schedule published by the Department of Housing and Community Development in January lists July 1 as the final date for code change submissions.  The first public hearing will be Sept. 23 this year and September of 2014 as the effective date of the 2012 code.

From the beginning — with the publishing of the 2012 family of codes by the International Code Council in the spring of 2012 — to the final implementation in Virginia, the model codes have been turned inside out and upside down by volunteers from many organizations including the Virginia Building and Code Officials Association and the Virginia Society of the American Institute of Architects.

Once again, as he has since October 2000, Kenney Payne, AIA, led the reviews of the building code for the VSAIA.  And for several years in a row, James Snowa, AIA, and Megan Shope, AIA, provided the expertise to guide the evolution of the residential code for the VSAIA and the public.

The in-house reviews were an innovation by the late Jack Proctor, Hon. VSAIA.  He sought the advice and expertise from architects, home builders, building owners and managers, product manufacturers, and other interested groups to make the review process as thorough as possible.  This open, deliberative process was continued by Emory Rodgers, who succeeded Proctor as director of the division of building regulation at DHCD.

The next steps in the code’s adoption will be publication in the Virginia Register this summer with the public hearing in the fall.  Final regulations will be approved by the Board of DHCD in late 2013 or early 2014 prior to being sent to the capitol for administrative approval.

Final regulations are scheduled to be published in the July 2014 Virginia Register with September 2014 expected to be the codes’ effective date.  In the past, local building officials have allowed a grace period for projects under way prior to the latest code implementation.  Architects should confer with local officials to determine whether a project’s design under a current code is far enough along to be reviewed under the older rather than the newest code.

By the same token, architects also should confer with local building officials if they wish to design under an as-yet-unapproved code.  If the approval process is in its final stages, designing to the newer standards could be beneficial.

A practice referred to as “patent rolling” may be trying to roll over unsuspecting architecture firms, according to a notice from the AIA’s general counsel.

The firms first are sent a letter explaining that they may be using scanner/copier technology that infringes upon a patent. The letter states that if the firm would kindly pay a licensing fee of $900 to $1,200 per employee, the patent owner will provide a license.

If no response, a second letter is sent from a law firm of Farley Daniels in Texas. If no response, a third letter indicates litigation may be in the offing.

The AIA is hearing only snippets of this practice and is uncertain how prevalent it might be. No suits have been filed to indicate the depth or seriousness of these claims. The facts are still being collected.

“Ideally, one would expect the copier/scanner manufacturers to take the lead in challenging the infringement claims,” the AIA’s note stated. “The manufacturers are aware of the issues, but have been slow to respond. It has been suggested — although we cannot confirm this approach ourselves — that any businesses who receive an infringement letter should contact the appropriate manufacturer and ask to be indemnified if sued.”

If you have questions or would like to discuss the situation, or if you have information to share, please contact Jay Stephens, general counsel, at the AIA.

Jay A. Stephens, Hon. AIA
Vice President and General Counsel
The American Institute of Architects
1735 New York Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20006
(202) 626-7379

The AIA’s note indicates that the situation developed when a portfolio of patents were sold to another firm, which split those patents based upon its geographic and industry requirements. With the split, the rights to the patents also were reassigned.

Since December, small and medium-size firms were contacted through the pattern of patent infringement letters mentioned above.

The 2012 building code implementation is anticipated to be September 2014.  The reviews and proposed amendments to the model building code began almost immediately after the 2012 family of codes was published in the spring of 2012.

Since that time, VSAIA members have participated in numerous subgroup meetings to assert the profession’s position on the published code as well as the many amendments proposed by other organizations participating in the code review.

The VSAIA spokesmen were led again by Kenney Payne, AIA, primarily working with the building and fire codes.   James Snowa, AIA, and Megan Shope, AIA, took the lead on the residential code.

The current schedule has the code being published for comments between July and September 2013 with a public hearing on Sept. 23, 2013.  The final regulations will go to the Board of Housing and Community Development in December 2013 or January 2014 with the May 2014 as the target date for the governor’s approval and implementation in September.

Traditionally, Virginia allows a one-year grace period in which a client and his architect may continue to follow the previous building code.  This usually depends upon the stage of completion of the projects’ design work.  However, architects should confer with the local building official about which code is more applicable for a specific project.

Updated training modules for code officials — architects are encouraged to attend on a space-available basis — are tentatively scheduled to begin July 2013.

A decade has passed since it began operating and Loudoun County is all the better for it.  “It” is the Loudoun County Design Cabinet, the brainchild of Alan Hansen AIA.

For its contributions, the Design Cabinet — and Hansen specifically — was recognized and commended in December by the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors with a resolution of commendation.  In part, the supervisors commended the Cabinet for providing thousands of hours of service during which it gave “professional consultation, advice and conceptual plans to improve the communities throughout Loudoun County” that contributed “towards making Loudoun a community of highest quality design.”

When Hansen brought the idea to the county’s then-Director of Economic Development Larry Rosenstrauch, the brainchild became a full-fledged program with enthusiastic county support.  Since 2003, the cabinet has performed 25 charrettes — intensive design studies compressed into a few hours — for local residents and business owners seeking design advice.

“It’s what we’ve been about for years; great communities don’t just happen,” said Design Cabinet Chairman Hansen of DBI Architects. “Skilled design professionals, preferably stakeholders, need to take the time to understand what a community wants to be ‘when it grows up’ and stay out in front of the continuous but changing economic pressures.

“Loudoun is an exceptional community for business and for living, in part because of the emphasis on and attention to, design excellence. We’re fortunate that the leadership of Loudoun County Government understood this a decade ago when we were founded, and we appreciate their continued support today.”

These charrettes often take a full morning or evening, beginning with an introduction to the process and the now 13 professionals who volunteer their time to the community.  The introduction includes a brief synopsis of what the issue of the day is.

Once the introductions are over, local residents, community leaders, and business owners break up into groups and work with two or three of the professionals:  architects, professional engineers, planners, and landscape architects.  Often working together for the first time, the people in each group produce a different scenario of how the area under consideration can be molded sensitively through good design.

Some of the concepts developed have addressed using design to enhance community business corridors in Loudoun’s towns, creating a community skate park in Purcellville, and improving complex traffic issues in eastern Loudoun developments.

In addition to the design charrettes, the Cabinet initiated the Signatures of Loudoun Design Excellence awards program in 2005.  During its tenure, the Cabinet has recognized 83 of Loudoun’s commercial, residential, public and private structures and design features using a public nomination process.

More information on the Design Cabinet is available online at biz.loudoun.gov/designcabinet.

Few anticipate General Assembly sessions with glee.  Most approach them with caution.  Architects fall into the latter group.

Why?  Because architects are licensed by the state, regulated by the state, and often find their fate affected by the state.  In the upcoming session, the Joint Legislative Committee and its legislative counsel anticipate a few sticky issues arising.

Among the most likely will be swapping the ever unappealing business, occupational and professional license (BPOL) gross-receipts tax for a tax on services and another attack on the Virginia Public Procurement Act (VPPA) and its provision for qualifications-based selection of professionals.

Early discussions indicated that a tax swap would aim to be revenue neutral.  This means that revenues from a service tax would be designed to equal the revenue raised from the BPOL tax.  The difficulty is that the BPOL tax is a local tax, assessed, collected and allocated as the locality wishes.  The state establishes the maximum rate for each business class — 58 cents per $100 of receipts for architects — and the locality may set its assessment anywhere from zero, as several do, to the maximum.

Through the VPPA, the General Assembly in the early 1980s required for all public bodies a different method for procuring professional services.  For goods and non-professional services, price could be the determining factor.  For professional services, the public body — state agencies; quasi-public authorities; school boards; cities, counties and towns; etc. — must first determine what firms are qualified without consideration of price.

To do this, public bodies are required to request proposals that describe the professional firm’s methods and capabilities for handling a specific project or project type.  The initial request for a proposal cannot ask for fee information.  In this way, the public entity can trim the list of potential providers to only those it believes are most qualified.

At that point, the agency or locality begins to discuss the details of the project, outlining, defining, and refining the specific scope and limitations of what is expected of the professional firm.  When that scope is suitably understood and agreed upon by both the agency or locality and the firms, the firms are ranked.

The public entity then begins negotiations with its top-ranked firm.  If a suitable price cannot be reached, negotiations are formally ended and negotiations begin with the second-ranked firm.

The federal government and most state governments have employed this system for decades as it has proved the best system to provide transparency in the procurement process and lessen the chances of favoritism.

The AIA has announced a 2013 AIA Summer Advocacy Fellowship to provide Associate Members the opportunity to engage with AIA Advocacy staff regarding legislative issues that influence the profession of architecture. The summer fellowship, which begins in mid-June, 2013, allows recipients to spend eight weeks working at AIA Headquarters in Washington, D.C. gaining experience in the areas of legislative action, regulatory reform, and public advocacy.

All current Associate members of the AIA are eligible for the Fellowship program. At least two fellowships will be awarded in 2013 and each recipient will receive a $6,000 stipend for the period. All housing, meals and other costs will be the responsibility of the recipient. More>>

The governor will be selecting in 2013 several Virginians to serve as leaders of several agencies.  The Virginia Society AIA offers the governor a slate of nominees that the  Board believes is capable of leading the Commonwealth in becoming more responsive and more efficient in providing services to the public.

While some positions specifically call for an architect, others may be filled by anyone.  For those positions set aside for architects, the Society strives to provide a slate of three names for the governor’s selection.  For positions open to the public at large, the Society promotes one or more, depending upon member interest.

The agencies usually of interest to architects and the number of open positions are as follows:

• Board of Housing and Community Development — one position open.  Candidates are chosen based upon residence in each of the 13 congressional districts.  The open position is from the 1^st Congressional District.
• Virginia Housing Development Authority — one position open.  The only restriction listed is that no more than three people in any one profession may be chosen.
• Virginia Offshore Wind Development Authority — three positions open.
• Board for Professional and Occupational Regulation — two positions open.
• Board for Architects, Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, Certified Interior Designers, and Landscape Architects — four positions open: one for an architect, one for a professional engineer, one for a surveyor and one for a landscape architect.
• Board of Historic Resources — one position open.
• Fair Housing Board — three positions open.

Most appointments are for four-year terms with a maximum of two full consecutive terms.  For more information, contact Duncan Abernathy, AIA, at daber@aiava.org.

Everybody, so the saying goes, complains about the weather, but no one does anything about it.  The same cannot be said about the building code.  Architects can do something about it …  including how current and future building-code officials interpret it.

For many years John McGrann, AIA, helped fashion this perspective through his tenure on the Building Code Academy Advisory Committee.  But he left that position in 2008.  Another architect is needed for the position.

To obtain first-hand knowledge of what is entailed in the position, contact McGrann in Richmond at (804) 343-1010 or  jmcgrann@baskervill.com.

The committee meets in person at least annually and attempts to meet quarterly.  Depending upon the situation, the committee can meet via conference call or email.  The committee advises the Board and director of the Department of Housing and Community Development “on policies, procedures, operations, and other matters pertinent to enhancing the delivery of training services provided by the Building Code Academy.”

The Virginia Society AIA may nominate architects for one slot on the 17-person committee.  If you are interested in this position, please get in touch with Duncan Abernathy, AIA, (daber@aiava.org) after conferring with McGrann.

Robert A. Boynton FAIA, was appointed to the Board for Architects, Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, Certified Interior Designers and Landscape Architects by Gov. Bob McDonnell.  He is a principal with the Richmond architecture firm Boynton Rothschild Rowland Architects, PC.

He was appointed for a four-year term to the seat being vacated by James Boyd, AIA, from Charlottesville.  Boynton has served on the APELSCIDLA Board before, rising to the position of national president of the National Council of Architecture Registration Boards.

Several architects nominated by the Virginia Society AIA for other boards were not selected.  However, staff members working in the office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth said that their names are on file for 2013.

Solicitations for architects interested in these 2013 vacancies will be sought beginning in November.

Reggie Jones in Williams Mullen Richmond office, June 6, 2008

For more than 15 years Reginald N. “Reggie” Jones has directed the combined legislative efforts of Virginia’s design professionals.  His firm, Williams Mullen, announced in September that Jones was named the 2013 Richmond Government Relations Practice “Lawyer of the Year” by The Best Lawyers in America.

Jones works with the legislative consortium of the Virginia Society AIA, the American Council of Engineering Companies/Virginia, and the Virginia Society of Professional Engineers in preparing and presenting its issues before the General Assembly.

Under Jones’ guidance, the consortium has advanced the professions’ positions in the Virginia General Assembly and helped maintain the strength of existing laws protecting the public.  For example, the Virginia Public Procurement Act routinely is targeted by politicians because they claim it takes too long to procure professional services.  Studies throughout the country prove that the qualifications-based selection of professionals required by Virginia’s law — and more than 40 other states’ laws — protects taxpayers’ investment better than any other method.

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