odes and standards continue to be the foundation of facility design and construction. As the SSA’s codes and standards consultant, my ongoing job is to ensure our industry’s interests are vigorously represented when national model codes are developed. Over the past two years, navigating the International Code Council (ICC) development cycles, we have made significant strides to protect operators from unnecessary construction costs while paving the way for industry-specific regulations.

A major win for our members recently came from the ICC’s Group A cycle regarding plumbing fixture requirements. Historically, self-storage facilities have struggled with vague occupant load classifications, sometimes forcing developers to overbuild restrooms for facilities that inherently have very low foot traffic. We successfully supported code changes, specifically proposals P17 and E11, that establish a clear occupant load factor of 500 gross square feet per person for self-storage facilities.

This ensures that facilities aren’t burdened with an excessive number of mandatory plumbing fixtures based on inappropriate business or general storage classifications. This change can save thousands of dollars in construction costs per restroom and free up square footage for additional revenue-generating units. While the code still requires at least one service sink, the overall fixture count is now much more reasonable for our typical facility sizes.

While not every proposal passes on the first try, our continued presence at these hearings opens crucial doors. During recent committee hearings, the fire code committee recommended that self-service storage become its own dedicated section within Chapter 4 of the building code. Because of the massive scope of this update, we are preparing to work alongside the Fire Code Action Committee (FCAC) to form a task group to draft this specific text. Having a dedicated section will be a massive step toward ensuring that self-storage is regulated based on its unique operational realities, rather than being shoehorned into broader warehouse classifications.

Looking ahead to the next edition, our primary goals include proactively addressing key administrative and structural provisions to better align with the practical realities of the storage industry. Specifically, we will work to refine the definition of a “self-service storage facility” to explicitly state that units designed for car and RV storage are not “parking garages.” By preventing this miscategorization, we aim to eliminate unnecessary ventilation mandates, ensuring developers are not forced to install costly and heavy mechanical ventilation systems for spaces dedicated to long-term, static vehicle storage.

Additionally, we plan to secure a targeted code exception to protect new, prefabricated relocatable buildings used for storage, ensuring they are no longer inappropriately regulated by special construction codes designed for other types of temporary structures.

The final action hearings for the current ICC cycle took place this April. We monitored the resulting monographs closely to ensure no unfavorable requirements slipped through. As a reminder, even though international codes are developed years before being adopted and enforced by most states, designs that are shown to be equivalent in safety can often be used as an alternative method immediately. It is reasonable for building officials to deem future codified language as equivalent for your current projects.