HomeMy WebLinkAbout05-05-26 Public Comment - M. Campanelli - Attn_ Bozeman City Commission - Re_ Building Safety MonthFrom:Mark Campanelli
To:Bozeman Public Comment
Subject:[EXTERNAL]Attn: Bozeman City Commission - Re: Building Safety Month
Date:Tuesday, May 5, 2026 9:46:15 AM
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Greetings Commissioners,
In light of the mayoral proclamation concerning this May as Building Safety Month, and by
the fact that many of you have likewise proclaimed the value of making data-driven decisions,I recommend the following:
1. Ensure that existing building codes are being met, using a "carrot" approach wheneverpossible, but also grabbing for the "stick" when home/building owners and
contractors are egregious in the skirting of building codes.2. Collect publicly available data about building quality in our City. One particularly
useful data point is a building's air exchanges per hour (ACH), which is measured by ablower door test. This is a standardized measure of the air tightness of a building's
envelope. A tighter envelope generally means a higher quality build and improvedenergy efficiency, which significantly reduces the costs and environmental impact to
heat and cool a building. To complement this data point, some sort of indoor air quality(IAQ) metric should also be collected and published, because reduced IAQ can be a
negative outcome for tighter building envelopes that are not designed withsufficient fresh air "makeup". These systems do add initial cost, but with potential long
term utility savings for residents. Furthermore, we must ensure that these measurementdata are being taken and recorded honestly.
Please invest in some useful and actionable policy improvements to accompany thisproclamation. Collect the necessary data to help us make better decisions that require
thoughtful engineering and economic tradeoffs between long-term affordability, health,environment, and energy efficiency.
Mark Campanelli
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