Plain English Breakdown
The official text defines the terms but does not specify enforcement procedures for zoning officials.
Amendment Defining Modified or Renovated Buildings
This law defines when a building counts as modified or renovated and sets rules for emergency radio signals in those buildings starting February 1, 2027.
What This Bill Does
- Defines 'modified' or 'renovated' based on the size of the work done to a structure.
- Requires large new buildings and modified parts of existing buildings to support public safety radio signals at 95% coverage for 800 MHz frequencies.
- Allows signal coverage to happen naturally through building design or by installing special emergency communication equipment.
- Sets an effective date of February 1, 2027, for these new rules and definitions.
Who It Names or Affects
- Owners or builders of structures with a gross floor area of 25,000 square feet or more where the work covers at least 40 percent of the total floor space.
- Projects that change building materials to include items like low-emissivity glass or reinforced concrete in buildings of any size if those changes are expected to weaken radio signals.
Terms To Know
- Gross Floor Area
- The total size of a building measured in square feet, including all floors and spaces inside the walls.
- Grid Acceptance Test (GAT)
- A test to check if radio signals work well enough inside a building for emergency workers.
- Attenuate
- To weaken or block the strength of a signal, such as when thick walls stop radio waves from passing through.
Limits and Unknowns
- The text does not explain how local zoning officials will check if buildings meet the new rules.
- It is unclear what happens to projects that started before February 1, 2027, but finish after that date.