Which Code? The Building Code? The Zoning Code? -you gotta be more specific....

Building Codes, the International Residential Code (IRC ) and the International Building Code (IBC) are written to start out as model codes adopted by the International Codes Council (ICC). These model codes are adopted in to state law in total, or in part, with, or without the model appendixes, and with, or without additional modification by individual states, (It is always important to refer to your state’s version of the model building codes, otherwise you will miss the local modifications and amendments…..)

Some states provide a window of time for municipalities to further amend or modify the State adopted version of the model code. After that window closes, the local municipalities that have not modified the State adopted version of the model codes are typically required to adopt the state version. Some states allow municipalities to decide which year's code they will be using. One town may be operating under the 2012 IRC and IBC while the city next door is on the 2015 version. Municipalities publish information on which edition of the model codes they have adopted. by city council action. Check your town’s website or ask at the counter in the Building Department.

I recommend Francis Ching’s great book pictured above; Building Codes Illustrated if you want to have a good handle on how codes are written and interpreted.

Francis Ching’s indispensable book on Building Codes.

Because Building Codes start out as model codes with a formal revision process at the International Codes Council, the standard of care and precision with which they are written is pretty high. The revisions also need to be consistent with the intent of protecting public health and safety.

Zoning codes on the other hand, are written and adopted at the local municipal level and rarely follow the same standard of care or attention to intent and consistency found in Building Codes. It is painfully common to find a zoning code that contradicts and prohibits the policies and actions set forth in the municipalities adopted Comprehensive Plan or General Plan.

Because zoning codes have been used to reinforce segregation the chances are pretty high that they still have plenty of Exclusionary provisions. They commonly have expensive off-street parking requirements that have no basis in science or good practice. These are typically not rules that were thoughtfully crafted by wise grownups looking after the public interest. If you local zoning code was written in 1979 or earlier and then amended over the years, there is a very good chance that you have rules on the books that contradict the policies adopted in your Comprehensive Plan or General Plan.

Your downtown may be regulated by a heinous bullshit zoning code originally written to insure the predictable development of strip shopping centers in a town in Iowa and imported to your place.

Your zoning code probably treats anything from a duplex to a 30 units to the acre apartment complex as if rental apartments are some sort of noxious land use that should be regulated like a steel mill or a hog rendering plant. Don't be surprised if your zoning code treats sections of town that exclude everything but single family homes as the ideal, and everything else like a problem that must not effect of impact the Single Family House subdivisions build under Exclusionary Zoning.

Check out this conversation with the author of The Color of Law to learn more about Segregation and Exclusionary Zoning practices:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Pb6y9rNKmo