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Our History
The Construction Industry Council first came
into existence in 1957.
That year the City of Houston adopted a
Building Code that had been 10 years in preparation and was basically the work
of one city employee. The tremendous task had forced him to rely almost entirely
upon information researched from then existing texts, and specification type
standards from various bureaus.
The highest restrictive, specification type
code that he presented was totally unacceptable to the entire construction
industry and the professional community and would have been unworkable and
unenforceable by the City.
As a result of meetings with community
leaders, the city administration appointed an Advisory Committee to recommend a
course of action. After considerable deliberation this committee chaired by Otis
Massey and consisting of R. E. Chrone, Jack W. Knostman, Walter P. Moore, and
Lewis J. Woodruff, and aided by the business and professional leaders of the
industry recommended the adoption of the Uniform Building Code as published by
the International Conference of Building Officials and the assembly of a task
force of all industry and professional organizations to modify this code to fit
the unique requirements of our locality and to prepare chapters covering those
areas not addressed by the U.B.C.
This study task force, headed by Russell Nix
as Chairman and consisting of 28 member associations, became the
CONSTRUCTION
INDUSTRY COUNCIL.
After years of hard work the new code was
adopted and became law on March 10, 1963. The principle features of the code
were:
- The industry adopted a fee schedule
designed to give the City of Houston a first class Building Department for
Code Administration and enforcement that would be entirely funded by permit
fees and license fees and would not require general taxation for its
funding.
- Three mechanical boards and a General
Appeals Board, appointed by the Mayor and City Council, would assist in
interpretations and disputes and recommend changes.
- The code was printed and circulated in
loose leaf form so that revisions could be quickly and economically
circulated.
At the meeting of the C.I.C. announcing and
celebrating the passing of the Code into law, a motion was made by Chairman
Russell Nix and unanimous passed by the member organization to make the C.I.C. a
permanent organization.
The avowed purpose of the C.I.C., as later
spelled out in it's October, 1968 Charter from the State of Texas is:
"Associating together of the various
organizations of the construction industry to study and advise the Mayor and
City Council of the City of Houston and any of its departments or committees in
the area of codification or recodification of the City's requirements,
ordinances, licenses, franchises, or other controls over the construction of
buildings, dwellings, houses, and other structures above or below ground, in the
corporate limits of the City of Houston or the jurisdiction of the City of
Houston."
Since its inception the C.I.C. has provide
without cost to the City of Houston or its taxpayers, literally millions of
dollars worth of talent from within its member industry and professional
organizations. Along with many other dynamic and progressive happenings that
made the City of Houston the envy and inspiration of most of the nation, the
C.I.C. has gain recognition and admiration from code and regulatory groups
throughout the country. |
