§ 23-27.3-127.1. Committee to serve as a board of standards and appeals. (a) The building code standards committee, after the state building code is adopted and promulgated, will serve as a board of standards and appeals except for appeals concerning the rehabilitation building and fire code, which appeals shall be heard and decided by the joint committee in accordance with the provisions of § 23-29.1-4. For the purpose of securing for the public the benefits of new developments in the building industry and insuring public health, safety, and welfare, the board shall make or cause to be made investigations, or may accept authenticated reports from recognized authoritative sources on new materials or modes of construction intended for use in the construction of buildings or structures, and shall promulgate the regulations setting forth the conditions under which the materials or modes of constructions may be used. The regulations and amendments thereto shall have the same force and effect as the provisions of the code. The committee shall as a body or as a sub-committee thereof, have the power to sit as a state board of appeals, and in the absence of a local board, to hear appeals from the decision of the local building official. The state building commissioner shall serve as the secretary of the board of appeals.

(b)(1) An aggrieved party, as defined in subsections (b)(2)(i) - (b)(2)(vi) below, may appeal an interpretation, order, requirement, direction, or failure to act by the state building commissioner, charged with the administration or enforcement of this code or any of its rules or regulations, directly to the state building code board of standards and appeals. The appeal shall be filed with the board of appeals within thirty (30) days of the mailing or posting of the interpretation, order, requirement, direction, or failure to act.

(2) An aggrieved party is defined as follows:

(i) An owner of the building or structure which is subject to any interpretation, order, direction, or failure to act by a local building official, state building commissioner, or a local board of appeal's decision or failure to act.

(ii) Property owners within two hundred feet (200') of the property lines of a building or structure which is the subject of any appeal.

(iii) The state building commissioner relative to any interpretation, order, requirement, direction, or failure to act by the local building official.

(iv) Any person, corporation, or other legal entity served with a notice of violation by the building official or the state building commissioner.

(v) Any person who has reasonable grounds for believing that he or she is about to be subject to discrimination in violation of the accessibility for persons with disabilities provisions of this code, or organization chartered for the purpose of safeguarding rights of persons with disabilities, provided that the state building commissioner has certified that the building plans are in violation of this code, the Americans with Disability Act, 42 U.S.C. § 12101 et seq., provisions or the Federal Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. § 3601 et seq.

(vi) Any person who has reasonable grounds for believing that he or she is about to be subject to discrimination, or organization chartered for the purpose of safeguarding rights of persons with disabilities, as a result of an appeal to the code's provisions relating to persons with disabilities.

History of Section. (P.L. 1981, ch. 236, § 4; P.L. 1987, ch. 526, § 1; P.L. 1991, ch. 48, § 1; P.L. 1997, ch. 150, § 3; P.L. 1998, ch. 144, § 1; P.L. 1999, ch. 430, § 3; P.L. 2000, ch. 185, § 1; P.L. 2000, ch. 290, § 1.)