City of Knoxville City Council Packet Summary — 2026-09-08
Meeting: — Posted 1:53 PM Regular Council Meeting Download ▼ HTML Packet
Scheduled: Tuesday, September 8, 2026, at 6:15 p.m.
Location: Municipal Building Council Chambers
The City Council agenda centers on a public hearing and five proposed ordinances updating Knoxville's building and safety regulations. The packet also includes the Fiscal Year 2026 Annual Financial Report, the August police report, payment of claims, prior board and council minutes, and a planned closed session regarding litigation.
Key Items on the Agenda
Public Hearing on Building Regulations
The Council is scheduled to hold a public hearing on proposed amendments to Title 8 of the Knoxville City Code. Staff recommends updating several construction and safety codes to newer editions, noting that Knoxville currently uses 2018 editions of multiple International Code Council codes while newer editions are available.
Following the hearing, the agenda calls for separate consideration of five ordinances. For each, the Council may approve the first consideration, potentially waive the second and third considerations, and adopt the ordinance:
- Ordinance 26-5 — Fire Prevention Code: Would replace the 2018 International Fire Code with the 2024 edition, including specified local amendments.
- Ordinance 26-6 — Building Code: Would update the International Building Code, International Residential Code, and International Existing Building Code from their 2018 editions to the 2024 editions, with local amendments.
- Ordinance 26-7 — Plumbing and Mechanical Codes: Would update referenced plumbing, fuel gas, and mechanical codes to 2024 editions.
- Ordinance 26-8 — Electrical Code: Would replace the referenced 2020 National Electrical Code with the 2023 edition.
- Ordinance 26-9 — Property Maintenance Code: Would update the International Property Maintenance Code from the 2018 edition to the 2024 edition.
The staff council letter lists no budget impact from these amendments and recommends that the Council approve them.
Fire Code Changes Affecting Businesses and Property
The proposed fire-code ordinance contains extensive local provisions in addition to adopting the 2024 International Fire Code. Among them:
- Businesses providing sales or services to the public would generally require a Fire Safety Operational Permit, with inspections every two years or annually for businesses serving liquor. Home-based businesses and certain entities subject to state or federal fire-safety inspections are identified as exceptions.
- New businesses, as well as existing businesses moving to or expanding at a location, would need a satisfactory fire inspection before opening.
- Certain commercial buildings, including buildings with fire alarms or fire-protection systems and buildings with elevators, would be required to have a Knox Box Rapid Entry System.
- Contractors performing installation, inspection, testing, or maintenance on fire and life-safety systems would be required to electronically submit reports to the fire code official within 30 days.
- Existing fire-alarm systems not monitored by an approved UL-listed central station would be required to become monitored within one year after receiving notice.
The proposed ordinance also addresses fire lanes, address identification, hydrants, fire-watch procedures, alarms, exit signage, emergency lighting, hazardous-substance incidents, and other fire-safety requirements.
Open Burning and Recreational Fires
The proposed fire-code amendments would establish detailed local rules for landscape-waste burning. Proposed burning periods are March 1 through May 15 and October 1 through November 30, subject to specified hours, fire-size limits, containment, attendance, and fire-safety requirements.
Proposed penalties for violations of the landscape-waste burning provisions are $500 for a first offense, $750 for a second offense, and $1,000 for third and subsequent offenses within a calendar year. Recreational fires would be limited to specified fuels, contained in a fire pit, limited to 3 feet in diameter, and extinguished by midnight.
Fire-Damaged Properties
The fire-code proposal also addresses fire-damaged structures that remain unsecured, dangerous, occupied without authorization, or otherwise meet specified conditions. A qualifying structure with no active rehabilitation, repair, or removal within 18 months of the fire event could be considered abandoned and unsafe.
Under the proposal, if an owner does not demolish a structure meeting those conditions, the fire chief or designee could cause the demolition and assess the costs against the property, following a hearing if requested.
Building Code Changes
The proposed building-code ordinance contains local modifications accompanying the move to the 2024 code editions. Among the provisions presented in the packet:
- Certain townhouse structures with eight or fewer dwelling units or less than 18,000 square feet, excluding garages, would be excepted from specified automatic residential sprinkler requirements.
- One- and two-family dwelling units with no more than 8,000 square feet of dwelling space, calculated as described in the ordinance, would receive a specified sprinkler exception.
- An exception would also apply to certain apartment buildings with four or fewer dwelling units, no more than two stories, and not located above an Assembly Group A-2 restaurant.
- The ordinance contains local provisions concerning stairs, landings, window-sill height, handrails, exterior walking surfaces, and exit signs.
- Energy-efficiency provisions would defer to the International Energy Conservation Code as adopted and amended by the Iowa State Building Code Bureau.
Fiscal Year 2026 Financial Report
The consent agenda includes approval of the City's Fiscal Year 2026 Annual Financial Report for the year ended June 30, 2026. The report presents the City's finances on a non-GAAP/cash basis.
Key figures reported include:
- Total revenues and other financing sources: $35,667,546
- Total expenditures and other financing uses: $20,611,187
- Ending fund balance: $29,708,359
- General obligation debt at June 30, 2026: $25,280,000
- Revenue debt at June 30, 2026: $7,738,685
- General obligation debt limit: $27,671,463
- Total salaries and wages paid: $5,208,327
The report identifies $5,127,892 in public-safety expenditures, $1,432,564 in public works, $1,977,943 in culture and recreation, and $2,966,526 in capital-project expenditures.
The debt detail identifies a $17.81 million 2026A general-obligation bond associated with the Public Safety Building and 2026 street-improvement projects with utilities.
Consent Agenda
The Council is scheduled to consider a consent agenda containing several routine approvals and acceptances:
- Approve City Council meeting minutes from August 17, 2026.
- Accept Library Board meeting minutes from August 10, 2026.
- Accept Water Board meeting minutes from August 10, 2026.
- Accept the Knoxville Police Department's August 2026 report.
- Approve the Fiscal Year 2026 Annual Financial Report.
The August police report records 1,561 calls for service, 244 community assists, 56 cases, 41 persons arrested or charged, and five motor-vehicle collisions for the month. It also reports 504 traffic-safety stops, 395 warnings, and 66 citations.
Payment of Claims
The agenda separately calls for approval of payment of claims. The packet's claims report covers checks from August 18 through September 8, 2026 and reports total accounts payable of $337,663.25.
Notable individual entries include:
- $60,710.78 to CIT Sewer Solutions for 2026 lining work under I & I improvements.
- $52,675.15 to Wendel Construction Management under City Hall/general buildings.
- $33,000.00 to Moody's Investors Service associated with the 2026A GO corporate bond.
- $29,462.98 to Karl Chevrolet for a 2026 Chevrolet Equinox.
- $22,362.00 to Quality Striping, Inc. for Highway 14 line painting.
- $18,739.64 to Vanderpool Construction Inc. for VA Phase 2 retainage.
Prior Actions Included for Context
The packet contains minutes from the Council's August 17 meeting. Those minutes document that the Council previously set the September 8 public hearing on the proposed Title 8 building-regulation amendments.
The August 17 minutes also document adoption of an ordinance amending bicycle and micromobility regulations after approving the second consideration and waiving the third consideration, with an age modification from 12 to 14. These are previously completed actions documented in the packet, not proposed September 8 actions.
Reports and Closed Session
The September 8 agenda includes a Mayor's Report and City Manager's Report.
The Council is then scheduled to adjourn to closed session under Iowa Code Section 21.5(C) for litigation. The agenda provides for the Council to reconvene in open session afterward and take action as needed before adjournment; the packet does not state what, if any, action will follow the closed session.
What to Watch at the Meeting
The principal policy decision is whether the Council will advance the five ordinances updating Knoxville's fire, building, plumbing, mechanical, electrical, and property-maintenance codes. The agenda allows the Council not only to consider each ordinance on first consideration but also potentially to waive later readings and adopt the measures.
The public hearing provides an opportunity for written and oral comments or objections before the Council considers those ordinances. The proposed fire-code changes are particularly detailed and could affect businesses, property owners, contractors, construction projects, open burning, fire-safety inspections, and certain existing buildings.
Civic Translator summarized publicly available meeting materials provided by the City of Knoxville City Council.
