Do individual cities write their own building codes in Utah? That would be exhausting.
It's allowed out here on the east coast, and is popular in a lot of places.
American Wood Council has this handy booklet: Link
And Structure Magazine did an article on it a while back, and it includes some code analysis for the IBC: Link
I'd imagine it would depend on the site and zoning and perhaps local ordinances, not so much the building code. Most of Utah uses an amended version of 2018 IBC. I don't know of any municipalities in the area that have their own codes. Like pham says, that would be exhausting, and it would throw a wrench in the greater Salt Lake Valley's obsession with outsourcing all plan review, as the code consultants would have to be familiar with 500 different building codes... I can see pockets of 5 story wood buildings from where I sit now - all under 2018 IBC. But I'm not in Ogden. This is all stuff that the architects and owners figure out before I get involved.
I'd start by calling the building department and asking some questions. People here are very friendly. If this is any decently sized structure, it'd probably be worth getting with a local architect who does a lot of (what I'm assuming is) mixed-use or multi-family around here. They're going to be very busy though.
Your drawings/specs/calcs will almost certainly be reviewed by a third party consultant. They love to demonstrate their superior knowledge of all things building code. So, you better know your stuff our you'll be jammed up in permitting forever. By "stuff" I mean building type, fire ratings, etc etc etc. For example, say you have 3 identical buildings and you want to build them in 3 locations throughout the city. You may very well end up with 3 entirely different types of construction - fire treated wood here, can only use metal studs over there, cant build that at all over here, etc. All of that is above my pay grade though.
In some states, the local municipalities or counties do in fact bear the responsibility for adopting their own building codes. No, they don't write their own code from scratch though. In practice, what usually happens is they adopt the prevailing model code and then apply local amendments. Yes, the designers-of-record and plan reviewers must be familiar with all of the various jurisdictions' amendments. A typical amendment might be the allowable height of wood buildings based on the capability of the local fire department. So although I don't know specifically about Ogden, the OP question does seem reasonable to me.
