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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAGENDA REPORT 2007 0207 CC REG ITEM 10FrrE I D.P. e� of MOORPARK CITY COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT TO: Honorable City Council FROM: Barry K. Hogan, Community Development Director DATE: October 18, 2006 (CC Meeting of 02/7/07) SUBJECT: Consider A Resolution Ratifying Appendix VII of Ventura County Fire Protection District Ordinance No. 25 Pertaining to Building Standards for Application within the City of Moorpark DISCUSSION The Ventura County Fire Protection District (District) provides fire protection for the City of Moorpark. Appendix VII of the Ventura County Fire Protection District Ordinance 25 contains the adopted building standards, relating to fire and life safety, which are more restrictive than those adopted by the State Fire Marshal and contained within the California Building Code and the standards for construction, that the City of Moorpark follows when checking building plans for the issuance of a building permit. The California Health and Safety Code Section 13869.7 authorizes the Fire District to adopt such standards but requires ratification by the legislative body, i.e. the City Council, in order to apply these standards to construction within the City. The District is contemplating adoption of the proposed ordinance and is anticipating an effective date of May 1, 2007. Any projects submitted prior to May 1, 2007, will not be required to comply with this ordinance. The City of Moorpark has been using the building standards contained in Appendix VII since its incorporation. Every development that has had a building permit issued has been plan checked against these standards. Proposed modifications to Appendix VII delete current exceptions which exempt the installation of automatic extinguishing systems (fire sprinklers) for buildings based upon floor area, height and location from a fire station. When the proposed modifications are adopted, an automatic fire sprinkler system will be required in all occupancies, except low hazard Group U occupancies, when approved by the Fire Chief or Building Official. There is no effect on existing buildings unless a major modification of the building is proposed. In that instance, the building owner would be required to install an automatic sprinkler system throughout the building, if it met the criteria. For example, if an owner SACommunity Development\DEV PMTS\Z 0 A\2006\Fire Sprinklers \cc 070107 agenda report.doc 0 UUnp� Honorable City Council February 7, 2007 Page 2 of an existing 2,400 square foot building proposes to construct an additional 2,400 square feet of floor area then the building owner would be required to provide fire sprinklers in the entire building. Presently, the code does not require that single - family homes have fire sprinklers except if the homes are greater than 5,000 square feet in area. The proposed ordinance change would require that all new single - family homes have fire sprinklers. Moorpark Highlands (Pardee) and Canterbury Lane (Shea) are building without sprinklers, while Meridian Hills (Wm. Lyon) and Moorpark Country Club Estates (Toll) are providing fire sprinklers in their homes. Cities in Ventura County who already require fire sprinklers, irrespective of the size of a single - family home, are Oxnard, Santa Paula and Ventura. Fillmore is in the process of proposing a similar ordinance. The City of Scottsdale, Arizona has had a residential sprinkler ordinance for over 20 years and has maintained statistics during that time. Based upon a 10 -year study done in 1996 they reported eight lives saved. The dollar loss from fire in sprinklered structures averaged $1,945.00 versus $17,067.00 in non - sprinklered structures. The Scottsdale Fire Department reported average property loss in structures without from 1995 to 2000 at $20.7 million and with sprinklers at $9.2 million. Based upon a survey conducted by the Ventura County Fire District, the average installation cost for non - custom single family homes is $1.20 /square foot and $1.70 /square foot for custom homes and for tract homes is $1.00 /square foot. California Health and Safety Code Section 13869.7 requires the Fire District to file findings that support the need for more restrictive building standards based on local climatic, geological or topographical conditions. Those findings are as follows: 1. Climatic. Ventura County experiences periods of high temperatures, accompanied by low humidity and high winds each year. These conditions create an environment in which the Fire District commits large numbers of fire fighting resources to the control and extinguishment of wildland fires. During such periods, the limited available firefighting resources may have great difficulty in controlling fires in structures not having built -in fire protection. 2. Geological. Ventura County is in a potential high activity seismic zone. After a large seismic event, the potential for multiple fires, occurring simultaneously, will tax available firefighting resources. Built -in fire protection will assist in extinguishing or controlling fires in structures which will increase the availability of firefighting resources after seismic activity. 3. Topographical. Ventura County has rural areas that are in high fire hazard areas. Due to topography, access to structures in rural areas increases response time and delays fire suppression efforts. An extended response time will allow fires to grow beyond the control of initial attack fire suppression resources. Structure fires in the hillside areas will have a greater likelihood of starting a wildland fire, which may expose additional structures to fire. 00009.'% Honorable City Council February 7, 2007 Page 3 STAFF RECOMMENDATION Adopt Resolution No. 2007- which allows the Ventura County Fire Protection District to enforce certain building standards within the City of Moorpark. Attachment: Draft Resolution 000094. RESOLUTION NO. 2007- A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF MOORPARK, CALIFORNIA, RATIFYING APPENDIX VII OF VENTURA COUNTY FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT ORDINANCE NO. 25 PERTAINING TO BUILDING STANDARDS FOR APPLICATION WITHIN THE CITY OF MOORPARK WHEREAS, the City of Moorpark lies within the jurisdictional boundaries of the Ventura County Fire Protection District; and WHEREAS, the Ventura County Fire Protection District has responsibility for fire protection within the City; and WHEREAS, the Ventura County Fire Protection District on October 3, 2006, adopted Fire Protection District Ordinance No. 25, amending Appendix VII of Ordinance No. 24 and restated the remainder of Ordinance No. 24, that adopted by reference, the 2000 Uniform Fire Code with certain appendices and amendments to that code; and WHEREAS, Appendix VII of said amendments constitutes an amendment to building standards relating to fire and panic safety, adopted by the State Fire Marshal and contained in the California Building Standards Code; and WHEREAS, pursuant to Section 13869.7(c) of the California Health and Safety Code, amendments containing such building standards are not effective within the City of Moorpark until ratified by the City Council; and WHEREAS, Appendix VII contains similar building standards that have been in effect and enforced within the City since incorporation; and WHEREAS, the building standards contained within Appendix VII are an integral part of the Ventura County Fire Protection District fire protection response plan; and NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF MOORPARK, DOES HEREBY RESOLVE AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Appendix VII of Ventura County Fire Protection District Ordinance No.25 is ratified and shall be effective within the City of Moorpark. SACommunity Development \DEV PMTS\Z O A\2006 \Fire Sprink1ers \CC_Reso_061115.doc CC ATTACHMENT 00009r Resolution No. 2007 - Page 2 SECTION 2. CERTIFICATION OF ADOPTION: The City Clerk shall certify to the adoption of this resolution and shall cause a certified resolution to be filed in the book of original resolutions. PASSED AND ADOPTED this 7t" day of February, 2007. Patrick Hunter, Mayor ATTEST: Deborah S. Traffenstedt, City Clerk w. 0000S(1'