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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 10222013 - SD.1RECOMMENDATION(S): Acting in its capacity as the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors and as the Board of Directors of the Crockett-Carquinez Fire Protection District and the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District: 1. OPEN the public hearing on Ordinance No. 2013-22 to adopt the 2013 California Fire Code, with local amendments, as the fire code within Contra Costa County, the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District, and the Crockett-Carquinez Fire Protection District, RECEIVE testimony, CONSIDER all public comments, and CLOSE the public hearing. 2. ADOPT Ordinance No. 2013-22, to adopt the 2013 California Fire Code, with local amendments, as the fire code within Contra Costa County, the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District, and the Crockett-Carquinez Fire Protection District. 3. ADOPT the attached findings in support of the amendments to the 2013 California Fire Code. 4. DIRECT the Fire Districts, pursuant to Health and Safety Code section 17958.7, to send a certified copy of Ordinance No. 2013-22, the attached findings, and this Board Order to the California Department of Housing and Community Development and to the California Building Standards Commission. APPROVE OTHER RECOMMENDATION OF CNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE Action of Board On: 10/22/2013 APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED OTHER Clerks Notes: VOTE OF SUPERVISORS AYE:John Gioia, District I Supervisor Candace Andersen, District II Supervisor Mary N. Piepho, District III Supervisor Karen Mitchoff, District IV Supervisor Federal D. Glover, District V Supervisor Contact: Lewis Broschard, 941-3520 I hereby certify that this is a true and correct copy of an action taken and entered on the minutes of the Board of Supervisors on the date shown. ATTESTED: October 22, 2013 David Twa, County Administrator and Clerk of the Board of Supervisors By: June McHuen, Deputy cc: SD.1 To:Board of Supervisors From:Daryl L. Louder, Chief, Contra Costa County Fire Protection District Date:October 22, 2013 Contra Costa County Subject:Public Hearing - Ordinance 2013-22 to Adopt 2013 California Fire Code with Local Amendments RECOMMENDATION(S): (CONT'D) 5. AUTHORIZE the preparation of an ordinance summary by County Counsel and the publication of the summary in accordance with Government Code section 25124. 6. DIRECT the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors to post in its office, and each Fire District to post at its office, a certified copy of the full text of Ordinance No. 2013-22, as adopted, with the names of the Supervisors/Directors voting for and against the ordinance, in accordance with Government Code section 25124. FISCAL IMPACT: The fiscal impact is neutral. The adoption of this ordinance will provide the administrative authority to enforce the provisions of the California Fire Code as amended. BACKGROUND: The California Building Standards Commission has adopted and published the 2013 Building Standards Code, which includes the 2013 California Fire Code prepared and adopted by the State Fire Marshal. The statewide code became effective January 1, 2013. Although the code applies statewide, Health and Safety Code sections 17958.5 and 18941.5 authorize a local jurisdiction to modify or change the statewide code and establish more restrictive standards if the jurisdiction finds that the modifications and changes are reasonably necessary because of local climatic, geological or topographical conditions. Ordinance No. 2013-22 adopts the 2013 California Fire Code and amends it to address local conditions. The attached ordinance amends the 2013 California Fire Code by establishing automatic sprinkler system requirements that are more restrictive than the sprinkler requirements in the statewide code. The more restrictive requirements are necessary due to Contra Costa County’s climatic, geological and topographical conditions, which impact fire prevention efforts and the frequency, spread, acceleration, intensity and size of fire involving buildings. The automatic sprinkler system requirements are set forth in Section 903.2 of the attached ordinance. The fire districts' existing weed abatement program is incorporated into Section 319 of the ordinance. This program authorizes the fire districts to declare certain weeds that pose a fire hazard as a public nuisance, to abate those weeds, and to recover abatement costs from property owners. This ordinance also prohibits untethered sky lanterns. Chapter 5 and Appendix D of the ordinance establish requirements for fire apparatus access roads, including requirements for turnouts, parking on access roads, and maximum grades. Notice of the public hearing was published in accordance with Government Code section 6066. A summary of the ordinance was prepared and published in accordance with Government Code section 25124(b). CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION: Without the adoption of the 2013 California Fire Code (CFC) with local amendments, the fire districts will not have the legal authority to enforce any exterior hazard abatement standards or the ability to conduct fire and life safety inspections in occupancies other than high-rise buildings, schools, hotels, motels, apartments, and day care facilities. In addition, without adoption of the CFC, occupancies that conduct operations such as the production, storage, and sale of hazardous materials, places of assembly, and the review of construction documents and testing of fire protection and fire alarm systems would no longer be regulated by the fire districts. Furthermore, adoption of the 2013 CFC is necessary to continue allowing the fire districts to collect fees to recover the costs of providing fire prevention related services. Without adoption of the CFC, as amended, fire district general fund revenues would be required to provide the fiscal support necessary to fund the positions currently supported by operational permit and inspection fees and new construction plan review fees. This would result in a decrease in the amount of general fund revenues available for conducting emergency response activities or critical fire prevention services and personnel would need to be reduced or eliminated. CHILDREN'S IMPACT STATEMENT: No impact. CLERK'S ADDENDUM CLOSED the public hearing on Ordinance No. 2013-22 to adopt the 2013 California Fire Code, with local CLOSED the public hearing on Ordinance No. 2013-22 to adopt the 2013 California Fire Code, with local amendments, as the fire code within Contra Costa County, the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District, and the Crockett-Carquinez Fire Protection District; ADOPTED Ordinance No. 2013-22; and ADOPTED findings in support of the amendments to the 2013 California Fire Code. ATTACHMENTS Ordinance 2013-22 Findings of Fact CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, CONTRA COSTA COUNTY FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT AND CROCKETT-CARQUINEZ FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT FINDINGS OF NEED FOR CHANGES OR MODIFICATIONS IN THE 2013 CALIFORNIA BUILDING STANDARDS CODE, TITLE 24, PART 9, CALIFORNIA FIRE CODE, DUE TO LOCAL CONDITIONS I.Changes or Modifications Pursuant to Section 17958 of the State of California Health and Safety Code, the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors, in its capacity as the Board of Supervisors and the Board of Directors of the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District and the Crockett-Carquinez Fire Protection District (collectively “Fire District”), in its ordinance adopting and amending the 2013 California Building Standards Code, Title 24, Part 9, California Fire Code, changes, modifies, and amends Section 903.1 through Section 907.8.7. II.Finding Pursuant to Sections 17958.5 and 17958.7 of the State of California Health and Safety Code, the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors, in its capacity as the Board of Supervisors and the Board of Directors of the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District and the Crockett-Carquinez Fire Protection District, finds that the above referenced change, modification, and amendment is needed and is reasonably necessary because of certain local climatic, geological, and topographic conditions as described below. A.Climatic 1.Precipitation and Relative Humidity (a)Conditions Precipitation ranges from 15 to 24 inches per year with an average of approximately 20 inches per year. Ninety-six (96) percent falls during the months of October through April and four (4) percent from May through September. This is a dry period of at least five (5) months each year. Additionally, the area is subject to occasional drought. Relative humidity remains in the middle range most of the time. It ranges from forty-five (45) to sixty-five (65) percent during spring, summer, fall, and from sixty (60) to ninety (90) percent in the winter. It occasionally falls as low as fifteen (15) percent. (b)Impact Locally experienced dry periods cause extreme dryness of untreated wood shakes and shingles on buildings and non-irrigated grass, brush and weeds, which are often near buildings with wood roofs and sidings. Such dryness causes these materials to ignite very readily and burn rapidly and intensely. Because of dryness, a rapidly burning grass fire or exterior building fire can quickly transfer to other buildings by means of radiation or flying brands, sparks and embers. A small fire can rapidly grow to a magnitude beyond the control capabilities of the Fire District resulting in an excessive fire loss. 2.Temperature (a)Conditions Temperatures have been recorded as high as 1140 F. Average summer highs are in the 900 range, with average maximums of 1050 F. (b)Impact High temperatures cause rapid fatigue and heat exhaustion of firefighters, thereby reducing their effectiveness and ability to control large building and wildland fires. Another impact from high temperatures is that combustible building material and non-irrigated weeds, grass and brush are preheated, thus causing these materials to ignite more readily and burn more rapidly and intensely. Additionally, the resultant higher temperature of the atmosphere surrounding the materials reduces the effectiveness of the water being applied to the burning materials. This requires that more water be applied, which in turn requires more Fire District resources in order to control a fire on a hot day. High temperatures directly contribute to the rapid growth of fires to an intensity and magnitude beyond the control capabilities of the Fire District. 3.Winds (a)Conditions Prevailing winds in the area are from the south or southwest in the mornings and from the north or northwest in the afternoons. However, winds are experienced from virtually every direction at one time or another. Velocities are generally in the fourteen (14) mph to twenty-three (23) mph ranges, gusting to twenty-five (25) to thirty-five (35) mph. Forty (40) mph winds are experienced occasionally and winds up to fifty-five (55) mph have been registered locally. During the winter half of the year, strong, dry, gusty winds from the north move through the area for several days creating extremely dry conditions. (b)Impact Winds such as those experienced locally can and do cause fires, both interior and exterior, to burn and spread rapidly. Fires involving non-irrigated weeds, grass and brush can grow to a magnitude and be fanned to intensity beyond the control capabilities of the Fire District very quickly even by relatively moderate winds. When such fires are not controlled, they can extend to nearby buildings, particularly those with untreated wood shakes or shingles. Winds of the type experienced locally also reduce the effectiveness of exterior water streams used by the Fire District on fires involving large interior areas of buildings, fires which have vented through windows and roofs due to inadequate built-in fire protection and fires involving wood shake and shingle building exteriors. Local winds will continue to be a definite factor towards causing major fire losses to buildings not provided with fire resistive roof and siding materials and buildings with inadequately separated interior areas or lacking automatic fire protection systems. National statistics frequently cite wind conditions, such as those experienced locally, as a major factor where conflagrations have occurred. 4.Summary These local climatic conditions affect the acceleration, intensity, and size of fire in the community. Times of little or no rainfall, of low humidity, and high temperatures create extremely hazardous conditions, particularly as they relate to wood shake and shingle roof fires and conflagrations. The winds experienced in this area can have a tremendous impact upon structure fires. During wood shake and shingle roof fires, or exposure fires, winds can carry sparks and burning brands to other structures, thus spreading the fire and causing conflagrations. In building fires, winds can literally force fires back into the building and can create a blow torch effect, in addition to preventing “natural” ventilation and cross-ventilation efforts. B.Geological and Topographic 1.Seismicity (a)Conditions Contra Costa County is located in Seismic Risk Zone 4, which is the worst earthquake area in the United States. Buildings and other structures in Zone 4 can experience major seismic damage. Contra Costa County is in close proximity to the San Andreas Fault and contains all or portions of the Hayward, Calaveras, Concord, Antioch, Mt. Diablo, and other lesser faults. A 4.1 earthquake with its epicenter in Concord occurred in 1958, and a 5.4 earthquake with its epicenter also in Concord occurred in 1955. The Concord and Antioch faults have a potential for a Richter 6 earthquake and the Hayward and Calaveras faults have the potential for a Richter 7 earthquake. Minor tremblers from seismic activity are not uncommon in the area. The fire environment of a community is primarily a combination of two factors: the area’s physical geologic characteristics and a historic pattern of urban-suburban development. These two factors, alone and combined, create a mixture of environments which ultimately determines the area’s fire protection needs. The Fire District has 3 distinct areas. They are: the West, which includes the City of San Pablo and the communities of North Richmond, El Sobrante, and East Richmond Heights. The Central includes the Cities of Lafayette, Martinez, Pleasant Hill, Concord, Walnut Creek, Clayton and the communities of Clyde, Pacheco, Alhambra Valley and Alamo. The East includes the Cities of Antioch, Pittsburg and the community of Bay Point. Because of the size of the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District (304 Square miles) the characteristics of the fire environment changes from one location to the next. Therefore the District has not one, but a number of fire environments, each of which has its individual fire protection needs from two major oil refineries, to heavy industrial facilities, freeways, rail lines, waterways, port facilities, wildland areas, urban and suburban town settings and major downtown areas. Interstates 80 and 680, State Highways 4, 24 and 242, Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART) and major thoroughfares travel throughout the District. There are 2 major rail lines which run through the District. An overpass or underpass crossing collapse would alter the response route and time for responding emergency equipment. This is due to the limited crossings of the major highways and rail lines. Earthquakes of the magnitude experienced locally can cause major damage to electrical transmission facilities, which, in turn, cause power failures while at the same time starting fires throughout the Fire District. The occurrence of multiple fires will quickly deplete existing fire district resources; thereby reducing and/or delaying their response to any given fire. Additionally, without electrical power, elevators, smoke management systems, lighting systems, alarm systems and other electrical equipment urgently needed for building evacuation and fire control in large buildings without emergency generator systems would be inoperative, thereby resulting in loss of life and/or major fire losses in such buildings. (b)Impact A major earthquake could severely restrict the response of the Fire District and its capability to control fires involving buildings of wood frame construction, with ordinary wood shake and shingle exteriors, or with large interior areas not provided with automatic smoke and fire control systems. 2.Soils (a)Conditions The area is replete with various soils, which are unstable, clay loam and alluvial fans being predominant. These soil conditions are moderately to severely prone to swelling and shrinking, are plastic, and tend to liquefy. Throughout the Fire District, the topography and development growth has created a network of older, narrow roads. These roads vary from gravel to asphalt surface and vary in percent of slope, many exceeding twenty- (20) percent. Several of these roads extend up through the winding passageways in the hills providing access to remote, affluent housing subdivisions. Many of these roads are private with no established maintenance program. During inclement weather, these roads are subject to rock and mudslides, as well as down trees, obstructing all vehicle traffic. It is anticipated that during an earthquake, several of these roads would be practically impassable. 3.Topographic (a)Conditions i.Vegetation The service area of the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District has a varied topography and vegetative cover. A conglomeration of flat lands, hills, and ridges make up the terrain. Development has occurred on the flat lands in the District and in the past 15 years development has spread into the hills, valleys and ridge lands of the District. Highly combustible dry grass, weeds, and brush are common in the hilly and open space areas adjacent to built-up locations six (6) to eight (8) months of each year. Many of these areas frequently experience wildland fires, which threaten nearby buildings, particularly those with wood roofs, or sidings. This condition can be found throughout the Fire District, especially in those fully developed areas and those areas marked for future development. ii.Surface Features The arrangement and location of natural and manmade surface features, including hills, creeks, canals, freeways, housing tracts, commercial development, fire stations, streets and roads, combine to limit efficient response routes for Fire District resources into and through many areas. iii.Buildings, Landscaping and Terrain Many of the “newer” large buildings and building complexes have access and landscaping features or designs which preclude, or greatly limit, efficient approach or operational access to them by Fire District vehicles. In addition, the presence of security gates, roads of inadequate width and grades which are too steep for Fire District vehicles create an adverse impact on fire suppression efforts. When Fire District vehicles cannot gain access to buildings involved with fire, the potential for complete loss is realized. Difficulty reaching a fire site often requires additional fire personnel and resources to successfully and safely mitigate the event. Access problems often result in severely delaying, misdirecting, or making fire and smoke control efforts unsuccessful. (b)Impact The above local geological and topographical conditions increase the magnitude, exposure, accessibility problems, and fire hazards presented to the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District. Fire following an earthquake has the potential of causing greater loss of life and damage than the earthquake itself. Hazardous materials, particularly toxic gases, could pose the greatest threat to the largest number, should a significant seismic event occur. Public Safety resources would have to be prioritized to mitigate the greatest threat, and may likely be unavailable for smaller single dwelling or structure fires. Other variables may intensify the situation: 1. The extent of damage to the water system. 2. The extents of isolation due to bridge and/or freeway overpass collapse. 3. The extent of roadway damage and/or amount of debris blocking the roadways. 4. Climatic conditions (hot, dry weather with high winds). 5. Time of day will influence the amount of traffic on roadways and could intensify the risk to life during normal business hours. 6. The availability of timely mutual aid or military assistance. 7. The large portion of dwellings with wood shake or shingles coverings could result in conflagrations. III.Summary Local climatic, geologic, and topographic conditions impact fire prevention efforts, and the frequency, spread, acceleration, intensity, and size of fire involving buildings in this community. Further, they impact potential damage to all structures from earthquake and subsequent fire. This was the case in the October 17, 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake that measured 6.9 and occurred on the San Andreas fault, centered near Santa Cruz. This event caused several residential fires and numerous commercial buildings were damaged. Therefore, based on the findings declared in this document, it is found reasonably necessary that the 2013 California Fire Code be changed or modified to mitigate the effects of the above conditions. The changes and/or modifications to the 2013 California Fire Code, as expressed in Ordinance #2013-22 of Contra Costa County, the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District and the Crockett-Carquinez Fire Protection District, are found to be necessary to mitigate the above described impacts which are caused by the above described local climatic, geological and topographic conditions. Ordinance #2013-22 is attached in its entirety.