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2004-06-14 BOA Minutes CITY OF SOUTHLAKE BUILDING BOARD OF APPEALS JUNE 14, 2004 MINUTES MEMBERS PRESENT: Kosse Maykus, Bob Lee, Michael Vassios, Jerome Johnson. MEMBERS ABSENT: Theresa Lyons, Donald Coonan. STAFF PRESENT: Robert Finn, Chief of Fire Services; Paul Ward, Chief Building Official; Charles Bloomberg, Plans Examiner; David Barnes, Fire Marshall; Susi Steele, Fire Services Divisional Assistant AGENDA ITEM NO. 1: Call to Order. The meeting was called to order by Kosse Maykus, Chairperson, at 6:36 p.m. AGENDA ITEM NO. 2: Approval of Minutes of the May 3, 2004 Regular Building Board of Appeals Meeting. A motion was made, seconded, and approved without exception to approve the May 3, 2004 Regular BBA meeting minutes. AGENDA ITEM NO. 3: Administrative Comments. Paul Ward commented that a "thank you" note had been sent on behalf of the Board to Tom Fitzpatrick, special guest at the May 3, 2004 BBA meeting, for his presentation and assistance on the energy conservation program. Paul also requested email suggestions for how to implement the program in Southlake. He advised that the program has been provided for in the budget. He presented a sample certificate of recognition for builders who exceed code in their residential construction. The builders' intent to meet the higher conservation standards will be stated at the time the builder applies for the building permit. Paul also presented a sample yard sign to be placed in the residence yard during construction. Additional recognition in the form of a sign, plaque, or logo will be issued to the builder and the structure at the time the Certificate of Occupancy is issued. Sample incentives were presented. We still need a name for the program. The plan is to recognize the first group of homebuilders to join the program with media present. Chuck Bloomberg suggested that the program and parameters for incentives (i.e. how far above code, specific number ranges, etc.) would be created by the Board and passed to the city council for their approval. Ranges for windows and air conditioners were given as examples. Kosse Maykus reminded members that the Board's methodology in assigning ranges and values to specific categories needs to be solid and well-documented, backed up by "good science" to make the program's awards valid and valuable to builders. It was agreed that a separate meeting, set for July 12, 2004, is needed to assign program categories and value ranges. Industry experts will be invited to make presentations and provide guidance. It was also agreed that it would be optimal to adopt the IBC, the IFC, and the energy conservation program at the same time. Question: (Mr. Johnson) How would you update this over the years? Answer: (Mr. Bloomberg) We would have to review the standards at least each Code cycle; if the technology is changing fast, it might be more frequent than that. Typically, we have a new Code every three (3) years. For energy conservation items, we might need an annual review. AGENDA ITEM NO. 4: Discussion and recommendation of the 2003 International Fire Code as recommended by North Central Texas Council of Governments. Public Hearing. Chief Finn presented information on the residential sprinkler system issue: In August of last year, Chief Finn was appointed to the position of Fire Chief. One of his first actions as chief was to perform a Risk Hazard Analysis. This broke the entire city into 96 manageable area boxes'/2 mile square and identified the risks there (fire, non-fire, medical, etc.). He also reviewed every structure fire in the city over the last 5 years. Among the findings were that garage fires account for 12% of structure fires in Southlake, where the national average is 3%. Some of the reasons are: 1. Garage space is used for storage 2. Garages are much bigger 3. Accelerants (things that make fires burn hotter and faster) are among the items stored (herbicides, pesticides, pool chemicals, etc.) When these conditions exist in a space that is largely unoccupied, but is attached to or adjacent to occupied space, they present a great danger. Fire has the opportunity to get larger and hotter before being detected. Also, life safety issues must come first. This means there is a large area which must be searched for occupants by firefighters. The larger the area, the greater the search; the greater the search, the more firefighters are needed on the scene. When more firefighters are needed, mutual aid must be activated, which increases the response time; this again allows the fire to burn longer and hotter, making it harder to stop or control. Survivability statistics start to drop. At a June 3 meeting between Chief Finn and area builders, it was established that garages, not porches or patios, are the problem spaces. Chief Finn was asked if that would justify "giving back" (not counting) the square footage of porches and patios. It was also asked if, since garages were the problem area, they could be built to be separately rated for fire risk. For example, two layers of sheetrock instead of two, solid doors instead of hollow, no openings in the ceiling, fire-proof caulking, etc.; i.e. anything that would contain a fire in that space for a period of 1 hour. If the fire block is built to the ceiling, or if the garage is enclosed and separately fire rated at 1 hour, this would stop the fire from getting into the occupied areas of the house before it's detected. Insurance companies now recognize residential sprinkler systems, so there is now an insurance discount available for sprinkled residences. Because sprinkler systems contain a fire earlier, water damage is actually reduced from what it would be if the fire department has to stop or control the fire. Chief Finn met again with builders on June 9, and brought back revisions excluding porches and patios, and excluding garage space that is enclosed to meet a separate 1-hour fire rating. The other exclusion was: In previous Code, the homeowner could remodel 1 time and add 20% to the existing conditioned space, without having to add a sprinkler system. This clause was removed; Code was revised and reworded to provide that any residential structure with 6000 or more conditioned square feet must have a sprinkler system. Remodeling contractors will have to meet the same requirements as builders. Question: (Mr. Lee) Can you explain why the number 6000? Answer: (Chief Finn) From the National Fire Protection Association, answering the question, "At what point are our firefighters and methods no longer effective?" Larger areas, as explained above, require increased manpower and response times. Question: (Mr. Vassios) Does it matter whether the 6000 square feet are distributed over one story, or two, or three? Answer: (Chief Finn) A second story makes it a little more difficult for us to search, but once you get to three stories, you're required by Code to sprinkle anyway. Fire Marshall Barnes pointed out that sprinkler systems are designed for life safety (to get the occupants out safely), not for protection of property. At Mr. Maykus's request, Chief Finn showed slides of previous Southlake fires, illustrating fires that started in the garage and spread into attic space. Question: What's the typical square footage of a house in Southlake? Answer: (Mr. Maykus) 4800 to 5200 square feet, plus 800 to 1200 in the garage. It was agreed that we should reword the sprinkler ordinance from "6000 square feet of living space"; change to "6000 square feet of air conditioned space plus garage footage, excluding porches and patios" Question: (Mr. Lee) Do you have any figures on how many houses in Southlake are over 6000 square feet? Answer: (Mr. Maykus) Not as many as you would think. The newer houses are larger. Question: (Mr. Johnson) How large are the brownstones? Answer: (Chief Finn) They are all sprinkled, even the garages. Question: The recommendation we make goes to council, right? Answer: (Mr. Maykus) Correct. Question: (Mr. Johnson) When is the relevant council meeting going to be? Answer: (Chief Finn) When Paul puts it on the agenda. Answer: (Mr. Maykus) Also, the council will accept this, but there will be an enforcement date that won't be the next day. Answer: (Chief Finn) Probably September 30. That was readily agreed upon by the builders. A motion was made to adopt the 2003 International Building Code as presented with the following changes: Strike Exception No. 1 Re-number Exception No. 2 as Exception No. 1 Discussion: Amend effective date to not before September 30, 2004. Motion was seconded and approved without exception. The difference between common access roads built to "fire lane standards" vs. "city street standards" was discussed. The fine structure for non-compliance was discussed. Maximum fines are set by state law. A motion was made, seconded and approved without exception to adopt the 2003 International Fire Code as presented. A call for any old or new business was made. No other items were identified. The meeting date to provide a work session for the energy conservation program was confirmed for July 12, 2004. AGENDA ITEM NO. 5: Meeting Adjourned. A motion was made, seconded, and approved without exception to adjourn the Board meeting. The meeting was adjourned at 8:30 p.m. Kos e Maykus, C airperson Attest: Susi Steele, Acting Secretary 7