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9.A. - Page 6 <br /> ORDINANCE NO. <br /> AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF REDWOOD CITY AMENDING <br /> SECTIONS 12.18 AND 12.15 OF THE CITY FIRE CODE AND SECTION <br /> 9.3 OF THE CITY BUILDING CODE TO REQUIRE AUTOMATIC <br /> SPRINKLER SYSTEMS IN MULTI-UNIT RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS OF <br /> FOUR UNITS OR MORE AND TO MAKE VIOLATIONS OF THIS <br /> REQUIREMENT A MISDEMEANOR <br /> THE COUNCIL OF REDWOOD CITY ORDAINS AS FOLLOWS: <br /> Section 1. The City Council makes the following findings: <br /> 1. In recent years, the City has suffered a number of devastating fires to multi-residential <br /> buildings lacking Automatic Sprinkler Systems (as defined in the 2013 California Fire <br /> and Building Codes at Section 202, "General Definitions) resulting in death, injury, <br /> property loss, and loss of certain housing stock. <br /> a. In general, close proximity living associated with apartment housing creates an <br /> increased risk from multiple ignition sources common within an apartment <br /> building. Fires in wood frame buildings can ignite interior contents and thereby <br /> spread fire from its origin into adjacent areas. <br /> b. During calendar years 2013-2014, the City's Fire Department responded to a <br /> total of 28 multi-unit residential fires. <br /> c. In 2013, Redwood City experienced two particularly significant multi-unit <br /> residential fires. On July 7, 2013, a fire occurred at a multi-unit residential <br /> apartment building located at 531 Woodside Road. A few months later, on <br /> October 17, 2013, another fire occurred at a multi-unit residential apartment <br /> building located 926 Woodside Road. <br /> d. Both apartment buildings were built in 1963, were made of wood, and neither <br /> apartment building had an Automatic Sprinkler System. The two fires combined <br /> claimed the life of one person, sent 26 persons to local hospitals with various <br /> injuries, injured several firefighters, displaced over two hundred residents, and <br /> resulted in an estimated $26,000,000 in property loss. <br /> e. The apartment building at 531 Woodside had an affordable housing covenant <br /> that provided 85 affordable units. Due to the fire, the community lost valuable <br /> affordable housing stock. In addition, tenants were permanently displaced and <br /> these tenants lost the opportunity to continue renting at guaranteed affordable <br /> rates in an increasingly challenging market for renters. <br /> ATTY/ORD.410/FIRE SPRINKLER <br /> REV:05-12-15 PT <br /> Page 1 of 9 <br />