AgdaPkt 2019-11-25 Joint SA PFA - Laserfiche WebLink

Browse Search

7.A. - Page 3 of 38 provisions related to the Fire Safety First program, which has proven to be impractical to implement due to the high cost of retrofitting buildings with custom fire sprinkler systems. Staff will return with alternative provisions to increase fire safety in older apartment buildings later this year. Building Code New State Building, Residential, Electrical, Mechanical, Plumbing, Energy, Historical Building, Existing Building, and Green Building Standards Codes go into effect on January 1, 2020. Therefore, it is important that the proposed ordinances containing the City's local amendments be adopted. These amendments are necessary to account for local climatic, geological, or topographical conditions. Staff has reviewed previous amendments and has compared them against current practice and the new Building Codes. Staff recommends including some of the City's past amendments related to conditions found in Redwood Shores such as bay mud which interacts corrosively with metallic material. Additionally, the Board of Building Review has requested, and staff supports, the continued adoption of local amendments that are reasonably necessary due to local climatic, geological, and topographical conditions. For example the Building Code describing unsafe structures and equipment was amended to add a subsection requiring that buildings deemed structurally unsafe by the Building Division must be evaluated by a licensed structural engineer to ensure an assessment is adequate. The 2019 local amendments may only be more restrictive, not less, than the state codes. Certain local amendments were removed because many of these amendments were already addressed in the current Building Code, making the previous code changes redundant. To better communicate the Building Division's processes, staff plan to present the relevant information on the City's website in a section targeted to applicants for new construction, alterations, additions, or rebuilds. Staff anticipates having this information posted on the website by the end of the first quarter. Additionally, staff will post a notice on the Building Division counters and send a letter to the building community. The amendments also set the amount of a fine for work done without a permit from the City. Another change was made to the previous amendment to Section 105.1. The section describes when permits would be required, and the previous amendment sought to identify when certain projects would be required to comply with certain standards, such as a requirement that new buildings be fitted with fire sprinklers. The previous language was not as clear and staff worked to better specify when additions, alterations, or other improvements would have to be brought into conformity with such standards for new construction. Additionally, staff proposes introducing ordinances to add articles to Chapter 9 (Buildings) or amend Chapter 24 (Noise Regulation). These ordinances were added to improve administration or oversight of the building code or construction related issues and to address goals identified by the City: a. Addition to Chapter 9: Safety Assessment Program Placards establishes standard placards to be used to indicate the condition of a structure for continued occupancy after any natural or manmade disaster. b. Addition to Chapter 9: Expedited Permitting for Electric Vehicle Charging Stations encourages the installation of electric vehicle charging stations by removing obstacles to permitting for charging stations so long as the action does not supersede the Building Official's authority to address higher priority life safety situations. c. Amendment to Chapter 24: A revision to the Construction Noise ordinance expands what is Page 3 of 5 S11 City of Redwood City 1017 Middlefield Road, Redwood City, CA. 94063 Tel: 650-780-7000 www.redwoodcity.org 278