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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC RES 02-100RESOLUTION NO. 02-100 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF TUSTIN, CALIFORNIA, SETTING FORTH FINDINGS WITH RESPECT TO LOCAL CONDITIONS WITHIN THE CITY OF TUSTIN WHICH MAKE CERTAIN MODIFICATIONS AND CHANGES TO THE CALIFORNIA BUILDING CODE, THE CALIFORNIA PLUMBING CODE, AND THE CALIFORNIA ELECTRICAL CODE AS AMENDED BY THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA REASONABLY NECESSARY FOR HOUSING OCCUPANCIES Section 1: The City Council of the City of Tustin finds and resolves as follows: WHEREAS, Health and Safety Code Section 17958 provides that the City of Tustin ("City") shall adopt Ordinances and regulations imposing the same or modified or changed requirements as are contained in the regulations adopted by the State pursuant to Health and Safety Code Section 17922; and WHEREAS, the State of California is mandated by Health and Safety Code Section 17922 to impose the same requirements as are contained in the most recent edition of the California Building Code, the California Plumbing Code, and the California Electrical Code (hereinafter referred to collectively as "Codes"); and WHEREAS, Health and Safety Code Section 17958.5(a) permits the City to make modifications or changes to the Codes, which are reasonably necessary because of local climatic, geographic, or topographic conditions; and WHEREAS, Health and Safety Code Section 17958.7 requires that the City Council, before making any modifications or changes to the Codes, shall make an express finding' that such changes or modifications are reasonably necessary because of local climatic, geographic, or topographic conditions; and WHEREAS, the Community Development Department and Orange County Fire Authority have recommended that changes and modifications be made to the Codes and have advised that certain said changes and modifications to the California Building Code, 2001 Edition and the California Plumbing Code, 2001 Edition, and California Electrical Code, 2001 Edition, are reasonably neceSsary due to local conditions in the City of Tustin and have further advised that the remainder of. said changes and modifications are of an administrative or procedural nature or concern themselves with subjects not covered by the Codes or are reasonably necessary to safeguard life and property within the City of Tustin. Resolution No. 02-100 Page 2 Amendments related to fire safety contained in Sections 403, 904.1.2, 904.2, 904.4, 904.5, 1503, Table 15-A, and 3102.3.8 of the 2001 Edition of the California Building Code as recommended by the Community Development Department and Orange County Fire Authority are hereby found to be reasonably necessary due to the following local conditions. A. Climatic Conditions , Hot, dry Santa Ana winds are common to all areas within the City of Tustin and Orange County in general. These winds, which can cause small fires which spread quickly, are a contributing factor to the high fire danger in the area and create the need for an increased level of fire protection. This added protection will supplement normal fire department response available and provide immediate protection for life and safety of multiple occupancy occupants during fire occurrences. , Orange County and the City of Tustin are located in a semi-arid Mediterranean type climate which predisposes all fuels, including wood shingles, to rapid ignition and spread of fire. Therefore, there exists a need for additional fire protection measures. B. Geographic Conditions , Orange County and the City of TQstin are located in Seismic Zone 4. There are earthquake faults that run along both the northeastern and southwestern boundaries of Orange County. The Newport-lnglewood Fault Zone (NIFZ) which runs through Orange County was the source of the destructive 1933 Long Beach earthquake (6.3 magnitude, hypocenter off Newport Beach coast), which took 120 lives, with areas damaged from Laguna Beach to Marina del Rey and inland to Whittier, and poses one of the greatest hazards to lives and property in the nation. Regional planning for recurrence is recommended by the State of California, Department of Conservation. There was also an earthquake in December 1989, with the epicenter located near the City of Irvine. The fault on which this quake occurred was unknown prior to this activity. The October 17, 1989, Santa Cruz earthquake resulted in only one major San Francisco fire in the Marina district, but when combined with the 34 other fires and over 500 responses, the department was taxed to its full capabilities. The Marina fire was difficult to contain because mains supplying water to the district burst during the earthquake. If more fires had been ignited by the earthquake, it would have been difficult for the fire department to contain them. Experts predict a major earthquake in our area within the next 50 years. This situation creates the need for both additional fire protection measures and automatic on-site fire protection for building occupants since a multitude of fires may result from breakage of gas and electric lines as a result of an earthquake. As noted by "Planning Scenario on a Resolution No. 02-100 Page 3 , , Major Earthquake on the Newport-lnglewood Fault Zone, 1988, State Department of Conservation," page 59: "Unfortunately, barely meeting the minimum earthquake standards of building codes places a building on the verge of being legally unsafe." Traffic and circulation congestion presently existing in the City of Tustin often places fire department response time to fire occurrences at risk. This condition will be exacerbated by any major disaster, including any earthquake wherein damage to the highway system will occur. This condition makes the need for additional on-site protection for property occupants necessary. Placement of multiple occupancy buildings, location of arterial roads, and fire department staffing constraints due to recent revenue-limiting State legislation have made it difficult for the fire department to locate additional fire stations and provide manpower sufficient to concentrate fire companies and personnel to control fires in high density apartment or condominium buildings. Orange County Fire Department equipment does not allow easy access to areas of buildings greater than 55 feet above the level of Fire Department vehicle access. These conditions create the need for built-in, on-site fire protection systems to protect occupants and property until fire fighting apparatus and personnel arrive on the scene. The City of Tustin is located in an area subject to a climatic condition of high winds and Iow humidity. This combination of events creates an environment that is conducive to rapidly spreading fires. Control of such fires requires rapid response. Obstacles generated by a strong wind, such as fallen trees, street lights, and utility poles. The requirement to climb 75 feet vertically up flights of stairs will greatly impact the response time to reach an incident scene. Additionally, Table 16-G identifies a significant increase in the amount of wind force at 60 feet above the ground. Use of aerial type fire fighting apparatus above this height would place rescue personnel at increased risk of injury. The City of Tustin is located in the middle of the seismically active area identified as Seismic Zone 4. The viability of the public water system would be questionable at best after a major seismic event. This would leave tall buildings vulnerable to uncontrolled fires due to a lack of available water and an inability to pump sufficient quantities of any available water to floors above the 55-foot level. A severe seismic event has the potential to negatively impact any rescue or fire suppression activities because it is likely to create obstacles similar to those indicated under the high wind section above. With the probability of strong aftershocks, there exists a need to provide increased protection for anyone on upper floors. Resolution No. 02-100 Page 4 o Untreated wood roofs cause or contribute to serious fire hazard and to the rapid spread of fires when such fires are accompanied by high winds. Pieces of burning wooden roofs become flying brands and are carried by the wind to other locations and thereby spread fire quickly. Section 2: Amendments to Sections 1922.10.3, 1612, 1629.4, 1630.8 and Chapter 22 of the 2001 Edition of the California Building Code, as recommended by the Community Development Department, are reasonably necessary due to the following local conditions: Ao Due to prevailing expansive soil conditions in the City of Tustin, deleting this exception in Section 1922.10.3 would require that slabs be reinforced with minimum reinforcement, a typical requirement, specified routinely by soil engineers and used widely by design engineers to mitigate damage due to soil expansion and shrinkage. B, The 1994 Northridge earthquake caused significant unexpected damage to many steel frame buildings. As a result, the State Building Standards Commission took emergency action to remoVe the existing beam column connection design requirements from the State Building Code and the steel industry, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) initiated major research efforts. In 1997, the American Institute of Steel Construction published Seismic Provisions for Structural Steel Buildings, and later published Supplements 1 and 2 to this document. This document is now the principal design criteria for the. seismic design of post-Northridge earthquake steel buildings. However, the State Building Standards Commission did not incorporate these standards into the 2001 State Building Code applicable to local jurisdictions even though the Commission did adopt these requirements for the design of State buildings and hospitals. The State Building Code applicable to local jurisdictions for the next three years does not contain any of the provisions for the seismic design of steel structures that were specifically developed to address the failures of the Northridge earthquake. To provide the public of the City of Tustin with a standard of seismic safety benefiting from the latest in codified seismic provisions and the state of engineering research and practice as it relates to seismic analysis and design, Sections 1612, 1629.4, 1630.8, and Chapter 22 need to be amended for adoption. The proposed amendments for the seismic design of steel buildings are consistent with amendments proposed by the Los Angeles Regional Uniform Code Program (LARUCP) and Bay Area Uniform Code efforts. These amendments have the support of the Structural Engineers Association of Southern California (SEAOSC), and are consistent with Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development (OSHPD) and Division of State Architect Resolution No. 02-100 Page 5 (DSA) provisions as adopted by the State under the 2001 California Building Code. It is anticipated that these code amendments no longer will be necessary when the State Building Standards Commission adopts a more current building code during the next triennial code adoption process and will be deleted from the Orange County Code Uniformity amendment package. Amendments to Sections 313.9, 604.1, and 1211.6 of the 2001 Edition of the 'California Plumbing Code as recommended by the Community Development Department are hereby found to be reasonably necessary due to the following local conditions for housing: Ao The type of soil prevalent in the City of Tustin is extraordinarily high in sulfur and acid content. Extra precaution and protection are required for the protection of steel piping and fittings buried in the ground as noted in Sections 313.9.1 and 604.1. Bo The use of lead and asbestos cement materials in all potable water supply systems has been prohibited in Section 604.1. C. Certain natural constituents in the water are corrosive to ferrous piping, necessitating amendments to Sections 313.9 and 604.1. D, Certain natural constituents in local soils are corrosive to gas piping, necessitating amendments to Section 1211.6. Amendments to the 2001 edition of the California Electrical Code as recommended by the Community Development Department are hereby found to be reasonably necessary due to the following local conditions for housing: Amendments to Article 310-16 are considered necessary due to the fact that improper 'installation creates a potential fire hazard and aluminum wire size No. 6 and smaller require greater precision and care for proper installation. Aluminum expands and shrinks at a much higher rate than other metals. This property becomes critical for smaller sizes or aluminum conductors, which may break down at termination point in a seismic event causing a fire. The City of Tustin is located in an active seismic area (Seismic Zone 4). The continuous inspection requirement will insure proper installation. Additional amendments have been made to the California~ Building Code, 2001 Edition and its Appendix, the California Plumbing Code, 2001 Edition, and the California Electrical Code, 2001 Edition. On the recommendation of the Community Development Department, such amendments are hereby found to be either administrative or procedural in nature or concern themselves with subjects not covered in the California Resolution No. 02-100 Page 6 Building Code, California Plumbing Code, or California Electrical Code. The changes made include provisions making each of said Codes compatible with other Codes and fee schedules enforced by the City. The aforementioned amendments have been incorporated in detail in Ordinance 1262. Section 3: The Community Development Department shall file copies of Resolution 02-100 and Ordinance 1262 with the California Department of Housing and Community Development and the California. Building Standard Commission as required by Health and Safety Code Section 17958.7. PASSED and ADOPTED at a regular meeting of the Tustin City Council, held on the 4th day of November, 2002. PAMELA STOKER City Clerk Mayor STATE OF CALIFORNIA ) COUNTY OF ORANGE ) CITY OF TUSTIN ) SS CERTIFICATION FOR RESOLUTION NO. 02-100. PAMELA STOKER, City Clerk and ex-officio Clerk of the City Council of the City of Tustin, California, does hereby certify that the whole number of the members of the City Council of the City of Tustin is five; that the above and foregoing Resolution No. 02-100 was passed and adopted at a regular meeting of the City Council held on the 4th day of November, 2002, by the following vote: COUNCILMEMBERAYES' Thomas, Worley, Bone, Doyle, Kawashima COUNCILMEMBER NOES: None COUNCILMEMBER ABSTAINED: None COUNCILMEMBER ABSENT: None PAMELA STOKER City Clerk