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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2011-03-22 Finance and Safety Minutes w AS` City of Tukwila l dipk Finance and Safety Committee FINANCE AND SAFETY COMMITTEE Meeting Minutes March 22, 2011— 5:00 p.m.; Conference Room #3 PRESENT Councilmembers: Kathy Hougardy, Chair; Joan Hernandez and Dennis Robertson Staff: Shawn Hunstock, Derek Speck, Bob Benedicto, Don Tomaso and Kimberly Matej CALL TO ORDER: Chair Hougardy called the meeting to order at 5:02 p.m. I. PRESENTATIONS No presentations. II. BUSINESS AGENDA A. Tukwila Municipal Code Amendments Staff is seeking Council approval of several amendments to the Tukwila Municipal Code (TMC) as outline below. Five -Story Type VA Construction Staff is proposing an amendment to the TMC that would increase the limitation for a Type VA building classification from its current four -story limit to a five -story limit plus a 25% increase of allowable area limitations. The building must be conventional light frame wood construction and would be required o have an automatic fire alarm system, two -hour fire restrictive construction of stair and shaft enclosures, pressurized stair and elevator shaft enclosures and an automatic fire sprinkler system. The proposal makes the new, increased building size safer than current size limitations. This increase to Five -Story Type VA Construction has been adopted by the State Building Code Council as a permanent rule as of July 1, 2011. Additionally, the following cities are adopting this amendment into their local codes: Seattle, Portland, Tacoma, Everett, Federal Way, SeaTac and Burien. UNANIMOUS APPROVAL. FORWARD TO MARCH 28 COW FOR DISCUSSION. Code Updates Relating to Fire Several of the code amendments outlined below are based on changes to the International Fire Code which is updated every three years, and others are related specifically to need identified within the City. Fire Snrinklers Staff is proposing a revision to the fire sprinkler ordinance which currently requires sprinkler installation in any new construction over 5,000 square feet regardless of use (commercial or residential). The draft ordinance requires fire sprinklers to be installed in all new residential construction and in all commercial construction over 500 square feet. Other changes to the ordinance are general house keeping items that are not substantive changes. Fire Marshal Don Tomaso stated that he would check with Pat Brodin in Public Works to see if Cascade Water connection fees could be adjusted to accommodate for increased meter sizes due to sprinkler installation requirements. UNANIMOUS APPROVAL. FORWARD TO MARCH 28 COW FOR DISCUSSION. Fire Alarms The majority of changes to this ordinance are minor and grammatical in nature. Staff pointed out that the room size for required audible devices is now indentified as a room of 130 square feet in size or larger. Finance Safety Committee Minutes March 22.2011— Paae 2 Additionally, horn/strobe candelas (light intensity) requirements have increased to address inhabitants at slumber. The Permit Expiration section (see page 28 of Committee agenda packet) has been duplicated from the City's building code. The most significant change to this ordinance is in Section 11, 16.40.100 Applicability, No. 6 (see page 25 on the Committee agenda packet), which requires existing commercial/industrial buildings with an existing fire alarm system to be upgraded to current code requirements when sold. UNANIMOUS APPROVAL. FORWARD TO MARCH 28 COW FOR DISCUSSION. 1h -Rise Construction This draft ordinance changes the current definition of high -rise from 40 -feet or four stories and above to 75 -feet or eight stories and above. The mid -rise construction ordinance below, which is new, addresses buildings less than 75 -feet or eight stories and more than 40 -feet or four stories. In addition to this change, Section 5, 16.48.050, Letter B (see page 30 of the Committee agenda packet) requires installation of a second standpipe which is a Labor and Industries requirement for Rapid Intervention Teams. UNANIMOUS APPROVAL. FORWARD TO MARCH 28 COW FOR DISCUSSION. Mid -Rise Construction This entire draft ordinance is new and addresses buildings above 40 -feet or four stories and below 75 -feet or eight stories. Similar to high -rise requirements, but slightly less restrictive, this ordinance is more fairly applicable to smaller buildings. UNANIMOUS APPROVAL. FORWARD TO MARCH 28 COW FOR DISCUSSION. Fire Lane Violations Staff is seeking Council approval of an amendment to the current ordinance regarding violations and penalties for fire code violations (TMC Section 16.16.110). Currently, this ordinance classifies all fire code violations as gross misdemeanors. This means that when issuing a fire lane violation, firefighters must identify the operator of the vehicle and issue the citation to the person. Staff is proposing fire violations be reclassified to civil infractions. Issuing a violation that is classified as a civil infraction allows the citation to be issued to the registered owner of the vehicle, avoiding possible confrontation with the vehicle's operator. UNANIMOUS APPROVAL. FORWARD TO MARCH 28 COW FOR DISCUSSION. B. Ordinance Amendment: Business License and RGRL Staff is seeking Council approval to make changes to the following items in the current business license/RGRL ordinance: temporary license, non profit exemption, appeal process and fee and multiple RGRL fee assessments. After a lengthy discussion, questions still remained on the issue of temporary licenses. Committee Members would like to further consider the definition and applicability of the temporary license. Shawn Hunstock distributed a list of short-term license requirements in surrounding cities. There is no common theme among license requirements, and each city has implemented different restrictions and/or requirements. Committee Members expressed an interest in this item returning to Committee for additional discussion prior to moving forward to full Council. Committee Members would like to receive input/feedback from Parks and Recreation and other departments as appropriate to determine how the temporary license requirements effect City- sponsored events (ie: Backyard Wildlife Fair) as compared to private events (ie: SkiBonkers). Items to be considered are: revenues earned, length of license, consecutive day definitions and exemptions and /or exceptions as appropriate. Other items of discussion included: the definition of home occupations in the Zoning Code, clarification of RGRL fee applicability to rental properties and modification of the RGRL/business license forms for next year's renewal cycle. In closing, Committee Members also expressed a desire to understand in more Finance Safety Committee Minutes March 22.2011- Paae 3 detail the non -profit status of some properties within the City. RETURN TO NEXT FINANCE SAFETY COMMITTEE MEETING FOR FURTHER DISCUSSION. III. MISCELLANEOUS Meeting adjourned at 7:23 p.m. Next meeting: Tuesday, April 5, 2011 5:00 p.m. Conference Room #3 7' Committee Chair Approval Min es by KAM. Reviewed by DT and SH.