Bayfield town trustees will have first reading of a whole group of updated construction and fire codes on Dec. 6.
Town Manager Chris La May, contract building inspector Mike Shave, and Upper Pine Fire officials met to discuss them Tuesday night. It was billed as a public meeting, but there was no public attending, including from the construction industry.
La May had an assortment of code books spread out on the table. Most of the discussion was about the fire code, especially whether sprinkler systems would be required in new construction and significant remodels or changes of use.
Fire Chief Bruce Evans said the department is willing to go up to 5,000 square feet as a threshold for requiring residential sprinklers, with the expectation that no houses that size are going to be built in town anyway. And the big changes in the 2015 fire code deal with high rises, he said.
Evans said the Homebuilders Association's main concern was with requiring sprinklers in residential construction. The code requires sprinklers for every residential building, even a 600-square-foot mini home, he said. Local governments don't have to adopt that. He cited Henderson, Nev., which did adopt the every house requirement. "There was a worry that builders wouldn't come, but it's the fastest growing community in Nevada," he said. "They're sprinklering everything."
Upper Pine Fire Marshal Tom Kaufman also cited San Clemente, Calif., where an every-house requirement apparently didn't slow growth. He cited concerns about the water damage sprinklers can cause. Firefighter hoses will cause a lot more water damage, he advised.
Evans said, "I've had a lot of discussions with the county (on the county codes)... My point was we don't want a code that will be more restrictive than other communities we're competing with, to look at what those are doing," such as Telluride, Crested Butte, and Breckenridge. "Anything that would chase the builders of a custom home, which is where the market is now, to one of those" other towns.
Shave said most of those homes have sprinkler systems.
Evans said, "We kicked around 4,300 square feet with the county and got grief there," he said of the threshold to require residential sprinklers. "Durango wanted it lower." A residential system installed during construction costs around $1.75 per square foot, Evans said, not the $10 per square foot that some critics have cited. The $10 is for commercial sprinkler systems, and likely based on union scale wages, he said.
Evans lamented that fire officials have failed to educate the construction industry on how to install these residential systems in the past. "Now that the (building) boom is back, they're too busy to take time to go to an in-service on how to do these combination systems."
That's a sprinkler system tied in with the house's water lines, rather than a stand-alone system.
Shave opined that people in the contracting industry should have to learn this.
Evans said the fires Upper Pine has had have mostly been in older homes or mobile homes. Sixty percent of structure fires in the last two years were from improper building, he said, fireplace or stove installations, including by do-it-yourselfers.
The 2015 fire code is "all for new construction, unless it's a major renovation," Evans said.
Kaufman called it, "just another plumbing fixture." He said his own house has sprinklers. "For residential, we're willing to concede to a 5,000 square foot rule. If there's a substantial change of use, sprinklers may be required, for instance if you turn it into a bar and restaurant."
He advised, "If you're going to do something in an existing structure, contact the fire department before you sign on the dotted line, and we'll let you know what changes will be required."
La May said the town board will have first reading on the whole group of code updates on Dec. 6 - including building, residential, plumbing, electrical, mechanical, and fire. Shave clarified that the residential code applies for a one or two-family structure. More units than that fall under the International Building Code.
Upper Pine is in the midst of trying to get its ISO ratings lowered, which can lower insurance rates for businesses and homeowners. It's currently a 4 where there are hydrants, 6 in rural areas with no hydrants but within five miles of a fire station, and 10 for more than five miles from a station. Properties with a 10 rating can be very expensive to insure, if insurance is available at all.
Shave commented, "I met with the ISO ladies when they were here. They were almost in awe that we're still on the 2003 codes."
Upper Pine board member Casey Cook said, "It's all about marketing the town, bringing development here. ... The last thing the fire department would want to do is discourage growth. We want everybody to be safe, and we want to be able to market a good thing."
Shave said 24 residential building permits have been issued in Bayfield this year. They average around 2,500 square feet, including the garage. He said the codes set minimum standards and even the field for builders. Several local contractors build to higher standards, he said.
Upper Pine board member John Beebe said, "Having reasonable up-to-date codes sends a message to developers that this isn't a one-horse town. We have standards here."
