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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2007/10/08 Board of Appeals & Advisors MinutesMINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING BOARD OF APPEALS AND ADVISORS CITY OF CHULA VISTA, CALIFORNIA October 8, 2007 Conference Room #137 inside Public Services Building 5:15 PM 276 Fourth Ave. Chula Vista, CA 91910 MEMBERS PRESENT: Chairman West, Vice -Chairman Turner, Members: Buddingh, Hieronimus, Buencamino-Andrews, Flach, Lopez MEMBERS ABSENT: None CITY STAFF PRESENT: Brad Remp, Assistant Director/Deputy Building Official of Planning and Building; Lou EI-Khazen, Deputy Building Official; Justin Gipson, Fire Marshall; Eileen Dimagiba, Senior Office Specialist (Recording Secretary) OTHERS PRESENT: Mr. Jose Romo, former member of the Board of Appeals & Advisors CALL MEETING TO ORDER: Chairman West called meeting to order at 5:15 PM ROLL CALL: Members present constituted a quorum. DECLARATION OF EXCUSED/UNEXCUSED ABSENTEEISM: None APPROVAL OF MINUTES: MSC (Flach/Buencamino-Andrews) (6-0-0-1) to approve the minutes of June 26, 2007 Special Meeting, with Member Lopez obtaining as he was not present at that meeting. 3. NEW BUSINESS: A. Presentation of Commemorative Plaque to Mr. Jose Romo for his 8 years of Service to Board • Brad Remp presented plaque to Mr. Romo for his dedication and 8 years of service from August 1999 -June 2007. B. Introduction of Mr. Jose Lopez to the Board of Appeals & Advisors • Member Lopez has been a resident of Chula Vista for 15 years and has been with the San Diego Fire Department for many years. He is involved in Traffic Safety Division and has been on the Board of Directors with Otay Water District for 7 years. He comes from a Fire Code background. He was also with the San Diego Convention Center's Fire Prevention Department for 7 years. The other members, and City Staff present were introduced. C. Adoption of the various 2007 Editions for the California Building Codes • Lou EI-Khazen and Justin Gipson presented information on the adoption of the 2007 Editions for the California Building Codes. Mr. EI-Khazen started by stating that this is a process that the we go through every 3 years. He talked about the staff report, which provided a background discussion of this adoption process. He pointed out new chapter 15.06 which deals with Administrative Provisions for technical codes: 2007 California Building Code, 2007 California Mechanical Code, 2007 California Plumbing Code, 2007 California Electrical Code, 2005 California Energy Code, and 2007 California Referenced Standards Code. This adoption cycle is different this year because City is adopting a completely new Building Code and Fire Code. These new codes take effect January 1", 2008. This means that any permit applications Planning and Building Department takes in, on and after this date, needs to comply with these new codes. He stated that new chapter 15.06 has provisions that we currently enforce and the City is just consolidating them into one chapter. Mr. Remp Board of Appeals & Advisors Page 2 Meeting Minutes October 8, 2007 commented that we are proposing very few amendments to the basic California Codes. Mr. Remp also said consolidating all of the Administrative sections into one area to make it more adoptable to changes in the future. The Public and City Staff will know that they only need to go to one place to understand the Administrative provisions of the Code. Mr. EI-Khazen lastly stated that City Staff will receive extensive training on these new Codes, and the City acknowledges that it will take about 30 percent more time to review a project under these new codes. Questions/Comments from the Board on Item C: ➢ Member Turner asked, with the Board recommending the adoption, are they also indirectly recommending some budget changes as well? And what is the impact of the Budget on this? Mr. Remp answered saying with the decrease in construction activity the Building Department is experiencing, this will free up more City Staff to participate in training on these new Codes. He said the department has not proposed modification to the Fee Schedule because it was adopted fairly recently. He also said the difficulty will be that construction industry has not embraced the magnitude of this code change. So as a result, the construction industry hasn't had the necessary training on these new codes. This will place an additional burden on City Staff, as the industry transitions to the new codes. ➢ Member Turner expressed concerns about the "start-up" period for these new codes, as in available resources? Mr. Remp said that our department will make sure that we have access to enough technical documents and resource guides, and we have consistently been expressing to the City Manager that we have been anticipating this change coming and have asked that they take this into consideration because we are not going to have the same efficiency as we have had in the past. The department is hoping the City Manager and City Council will reflect this when it comes time to make determinations on what areas get cut, and what areas are allowed to retain their staffing levels. Member Buddingh commented that people who have not taken the time to get educated on these new codes beforehand, such as developers, architects, and contractors would cause the problem, and these people could basically help City Staff, if they "help themselves". Presentation by Fire Marshall Justin Gipson: At this time, Mr. Gipson made his presentation on the adoption of Chapter 15.36 FIRE CODE, on behalf of the Fire Department. He stated that the Fire Department had started preparing and training for these new changes back in March 2007. He stated that the Fire Code is mostly a "maintenance" Code. Mr. Gipson also stated that another change is that in the past, Fire Code used to be in articles. This new Fire Code is basically to provide a good level of safety throughout the City, and will be a "culture shift" on how you can build a building today, from "passive construction" to "active fire protection", which has a heave reliance on the use of sprinklers and fire alarms. 4. CHAIRMAN'S COMMENTS/REPORTS AND MEMBERS COMMENTS: ➢ Member Flach presented a page of comments and questions: 1. Under Attachment A, Administration 15.06.005, are we adopting appendices also? And who determines? Mr. EI-Khazen responded, yes, several appendices are being adopted and the Building Official usually makes the recommendation on which appendices to adopt. 2. Under 15.06.035, how is the need for an inspection determined? Mr. Remp said that the City has the Fire Department that conducts routine inspections and Code Enforcement also receives complaints of building without a permit that triggers the need for inspections. These are ways we make these determinations. 3. Under 15.06.045, does this Board have the authority to request an independent technical study for a proposed material or method? Or does 15.06.050 override? Mr. Remp said yes, the City does have the authority. The code gives us this ability. 4. Under 15.06.060, paragraph E, how are violations discovered? Is there a section that covers occupancy requirements and should it be referenced? Mr. EI-Khazen said Code Enforcement discovers them. Most of this work that gets discovered are Building Without Permit violations. Mr. Remp said that the Fire Department also Board of Appeals & Advisors Page 3 Meeting Minutes October 8, 2007 performs inspections and discovers these and can make referrals to the Building Department if needed. Mr. Remp stated that the Building Code is primarily about building it correctly, and Fire Code is about maintaining it. 5. Under 15.06.080, paragraph 1P, does 35 feet refer to grad level or from supporting structure? Mr. Remp stated, from grade level. 6. Under 15.06.085, is a certified designer (ex: Interior Designer) acceptable rather than an A or E? Mr. Remp stated that State law defines the types of buildings that must be designed by a licensed architect or engineer. 7. Under Attachment B, Administration 15.08.070, inquired about a potential conflict between the Building Code and the Fire Code. Mr. Remp clarified that the provision only existed in the Building Code. 8. Under 15.08.100, does the requirement to screen rooftop structures include single- family residents? For example, cooling equipment, dish antennas, towers, etc.? Mr. EI-Khazen said that yes this does apply to residents. There are certain requirements and permits for particular items, some require permits, and some do not. Our department can address these. 9. Under 15.08.020 and 15.08.030, does this revision mean that there is no more Board of Appeals? Mr. EI-Khazen said that these 2 chapters are addressing moving our Administrative Provisions; they have been moved to 15.06.070. 10. Under Attachment G 15.300.15 of the Fire Code, will cost recovery include rescue operations? For example, falling off a cliff, lockout assistance, etc.? Mr. Gipson said there is no cost for false fire alarms or nuisance alarms, so no cost recovery is done, only for "gross negligence" situations, where a person places other people in harms way. 11. Under 15.08.055, will additional hydrants be added if an existing area does not meet the hydrant spacing requirements? Mr. Gipson said that Fire Department only does this on a "reactionary basis". For the older neighborhoods, everything will be left the same, for new development hydrants will be installed "as required". (He gave the example of the vacant lot on the corner of Anita St. and Fifth Ave.) Y Member Turner asked for a brief summary of the departments Plan Review Process. Mr. EI- Khazen answered and described the process. MSU (West/ Buddingh) (7-0) to move forward to recommend to City Council to adopt the 2007 Editions of the California Building Codes as amended. MSU (Flach/West) (7-0) motion to City Council on investigation into Board of Appeals liability limitation issue. BUILDING OFFICIAL'S COMMENTS/REPORTS: • Mr. Remp told everyone about the "success story" with the Brentwood Mobile Home Park, in relation to Fire Hydrants. When the Building Department went in there to do the first mobile home park inspection, we realized they didn't have any on-site fire hydrants, only one at the far entrance, stated by Mr. Gipson. It was an incredible struggle to get their attention to force the park to install them. They currently owe the City almost $300,000 in fines and penalties for the amount of time and effort that was required to make them install these hydrants. Mr. Gipson added that two weeks ago, Fire Department responded to a fire at this mobile home park, and there was a hydrant within 50 -feet of the space that was on fire, and this was one of the sole reasons they were able to keep other spaces from burning down. There was no major damage beyond the original unit. Afterwards, the City received numerous phone calls from the residents of the park saying, "Thank you for doing this". He said that if this same fire had occurred without those fire hydrants put in, we could have lost more units and lives in that park. • Mr. Remp also informed the Board that Abandoned Property Registration Program that this Board recommended approval on, Council adopted it, and is effective October 8, 2007. • Mr. Remp also stated the modification to the Sign Ordinance (permit process) will be discussed at Council's October 9, 2007 Meeting. 6. COMMUNICATIONS (PUBLIC REMARKS/ WRITTEN CORRESPONDENCE): None Board of Appeals & Advisors Page 4 Meeting Minutes October 8, 2007 7. ADJOURNMENT: Chair West adjourned the meeting at 6:29 p.m. to a regular meeting in the Planning and Building Conference Room #137 on December 10, 2007. BRAD REMP, C.B.O. ASST. DIR. OF PLANN G & BUILDING/ BUILDING OFFICIAL SECRETARY TO THE BOARD OF APPEALS & ADVISORS MINUTE TAKEN Y: EILEEN DIMAGIBA, SR. OFFICE SPECIALIST PLANNING & BUILDING DEPARTMENT (RECORDING SECRETARY)