TO:
Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
THROUGH:
John Jalili, Interim City Manager
FROM:
Richard Thompson, Director of Community Development
Sal Kaddorah, Building Official
SUBJECT:Title
Consideration of Ordinance to Amend Titles 5, and 9 and to Adopt the Most Recent California Building Standards Code and City Amendments to the following Codes: 2013 California building Code, 2013 California Residential Code, 2013 California Electrical code, 2013 California Plumbing Code, 2013 California Green Building Standards Code, 2013 California Energy Code, 2013 California Mechanical Code, and City Amendments (Community Development Director Thompson).
CONDUCT THE PUBLIC HEARING AND ADOPT ORDINANCE 13-0027
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Recommended Action
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that Council conduct a public hearing and Adopt Ordinance No 13-0027 (Building Codes).
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FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
There is no Fiscal Impact associated with the adoption of this Ordinance.
BACKGROUND:
The California Building Standards Commission published the State construction codes on July 1, 2013, which is a routine process that occurs every 3 years. The California Department of Housing and Community Development adopted these codes, which will be effective statewide on January 1, 2014. The City must adopt these codes with any amendments before that date. These codes include the 2013 California Building, Residential, Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing, Energy and Green Building Standards. The last complete set of building codes was adopted by the State in 2010 and became effective on January 1, 2011. The City Attorney assisted the Community Development Staff in drafting the attached Ordinance to ensure compliance with State Law.
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DISCUSSION:
At the City Council meeting on October 15, 2013 this Ordinance was introduced and a public hearing was set for November 19, 2013. A published notification for two successive weeks was placed in the Beach Reporter on October 24, 2013 to announce the public hearing and adopt the ordinance.
The State of California has adopted the California Building Standard Codes that must in turn be adopted or utilized by each city or county. The City is able to amend certain provisions due to unique climatic, geological and topographical conditions prevailing within the City. The California Health and Safety Code Sections 17958, 17985.7 and 17958.5 provide for amendments to the California Building Standard Codes provided findings of necessity can be made.
Staff is proposing amendments to all codes consistent with the current Manhattan Beach Codes and past practice. The most significant amendments are:
1. Continue to limit the maximum duration of construction permits to two (2) years for construction projects, instead of the State provision which has no definite limit, in order to minimize neighborhood construction impacts and keep new construction consistent with the most current Codes.
2. Continue to prohibit new roof or re-roof covering material of wood shakes and wood shingles due to fire safety concerns.
3. Continue the current requirements for undergrounding or stubbing out of utilities for major remodels and new construction to accommodate possible future utility undergrounding.
4. Continue to disallow aluminum conductors because of our unique moist beach climate conditions, which can cause arcing and sparking from aluminum conductors.
5. Continue to require sustainable measures regarding energy efficiency, water conservation, material conservation, waste management diversion and air quality improvements.
A majority of the amendments clarify and update the structural requirements due to potential hazards specific to our community. These amendments are part of the joint effort by 89 jurisdictions within the Los Angeles County to develop the Los Angeles Regional Uniform Code Program. The amendments include additional structural engineering design-related provisions for earthquake, wind, and other geologic, topographic, or climatic concerns.
The newly adopted 2013 California Energy and California Green Standards Codes incorporate mandatory efficiency standards and mandatory sustainability features, which now are applicable to existing buildings, compared to only requiring it for new construction during the last code cycle. This eliminated the need for some local amendments to ensure compliance for such existing buildings.
According to the California Health and Safety Code Section 17958.7, we must find specific needs to support amendments that are more restrictive than the State-adopted model codes. These findings are included in the attached ordinance and after City Council approval, will be filed with the California Building Standards Commission.
The California Building Standards Code that will be effective statewide is the 2013 edition. Each of the State construction codes with amendments is based on various model codes as determined by the California Building Standards Commission. These model codes are published by various professional organizations, such as the International Code Council, the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials, the National Fire Protection Association, and the Western Fire Chiefs Association.
This proposed ordinance will not have a significant effect on the environment, and is therefore exempt from the provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Section 15061 (b)(3) of the CEQA Guidelines.
Attachments:
1. Ordinance No.13-0027 (Building Codes)