HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrdinance 326 Amending 16-60 of City CodeORDINANCE NO. 326
AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 16-60 OF THE SARATOGA CITY CODE
THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SARATOGA HEREBY ORDAINS AS FOLLOWS:
Findings
1. Saratoga City Code Chapter 16-60 Early Warning Fire Alarm System specifies
requirements for notification to the Saratoga Fire District and alarm standards and
requirements established by the Saratoga Fire Protection District by resolution. The
requirements of the Saratoga Fire Protection District have changed.
2. The City Council of the City of Saratoga wishes to amend the City Code to mirror alarm
standards and requirements of the Saratoga Fire Protection District.
3. The City Council of the City of Saratoga held a duly noticed public hearing on May 6,
2015, and after considering all testimony and written materials provided in connection
with that hearing introduced this ordinance and waived the reading thereof.
Therefore, the City Council hereby ordains as follows:
Section 1. Adoption.
Section 16-60 of the Saratoga City Code is amended as set forth in Attachment 1. Text to be
added is indicated in bold double -underlined font (e.g., bold double -underlined) and text to be
deleted is indicated in strikeout font (e.g., Wit). Text in standard font is readopted by this
ordinance.
Section 2. Severance Clause.
The City Council declares that each section, sub -section, paragraph, sub -paragraph, sentence,
clause and phrase of this ordinance is severable and independent of every other section, sub-
section, paragraph, sub -paragraph, sentence, clause and phrase of this ordinance. If any section,
sub -section, paragraph, sub -paragraph, sentence, clause or phrase of this ordinance is held
invalid, the City Council declares that it would have adopted the remaining provisions of this
ordinance irrespective of the portion held invalid, and further declares its express intent that the
remaining portions of this ordinance should remain in effect after the invalid portion has been
eliminated.
Section 3. California Environmental Quality Act
The proposed amendments and additions to the City Code are Categorically Exempt from the
California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to CEQA Guideline section
15061(b)(3). CEQA applies only to projects which have the potential of causing a significant
effect on the environment. Where it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the
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activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment, the activity is not subject
to CEQA. In this circumstance the amendments to the existing City Code and related sections
and additions of provisions and reference appendices to the existing Code; the amendments and
additions would have a de minimis impact on the environment.
Section 4. Publication.
A summary of this ordinance shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation of the City
of Saratoga within fifteen days after its adoption.
Following a duly notice public hearing the foregoing ordinance was introduced at the regular
meeting of the City Council of the City of Saratoga held on the 6th day of May 2015 and was
adopted by the following vote on June 3, 2015.
COUNCIL MEMBERS:
AYES: Mayor Howard A. Miller, Vice Mayor Manny Cappello, Council Member
Emily Lo, Mary -Lynne Bernald, Rishi Kumar
NOES: None
ABSENT: None
ABSTAIN: None
ATTEST:
NED:
Howard A. Miller
MAYOR, CITY OF SARATOGA, CALIFORNIA
CV DATE: KJ ���� IC
Crys < Bothelio, CITY CLERK
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
.�-
Richard Taylor, CITY ATTORNEY
DATE:
6 ) 1 5))C
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ATTACHMENT 1— AMENDMENTS TO CITY CODE 16-60
Article 16-60 - EARLY WARNING FIRE ALARM SYSTEM
16-60.010 Findings; requirement for installation of alarm system.
(a) Findings and purpose. The City Council finds and determines as follows:
(1) Utilization of current technology in the detection and warning of fire will
significantly enhance the level of protection from such hazard while at the same
time maximizing the effectiveness of existing equipment and facilities for
emergency responses.
(2) Certain areas of the City have been designated as the Wildland-Urban Interface Fire
Area on the City's Wildland-Urban Interface Fire Area Map, which are defined as
any land covered with grass, grain, brush or forest which is so situated or is of such
inaccessible location, that a fire originating upon such land would present an
abnormally difficult job of suppression or would result in great and unusual damage
through fire or resulting erosion. The response time of emergency equipment to
calls for aid in the hazardous fire areas is impaired due to the nonavailability of
access to some portions of such areas, the existence of steep, narrow streets and
roadways located in such areas, the lack of connecting streets and roadways in such
areas, and the unusual topography of such areas. Further, the presence of heavy
vegetation in the Wildland-Urban Interface Fire Area increases the potential for the
rapid spread of any fire which may start in such areas, particularly during seasonal
dry spells.
(3) A substantial portion of the new single-family dwellings being constructed in the
City are larger structures, typically in excess of five thousand square feet with
three -car garages. By reason of their size, a fire in these structures can be more
difficult to extinguish.
(4) The risk of fire to persons and property within multi -family dwellings and
structures containing multiple sleeping units is proportionately greater because of
the higher density of occupants. Immediate warning of fire and notification to the
Fire District of the existence and location of fire will serve to reduce the possibility
of death, injury and property damage.
(5)
Because commercial buildings and community facilities are public gathering places,
the public health and safety risks of fire are particularly acute. Immediate warning
• !' of the existence and location of fire will
serve to reduce the possibility of death, injury and property damage in these
structures.
(6) The public safety and welfare may necessitate installation of an early warning fire
alarm system in a commercial structure or community facility, depending upon the
facts and circumstances to be evaluated by the Fire Chief in each individual case.
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(7)
It is the goal and policy of the City, as set forth in the Safety Element of the General
Plan, to require installation of an early warning fire alarm system as hereinafter
provided in this Section. The purpose of this Section is to implement such goal and
policy.
(b) Mandatory requirement for installation of alarm system. Installation of an early warning
fire alarm system in accordance with the provisions of this Article is required as a
condition for the granting of any building or other permit under this Chapter 16 in each of
the following cases:
(1) All new ' single family dwellings residential structures classified as "R"
occu ancies in th • most rec nt ver ion of he California Buil s in Code,
commercial structures and community facilities located within the designated
Wildland-Urban Interface Fire Area.
(2) Any existing . , structure classified as an "R" occupancy in
the most recent version of the California Building Code, commercial structure or
community facility which is expanded by fifty percent or more in floor area and is
located within the designated Wildland-Urban Interface Fire Area.
(3)
(4)
(5)
(6)
(c) Discretionary requirement for certain "R" occupancies, commercial structures and
community facilities. Where an existing commercial structure or community facility is
remodeled and such commercial structure or community facility tither: (1) has a floor
• ' - • • - - • • - - - , : regardless of size, is located within the
designated Wildland-Urban Interface Fire Area, then the Chief of the Fire District
having jurisdiction over the project, may require the installation of an early warning fire
alarm system in accordance with this Article as a condition for the granting of any
building or other permit under this Chapter 16. The determination by the Fire Chief shall
be based upon any one or more of the following considerations:
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(1) An occupant load increase of fifty percent or more.
(2) New commercial cooking operations.
(3) Hazardous materials storage for which a permit is required.
(4) The principal use involves the care or supervision of building occupants such as day
care facilities for children or senior citizens.
(d) Determination of floor area and fifty percent expansion.
(1) As used in this Section, the term "commercial structure" includes, but is not limited
to, office buildings, retail stores, restaurants, repair shops, and industrial buildings,
and the term "community facility" includes, but is not limited to, schools, theatres,
churches, meeting halls and conference centers.
(2) The determination of floor area is as defined in Chapter 15; and
(3)
For the purposes of this Section, any expansion shall be considered as equaling or
exceeding the fifty percent limit where the work of construction or improvement is
done at different time intervals requiring two or more building permits, within a
period of five years after completion of the first improvement, where although each
is for a project encompassing an expansion of less than fifty percent of increased
floor area, but when combined with other expansions during the five-year period of
time increase the amount of floor area of the structure by fifty percent or more of
that amount which existed immediately prior to the commencement of the first of
the several expansions.
16-60.020 Required components.
Early warning alarm systems shall comply with the current adopted California Building
Code and California Residential Code as amended by this section.
(a)R-3 occu s ancies shall s rovide a "Household fire alarm s stem" re s uired b the
California Residential Code for Smoke Alarms (2013 CRC section R314) and
installed in accordance with NFPA 72 (2010 NFPA 72 chapter 29) or current
equivalent adopted code.
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(b)All occu , ancies other than R-3 listed above shall have Fire alarm s stems
installed in accordance with the California Fire Code (2013 CFC Section 907) with
no exceptions allowed for occupant load.
16-60.030 Plan check by Fire District.
(a) All documentation relative to the proposed installation shall be submitted to the Fire
District for approval. Where property is located within the jurisdiction of the Central
one copy of such documentation shall also be furnished to the Chief of the
plans, specifications, diagrams, data sheets, manufac-turer's recommendations, and other
Saratoga Fire District, and such additional items pertaining to the proposed system as
may be requested by the District. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Code,
alternatives to the adopted standards and requirements may be approved if the Chief of
the Fire District having jurisdiction over the property where an alternative is to be
installed determines that such alternative will perform the early warning notification
function as well or better than the adopted standards. The Saratoga Fire District shall be
(b) The Fire Districts may establish a fee for the plan checking services rendered pursuant
to this Section.
16-60.040 Qualifications and responsibilities of installer.
All early warning fire alarm systems shall be installed by a person holding a valid fire
protection engineering license, or a qualified and experienced contractor with a valid C-10
Electrical Contractor's License issued by the California Contractors State License Board. All
such systems shall be installed in a workmanlike manner and in accordance with the
specifications and standards approved by the Fire District. Upon completion of the installation,
the licensed installer shall instruct the property owner, or his designated representative, in the use
of the system and shall provide applicable manufacturer's operating manuals.
16-60.050 Inspections by Fire District.
The Fire District having jurisdiction over the property shall be responsible for conducting
inspections and approving or disapproving any system installed in a structure pursuant to this
Article. The Fire Districts may establish a fee for the inspection services rendered pursuant to
this Section. The licensed installer shall provide the Fire District having jurisdiction with a set of
as built plans for the system.
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i. .
(a)Prior to the issuance of a certificate of occupancy or its equivalent for any
pursuant to this Code, a disclosure form giving notice of such fire alarm system shall
be signed by an authorized representative of the Saratoga Fire District and shall
structure where components of the system have been installed.
condition and repair.
notice.
bcr of an authorized representative of the
16-60.060 Voluntary installation.
Nothing contained in this Article shall prohibit any person from voluntarily installing and
maintaining an early warning fire alarm system as described in this Article in any type of
building or structure within the City,
District.
16-60.070 Violations; delegation of enforcement authority.
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(a) Any violation of this Article shall constitute an infraction and a public nuisance for
which penalties may be imposed and other relief sought as provided in Chapter 3 of
this Code. As a separate or cumulative remedy, a Notice of Code Violation may also
be recorded pertaining to such violation, in accordance with the provisions of Section
16-60.080
(b) In addition to any other persons having enforcement authority, the Chief of the Fire
District having jurisdiction over the property on which an early warning alarm system
is installed, or the Fire Chiefs designated representative, shall have authority to
enforce the provisions of this Article.
16-60.080 Recorded notice of code violation.
(a) Whenever the Chief of the Fire District having jurisdiction over the property on
which an early warning alarm system is installed, or the Fire Chiefs designated
representative ("Fire Chief') has knowledge of a violation of any provision of this
Article, the Fire Chief may give written notice of such violation to the owner of the
property on which the early warning fire alarm system has been installed. Violations
may include failure to install, operate, or maintain the alarm systemin accordance
with the applicable standards and requirements adopted by the Saratoga Fire District;
Saratoga Fire District. Such notice shall be mailed to person and address as shown
on the records of the Fire District, or if such record does not exist or is known to be
inaccurate, to the person and address as shown on the latest available County
assessment roll or as otherwise known to the Fire Chief.
(b) If the property owner fails to correct the violation within the time specified in the
notice, or such additional time as may be granted by the Fire Chief, a further written
notice may be given of the Fire Chiefs intention to record a Notice of Code
Violation in the office of the County Recorder. The notice of intent shall describe the
nature of the violation and inform the owner that a Notice of Code Violation will be
recorded unless a hearing before the Board of Fire Commissioners of the Saratoga
Fire District is requested by the owner within twenty days from the date of the
notice.
(c) In the event a hearing is not requested and the violation has not been corrected, or in
the event that after the conduct of a hearing by the Board of Fire Commissioners of
the Saratoga Fire District, and consideration of all evidence presented thereat by the
owner, the Board determines that a violation of this Article in fact exists, the Fire
Chief may record a Notice of Code Violation in the office of the County Recorder.
(d) At the request of the affected property owner or other interested person and upon
determination by the Fire Chief that the violation described in the Notice has been
fully corrected and no longer exists, the Fire Chief shall furnish to the owner or other
interested person a notice of expungement of the previously recorded Notice of Code
Violation.
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(e) The recording of a Notice of Code Violation pursuant to this Section shall be in
addition to any other rights, remedies or actions available to the Fire District by
reason of the same violation as described in the notice.
638519.1
676880.2
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CITY OF SARATOGA
ORDINANCE CERTIFICATE
STATE OF CALIFORNIA )
COUNTY OF SANTA CLARA ) CERTIFIED COPY OF ORDINANCE
CITY OF SARATOGA ) ADOPTION
I, Crystal Bothelio, City Clerk for the City of Saratoga in said County of Santa Clara, and State of
California, do hereby certify that the attached is a true and correct copy of Ordinance No. 326,
adopted by the Saratoga City Council on June 3, 2015 by the following vote:
AYES: Mayor Howard A. Miller, Vice Mayor Manny Cappello, Council Member Emily Lo,
Mary -Lynne Bernald, Rishi Kumar
NOES:
ABSTAIN:
ABSENT:
tP Ordinance I hereby further certify that a summary of the ordinance was published
Summary in accordance with Government Code Section 36933 on the following
dates: May 29, 2015 and June 12, 2015. Said ordinance shall be
effective June 3, 2015.
❑ Ordinance I hereby further certify that the full text of the ordinance was published
Full Text in accordance with Government Code Section 36933 on the
. Said ordinance shall be effective
r
ystal-:othelio, City Clerk