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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1995/06/14 - Minutes - Adjourned June 14, 1995 CITY OF RANCHO CUCAMONGA CITY COUNCIL MINUTES Adjourned Meeting A. CALL TO ORDER An adjourned meeting of the Rancho Cucamonga City Council was held on Wednesday, June 14, 1995, in the Tri-Communities Conference Room of the Civic Center, located at 10500 Civic Center Drive, Rancho Cucamonga, California. The meeting was called to order at 5:38 p.m. by Mayor William J. Alexander. Present were Councilmembers: Paul Biane, James Curatalo, Rex Gutierrez, Diane Williams and Mayor William J. Alexander. Also present were: Jack Lam, City Manager; James Marksman, City Attorney; Chief Dennis Michael and Deputy Fire Marshal Ralph Crane, Rancho Cucamonga Fire Protection District; Bill Makshanoff, Building Official; Jim Marlin, Plan Check Coordinator; John Thomas, Sr. Plans Examiner/Fire; Joe O'Neil, City Engineer; and Debra J. Adams, City Clerk. B. ITEM OF DISCUSSION B1. DISCUSSION OF RESIDENTIAL FIRE SPRINKLER ORDINANCE Jack Lam, City Manager, stated the purpose of the meeting is to inform the City Council about the Fire Sprinkler Ordinance and have discussion on it. Bill Makshanoff, Building Official, gave staff presentation. Chief Dennis Michael, Rancho Cucamonga Fire Protection District, presented additional information on this subject. Mayor Alexander opened the meeting for public comment. Addressing the City Council were: Frank Williams, Executive Director of the Building Industry Association, stated he is here to ask the City Council to repeal the Ordinance. He stated they are not opposed to residential fire sprinklers, but felt it should be lee up to the homeowner to decide on this matter. He did not feel fire sprinklers would cut back on fire services needed. He also distributed a handout on reducing local fire expenditures. He also distributed the Baldy View Bulletin of May 1995 which had an article on fire sprinklers. He stated he is not here to debate if sprinklers are good or bad, but should the homeowner be able to decide for themselves about the sprinklers being installed in their homes. Councilmember Gutierrez asked why Upland repealed their Ordinance. Frank Williams stated for all of the reasons he has mentioned tonight and that they felt the homeowners should make their own decision on this matter. Councilmember Curatalo asked if Mr. Williams would consider any other cost other than "0" figure. City Council Minutes June 14, 1995 Page 2 Mr. Williams stated that is what it should be. He stated cost is a big issue. Councilmember Curatalo asked if he would go for it with a "0" cost. Mr. Williams stated if the Council does not repeal the Ordinance he would be happy if the cost is "0". Councilmember Williams asked if he expects for the City to pay for the installation. Mr. Williams suggested there could possibly be fee credits and other ways to cover this. Councilmember Gutierrez stated that at a previous meeting it was discussed about how many deaths had occurred in residential fires. Chief Michael gave statistics on fires in 1993. He stated the last death was several years ago. Mr. Williams stated he is only talking about single family detached when making his points. Councilmember Gutierrez stated he is having a hard time comprehending why anyone can say sprinklers are saving lives over smoke detectors. Chief Michael stated that more equipment, etc. is sent out on a fire call because of knowing there are not fire sprinklers in order to take care of the problem. Councilmember Gutierrez stated he was concerned about the number of deaths due to smoke inhalation. The Council inquired as to the cost for a residential fire sprinkler system. John Thomas, Sr. Plans Examiner/Fire, presented information that it would cost from $ .55 to $ .67 per square foot for homes between 1,500 and 3,000 square feet. Other costs have been quoted at $ .51 to $ .71 per square foot to $ .55 to $ .63 per square foot for a tract home. Councilmember Curatalo stated he is concerned about the cost, but it was the safety factor that he is most concerned about and that is his priority. Ralph Crane, Deputy Fire Marshal, presented information on "Chart for Time vs. Products of Combustion". Councilmember Gutierrez stated he did not feel there were enough stats to make a comparison if residential fire sprinklers were effective. Mayor Alexander stated he knows the BIA is out for the best of the community. He stated unless you have more fire fighters and more stations, you are not going to get the same protection as if there are residential fire sprinklers. He felt the City needs to look into water pressure and the cost for residential fire sprinklers. He did not think there should be a charge for plan check fees for residential fire sprinklers. Councilmember Curatalo felt Mayor Alexander had a good idea and was in favor of working towards a "0" cost as Mr. Williams stated. Councilmember Blanc stated he feels residents should have the choice if they want the sprinklers or not and that of all the Realtors he has talked to, they have never been told by a buyer that they want residential fire sprinklers. Mayor Alexander stated he felt the City took a major step when they adopted this Ordinance and did not feel the Council should take a step backwards. City Council Minutes June 14, 1995 Page 3 John Lyons talked about when he was on the Foothill Fire Board and gave stats of fires during that time period. He reported of a fire that took place years ago and that if there had been residential fire sprinklers lives would have been saved. Russ Blewitt, immediate past president of the BIA, stated he felt residential fire sprinklers were a waste of money. Gary Kenddck felt it was inconceivable to repeal the Ordinance. He felt the Ordinance should be left as is and did not feel the cost was that great. James Marksman, City Attorney, stated he has been threatened that Rancho Cucamonga would be sued if the Ordinance is not repealed. He stated Upland gave in because of a lawsuit in Vallejo where the City lost and that is why Upland gave in. He stated there has been another lawsuit in Livermore and that the information has been given to City staff regarding this. He felt in the end that Livermore will be given the authority to keep the Ordinance, but that it is not definite at this time. He stated it is an open legal issue at this time and that there has been no appeal filed as yet. Councilmember Curatalo asked how long it would take before this case is decided for sure. James Marksman, City Attorney, stated about one year. John Roberts, City Councilmember in Fontana, stated he has sprinklers in his home and that Fontana has had a fire sprinkler Ordinance since 1988. He stated after the first six months it had been approved, they never heard any complaints about it. He stated Fontana is looking out for the best interests of the citizens. Councilmember Gulierrez stated he feels this is an unfunded mandate and did not agree with this. He felt the City was being hypocritical by enforcing this. He stated he did not want to push this on anyone else because of the statistics presented for Rancho Cucamonga. Councilmember Williams stated she agreed with Councilmember Gutierrez. She stated until the state mandates this, she did not feel the City should require this, and felt if the City does keep enforcing this, it is being hypocritical. She stated after calling insurance companies and asking what kind of discount one might get for having residential fire sprinklers, she was told only about 5%. She stated she felt the energy should be placed towards the state to put this in the state building codes. Mayor Alexander stated he felt this was a giant step backwards by getting rid of this Ordinance. Councilmember Curatalo stated he felt this was a money issue, but also felt it was a safety issue. He felt if one child dies because of getting rid of this Ordinance, he would never be able to live with himself. He felt it was his job to work for the safety of the residents. He felt it was hypocritical to repeal the Ordinance. He stated he felt cost should be worked on to help satisfy the BIA's concerns on this. Mr. Roberts, Fontana City Council, stated his Council has always looked up to Rancho Cucamonga and felt they were the "jewel of the Inland Empire", and were proud to be our neighbor. He added he is surprised that the Council would take a step backwards by repealing this Ordinance. Councilmember Gutierrez reiterated that this is an unfunded mandate and did not agree with the Ordinance. Councilmember Biane stated he is still wanting to give people the option of doing what they want to and did not agree with this mandate. He did feel people should be given an option when purchasing a home under construction, and that the wording needed to be looked at with the developers. T T' II1'[11 City Council Minutes June 14, 1995 Page 4 Councilmember Gutierrez felt hillside property should be considered differently in this Ordinance. MOTION: Moved by Alexander, seconded by Curatalo not to repeal the Ordinance, but to work with staff and the BIA to lower the cost. Motion failed 2 -3 (Biane, Gutierrez, Williams voted no). MOTION: Moved by Gutierrez, seconded by Biane to direct staff to go back to modify the Fire Sprinkler Ordinance, to make it optional to mandate that builders offer that amenity and that we investigate the size for location of structures, i.e., on hillsides that should have sprinklers, and that we conduct the appropriate hearing to that effect. Motion carried 3-2 (Alexander, Curatalo voted no). Jack Lam, City Manager, added that staff has made a good faith effort to work with the BIA and that he has received reports from the staff whenever the City and the BIA have met. Councilmember Gutierrez stated he hoped that staff would have ideas to mitigate the issues. Jack Lam, City Manager, stated the main issue is the "0" cost factor. He stated the staff has never stated they would not meet with the BIA. C. COMMUNICATIONS FROM THE PUBLIC C1. John Lyons stated that he did not agree with this action, and felt the City now will need more fire stations. C2. Russ Blewitt stated the BIA is constantly making homes safer. D. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Moved by Gutierrez, seconded by Williams to adjourn to executive session to discuss property negotiations per Government Code 54956.8 located at the southwest corner of Foothill Blvd. and Rochester Avenue; Valley Baseball and Jerry Fulwood, Deputy City Manager, negotiating parties, regarding terms of payment. Executive session would adjourn to Wednesday, June 21, 1995, 4:30 p.m. to meet at City Hall and then go to the North Town neighborhood for a tour. Motion carried unanimously 5-0. The meeting adjourned at 8:10 p.m. No action was taken in executive session. R/es~)ectfully submitted, 'Debra J. ;daflSs, CMC? City Clerk Approved: July 5, 1995