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R-10036 City Council Meeting May 10, 2005 Santa Monica, California RESOLUTION NUMBER 10036 (CCS) (City Council Series) A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA MAKING FINDINGS REGARDING LOCAL CLIMATIC, GEOLOGICAL AND TOPOGRAPHIC CONDITIONS PURSUANT TO HEALTH AND SAFETY CODE SECTIONS 17958.5,17958.7 and 18941.5 AS REQUIRED TO ADOPT LOCAL AMENDMENTS TO THE 2004 EDITION OF THE CALIFORNIA ELECTRICAL CODE WHEREAS, the State Building Standards Commission has approved and published the 2004 edition of the California Electrical Code in February of 2005; and such code will be effective 180 days thereafter, which is August 1, 2005; and WHEREAS, Health and Safety Code Sections 17958.7 and 18941.5 provide that the City may make changes or modifications to the building standards contained in the California Building Standards Code based upon express findings that such changes or modifications are reasonably necessary because of local climatic, geological or topographical conditions, and WHEREAS, the City Council has considered the 2004 edition of the California Electrical Code and the reference standards, all appendixes and the matrix adoption tables contained therein; and WHEREAS, based upon the findings contained in this Resolution, the City Council will be adopting an ordinance containing certain modifications and additions to the building standards contained in the California Electrical Code, which are reasonably necessary based upon local climatic, topographical and geological conditions; 1 NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA DOES RESOLVE AS FOLLOWS SECTION 1. The City Council makes the following findings regarding local climatic, geological and topographic conditions related to the local amendments to the California Electrical Code found in Section 2 below: (a) The Master Environmental Assessment (MEA), adopted in April, 1996, shows that Santa Monica's climate is primarily influenced by the Pacific Ocean and is characterized by infrequent rainfall and winds, which come from the west during the daytime and from the north and northeast during the nighttime, with intermittent Santa Ana winds occurring from September to March. These conditions create the potential for high velocity winds with high temperatures, which are conducive to uncontrolled wind driven fires and greatly increase the fire rise to residences. (b) The MEA also shows that structures in the City are situated in close proximity to each other, with only about 1 % of the 8.3 square miles that the City occupies vacant. In addition, these lots are often very narrow or on hilly terrain, which limits access to side yards for fire suppression and placement of ladders for rescue operations, These conditions also contribute to the ability of fires to spread quickly between buildings because of the proximity to each other and create difficulty in suppressing fires in the hilly terrains. 2 (c) The Safety Element also identifies that many of the structures in the City are older structures that are prone to the quick spread of fire from adjacent structures due to the materials used in construction and less stringent fire resistant technology available at the time they were built. (d) Santa Monica is situated In Southern California, which has extreme arid conditions and periods of severe drought. As outlined In the MEA, the City relies upon water from outside the region, which is bought from the Metropolitan Water District, and local groundwater for the City's water supply. Severe drought conditions and potential uncertainty about the availability of future water supplies from outside the region require the proper management of available water supplies. These conditions also contribute to the ability of fires to spread quickly due to the reliance of water from outside sources that may not be available following a major earthquake, (e) The Safety Element shows a high risk of seismic activity in the City due to the close proximity to the Santa Monica-Malibu Coast fault, the Newport- Inglewood fault and the San Andreas fault, and discusses the damaging effect local seismic activity would have on potentially hazardous buildings and the related potential demands on emergency services needs. Structures built without supplemental seismic provisions are susceptible to extensive damage and are a source of fire hazard with damaged gas and electrical utilities inside. The close proximity of these faults increases the likelihood of seismic disturbances of substantial magnitude. 3 (f) The Los Angeles region has a vast and complex network of faults. Some of these faults, like the previously unknown Northridge Fault, are blind thrust faults that earth scientists believe are capable of intense ground shaking similar or greater in size than the Northridge Earthquake, The random possible location of these blind thrust faults increases the local seismic risk and poses an increasing threat to public safety, (g) The Safety Element of the General Plan, adopted in January 1995, shows high risk of seismic activity in the City due to the close proximity of the City to the Santa Monica-Malibu Coast fault, the Newport-Inglewood fault and the San Andreas Fault. The Safety Element discusses the damaging effect local seismic activity would have on street, roadways and overpasses at the Santa Monica Freeway, which would hamper and delay emergency vehicle response. (h) An analysis of damage patterns to structures in the City from the January 17, 1994 Northridge earthquake and its aftershocks showed that unreinforced masonry structures, wood frame structures, tilt-up and masonry structures with flexible diaphragms, non-ductile concrete buildings, and steel frame structures, were more susceptible to damage than other types of structures. Unless supplemental seismic and fire life safety prevention requirements are adopted, these buildings will perform poorly during intense ground shaking and will pose an ongoing threat to public safety. (i) An analysis of damage patterns to nonstructural elements in the City from the January 17, 1994 Northridge earthquake and its aftershocks also showed that concrete and masonry chimneys, veneer, clay and concrete tile 4 roofing and fire sprinklers were more susceptible to damage than other types of nonstructural elements. Unless supplemental seismic and fire life safety provisions are adopted, these nonstructural elements will perform poorly during intense ground shaking and pose an ongoing threat to public safety. U) Continued study of buildings damaged during the Northridge Earthquake has led to improvements in earthquake design regulations that better identify the types of buildings that are vulnerable to earthquakes and cost effective economic methods to construct them. (k) By incorporating the latest earthquake design regulations into the City's building standards, the latest and most effective standards will be implemented into design and construction so that the public health and welfare will be better protected, (I) The Safety Element also identifies shallow ground water within 50 feet of the ground surface along the beach, near the Industrial corridor and Marine Park areas of the City, This ground water condition, coupled with unconsolidated youthful sedimentary soils, makes these areas susceptible to possible liquefaction during strong or moderately strong earthquakes. Liquefaction is a very destructive secondary effect of strong seismic shaking where a loss of bearing strength occurs along with ground oscillations in the supporting soils, (m) Analysis of the emergency response to the January 17, 1994 earthquake showed that the need for emergency fire services in the City greatly exceeded available resources, A major seismic event would create a demand for fire suppression services that the City Fire Department would have difficulty 5 meeting, thus making supplemental seismic safety provisions essential to fire suppression efforts. SECTION 2. The City Council makes the express finding that the following modifications and changes to the California Electrical Code are reasonably necessary because of the local climatic, geological or topographical conditions and that each and everyone of the local conditions detailed in Section 1 above, are identified as applying to the following modifications and changes to the California Building Standards Code: (1) Ensure that any wiring not having metal protection over the conductors shall be entirely concealed within the building structure to prevent and inhibit tampering and restrict the use of aluminum wiring found to be hazardous. Limit the use of nonmetallic-sheathed cable to single and multi-family dwellings not exceeding three floors above grade (see Section 8.24.030). (2) Prohibit the use of any electrical material, device, or equipment unless it complies with provisions of this section, including rating and conformance with national standards (see Section 8.24.040). (3) Provide regulations for temporary service poles used on construction sites (see Section 8.24.060) (4) Provide regulations for underground concrete vaults and hand holes (see Section 8.24.070). (5) Provide proper disconnecting means for multiple arrays on solar photovoltaic systems (see Section 8.24.080). 6 SECTION 3. The City Clerk shall certify to the adoption of this Resolution and thenceforth and thereafter the same shall be in full force and effect. APPROVED AS TO FORM 7 Adopted and approved this 10th day of May, 2005. .. ~ Pam O'Connor, Mayor I, Maria Stewart, City Clerk of the City of Santa Monica, do hereby certify that the foregoing Resolution No. 10036 (CCS) was duly adopted at a meeting of the Santa Monica City Council held on the 10th day of May, 2005, by the following vote: Ayes: Council members: Mayor O'Connor, Mayor Pro Tem Katz, Bloom, Genser, McKeown, Shriver Noes: Council members: None Abstain: Council members: None Absent: Council members: Holbrook ATTEST: ~ MariaM. Stewart, "ty Clerk 8