R-8967
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City Council Meeting 11-28-95
Santa Monica, California
RESOLUTION NUMBER 8967 (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 and 17958.7
WHEREAS, the state Building Standards Commission has approved
and published 1994 editions of the uniform technical codes in July,
1995; and
WHEREAS, Health and Safety Code Sections 17958.5 and 17958.7
provide that the City may make changes or modifications to the
uniform technical codes 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 1994 editions of
the Uniform Fire Code, Uniform Building Code, Uniform Housing Code,
Uniform Code for the Abatement of Dangerous Buildings and the
Uniform Administrative Code, the reference standards and 1993
National Fire and Electrical Codes;
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WHEREAS, based upon the findings contained in this Resolution,
the City Council will be adopting an ordinance containing certain
modifications and additions to the uniform codes which are
reasonably necessary based upon local climatic, topographical and
geological conditions;
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA
MONICA DOES RESOLVE AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. with respect to the need for amended or
supplemental Fire Safety and Prevention Requirements, and Fire and
Safety Duties and procedures, the city Council makes the following
findings regarding local climatic, geological, and topographical
conditions:
(a) The Safety Element of the General Plan, adopted in
January, 1995, shows a 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.
(b) The Safety Element also identifies that many of the
structures in the city are older structures which are
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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.
(c) The Master Environmental Assessment (MEA), adopted in
september, 1993, 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.
(d) 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 increase the threat to life
and property and contributes to the ability of fires to
spread quickly between buildings because of their
proxi1\\i ty to each other.
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(e) Analysis of the emergency response to the January 17,
1994 earthquake showed that the need for emergency fire
services in the City greatly exceeded the available
resources of the Fire Department and that there remains
a significant possibility that multiple fires following
a future earthquake will exceed the available resources
of the Fire Department.
(f) Based upon these local climatic, geological, and
topographical conditions which create fire hazards and
inhibit fire safety response access and response time, it
is reasonably necessary to re-adopt previous amendments
to the uniform codes in the following manner:
(i) Require automatic fire extinguishing and detection
systems in all new construction and when there is a
change in use to a higher classification so that in
the event of an earthquake or other major disaster,
the Fire Department may depend on built-in fire
suppression systems to extinguish or limit fires in
those structures so that fire does not spread to
older structures. This will reduce the potential
demand from siroul taneous incidents on emergency
services resources.
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(ii) Require compliance with high rise requirements in
buildings with human occupancy over 55 feet above
the highest fire vehicle access point to enhance
such buildings' fire safety and reduce the risk of
fires in such buildings spreading to other
structures.
(iii) Require stairway access to the roof for new
buildings with four or more stories to ensure safe
escape routes in case of a fire.
(iv) Require fire safety procedures, like fire alarm
systems, fire safety doors, appropriate signage,
and evacuation procedures in existing non-
residential buildings, and existing buildings used
as hotels, apartments or lodging houses, with
floors more than 30 feet above fire department
access, to enhance such buildings' fire safety,
protect occupants, and reduce the risk that fires
in such buildings will spread to other structures.
(v) Require fire safety procedures, like partial
automatic fire sprinkler systems, automatic shutoff
of mechanical systems, and smoke detectors, for
existing non-residential buildings, hotels, or
apartments with floors more than 55 feet above fire
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department access to enhance such buildings' fire
safety, protect occupants, and reduce the risk that
fires in such buildings will spread to other
structures.
(vi) Require automatic fire sprinkler systems for
existing public assembly spaces larger than 5,000
square feet to protect assembly areas and exi t
ways.
(vii) Require in any new building with floors more than
55 feet in height, connection with control valves
on each floor level with full automatic sprinkler
systems to enhance such buildings' fire safety by
ensuring adequate delivery of required water
supply.
(viii) Require sprinklers in any room that opens directly
into the exi tway in partial automatic sprinkler
systems to protect occupants by ensuring access to
exitways.
(ix) Require smoke detectors in every dwelling unit or
quest room in a hotel, apartment, or lodging house
used for sleeping purposes, to enhance their fire
safety, protect occupants, and reduce the risk that
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fires in such buildings will spread to other
structures.
(x) Require Class II standpipes in buildings three
stories in height or greater to enhance their fire
safety by ensuring adequate water supply to the
fire department in event of fire.
(xi) Prohibit the use of non-fire retardant wood
shingles or non-fire retardant wood shakes for new
or replacement roofing to reduce the risk of rapid
spread of fire between adjacent buildings.
SECTION 2. With respect to the need for amended or
supplemental Seismic safety Requirements, the City council makes
the following findings regarding local climatic, geological, and
topographical conditions:
(a) The Safety Element identifies certain serious general
community safety problems caused by the number, size,
location and present use of unreinforced masonry, precast
concrete, soft story , tilt-up, and steel frame
potentially hazardous buildings. 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
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activity would have on these potentially hazardous
buildings and the related potential demands on emergency
services needs. These structures perform poorly during
ground shaking, are susceptible to extensive damage, and
therefore pose a threat to the public safety.
(b) 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.
(c) An analysis of damage patterns to structures in the City
from the January 17, 1994 Northridge earthquake and its
aftershocks, as contained in the staff report adopting
the Hazardous Building standards ordinance (Ordinance
1748(CCS)) showed that unreinforced masonry structures,
portions of soft story structures, tilt-up structures,
non-ductile pre-cast concrete buildings, non-ductile
reinforced concrete structures, and steel frame
structures were more susceptible to damage than other
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types of structures.
(d) During the Northridge earthquake, numerous unsecured
water heaters throughout the city broke loose from their
fittings, some thereby rupturing gas and water lines.
This condition presented an immediate fire hazard at a
time when Fire Department resources were already in
signif icant demand, thereby creating a potential delay in
responding to the hazard.
(e) These climatic, topographical and geological conditions
place demands on emergency services and pose substantial
risks to pUblic health, safety, and welfare. It is
therefore reasonably necessary to re-adopt previous
amendments to the Uniform Building Code in the following
manner:
(i) Establish long range retrofitting requirements for
pre-1933 unreinforced masonry (ORM) buildings.
(ii) Establish Seismic Hazard Zones and Geologic Hazard
Zones to authorize special design requirements for
construction in such areas.
(iii) Establish standards for the repair, reconstruction
and reinforcement of URM buildings.
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(iv) Establish standards for the repair, reconstruction
and reinforcement of potentially hazardous
structures, including soft story construction,
tilt-up buildings, and non ductile reinforced
concrete and non-ductile pre-cast concrete
structures.
(v) Require the bracing of water heaters prior to any
sale or in connection with any building permit or
inspection by the city.
(vi) Require that when critical facilities in the City
are damaged in excess of twenty-five thousand
dollars as a result of a natural disaster they will
be analyzed, designed, repaired and upgraded to the
same design and performance standards applicable
to an essential facility in compliance with the
Uniform Building Code.
(f) Subsequent additional analysis of damage patterns by the
City's Building and Safety commission due to the 1994
Northridge Earthquake shows that the earthquake caused
severe damage to the connections of some steel-frame
buildings. The full extent of such damage is difficult
to assess due to the fact that damage is often not
directly observable, but is concealed and discovered only
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when steel members are exposed. However, analysis of
some steel framed buildings has shown that "concealed"
damage to these types of buildings has been greater than
initially thought after the earthquake.
(g) To address the potential hazards in steel frame
buildings, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
funded the SAC Joint Venture to provide policy direction
in the area of steel frame buildings. SAC report 95-02,
FEMA publication 267, is the result of this joint
venture, and provides practicing engineers and building
officials with information related to the inspection and
repair of steel frame buildings.
(h) On May 8, 1995 the Santa Monica Building and Safety
Commission recommended an addition to Ordinance #1748 in
order to require engineering evaluations of steel frame
buildings using the SAC report for inspection and repair
guidelines.
(i) Based on the foregoing, an amendment to the uniform codes
is reasonably necessary to accomplish the following:
(i) Within 275 days of the date of notice, the owners
of any steel frame structures shall submit an
engineering evaluation report by a registered
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structural Engineer to the Building and Safety
Division.
(ii) If the structural report concludes that the
building does not conform with the standards of the
SAC report, or if other significant damage is
found, the building shall be required to be
repaired according to a schedule dependent upon the
occupancy rating of the building.
SECTION 3. with respect to the need for amended or
supplemental Construction Property Maintenance Requirements, the
City Council makes the following findings regarding local climatic,
geological, and topographical conditions:
(a) The Safety Element shows a high risk of seismic activity
in the City and identifies that many of the structures in
the City are older structures which are prone to the
quick spread of fire from adjacent structures as
described in sections 1 and 2 above.
(b) The Master Environmental Assessment (MEA), adopted in
September, 1993, shows that Santa Monica's climate is
primarily influenced by the Pacific Ocean and is
characterized by infrequent rainfall and mild
temperatures. These conditions are suitable to the
development of backyard pools in the City, which can lead
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health and safety risks if not properly fenced. The
Uniform Building Code does not address pool fencing.
(c) The Master Environmental Assessment (MEA), adopted in
September, 1993, also shows that Santa Monica's climate
is subject to daytime breezes from the west and Santa Ana
wind conditions from September to March. These
conditions are conducive to transportation of airborne
particulates, including those occurring from sandblasting
operations, which can lead to health and safety risks if
not properly regulated.
(d) The MEA shows that structures in the City are situated
on lots that are often very narrow or on hilly terrain,
which can create drainage hazards from adjacent
properties. These conditions increase the threat to life
and property, unless adequate drainage systems are
required.
(e) In order to address these climatic, topographical and
geological conditions that place demands on emergency
services and pose substantial risks to public health,
safety, and welfare, along with the conditions related to
fire risk described in Section 1, it is reasonably
necessary to re-adopt previous amendments to the Uniform
Building Code in the following manner:
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(i) Require appropriate house numbering in order for
emergency services to quickly and efficiently
respond to disasters.
(ii) Require proper drainage regulations for roofs and
developed properties, including yards, courts pools
and parking to reduce impacts to immediate and
adjacent properties from flooding.
(iii) Require adequate fencing around pools or other
bodies of water to ensure safety of children and
adults.
(iv) Regulate the use of temporary trailers by requiring
a permit which ensures their temporary use and not
as a permanent residence.
(v) Require a sandblasting permit for any sandblasting
work to be done to ensure proper construction
activities and limited hours of use.
SECTION 4. with respect to the need for amended or
supplemental Electrical Code Requirements, the City council makes
the following findings regarding local climatic, geological, and
topographical conditions:
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(a) The National Electrical Code does not address electrical
safety requirements for non-construction related
electrical equipment, including portable electrical
equipment and machinery. The unregulated use of such
equipment poses a potential safety hazard to citizens and
property in Santa Monica by increasing the risk of fire
aggravated by the conditions described in Section 1
above.
(b) The Electric Board of Appeals has approved safety
standards for the use of electrical appliances, devices,
materials and equipment, and has considered local
problems caused by the improper use of non-metallic
sheated wiring and use of aluminum alloy conductors in
sizes smaller than No.6. Experience of field inspection
personnel has shown that certain specific uses of
aluminum based conductors and non-metallic sheated wiring
has caused or led to potentially hazardous and nuisance
electrical wiring installations increasing the risk of
fire aggravated by the conditions described in Section 1
above.
(c) Based upon the local conditions outlined above, along
with the conditions related to fire risk described in
section 1, it is reasonably necessary to re-adopt the
following local amendments to the Uniform Electrical Code
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to ensure fire safety and prevent accidents from
electrical procedures and appliances:
(i) Ensure that any wiring not having metal protection
over the conductors is entirely concealed within
the building structure to prevent and inhibit
tampering, and restrict the use of aluminum wiring
found to be hazardous.
(ii) Prohibit the sale and use of any electrical
material, device, or equipment not in compliance
with rating and conformance provisions.
SECTION 5. with respect to the need for amended or
supplemental Plumbing Code Requirements, the City Council makes
the following findings regarding local climatic, geological, and
topographical conditions:
(a) 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
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management of available water supplies.
(b) Based upon this local condition, along with the local
conditions related to fire risk detailed in Section 1, it
is reasonably necessary to reenact the following local
amendments to the Plumbing Code to reduce consumption of
scarce water resources and ensure fire safety by
preventing accidents from pressure gas systems and
preserving local water supplies:
(i) Require ini tial approval and more thorough
inspection of medium pressure gas installation to
prevent potentially hazardous and confusing systems
for emergency services which could result in fire
hazards if not properly installed.
(ii) Require that any new construction, remodel or
addition install only ultra-low flush fixtures in
order to reduce the consumption of scarce water
resources.
SECTION 6. with respect to the need for amended or
supplemental Administrative Provisions, the city Council makes the
following findings regarding local climatic, geological, and
topographical conditions:
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(a) The City has a number of unique local conditions related
to seismic activity and fire hazards as outlined in
sections 1 and 2 above. It is therefore reasonably
necessary to re-adopt amendments to the Uniform
Administrative Code relating to Boards of Appeal to
ensure reasonable interpretation of the Codes for the
City of Santa Monica and establish appropriate appeal and
advisory boards.
(b) The City has experienced a number of situations where
minimal construction work is performed under a building
permit, and completion of the project stretches over a
period of years. This practice raises a number of
concerns. In addition to neighbors of such sites being
impacted by construction acti vi ty , by safety issues
associated with construction sites, and by aesthetic
impacts over a long time period, both building and
planning codes may have changed since the permit was
issued. These code changes are often due to concerns
about public safety arising from unique local conditions.
(c) For example, as a result of the 1994 earthquake and the
threat of seismic activity in the City as described in
section 2, technical changes to the Uniform Bui lding Code
have been and will be made to enhance public safety.
Older permits pursuant to which little work has been done
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over the years would not be subj ect to these code
changes.
similarly,
evolution of the planning
regulations is an ongoing process, and older permits are
sometimes inconsistent with current community planning
objectives addressing unique local conditions.
(d) It is therefore reasonably necessary to establish maximum
time periods in which to complete construction.
SECTION 7. 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:
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MARSHA J~ES MOUTRIE
city Attorney
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Adopted and approved tlus 28th of November, 1995
IrJ~
Mayor
I hereby certIfy that the foregomg ResolutIon 8967 (CCS) was duly adopted at a meetmg
of the CIty CouncIl held on the 28th of November, 1995 by the followmg vote
Ayes
CouncIl members
Abdo, Genser, Holbrook, O'Connor, Rosenstem
Noes
CouncIl members
None
Abstam
CouncIl members
None
Absent
CouncIl members
Ebner, Greenb erg
ATTEST
~~J
CIty Clerk \