07-09-97 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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Mtrru~rrs CITY COUNCIL JULY 9, 1997 Pedersen asl<etl il't~he ~~o~l of Sectio^ 1306 was to geC b~iilding sprinl<led. The Bui(ding Ofticial rep(ied th~it that is fhe ~oal and one of the prime candidates are the churches. Any church built totl<tiy would be required to have a sprinl<Ier systeirt An addition to a chwch f'acility tri~gers a retrofit. The Builtling OPfici~l reported tI~~C Yhe City oi'Mapiewood has adopted Section 1306, ~nd since ~doption has required the reu~otiC of ~ couple of Cf1LlI'CIIP,S. Pedersen pointed UuY thaC the more interest~in~ a b~iiltling is Prom an ~rchitectur~l stanclpoint', t'he inore diffieult it woultl be to retrotit. nlsop reported that t~l~eir ~rchitect on Che Bloomington church ldtlition had 1 similar experience with the City of N(<iple Urove antl was able to ~et the State Fire Marshal to agree t~o exempt the sanctuary and some elaborate areas of the cl~urch Gom sprinl:lii~g requireiY~ei~ts. Alsop reportecl that tl~e clwi'ch is willin~ to provide the safety the City is lool<inb for while still keepin~ the builclin~ lool:ii~~ nice. lfthe City requires Che building be sprinl<led, the chw~ch will not proceecl wiYh thc addition. Fahey ~sl<ed if there ~,vere alternatives tl~at wo~ild comply with the Statute which wouid be less onerous tind less un~ttr~ctive. The I3ui(ding Oflici~l replied thxt there are no ~titern~tives, the buildin~ must be sprinl:letl if Yl~e addition is put on. "I'he E3uildin; Official pointed o~it th~t the St~itute is silent on ~~est~hetics and inoneCary issues. The Ofticial reported th~t marry sprinl<ler systems are sYate-of-the art and Chere are concealment devices For t~hese sys[ern5. The h3uildin~ Official stated that there is no room for a vxri~nce action pointing ouC thaC Che requireinents are preCty blaci< and white. Fahey pointed out that the City could choose Co i~n~re the law and may not be challenged on it~ until the next addition comes alon~. The City has no autl~oriCy to ~rant a v~triance to the Stete Building Code 1nd tf~ere is no procedure in place to do so. Fahey stated that~ he will put himself in the positioi~ afviolatin~ the Stet'e B~iildins~ Code. The City Adminish'ator poinCed out that the [3uildin~ OPfici~l ~dministers the buildin~ code for Lit~tie Cana<ia as well as a nuinber of other cities. He is ch~trged with enforcin~ the buildin~ code as written. The Buildinr~ Oft~icial does not have the option ol'varying fron'~ the building code, and neitl~er does the City Council. lfa staff inember fiom Yhe City of Bl~omin~t'on htis chosen to do t'his, that person violat'ed the building code. The Adminisrrat~or pointecl out t~haC t~he only issue beFore the Council is whether or not it f'eels Section 130G is appropriate. ~