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HomeMy WebLinkAbout~Master - Building Board of Appeals Minutes 12/05/2016MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE BUILDING BOARD OF APPEALS AMES, IOWA DECEMBER 5, 2016 Call to Order The regular meeting of the Building Board of Appeals was called to order by Chairman Larry Cormicle at4:00p.m.,December 5, 2016, in Room 235 in City Hall, 515 Clark Avenue. Present from the Building Board of Appeals were Larry Cormicle,David Carnes,Chuck Haselhoff, Nathan Werstein, Brad Heemstra, and Dan Nutini. Larry Brandt was absent. Staff members present were Scott Ripperger, Adam Ostert, Travis VerSteegt, Nick Patterson, Craig Hageman, Tom Henriksen, Rich Higgins,Shawn Bayouth, and Mark Lambert. Moved by Heemstra, seconded byCarnes, to approve the minutes of January 4, 2016 Vote on Motion: 6-0 Motion passed unanimously Old Business None New Business Adoption of Ames Municipal Code Chapter 5, Building, Electrical, Mechanical and Plumbing Code Adoption of Ames Municipal Code Chapter 8, Fire Code Adam Ostert provided a summary of the key changes to the 2015 International Building Code, International Residential Code, and International Existing Building Code. Tom Henriksen spoke about the key changes to the International Fire Code. Ostert continued with the International Fuel Gas Code, International Mechanical Code, and Uniform Plumbing Code. Chuck Haselhoff and David Carnes offered clarification tothose changes. Larry Cormicle asked about the addition to Chapter 8, Fire Code, Section 8.202(10), and the allowance of extensions past the deadline. The addition states: “The fire chief has approved an Ames City Council recommended completion date of July 1, 2020 for Section 1103.7.6, Group R-2, which states that a fire alarm system, in accordance with the City of Ames adopted fire code, shall be installed in existing Group R-2 occupancies more than three stories in height or with more than 16 dwelling or sleeping units.”Rich Higgins stated that the date was set by City Council and extensions will not be allowed. Tom Henriksen added that there are approximately 30 buildings affected by the requirement. Thebuilding owners are aware of the requirement and have beennotified of the requirement since 2010. The Fire Department is working with the owners of those properties. Cormicle questioned Chapter 5, Section 5.200(1) regarding the change to local Wind Speed from 90(mph) to 115(mph). Scott Ripperger stated that the change is not more restrictive. Instead, a different calculation was used to determine wind speed, so 115(mph) is the same as 90(mph) in the old code. He referred to Chapter 16 of the IBC, figure 1609.3(1). Note: A correction to the first sentence of Chapter 5, Section 5.200 is needed to change 2012 to 2015. Dan Nutini asked about the deletion of Chapter 5, Section R404.1.2.2(15).Ostert replied that the chart was moved to Section R401.2(12) for the IRC and Section 5.200(15) for the IBC. Brad Heemstra questioned the deletion of Chapter 5, Section 5.110(13). Ostert responded that the section was redundant as the information is located in Section 5.201(14). Cormicle asked if there were any questions regarding the changes on pages 5-39 and 5-40. Carnes stated that the changes are basically justrearrangement and clarification. Rippergeradded that some local amendments were deleted to make it easier to use the straight code book. Cormicle asked about fire suppression in single family dwellings.Rippergerreplied that no changes are being made to the current requirements. Shawn Bayouth summarized a change potentiallycoming to Chapter 8. City Council has been approached by some non-profit groups that would like to operate transitional homes. The transitional homes would berun as non-profit businesses, but they donot meet the definition of a rental property. Council would like them to have some kind of safety regulations and asked the Planning and Housing Department to write some code requirements. The Planning and Housing Department asked the Fire Department what kind of safety requirementsmay be needed. A transitional home would be defined as: having on-site supervision, limited to two people per bedroom, but no more than eight people maximum, and being a single family residence or half of a duplex. The ordinance is currently being written by the Legal Department for inclusion in Chapter 29, which will refer the ability to be inspected to the Fire Department. Thus, it would be incorporated into Chapter 8. The inspection cycle would most likely be every three years, with the inspections performed by Fire Fighters or the Fire Inspector. Moved by Heemstra, seconded by Haselhoff, to recommend approval of adoption of Ames Municipal Code Chapter 5 and Chapter 8 with the incorporation of transitional homes Vote on Motion: 6-0 Motion passed unanimously Adjournment The Board adjourned at 4:55 p.m. ____________________________ Eileen Carter, RecordingSecretary