City Council Minutes 2014 01 21 - Laserfiche WebLink

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City Council Meeting Minutes January 21, 2014 Page 12 of 30 1. In the event of a fire, residential sprinklers will save lives by quickly controlling the heat and smoke from the fire, giving residents valuable time to get out safely. 2. By stopping or minimizing the spread of fire, residential sprinklers will enable the Fire District to more safely and effectively extinguish fires when they arrive on scene. 3. In the event of a fire, residential sprinklers will limit damage to other areas of the house and thereby minimize property losses. 4. Louisville is largely built-out. New construction in Louisville will come primarily through redevelopment where homes are closer together. Residential sprinklers will reduce the risk of individual household fires impacting adjacent properties. 5. According to sales listed in the 2013 Multiple Listing Service (MLS), the average price and size of a newly constructed single family home in Louisville is $572,000 and 2,800 SF respectively. The average cost of a sprinkler system is between $1.50 and $5.00 per square foot (SF); at this cost a sprinkler system would represent 0.75% to 2.5% of the total price for a newly constructed 2,800 SF home. 6. Several of Louisville's neighboring jurisdictions have adopted residential fire sprinkler requirements (Westminster, Golden, Superior, and Boulder County). Thus, requiring residential sprinklers would not likely put the Louisville new home market at a competitive disadvantage. 7. As more jurisdictions adopt the requirement and access to materials and expertise increases, the cost of installation will go down. In contrast, the BCBOA recommended the adoption of the 2012 sprinkler requirement in the International Residential Code, excluding detached single-family dwellings. New townhomes and duplexes would still be required to install fire sprinklers. There is uncertainty if a 3/4" tap will handle the requirements of a pressurized sprinkler system. The current municipal code does not allow residential sprinkling discounts. It does allow a direct fire line to commercial and multi-family. The amendment to the ordinance will allow the City to waive possible water tap fees associated with a demonstrated size increase requirement caused by the required installation of the automated fire sprinkler. COUNCIL QUESTIONS Council member Loo addressed the water tap ordinance and asked if everyone, residential, multi-family and commercial will get a break in the cost of a tap fee. Planning Director Russ noted there are some inconsistencies. Staff recommends