City Council Minutes 2014 01 21 - Laserfiche WebLink

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City Council Meeting Minutes January 21, 2014 Page 16 of 30 there are three different codes and the goal is to make it standard with the Fire District as well as the roadway standards of Chapter 16. COUNCIL COMMENTS Mayor Pro Tern Dalton addressed the adoption of a fire code for access, and noted other design criteria area being added to Appendix D. Planning Director Russ explained it relates to the number of fire responses by the Fire District and what is fire related, injury related and car accident related. Mayor Pro Tern Dalton asked Chief Parker if he agreed with a road design criteria being added to Appendix D and what specific criteria would he agree with. Chief Parker explained the District does not have expertise in road design. He stated the District would agree with criteria 1 and 2. The reason the Fire District was comfortable with the final proposal was the bottom line language has to be Appendix D. He noted it is not currently included in the Louisville Municipal Code. Council member Stolzmann stated her understanding the current version of the Louisville Municipal Code adopted Appendix D. Chief Parker explained the Code is based on fire trucks built 30 years ago. The trucks built today, in particular those with ladder devices, cannot make the turns. Planning Director Russ explained the three Codes are 15.12.080, 15.12.120 and 15.12.110 and within those Codes there are exemptions to Appendix D to allow narrower roads. City Attorney Light explained Appendix D is adopted in the 2009 International Fire Code, however with its adoption the City put into the Code additional fire lane requirements and specifications, which allows waivers. Council member Jasiak felt the broader contexts are looking at the mobility for the fire trucks to move throughout the streets of Louisville for emergency responses. She stated criteria listed in 3, 4, 5 and 6 made sense. She thanked Chief Parker for his input. Council member Loo asked Chief Parker, in his professional opinion, if the proposed legislation is better, worse or the same. Chief Parker stated the legislation is better and allows the Fire District to follow the code. Council member Loo asked Chief Goodman if there was literature available which may have a different viewpoint on wider streets. Chief Goodman confirmed there is, and noted it has to do with sightlines. He explained bicycles have problems with narrow streets and although speed is not a factor in Louisville, wider streets are safer and necessary for first responders to emergencies. If the street is too narrow, parking is banned or limited to one side only. He voiced his belief streets should be wide enough for first responders in emergency situations. He did not believe there should be tradeoffs when it comes to life safety.