ORDINANCE NO. 2482

AN ORDINANCE ADOPTING THE 1988 EDITIONS OF THE UNIFORM FIRE CODE AND UNIFORM FIRE CODE STANDARDS; PRESCRIBING REGULATIONS GOVERNING CONDITIONS HAZARDOUS TO LIFE AND PROPERTY FROM FIRE OR EXPLOSION; PROVIDING FOR THE ISSUANCE OF PERMITS FOR HAZARDOUS USES OR OPERATIONS; AND MAINTAINING A BUREAU OF FIRE PREVENTION AND PROVIDING OFFICERS THEREFORE AND DEFINING THEIR POWERS AND DUTIES.

BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF GRAND JUNCTION:

The Code of Ordinances of the City of Grand Junction is hereby amended as follows: The existing provisions of the Code of Ordinances of the City are replaced with the following (the numbers of the sections hereby adopted are intended to be consistent with the existing numbering system of the City Code):

SECTION 12-21 Adoption of Uniform Fire Code

For the purpose of prescribing regulations governing conditions hazardous to life and property from fire or explosion, certain Code and Standards known as the Uniform Fire Code (hereinafter "Uniform Code" or "Uniform Fire Code", promulgated by the Western Fire Chief's Association, Inc. and the International Conference of Building Officials, 5360 South Workman Mill Road, Whittier, California, including appendices chapters I-C, II-A, II-B, II-D, II-E, III-B, III-C, IV-A, V-A, VI-A, VI-B, VI-D, VI-E and the Uniform Fire Code Standards, being particularly the 1988 edition thereof and the whole thereof, save and except such portions as are hereinafter deleted, modified or amended by Section 12-29 of this ordinance of which Code and Standards not less than one (1) copy has been, and is now, filed in the office of the City Clerk and the same are hereby adopted by this reference and incorporated herein as fully as if set out at length herein, and from the date on which this ordinance shall take effect, the provisions thereof shall be controlling within the limits of the City of Grand Junction, Colorado.

SECTION 12-22 Establishment and Duties of Division of Fire Prevention.

A. The Uniform Code shall be enforced by the division of fire prevention in the fire department of the City of Grand Junction which has been previously established and which shall be operated under the supervision of the chief of the fire department.

B. The fire marshal in charge of the division of fire prevention in the fire department of the City of Grand Junction shall be appointed by the chief of the fire department on the basis of his/her qualifications.

C. The chief of the fire department may detail such members of the fire department as inspectors as he shall from time to time deem necessary. The chief of the fire department shall recommend to the city manager the employment of technical inspectors, who, when such authorization is made, shall be appointed on the basis of their qualifications.

SECTION 12-23 Definitions

A. Wherever the word "jurisdiction" is used in the Uniform Fire Code, it shall be held to mean the City of Grand Junction.

B. Wherever the term "Corporation Counsel" is used in the Uniform Fire Code, it shall be held to mean the city attorney for the City of Grand Junction.

SECTION 12-24 Establishment of Limits of Districts in which Storage of Flammable or Combustible Liquids in Outside Above Ground Tanks is Prohibited.

A. The limits referred to in Section 79.501 of the Uniform Fire Code in which the storage of flammable or combustible liquids in outside above ground tanks is permitted, are hereby established as follows:

Lands within the City of Grand Junction that are zoned in the categories of C-2 (Heavy Commercial), I-1 (Light Industrial) and I-2 (Heavy Industrial); provided, however, the fire chief may permit such use in C-1 (Light Commercial) when it can be demonstrated that such use may be safely undertaken in the particular location.

B. The limits referred to in Section 79.1401 of the Uniform Fire Code in which new bulk plants for flammable or combustible liquids are permitted are hereby established as follows:

Lands within the city of Grand Junction that are zoned in the categories of C-2 (Heavy Commercial), I-1 (Light Industrial) and I-2 (Heavy Industrial); provided, however the fire chief may permit such use in C-1 Light (Commercial) when it can be demonstrated that such use may be safely undertaken in the particular location.

SECTION 12-25 Establishment of Limits in which Storage of Liquefied Petroleum Gases is to be Restricted.

A. The limits referred to in Section 82.103(a) of the Uniform Fire Code in which storage of liquefied petroleum gas is restricted, are hereby established as follows:

Lands within the City of Grand Junction that are zoned in the categories C-2 (Heaving Commercial), I-1 (Light Industrial) and I-2 (Heavy Industrial); provided, however, the fire chief may permit such use in C-1 (Light Commercial) when it can be demonstrated that such use may be safely undertaken in the particular location.

SECTION 12-26 Establishment of Limits of Districts in which Storage of Explosives and Blasting Agents is to be Prohibited.

A. Storage of explosives and blasting agents is prohibited within the limits of the City of Grand Junction; provided, however, this restriction shall not prohibit such use where the storage is made by an individual or company and under proper safeguard(s) as may be prescribed by the fire marshal.

SECTION 12-27 Appeals

Whenever the chief disapproves an application or refuses to grant a permit applied for, or when it is claimed that the provisions of the code do not apply or that the true intent and meaning of the code have been misconstrued or wrongly interpreted, the applicant may appeal from the decision of the chief to the board of appeals (created by section 203 of the Uniform Building Code), by filing with the chief a written appeal along with a fee of $100.00 within 30 days from the date of the decision appealed.

SECTION 12-28 New Materials, Processes or Occupancies which may Required Permits - Refer to Article 2, Division III, Section 2.301.

The chief of the fire department and the fire marshal shall act as a committee to determine and specify, after giving affected person an opportunity to be heard, any new materials, processes or occupancies for which permits are required in addition to those now enumerated in said code. The fire marshal shall post such list in a conspicuous place in his office, and distribute copies thereof to interested persons.

SECTION 12-29 Amendments Made to the Uniform Fire Code

The Uniform Fire Code is amended and changed in the following respects:

A. Add. Sec. 2.201(b) (1 - 5) Unsafe Buildings.

1) In case of failure of any owner or lessee of such buildings to remove all accumulations of waste or rubbish and abate said building in a manner approved by the Fire Department, and the election by the city to remove said waste or rubbish and/or secure building, the fire marshal is authorized to give notice by certified mail addressed to the last known address of the owner of such building, as that address appears in the records of the county assessor, or other address known to the fire marshal, which notice shall require the removal of such waste, or rubbish or barricading, or making secure of said building or removal of existing problem causing the public nuisance within sixty (60) days of the date of the notice. In the event such work is not done within the sixty (60) days, the city manager may then proceed to have the work done as soon as practicable. The costs of such work will be collected by the city in accordance with the provisions of the Uniform Code for the Abatement of Dangerous Buildings. Not withstanding the foregoing, to protect the owners' property after a structure fire, the fire marshal may cause the building to be barricaded, or secured, immediately after the fire has been extinguished, at the owners expense. The owner of the property shall pay for the costs of the work. The charge shall be the actual costs for labor, equipment, and materials plus ten (10) percent (10%) for administration, supervision, and inspection.

2) The finance director, as soon as may be practicable after such charge is made, shall send by mail, addressed to the owner of such property, at the address of such owner as it appears in the records of the county assessor, or other address known to the fire marshal, a notice of such assessment, which notice shall contain a description of the lots or parcels of land, the name of the owner or owners, and the amount of the assessment.

3) It shall be the duty of the owner to pay such assessment within twenty (20) days after the mailing of such notice, and in case of his failure so to do, he shall be liable personally for the amount of the assessment and the same shall be a lien upon the respective lots or parcels of land from the time of such assessment. In case the owner shall fail to pay such assessment within twenty (20) days after notice has been mailed to him, as provided by this article, then it shall be the duty of the City to certify the amount of the assessment to the county treasurer or other officer of the county having custody of the tax list, for the current year and to be collected in the same manner as other taxes are collected, with ten (10) percent (10%) penalty thereon to defray the cost of collection; and all of the laws of the State of Colorado for the assessment and collection of general taxes, including the laws for the sale of property for taxes and the redemption thereof, shall apply to and have full effect for the collection of all such assessments.

4) The fact that assessments have been made against property as provided in this article for removal of waste and rubbish and abatement of said building shall not prevent the owner, agent or lessee from being punished by fine or jailing under the general provisions of this Code, but such fine or penalty may be imposed on those found guilty of violating the provisions of this article in all cases, whether an assessment has or has not been made in accordance with the provisions of this article.

B. Add: Section 10.305(e)

e) Sprinkler systems installed and connected to a water main, shall have an approved back flow preventer valve installed.

C. Add: Section 10.306 (d) (1-3)

1) Where access for fire apparatus and equipment is unduly difficult to any building or structure not otherwise required to be protected by an automatic fire extinguishing system, the installation of an automatic fire extinguishing system shall be required.

2) Any building four (4) stories or more in height shall have an approved fire protection sprinkler system installed.

3) "Story" for the purpose of installation of fire protection sprinkler and standpipes is defined as habitable level used or occupied by humans. Definitions of "Story" for this section shall not exempt sprinkler requirements required by any other section of this code, nor shall it exempt sprinkler protection as required for a basement as specified by Section 10.306(c)(2)

D. Add: Section 10.309(f)

f) The chief may require standpipe protection when, in his opinion, access is restricted or an undue hardship would be placed on fire personnel extending a hose line in the building due to the arrangement of stairways, area separation walls, or occupancy walls.

E. Amend: Section 11.101 (a) (1) Permit Required

1) No person shall attempt kindle or maintain any open fire, except cooking fires, or authorize any such fire to be kindled or maintained on or in any public street, alley, road, or other public or private ground without a permit to do so from the fire prevention division. Instructions and stipulations of permit shall be adhered to.

F. Add: Section 11.210 Tire Storage

a) No person shall store more than 500 tires on any parcel of land.

b) Tires shall be arranged in the following manner:

1. Maximum pile or stack height shall not exceed six feet; and

2. Pile or stack width and length shall not exceed eight feet; and

3. Twenty (20) feet of clearance shall be maintained between piles or stacks; and

4. Piles or stacks shall not be placed closer than twenty (20) feet to any structure; and

5. Piles or stacks shall be stored so as to provide ready access by the fire department in the event of a fire.

G. Add: Section 11.302 (e) (1 - 5)

1) Whenever the activation of any fire alarm is due to a malfunction of the system and that system has had another malfunction within the prior 90 days, or more than three during any calendar year, the owner and/or operator of the system shall pay a false alarm fee to offset some of the costs involved in the dispatching and responding of fire equipment to the location of the alarm.

2) It is the responsibility of the owner or operator of an alarm system to police the improper use of the system, such as the intentional activating of a false alarm or the intentional activation of a smoke or heat detector to produce a false alarm. After three such activations within 90 days from the same alarm system, or more than four during any calendar year, the fee schedule for false alarms shall become effective.

3) Whenever the fire marshal cannot determine how a false alarm was activated and three such unexplained alarms occur within a 90-day period, the fee schedule for false alarms shall become effective with the fourth and subsequent alarms occurring within a 90-day period, or alarms exceeding four during any calendar year, the fee schedule for false alarms shall become effective with the fifth and subsequent alarms.

4) The fee schedule is as follows:

a) For a first false alarm over the allowed number . . . $75.00.

b) For a second false alarm over the allowed number . . . $150.00.

c) For a third false alarm over the allowed number . . . $250.00

d) For a fourth and subsequent alarms over the allowed number (for each) . . . $300.00

5) A new alarm system shall be allowed 30 days to become stabilized before this false alarm section will be applied.

H. Add: Section 11.412 (b) (1 - 5) Vacant Buildings.

b) Section 2.201(b) (1 - 5) of this adoption shall apply.

I. Amend: Section 14.104 (b), (3).

A) Group E Occupancies having more than 50 occupants shall be provided with an approved fire alarm system. In every Group E occupancy provided with an automatic sprinkler or detention system, the operation of such system automatically activates the fire alarm system, which shall include an alarm mounted on the exterior of the building. The alarm system required in Group E occupancies shall be supervised by an approved central proprietary or remote station or a local alarm, which will give an audible signal at a constantly attended location.

All day care centers with more than 12 children (Group E occupancy) shall have an approved alarm system. All day care center with 100 or more children, shall connect the fire alarm directly to central proprietary or remote station or a local alarm which will give an audible signal at a continuously attended location.

J. Add. Section 14.104 (f). Smoke Detectors is Lodging Houses, or Hotels, Including what are commonly known as Bed and Breakfasts.

f) Detection and alarm systems shall be installed as required by National Fire Protection Association (N.F.P.A.) 101, 1988 edition, Chapter 20 in lodging houses or hotels.

K. Add: Section 78.102 (b) Exception I. Fireworks

I. It shall be lawful to possess, store, offer for sale, expose for sale, sell at retail or use or explode those fireworks that are deemed lawful by Colorado Revised Statutes 12-28-101, et. seq., if such fireworks have been submitted by the seller to, and received the approval of, the fire department.

K. Add: Appendix VII, Rates and Fee

The following rates and fees shall apply for permits as listed:

1) UNIFORM FIRE CODE

2. Construction plan review fees

a. Fire Flows $10.00 per site

b. Alarm Systems $25.00 per floor

c. Sprinkler Systems $1.00 per head

d. Subdivision plans $100.00 for 10 or more parcels

L. Delete: Appendices I-A, I-B, II-C, III-A, III-D, and VI-C are deleted in their entirety from the code.

SECTION 12-30 Penalties

Any person who violates any provision of the fire code of the City of Grand Junction, Colorado, from and after the effective date thereof shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and once convicted shall be punished by a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000.) or imprisoned for a term not exceeding ninety (90) days, or by both such fine and imprisonment; each day that a violation continues, shall constitute a separate offense.

SECTION 12-31 Public Hearing.

A public hearing on the adoption by reference of the Uniform Fire Code, 1988 Edition, including the appendices thereto, with certain amendments thereto, is scheduled in the City-County Auditorium at City Hall in Grand Junction, Colorado, at 7:30 p.m. on the 18th day of July, 1990, and the City Clerk is hereby directed to publish Notice of said public hearing in the manner and style and pursuant to the schedule of such publication prescribed in Colorado Revised Statutes 31-16-201.

SECTION 12-32 Public Inspection.

At least one copy of the Uniform Fire Code, 1988 Edition, together with appendices thereto, with certain amendments thereto, certified to be a true copy, shall be on file as aforesaid in the office of the City Clerk at least fifteen (15) days preceding said hearing and may be inspected by any interested person between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, holidays excepted.

SECTION 12-33 Validity.

Any and all sections or parts of sections of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Grand Junction, Colorado, as amended, in conflict herewith, are hereby repealed.

SECTION 12-34 Code Section

This Ordinance shall become Article 2, Chapter XII in the Code of Ordinances of the City of Grand Junction.

Introduced this 6th day of June, 1990.

Passed on second reading this 18th day of July, 1990.

William McCurry

____________________

William McCurry

President of the Council

Attest:

Neva B. Lockhart, CMC

____________________

Neva Lockhart

City Clerk

I HEREBY CERTIFY that the foregoing ordinance, being Ordinance No. 2482, was introduced, read, and ordered published by the City Council of the City of Grand Junction, Colorado, at a regular meeting of said body held on the 6th day of June, 1990, and that the same was published in The Daily Sentinel, a newspaper published and in general circulation in said City, at least ten days before its final passage.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the official Seal of said City this 19th day of July, 1990.

Neva B. Lockhart

____________________

Neva B. Lockhart, CMC

City Clerk

Published: June 13, 1990

Published: July 20, 1990

Effective: August 19, 1990