City Council Oversight Committee Meeting

CITY COUNCIL OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE MINUTES August 17, 2017 The City Council Oversight Committee of the City of Norman, Cleveland County, State of Oklahoma, met at 8:30 a.m.in the City Council Executive Conference Room on the 17th day of August, 2017, and notice and agenda of the meeting were posted in the Municipal Building at 201 West Gray 48 hours prior to the beginning of the meeting. PRESENT: Councilmembers Holman and Castleberry, and Chairman Allison ABSENT: Councilmember Karjala OTHER STAFF PRESENT: Mayor Miller Ms. Amber Armstrong, Plans Examiner II Mr. Jeff Bryant, City Attorney Mr. Bob Christian, Permit Manager Ms. Susan Connors, Planning and Community Development Director Mr. Terry Floyd, Development Coordinator Mr. Travis King, Fire Chief Ms. Regina Oliphant, Administrative Tech III Mr. Kelvin Winter, Code Compliance Supervisor Item 1, being: CONTINUED DISCUSSION REGARDING UPDATES TO CITY OF NORMAN BUILDING, FIRE PREVENTION AND PROPERTY MAINTENANCE CODES AND CLARIFICATION OF CERTAIN PERMIT FEES. Ms. Susan Connors, Planning and Community Development Director, said on May 30, 2017, the Planning Department Staff met with the City Council Oversight Committee to discuss the adoption of the 2015 Building, Fire Prevention and Property Maintenance Codes and presented the changes that are required based on the new State-adopted Building Codes. She said the Council primarily wanted to know what changes were being made, and the Planning Department Staff added Attachments 1, 2, and 3 to address those questions. She said Attachment 1 and 2 lists the items staff is proposing as more stringent and less stringent; requesting to delete the less stringent items due to the State not allowing municipalities to be less restrictive than the State code. She said Attachment 3 lists miscellaneous code items that came up during the previous Oversight Committee discussion and they wanted to point those items out; noting those items are being changed as well. Councilmember Castleberry asked for the justification for being more stringent than State code. Mr. Bob Christian, Permit Manager, said the base response is “Norman is a quality community”, and continued on, with permission from Councilmember Castleberry, by addressing each item separately as follows: International Building Code (IBC) Worksite Safety Mr. Christian said builders and contractors must provide a “safe means” and placed emphasis on “safe.” He said often times while on jobsites, contractors have requested our inspectors perform inspections by using unsafe measures, e.g., field built ladders, old rickety ladders, etc. He said this requirement simply gives a more firm basis for inspectors to express that they need to adhere to safety standards as prescribed City Council Oversight Committee Minutes August 17, 2017 Page 2 by the City so not to put the inspectors in jeopardy or create financial liability for the City. Staff recently attended a meeting where the State Department of Labor’s OSHA Inspection process has taken new initiatives to focus on work site and institutional safety as well. Insulation Inspection Mr. Christian said the insulation inspection is a historic inspection with the City of Norman used to verify compliance with the Energy Code. He said Norman is one of the first cities in the state to have an adopted Energy Code; continuing to lead cities in energy inspections. He said the insulation inspection is one of the inspections included in the Energy Code, but modification of the code was needed to include this inspection process. Councilmember Castleberry asked if this is because the City has an Energy Code and other cities do not, therefore there is no uniform requirement from the State, and Mr. Christian said yes. Chairman Allison said there has been an Energy Code since 2015. Mr. Christian said there has been an Energy Code progressively through the years but this is the first year the State has “adopted by reference” by the International Building Code. He said there has been opposition through the years from various communities throughout the state to the Energy Code, but due to some of the federal standards and programs that are evolving, there is more emphasis on the Energy Code. He said the residential code has a specific chapter that deals with the energy code, and it has been modified to be consistent with what the City does currently. He said other communities are coming to Norman to seek direction on how to enforce the Energy Code and one way is through the insulation inspection. Chairman Allison asked if the Energy Code is enforced here at the City, and Mr. Christian said yes. Chairman Allison said he has learned over the last few weeks there are many communities who do not enforce the Energy Code, and it’s significantly more expensive to build in Norman because of Energy Code enforcement. Mr. Christian said that is an interesting statement because a lot of the builders want to build to Energy Star regulations and the City does not inspect to that level. Energy Star is a bit above the level of the City’s inspections. He said it is interesting because Staff has had reverse comments made, e.g., builders or contractors expressing their gratitude for taking care of the process because they did not realize they needed a certain inspection. He said it levels the playing field for them because as people have to insulate their homes, customers expect energy efficiency; therefore, taking a step in the right direction to make sure everyone is doing it correctly. Chairman Allison said, referring to commercial construction, he has heard comments about Norman requiring insulation of the parapet wall even though it is above the building line with nothing to insulate in the area; allowing no breaks in the insulation. Mr. Christian said, as so often is the case, this is a misunderstanding. He said there has to be continuity of the insulation envelope, and commonly thought of as the thermal envelope of the building. He said the parapet is not required to be insulated, but if there is a wall cavity that extends above a drop in ceiling that goes up and ties into the roof insulation, then yes, they would require the insulation to continue up to the top plate to tie in nicely with the thermal envelope component that lies within the roof. He said in other instances where they would insulate only to the top of the ceiling height are when the insulation is actually placed on the ceiling tile; tying in with the thermal envelope and therefore, the cavity above would be uninsulated. International Plumbing Code (IPC) Waterless Urinals Mr. Christian said although waterless urinals are allowed by the Plumbing Code, there are many instances where the products for sanitizing are proprietary. He said what some users found on a larger scale was when there were changes in the company structure the proprietary product went by the wayside and businesses could not get the appropriate products; therefore, they were forced to change out to a water type urinal. He said in that process they found significant expense either in tearing up floors, removing City Council Oversight Committee Minutes August 17, 2017 Page 3 wall finishes, or work above the ceiling requiring freeze protection in order to get the water source to the locations. He said the City made the decision several years ago when this first came into the code to accommodate it, but allow an exception to provide a water source during the rough stage of construction, making the transition convenient in the future if it became necessary. He said this was a mutual concession with a seeming good balance of an early investment vs. a larger disruption later on, and has been in the Code for at least two cycles now. Councilmember Holman asked if the builder does not install a water source can the City require them to do so. Mr. Christian said the City obligates them, if they are going to use a waterless urinal to make a provision for a water source convenient at that location should they need to change it out in the future. Councilmember Holman said he understands the reason but doesn’t concur with making them comply. Councilmember Castleberry said it is a good idea and agrees that one should do it, but does not agree with the City requirement to do so. He said he thinks it is a business decision and not a government requirement. Councilmember Holman recommends the City inform the businesses about the future possibilities and the need for the water source. Mayor Lynne Miller asked what problems have come up that impacts the City. Mr. Christian said Staff has not had many needs for transition, but on those occasions the builders expressed they really would have appreciated the insight. He said this amendment is very consistent with many other local amendments that have been adopted but if Council made the decision to do away with it, Staff is fine with that. Councilmember Castleberry said he prefers education over requirement. Ms. Connors asked if Council is requesting deletion from the Code. Councilmember Castleberry said yes. International Residential Code (IRC) Chairman Allison asked how the requirement of every dwelling unit shall have at least one room that shall not have less than 120 square feet of floor area relates to issues with tiny houses. Mr. Christian said there are other minimum room dimensions that are prescribed by the Code. This particular one has been prescribed historically, and still prescribed by the Property Maintenance Code (PMC); however, it was left out of the International Residential Code (IRC). He said they felt because the other standards are still in place and because the PMC continued the requirement, it would be prudent to make sure our IRC, primarily for new construction and an addition to existing construction, be consistent. He said there are HUD standards that are similar; therefore, was thought best to leave in place so they have consistency across the board. He said with regard to the tiny homes, he understands there is some work going on through International Code Council to try to address the tiny home concept, but has not seen the specifics. He said there are some national interests looking at that and trying to figure out how it might best be integrated into the Building Code. He said most jurisdictions are presently treating those in the mobile home category. Ms. Connors said the tiny house issue is a larger discussion and Council can adopt this and amend it later. She said most tiny homes do not meet this requirement and does not think a correction of the issue can be made with this one change Mr. Terry Floyd, Development Coordinator, said he has visited with ACOG about this and the whole issue of tiny homes has been a topic of discussion across the board, with all municipalities in the state, and a common discussion across the United States. He said Tulsa has projects they are trying to do, Oklahoma City as well, and this is an effort, because of the Building Code. Chairman Allison asked if Council should move on and wait until the national council makes a decision on how they are going to address the tiny homes. Ms. Susan Connors said she recommends Council look at tiny homes separately as there are many different issues to address. Mayor Miller said she recommends leaving this in the Code for regular homes and said it appears that from the articles she has read, macro homes have been done in PUD developments with special guidelines, and asked if a development like this overrides the Building Code. Ms. Connors said it would not necessarily override the building codes unless they went into great detail in the PUD that would allow City Council Oversight Committee Minutes August 17, 2017 Page 4 changes in actual Building Code requirements and would have to be included. She said they could do it that way or include a special section in the Building Code addressing tiny home requirements. National Electrical Code (NEC) Aluminum Conductors Councilmember Castleberry asked why the use of aluminum conductors is prohibited. Mr. Christian said this item deals with aluminum wire inside of structures. He said it is allowed on the outside, and is used extensively by the utilities in outdoor distribution and underground distribution; however, internally it is much less forgiving than copper conductors in its installation and requires maintenance and observation. He said although the conductor material has improved substantially throughout the years, it still has an ability to creep. He said what that means is that over time it will loosen. He said mobile home fires resulted years ago leading HUD standards to change and to say one cannot use aluminum conductors inside the home anymore. He said he can only speak for two jurisdictions in the metro area which also limit but they are the major jurisdictions in the metro area. Attachment 3 – International Plumbing Code (IPC) Drinking Fountains Councilmember Castleberry appreciated allowing business owners to substitute drinking water, in lieu of a drinking fountain with an occupant load less than 50. Mr. Christian said this is largely the work of Amber Armstrong, Plans Examiner. She was the premiere player in developing our current Code format, helps with streamlining ordinances, and she sits as a Commissioner on the Oklahoma Uniform Building Code Commission. Permit Fees Chairman Allison asked if the missed inspection fee is something unique to Norman. Mr. Christian said yes, they often have a number of instances where missing inspections occur. He said the fee when applied would give them a return on the administrative costs and also creates a reminder the inspections are required as the word spreads throughout the contractor community. He said it is a minimal fee but could have the potential for a dramatic impact. Chairman Allison said it appears people are okay with the fee as long as it is not abused. Safe Means of Entry and Missed Inspection Fee Chairman Allison said in regard to safe means of entry, he approves but if abuse is observed then it could be a topic needing Council review in the future. He said instances gaining his attention are those of a missed inspection fee accrued from a late inspection yet the fee applied was for a missed inspection. Councilmember Castleberry said there needs to be discretion used when applying an additional fee especially when there is reasonable cause, e.g., hospital admittance; however, he voiced approval for the fee in situations where you have someone with repeated no show. Mayor Miller said it is a good idea, but it puts a burden on the Council to make sure the City is being thoughtful of those individuals being inspected. She said the key is communication and encouraged the inspectors to exercise communication with those individuals, which will improve the image of the City as well. Chairman Allison asked if there is a time limit on the inspection process, or do you have to cancel an appointment by a certain time. Mr. Christian said no and that is part of the problem. Councilmember Castleberry said he approves as long as it is reasonably applied. City Council Oversight Committee Minutes August 17, 2017 Page 5 Gravel Parking Areas Chairman Allison asked if there was any other discussion regarding the gravel parking areas other than previously discussed. Ms. Connors said Staff hopefully has made the changes in such a way that the Council is more comfortable; however, she said there has to be a visual distinction between the gravel and the surrounding surfaces. Mayor Miller said this will be a big issue in east Norman. Ms. Connors said this is for legal non-conforming gravel driveways and parking areas in urban Norman and does not apply to rural Norman; however, parking on gravel is allowed in A-1, A-2, and some of RE. Exhibit D: (10) 303.2 Enclosures Councilmember Castleberry asked if someone has a six foot perimeter fence are they still required to have a 48 inch interior barrier directly around the pool inside the perimeter fence. Ms. Connors and Mr. Christian said not as long as the gates meet the requirements. Mr. Christian said the Oklahoma Uniform Building Code Commission (OUBCC) did make a concession on this topic through the IRC simplifying the barrier requirements and also provided some exemption for rural areas on larger lots. Councilmember Castleberry said there are many citizens that have above ground pools and he would like to be clear if asked. Mr. Christian said there are additional provisions for above ground pools depending on the height. Exhibit D: (11) 304.14 Insect Screens Councilmember Castleberry asked if everyone has to have screens. Mr. Kelvin Winter, Code Compliance Supervisor, said the current code they are using says that if they have air conditioning, they are not required to have screens. He said the problem they run into is in regard to apartment complexes when they have a temporary outage of the air conditioning the residents need to open the windows, and without screens the flies, mosquitoes, and other insects enter the residence. He said they thought it would be better to require screens on windows to avoid an issue in case of an emergency situation. Councilmember Holman asked if this is just required at apartment complexes or all rental property. Mr. Winter said that if you are a landlord and have a rent house the same thing applies. Councilmember Holman asked if it is required of single family homes later turned into rental property. Ms. Connors said this would be only on a complaint basis. Councilmember Castleberry asked if inspectors check for screens during the construction process. Ms. Connors said no, inspectors do not check for screens. Councilmember Holman said he thinks that if they are going to require screens, then it seems to be appropriate for apartments (rental property). Chairman Allison said only on the complaint basis seems to be the easiest way to accomplish this. Councilmember Castleberry said as long as they are not requiring screens for new construction. Mayor Miller said she cannot imagine windows without screens, and thinks renters should be able to rent a house with screens on the windows in case they cannot afford to run the air conditioning system; allowing them to keep the pests out of their home. Councilmember Castleberry said the City should not require someone to do something just because it is a good idea. Chairman Allison said it sounds like the committee members are in consensus as long as it does not creep into new construction. Ms. Connors asked to clarify they are going to leave this change as is for now, maintaining it as part of the Property Maintenance Code; handling only on a complaint basis, and Council committee members agreed. Attachment 3 - Miscellaneous Councilmember Holman said he wanted to understand why every retail store is required to have a water fountain, and asked what is a dispenser connected to a potable water distribution system. Chairman Allison asked if a refrigerator with a water dispenser would satisfy as a way to comply. Mr. Christian said the easiest way to consider it is if it is a new construction addition or alteration then Code obligates drinking water. He said there may be older existing buildings that do not have drinking water but new construction would obligate it. City Council Oversight Committee Minutes August 17, 2017 Page 6 Councilmember Holman said he has always heard different stories about Fire Code enforcement, especially in older buildings, and asked if our Fire Code is more stringent than the State Code; are they consistent with others; and/or how different. He said he has heard several complaints over the years with the arbitrary enforcement in regard to fixing a building downtown and the whole fire suppression system location and would like some insight on that type of enforcement. Mr. Travis King, Fire Chief, said currently the City is under National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 1, which some people do believe is more stringent than IFC. He said he has heard those concerns in the past and wanted to make sure the department is enforcing consistently across the board. He said he has not received any complaints since he became Chief. He said they will be keeping NFPA1for everything already built to help occupants not have to change to a new Code. The inspectors are already trained to that standard and will continue to inspect or investigate under those protocols. He said moving forward, the City will be under the International Fire Code (IFC) 2015 for all new construction and that brings the City into conformity with other metro jurisdictions. He has personally reached out to the Cities of Moore, Oklahoma City, Edmond, Tulsa, as well as, Waco and Frisco, Texas, and they all are very satisfied with IFC. He said it brings everyone into conformity and is a much smoother application moving forward. He said they are also transitioning from language that states where there is a conflict with IFC and NFPA, the most stringent form applies to reflect the word “more reasonable.” Mr. King said he believes as they move forward Staff will be able to sit down with the decision makers and find a reasonable approach to apply when a conflict is present. Councilmember Holman asked if a building in downtown or Campus Corner built in 1920 will have to meet the 2015 Code or the NFPA1. Mr. Christian said the 2015 addition of the existing building code is what they would use as the focal point and it would then by reference direct to IBC, IFC, or other standards given the scope of work performed. Chairman Allison asked if the Plans Examiner for the Fire Department is still located at the Norman Investigation Center, and Chief King said yes. Chairman Allison said he thinks this is a pretty inefficient model, and would like to see a future relocation of the Plans Examiner to the City Complex near the Planning Department. He feels that would be a better location from a customer service standpoint. Councilmember Castleberry agrees. Chairman Allison also realizes the City is out of space in the City Complex area, but with possible changes coming in the future he thinks this can be an efficiency point that can be made. Chief King said he agrees and if there is room in the facility, he can make that change very quickly. Items submitted for the record 1. Memorandum dated August 11, 2017, from Bob Christian, Permit Manager, Fred Henderson, Fire Marshal, and Kelvin Winter, Code Compliance Supervisor through Susan F. Connors, Director, Planning and Community Development; Travis King, Fire Chief; Shawn O’Leary, Director, Public Works; Steve Lewis, City Manager; and Jeff Bryant, City Attorney, to the City Council Oversight Committee with Attachment 1, Code Amendments (more stringent than the code requirements adopted by the state); Attachment 2, Local Amendments (less stringent than the code requirements adopted by the state and recommended for deletion); Attachment 3, Miscellaneous Code Items; Exhibit A, Current State Code Summary; Exhibit B, Chapter 5 – Building Construction; Exhibit C, Chapter 9 – Fire Prevention; and Exhibit D, Chapter 10 – Health and Safety * ADJOURNMENT: The meeting adjourned at 9:36 a.m.