75A - PH - RESO AND ORDINANCE ADOPTING BUILDING AND FIRE CODES

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(b) An automatic sprinkler system shall be installed in any portion of such building which is to be used as a place of public assemblage or a Group H occupancy, as defined in the building code of the City of Santa Ana. (c) Subject to the overriding requirement of paragraph (b) of this subsection, changes to buildings within the scope of this section shall be subject to approval on the following standard: Installations of automatic sprinkler systems or fire hydrants shall be required only to the extent necessary to avoid an increase in the risk of fire occurring, the danger to life in the event of fire, or the difficulty of fire suppression or to avoid a prolongation of any especially hazardous situation. The need of such installations or alternative fire protection requirements shall be evaluated in view of any modifications in building safety standards due to application of the state historical buildings code, and the fire marshal shall coordinate his review with that of the building official in this regard. The fire marshal may impose alternative fire protection requirements on building changes within the scope of this section as appropriate to maintain this standard and shall waive any requirement of this section which is inconsistent therewith. (d) The fire marshal shall give priority to building changes within the scope of this section which are submitted for his review by the community redevelopment agency. SECTION 54: The City Council of the City of Santa Ana hereby finds, determines and declares that adoption of Section 14-21 amending California Fire Code section 202, Definition #2 is necessary due to the climatic and geographic conditions of high winds and low humidity. This combination of events creates an environment that is conducive to rapidly spreading fire. Control of such fire requires rapid response. Obstacles generated by a strong wind, such as fallen trees, street lights and utility poles, and the requirement to climb 75 feet vertically up flights of stairs will greatly impact the response time to reach an incident scene. Also the City is located in the middle of the seismically active area identified as Seismic Zone 4. The viability of the public water system would be questionable after a large earthquake leaving tall buildings vulnerable to uncontrolled fires and the inability to pump sufficient quantities of water to upper floors. SECTION 55: That section 14-21 of the Santa Ana Municipal Code is hereby amended such that it reads as follows (new language underlined, deleted language in strikeout for tracking purposes only): Sec. 14-21. Definitions (Section 202). Section 202 of the California Fire Code is adopted in its entirety, except for the following amendment revising the definition of High-Rise and adding a definition for Planned Unit Development building as follows: HIGH-RISE BUILDING. As used in this Code: Ordinance No. NS-XXXX 7 e n_ w 1 Page 33 of 50