TITLE
Recommendation to declare ordinance amending the Long Beach Municipal Code by adding Sections 18.48.700 and 18.48.710, both relating to the Fire Code, read and adopted as read. (Citywide)
DISCUSSION
The Long Beach Fire Department (LBFD), through its Fire Prevention Bureau, works towards the primary goal of preventing fires before they happen. One of the means of achieving this goal is to perform regular inspections of multi-family dwellings (apartments, condominiums, hotels, and motels) to ensure that proper life safety systems are in place and that the buildings are free of fire hazards. To this end, the LBFD is requesting City Council approval of its Residential Inspection Program and Fire Sprinkler Retrofit Alternative Ordinance, as well as their associated fee methodologies.
Residential Inspection Program
The State of California Health and Safety Code mandates annual inspections of non-high-rise, multi-family (3 or more units) apartments, condominiums and hotels/motels, and allows for the recovery of associated costs through the charging of fees. According to national statistics, 80 percent of all fire fatalities and injuries occur in residential dwellings. Therefore, the goal of the Residential Inspection Program is to provide for a safer community through the elimination of fire hazards in multi-family dwellings. The fire inspections are performed with a focus on ensuring that the building's life safety features are operating correctly and that the building is free from hazardous conditions.
During the FY 11 Budget adoption process, several stakeholders expressed concern over the $20 per unit permit fee initially associated with the program. Their concerns were, first, that it was an excessive fee given the current economic times and, second, that they had not been adequately engaged during the previous fee adoption process. Aware of these concerns, the City Council directed the Fire Department on September 14, 2010, to conduct additional community outreach meetings with stakeholders prior to implementation of the program.
The Fire Department initially completed four outreach meetings; two with the Apartment Association of Southern California and two additional community-wide meetings. Staff has applied the City's cost recovery principles and the recommendations received from the stakeholders to develop a new methodology for the fee structure. This methodology involved two studies to determine the time and cost involved in conducting the inspections; one conducted by Fire Inspectors, and a second conducted by sworn fire staff assigned to engine companies. Both studies accounted for the supervisory, clerical, and administrative costs associated with the inspections.
The resulting proposed fee methodology is based on a sliding scale depending on the type of property, number of units, and whether the inspection is to be conducted by Fire Inspectors or Engine Companies. The proposed fees range from $47 to $465 per property. To ensure that impacted individuals and groups were aware of the proposed, revised fee methodology, the LBFD hosted three subsequent informational meetings, which covered the details of the Residential Inspection Program, the Sprinkler Retrofit Alternative Ordinance, and the methodology for determining the proposed permit fees. The meetings were held on June 29, July 15, and July 21, 2011, and included members of apartment associations, home-owner associations, hotel and motel associations, business associations, and the Chamber of Commerce.
Given this proposed fee structure, the Department would collect an estimated $118,478 in annual revenue and recover all direct and indirect costs associated with providing residential inspections of apartment buildings with 11 or more units, all condominium properties, and all non-high-rise hotels and motels in the City (1,045 total properties). Not addressed in Phase 1 of the program are the 3-10 unit apartment properties (5,844 total properties). These would be added in Phase 2 after the Department has had an opportunity to evaluate the costs and revenue associated with the initial program phase.
Fire Sprinkler Retrofit Alternative Ordinance
On March 24, 2009, the City Council approved the recommendation brought forth by the Economic Development and Finance Committee to prepare an Ordinance adopting the fire sprinkler retrofit alternative process for existing commercial and residential high-rise buildings, multi-family residences, and hotels and motels with 50 or more units under one roof. The City Attorney's Office has prepared the Ordinance, with assistance from the Fire Department, which encompasses the recommendations approved by the City Council. There were delays in returning the Ordinance to the City Council for final approval, as several interest groups voiced their concerns over the fees and additional community outreach was necessary.
As a result of issues similar to those raised for the Residential Inspection Program, the Fire Department re-evaluated the $25 per unit Retrofit Alternative fee using the same methodology used for the Residential Inspection Program. It was determined that a retrofit alternative building requires more inspector time to comply with the Ordinance requirements than a non-retrofit building. Therefore, the fee is slightly higher.
The proposed permit fees are for a single inspection and will be charged once a building owner has agreed to comply with the Sprinkler Retrofit Alternative Ordinance in lieu of installing a fire sprinkler system, and after the initial inspection is completed. Proposed fees for multi-family properties, hotels/motels, and condominiums range from $117 to $171 per property, while high-rise buildings (75' and higher) operating under the retrofit Ordinance are inspected under the Fire High-rise Inspection Program. The high-rise buildings have a set fee of $2,202 per building regardless of the number of units. Based on the proposed fee schedule, the Department would generate an estimated $60,798 annually from this program.
This item was reviewed by Principal Deputy Attorney Charles Parkin and Budget Officer Victoria Bell on August 3, 2011.
TIMING CONSIDERATIONS
If the City Council approves the Residential Inspection Program and the fee methodologies associated with the Residential Inspection Program and the Fire Sprinkler Retrofit Alternative Ordinance, the proposed fees will be included in the Master Fee and Charges Schedule as part of the FY 12 Budget adoption process. Therefore, City Council action is requested on August 16, 2011.
FISCAL IMPACT
Approval of the program and adoption of the ordinance will have no fiscal impact. However, approval of the associated fees during the FY 12 Budget adoption process will result in an estimated $179,276 in additional annual General Fund revenue. There is no local job impact associated with the recommendation.
SUGGESTED ACTION
Approve recommendation.
BODY
[Enter Body Here]
Respectfully Submitted,
ALAN M. PATALANO
FIRE CHIEF
Patrick West
City Manager