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 additiona...
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